| What | How long | Who says |
|---|---|---|
| Walking on it | A day or two | What most concreters tell customers |
| Parking a car on it | About a week | What most concreters tell customers |
| Keeping a driveway or path curing | At least 3 days, or 7 days within 1 km of the coast or under heavier traffic | The industry data sheet on residential driveways and paths |
| Stacking materials or plant on a house slab | Not for at least 7 days after the pour | The National Construction Code |
| Reaching the strength it was ordered at | 28 days is when strength is measured | The National Construction Code |
Why isn't it ready when it looks dry?
Because concrete doesn't dry hard. It cures. The cement reacts with the water in the mix, and that reaction is what builds strength. It keeps going for weeks, which is why the National Construction Code measures a slab's strength at 28 days, not the next morning.
A surface can look pale and dry by the afternoon and still be weak underneath. Looks tell you nothing.
What is curing, and whose job is it?
Curing is keeping the moisture in while the concrete gains strength. The concreter does it, and it should be in the quote. Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia, the industry body, has a data sheet on residential concrete driveways and paths. It says a driveway or path for foot traffic and light vehicles should be cured for at least 3 days.
The usual ways are covering the slab with plastic sheeting, spraying on a curing compound, or keeping the surface wet the whole time. The same sheet warns that hosing it morning and afternoon doesn't count, because the surface dries out in between. It also says concrete that dries too fast loses a lot of strength, and that shows up later as a surface that wears and dusts under tyres.
Does living near the beach change it?
Yes. The data sheet stretches the curing time from 3 days to 7 for concrete within 1 km of the coast, and for anything carrying heavier traffic. If you're that close to the beach, say so in your enquiry.
What about the rain?
Once concrete has hardened, rain isn't the worry. Rain on concrete that's still being placed or finished is the problem, and it's why pours get moved. The Bureau of Meteorology's Newcastle Nobbys station averages about 1,120 mm a year, with March to June the wettest months, so an autumn driveway needs some slack in the dates.
Coloured, exposed or sealed: is the wait the same?
The wait before you use it is much the same. How it's cured is not. The data sheet says coloured concrete shouldn't be cured under plastic sheeting, damp sand or wet hessian, because they can leave the colour patchy, and points to a compatible curing compound instead. Black plastic is out for any outdoor slab in hot weather.
Sealer goes on after the curing period, once the slab has dried out enough for it to soak in. So an exposed agg driveway that needs sealing has one more visit in it. Ask when that is.
House slabs and shed slabs
A slab you're building on has its own rule. Under the National Construction Code's housing provisions the slab is kept moist for 7 days, and nothing heavy gets stacked on it for at least 7 days after the pour. Setting out walls and frames can go on in that time. Your builder runs that, not you.
What should you ask before the truck turns up?
- How will it be cured, and for how many days?
- When can we walk on it, and when can the car go back in?
- Is the ute, the caravan or the boat trailer a different answer? It usually is.
- If it needs sealing, when does that happen?
- What do we do if it rains that night?
There are more of these in our guide to what to ask a concreter before you accept a quote.
Thinking about a new driveway or slab?
Tell us what it's for and what will be driving on it, and we'll send a licensed local concreter to quote. The finishes and the steps are on the concrete driveways in Newcastle page. Planning to polish a new slab? Say so before the pour, because the mix and the finishing change: see polished concrete floors. And if an older slab is already wearing or dusting on top, that one's for a concrete repair specialist.
Sources
- National Construction Code 2022, Housing Provisions Part 4.2 (clause 4.2.10 Concrete)
- Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia: Residential Concrete Driveways and Paths (data sheet, 2017)
- Bureau of Meteorology: climate statistics for Newcastle Nobbys Signal Station
These are independent sites. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by them. Each was checked in November 2026.