CD Designs Blog

Although concrete is remarkably durable, it does require a minimal amount of care. After your concrete has been installed, and any cosmetic procedures – staining or pattern imprinting for example – have been completed, it must cure and then be sealed. This sealing will usually be completed by the contractors; make sure that it happens.

Concrete can sometimes be susceptible to damage caused by absorbing liquids and/or chemical products. Salt and calcium chloride are two of the main chemical contributors to cosmetic damage. It’s impossible to avoid your driveway coming into contact with these two substances, but by properly cleaning (using a low-pressure stream of water) and caring for your driveway, the situation is entirely controllable. You must take care to reseal your concrete every 1 or 2 years; by doing this you safeguard against potential surface wear and tear.

There are a two other things to look out for:

During winter, you should be careful not to allow snow or ice to build up on your driveway.

You should make sure that you don’t apply or spill any de-icers which contain ammonium sulfate or ammonium nitrate onto the surface of your concrete, as they will damage it. Some garden fertilizers also contain these chemicals, and so should be kept off your concrete, as should fertilizers containing urea. Although ideally your driveway should be kept free of any de-icing compounds at all during the first winter after it has been put down, during subsequent winters non-damaging de-icers can be safely applied.

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