New concrete driveway? What to expect in the first year

The first couple of days

Keep people, pets and bikes off it for the first day or two while it sets. Marks in fresh concrete are permanent.

Driving on it

Give it about a week before you drive a car on it. Heavier vehicles, like moving trucks or trailers, should wait closer to a month, while the concrete reaches full strength.

Small cracks are normal

Concrete shrinks a little as it cures. That's what control joints are for: they give cracks a straight, planned place to happen. A hairline crack along a joint is the driveway doing what it was designed to do.

The first winter

Skip de-icing salt on a new driveway through its first winter, and never use de-icers with ammonium nitrate or ammonium sulfate. Plain sand gives you traction without damaging the surface.

Clearing snow

Plastic shovels and rubber-edged blades are fine. Metal blades can gouge the surface.

Keeping it clean

Rinse off oil spills and wet leaves before they stain, and give it a wash with a hose and a stiff broom a couple of times a year.