Hi, I made a 2'x1' form and poured 1 bag of quickcrete concrete into it and ran through the finishing steps. screed, darby and float. It was not as easy I thought it would be. I could bring up cream Ok but it seems like the aggregate was too close to the surface and made it difficult to get a smooth surface even though I brought up plenty of cream and I was angling the float. Seemed like the cream was thin also - in videos it looks like the cream is pretty stiff. On videos it looks effortless and I don't see the floats catching on any aggregate. I hoping it's because maybe the bagged concrete is not optimized for finishing? for my project I will be getting the concrete by trailer. I have done this before but only for rough slabs that were covered with stone or brick. Thanks

I have two security lights and associated solar panels to mount on a front porch and a back patio, both areas being surfaced with Hardiboard. Is the Hardi usually mounted to a plywood underlayment, or will I have to mount the lights/panels directly to the Hardi?