[JerryLBell]

My wife and I recently bought a brand new house in The Villages. The floor in the lanai is just raw concrete and not so attractive. We'd like to put a nice finish on it and have gone as far as getting bids from some providers recommended by members of TOTV. A friend, who is NO expert on concrete and doesn't pretend to be, brought up the idea she'd heard that you should really let concrete cure very thoroughly before putting on a finish and that "very thoroughly" can actually mean "several years".

Has anybody heard if there's any truth in this? Have you had a finish put on your new concrete and later regretted it because of something to do with incomplete curing?

Thanks in advance for any helpful replies!

[villagetinker]

We are putting in a birdcage, I called Driveways by Jay (does excellent work) and asked him about doing the birdcage like he did our driveway. I told me the "aging" would be one month, then it could be coated.

[Jima64]

Can tell you that concrete does not take "several years" to cure. If it did it would really slow most home building down.

[mulligan]

Concrete takes 28 days to cure 100% It is a specific chemical reaction when the portland cement is hydrated ( mixed with water). It doesn't matter whether you pour a patio slab, or dump it in the lake. 28 days later it is 100 % cured.

[Jima64]

Originally Posted by mulligan

Concrete takes 28 days to cure 100% It is a specific chemical reaction when the portland cement is hydrated ( mixed with water). It doesn't matter whether you pour a patio slab, or dump it in the lake. 28 days later it is 100 % cured.

The portland cement google results say it gains most of it's strngth the first seven days.

[JerryLBell]

Well, since the house is at least a few months to go, it sounds like the lanai is more than ready to be finished. Thanks all for the quick and helpful replies!