Bleeding edge on a hot July pour, should have known better

We were doing a 30 by 40 foot garage slab outside Phoenix, air temp was pushing 108 degrees. I thought we could get ahead of the bleed water by using a mid-range water reducer, but I made the call to add extra water on site because the mix looked stiff. By the time we got the power trowel down, the surface was already crusting over on the edges while the middle was still soupy. I ended up with a patch of delamination near the garage door corner and had to grind it out and resurface the next morning. My finisher just shook his head and said, 'You know better than this.' The homeowner wasn't thrilled about the delay, but the repair came out okay after two coats of sealer. Has anyone else messed up a hot weather pour with too much water, and what do you do different on the second attempt?

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xenarobinson29d ago

My first hot pour went south the exact same way, extra water is always a trap. Now I keep a bucket of ice on the truck and drop a few chips in the mix instead, it cools things without wrecking the ratio. Second time around, I also trowel earlier and lighter, that crust is your signal to stop and walk away.