Concrete coping not appropriate for freezing winters?

[MassNerd]

We're installing a IG, concrete walled, vinyl lined pool this June. I had the first patio guy over to chat this evening and I was surprised that he strongly advised against installing poured concrete coping around our pool because of our climate. He said it will crack and the cracks will be much more visible than the concrete decking because you'll see it run top to bottom from the side view (seen while in the pool). As I said, this was a surprise because i got the impression from our pool builder that more people did coping than aluminum coping.

So is there truth to what the concrete guy said? Is poured coping a bad idea in the Northeast with our cold winters?

He offered paver coping as an alternative. Said it was better sealed and easier to repair if it did crack. I figured I would ask the experts here for their advice on the ideal coping for the Northeast US. I'm not a fan of the look of aluminum bull-nose coping. It looks "old fashion" to me, but if it is the most functional I'll go with it. Pavers with a stone look sound nice.

 

[JasonLion]

No, not really. Poured concrete coping is used all the time and has much better durability than nearly anything else. Of course it is possible to do concrete wrong and ruin the concrete job, but that is a mistake on the part of the builder, and not a limitation of the material. The main issue with concrete is appearance.

By the by, nearly all modern pavers are actually concrete.