I am having a concrete driveway installed.

1) How long should I wait after installation before using the driveway?

2) Also, should the new concrete be covered with plastic to enhance curing?

 

About 2 to 3 days for a 4" to 6" drive way. keeping it wet with a waterhose for the 2nd day will let cure slower and will cut down on cracks.Covering it plastic will help hold some water in while it cures. But after the end of the 2nd day just keeping it wet is about all you can do for it. On day 4 it should be good to go..Good luck.

 

Absolutely do not cover it with plastic! The concrete will cure out very discolored and with a visible pattern of wrinkled plastic if you do so. The impression of the plastic will not be there, just the discolored pattern. If this happens, it can take 10 or 15 years for the concrete to age enough that it will not be an eyesore.
Tell the contractor to spray a cure and seal compound on it immediately after finishing, then wait a minimum of a week before driving on it.

Pecos

 

I was unaware that the plastic would discolor the cement. I coverd my driveway and a shop floor. no change that I could see. I didn't cover it untill the next day. Could that be why it didn't discolor?

 

Possibly. It may have already been partially cured when you covered it.
When you cover freshly finished concrete with plastic, the plastic has wrinkles and bubbles under it where the plastic is not in direct contact with the slab. In those spots, the concrete dries, whereas where the plastic contacts the slab it stays damp. The water comes out of the slab from evaporation, then is trapped between the plastic and the slab. The areas that dry out usually stay MUCH lighter than the darker areas and leave a very mottled surface that can remain that way for many years. I'm glad yours worked out though.

Pecos

 

Thanks, everyone, for the replies.