Websites for concrete contractors.

Walk on it after about 24 to 48 hours, drive a car on it after about seven days, and keep heavy trucks and trailers off for a full 28 days — that is when the concrete reaches its design strength. Driving on it early is one of the few ways to crack a properly built slab.

All concrete cracks; the job is controlling where. We cut or tool control joints at the right spacing and depth so the shrinkage cracks form inside the joints where you will not notice them. What should not happen is random cracking across the middle, which points to a bad base, no reinforcement or joints that were cut too late or too shallow.

Roughly late spring through fall is ideal. Concrete needs to stay above freezing while it sets, so cold-weather pours require blankets, heated enclosures and accelerators, and cost more. Very hot, windy days are their own problem because the surface dries faster than the slab below. We schedule around the forecast rather than the calendar.

Yes for exterior concrete in a salt climate, and no earlier than about 28 days after the pour — sealing green concrete traps moisture and causes exactly the surface scaling you are trying to prevent. Then reseal every couple of years. Also keep de-icing salt off new concrete for the entire first winter.

More than most people ask about, which is why bad driveways are so common. A proper job means the topsoil is stripped out, granular base placed and compacted in lifts, and reinforcement placed at the right height in the slab. That base is why one driveway is still flat at fifteen years and the neighbour's has heaved. Our quotes state the slab thickness and base depth in writing.

Yes — breakout, haul-away and disposal are in our quote, along with the excavation for the new base. If your quote from anyone else does not mention removal and disposal, ask, because it is a real cost that has to land somewhere.