Concrete keeps gaining strength long after it looks finished. What you do in the first year has more effect on how long it lasts than almost anything else, and most of it costs nothing.
The first week
Keep everything off it. Foot traffic is usually fine after 24 to 48 hours, but vehicles are not. If the weather is hot and dry, light watering of the surface for the first few days slows the cure and reduces surface cracking. We will tell you if your pour needs it.
The first month
Wait a full seven days before driving a car on a residential slab, and closer to fourteen for anything heavier. Avoid parking in the same spot every day for the first month, and keep trailer jacks and motorcycle kickstands off the surface or put a plate under them.
The first winter
This is the one that matters. Do not use deicing salt on concrete in its first winter. Chlorides drive into a green slab and cause surface scaling that cannot be undone. Sand gives you traction without the chemistry.
- No rock salt, calcium chloride or magnesium chloride the first winter
- Use sand for traction instead
- Shovel with a plastic-edged blade, not a metal scraper
- Keep snowmelt from downspouts off the slab where you can
Ongoing
Reseal exposed slabs every two to three years, sooner for stamped or colored surfaces in full sun. Keep joints clear of debris so they can do their job. If a crack opens wider than a credit card, have it routed and sealed before water gets under the slab and freezes.
