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A plain concrete driveway in the Winston-Salem area should be sealed every 2 to 5 years, and decorative or stamped concrete toward the short end of that range. The first application comes after the slab has fully cured, which means waiting around 28 days after a new pour, and never before. Sealing matters more in the Piedmont than in warmer parts of the state because our winters cycle above and below freezing repeatedly, and sealer is what keeps that water out of the surface while it happens.
Updated Aug 17, 2026 · Winston-Salem Concrete Co, Winston-Salem, NC
Concrete is porous. Water soaks into the surface, and in winter that absorbed water freezes, expands about 9 percent, and pops small flakes off the surface. Repeated over enough cycles that becomes scaling: the rough, pitted look of an old unsealed drive.
Sealer closes the surface so water beads and runs off instead of soaking in. It also resists oil stains, slows fading on coloured concrete, and keeps deicing salt, the other big surface killer, from carrying into the slab.
How often depends on what the surface is and what it takes: vehicle traffic wears sealer faster than foot traffic, and film-forming decorative sealers wear faster than penetrating ones.
| Surface | Reseal roughly every |
|---|---|
| Plain broom-finish driveway | 3 to 5 years |
| Plain patio or walkway, foot traffic only | 4 to 5 years |
| Exposed aggregate | 2 to 4 years |
| Stamped or coloured concrete | 2 to 3 years |
| New pour, first application | About 28 days after the pour, once fully cured |
The water test is the simple one. Pour a cup of water on the slab: if it beads or sits on the surface, the sealer is working; if it darkens the concrete and soaks straight in, the surface is open and it is time.
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