You can usually walk on new concrete after 1 to 2 days and drive on it after about 7 days. It keeps gaining strength for about 28 days. In Michigan, the season and the weather on pour day matter as much as the clock.
How long does concrete take to cure?
Concrete takes about 28 days to reach its design strength, and it keeps hardening slowly after that. It reaches most of its strength in the first week, which is why light use is fine after a few days. Cool weather slows curing and hot weather speeds it up. Keeping the surface damp, or using a curing compound, for the first several days makes a stronger, harder top.
How long before I can walk on new concrete?
You can walk on new concrete after about 1 to 2 days, carefully. Keep pets, bikes and furniture off it for the first few days, and do not drag anything across it. In cool fall weather give it a little longer. Kids drawing in it with sticks is the most common damage in the first hours.
How long before I can drive on new concrete?
Wait about 7 days before driving a car on a new driveway. Heavier vehicles, like a loaded pickup, a camper or a moving truck, should wait longer, and delivery trucks should wait until the slab is near full strength at about 28 days. Avoid parking on the edges and turning the wheels while the car is standing still during the first month.
How long does it take to pour a driveway?
A typical driveway takes 1 to 2 days of prep and one day to pour. Prep covers tear-out and haul-away, digging out soft soil, building and compacting the base and setting the forms. Pour day covers placing, finishing and the first joint cuts. Before all that, allow time for the estimate, any permit and the MISS DIG 811 request, which needs 3 business days.
Can concrete be poured in the rain?
Light rain before the pour is not a problem, but concrete should not be poured in steady rain. Rain on the surface while it is being finished washes out the cement and weakens the top. If a storm comes in after the pour, the crew covers the slab with plastic. When the forecast shows steady rain on pour day, the pour is moved.
Is it ever too hot to pour concrete here?
Lincoln Park summers bring hot, humid days, and the risk on those days is the surface drying too fast. It is rarely too hot to pour at all, but a careful crew starts early in the morning, dampens the base, may use a set-slowing admixture and keeps the slab wet or covered as it cures. The worst days are hot, dry and windy at the same time.
Can concrete be poured in cold or freezing weather?
Yes, but with care. Concrete must not freeze in its first few days, or it can lose much of its strength and flake badly. Below about 40 degrees, a crew uses a hot-water or accelerated mix and covers the slab with insulated blankets. Concrete must never be poured on frozen ground. Late November through March is usually too cold for outdoor flatwork in Lincoln Park.
What is the best time of year to pour concrete in Michigan?
Late spring through early fall is the best time to pour concrete in Michigan. The ground has thawed and dried out a little, nights stay above freezing, and the slab gets time to cure before its first winter. Spring books up fast, so get on the schedule early. A pour in late September or early October still gives a slab a few weeks to cure before salt season.
Can I use salt or deicer on new concrete?
Do not use rock salt or other deicers on concrete in its first winter. Salt and freeze-thaw are hardest on young concrete and can flake the surface fast. Use sand for grip and a plastic shovel. After the first year, use deicer sparingly. Avoid ones with ammonium sulfate or ammonium nitrate, which attack concrete. Rinse salt slush off aprons and garage floors on mild days.
To get a price for your own property, book a free on-site estimate. Call (313) 889-7953, or text a photo of the concrete to that number.