Is it normal to have standing water all over a new slab after the joints are cut?

Those puddles are basially **birdbaths**, and they're a clear sign the crew didn't screed the slab flat or check thier grades properly before they started finishing. Sawcuts are meant to control where the concrete cracks as it shrinks, not to act as a drainage system for a wavy surface. If water is sitting in the middle of a section away from the joints, the finish is technically out of spec for most exterior work where you want a consistent slope for runoff. The variation in texture and color ussually happens when the finishing timing is all over the place. Those dark, smooth spots are likely where they over-troweled it while it was still too wet, essentially sealing the surface too early and trapping moisture. The lighter, gritty areas are where the concrete was already starting to set up and they had to fight it to get any kind of finish. It’s basically a map of where the crew was rushing or where they lost control of the pour. You shoud definately be concerned about **scaling** if you live in a climate with freeze-thaw cycles. When water gets trapped in those low spots and freezes, it expands and can pop the top layer of the finish right off. Even without the ice, sitting water eventually discolors the concrete and attracts dirt, making those patches look even worse over time. The sawcuts being straight is the bare minimum, but it sounds like they free-styled the actual leveling. You should grab a long straightedge—like a 10-foot level or even a very straight 2x4—and lay it across those low spots. If you're seeing gaps larger than a quarter-inch under that board, it's a grading failure. Most crews will try to tell you it'll even out as it cures, but a low spot is a physical dip in the stone. It’s not going to magically rise up as the moisture leaves the slab.

Your crew clearly didn't know how to handle a bull float. If you've got standing water away from the Soff-Cut lines, they blew the pitch. I’ve seen this a dozen times when guys skip using a Highway Straightedge or a 10-foot Bump Cutter to knock down the ridges after the first pass. The color shift is likely a mix of diffrent bleed water rates and maybe they threw some Chapin sprayer finish on one section and not the other. Check the depth of those cuts with a ruler; if they didn't go at least 1/4 of the slab thickness, you’re going to get random cracking anyway despite the 'nice' lines.

I'm totally new to this, but reading about 'birdbaths' has me worried now. If those low spots are alredy there, is there actualy a way to fix them without tearing the whole thing out? Like, can they just shave down the high parts or fill in the dips with more concrete? Also, you mentioned 'over-troweling'—how do you even tell if they did that while it's still fresh? I'm just trying to figure out what to say to my contractor tomorrow without sounding like I have no clue.

Spot on about the screeding. I'll add that those 'dark and smooth' spots often happen becasue the guys used a steel trowel to chase the bleed water back into the slab instead of letting it evaporate. If they closed up the pores too tight while it was still sweating, you're not just looking at a color difference—you've likely got a weakened surface layer that'll dust up in a few years. Keep an eye on those spots once it fully cures; if they stay significantly darker than the rest, it’s a sign the water-cement ratio is totally blown right at the top.

Quick update — I had the contractor come back out and they admitted they rushed the bull float. They ended up using a diamond grinder to knock down the high spots and help level out those birdbaths. The color is still a bit blotchy from the over-troweling, but at least the water is finally shedding off the slab like it shold.