Usually people put plastic or paper over the bond beam some people use through seal one to keep the gunite from sucking out the moisture and it allows shrinkage. Even doing this you still could get some cracks.

you wouldn't happen to have any photos would you? i was thinking of going with the gold myself. kinda looking for pictures with and without the sealer.

I always place thick wax paper, plastic, and sometimes even roofing starter shingles over the beam prior to pouring a concrete coping. However I have many competitors that don't.
Quite honestly I don't think your builder will be willing to eat the demo and repour without some help on the costs.
IMO, they probably should have asked the driver to add a little more water to the mix in the drum prior to pouring.
Many folks don't realize just what an art working redi-mix truly is. Although you mentioned hot, I can't really see anywhere in the country that was truly hot.
How hot was it?
If all you were pouring was the coping and not the deck simultaneously they shouldn't have been pressed for time at all.
If you feel that it's something that you'd really like it addressed I'd suggest offering half and asking the pool builder to pick up the other half.

See ya,
Kelly

if you want a non-biased opinion ... both you and the PB are to blame. Take no offense ... I'm just straight-shootin here (and much better to hear things like this on a forum than in real life where it counts)

The builder is to blame for doing something he obviously had no business doing (sorry, but admitting to a client that "it almost got away" is not a sign of a professional)

You're to blame for being nervous about the entire situation to begin with - yet you let this guy carry on??

All in all - you can lay down plastic, you can wet the surface, you can pray, etc

But if it's concrete ... one thing you can count on is some cracking. It's normal.

You probably will get more cracking.

You lay down a bond break when you are pouring a cap?

I thought the plastic bond break was only laid down on a cantilever deck without an expansion joint between the deck and coping.

Wetting down the beam is important but in a 4" thick pour I doubt this caused surface crazing on the finish.

Were any expansion and/ or control joints installed?

Quote: "IMO, they probably should have asked the driver to add a little more water to the mix in the drum prior to pouring."

Absolutely not, this should never be done. Adding water either in the drum or in the chute will alter the slump of the concrete and can lead to weakening and/ or cracking in the concrete. If pouring on a hot day, a retarding admixture should be added to the mix. This slows cure time and reduces the risk of cracking.

Tres is correct, on really hot days a retarder should be added, just as an accelerant is necessary on cool days
However I really couldn't figure out where in the nation it was that hot. I've never had a problem with a little bit of additional water added to my redi-mix.
Our redimix typically comes a little dry for my guys taste. This mix may be good for a foundation or a poured wall structure where they have vibrators on site. But, for us, we work our concrete with hand tools. A little water added to the mix assists us bigtime.

See ya,
Kelly

You should never have allowed a person who had no experience pouring concrete to do it. Might as well have done it yourself.

hmmm ... i smell "lowball" or "winter discount"

Quote: "Our redimix typically comes a little dry for my guys taste. This mix may be good for a foundation or a poured wall structure where they have vibrators on site. But, for us, we work our concrete with hand tools. A little water added to the mix assists us bigtime."

Yes, you obviously know what you're doing though :-) There is an acceptable slump range and it sounds like you're typically getting a stiff mixture, so adding a little bit of water would be acceptable in that case because while it will reduce the slump it will still fall within acceptable parameters. But you know how it is sometimes, you see job sites where it's really hot out and some guy is just standing there blasting away with a hose in the chute while pouring! That's bad mojo, LOL!

quote" you see job sites where it's really hot out and some guy is just standing there blasting away with a hose in the chute while pouring! "quote

LMAO

I've seen it many times first hand. I've always laughed when I watched workers pour water on top of a driveway or sidewalk setting up that got away from them.
I guess they weren't aware that the driver has the ability to add the exact amount of water you choose directly into the drum. Prior to pouring the first bit of concrete you should always take a wheelbarrow full to determine how workable the mix is.
Water after the fact serves no purpose other than further aggravation. When your mud gets away from you your best bet is to place an expansion joint and stop.

You'd be shocked to know just how much 3 to 5 gallons of water will change the workability of 10 yards of redi-mix.
This is very little water when compared to how much concrete is in the drum.

All I can offer my buyers about redi-mix concrete is short and simple.
Concrete may crack, I don't offer any warranties on stress or shrinkage cracks. But I do guarantee that nobody will ever steal it once it's poured. I've never been wrong on either.

See ya,
Kelly