Our house was finished in March and we just got done pouring our driveway, front and back steps, and turn-around. We did not go through our builder but a contractor that is a cement contractor. We bid the job; got 3 bids and made our choice and now it is done!!! The contractor will answer any questions about settling, etc.

Good Luck!

Our builder told us to wait at least a year before we did any hard surface and we are glad we waited. We still have our gravel driveway and gravel courtyard and will probablly do pavers in the courtyard next year.

The issue we ran into was settling and drainage. When the house was finished, the excavator shot the grades to make sure everything was pitched right - and at first all the water ran off the way it was supposed to. However, over time the ground settled, we had some run off and erosion as we were getting our lawn established, and we discovered a number of areas that had to be re-graded. Also found a spot where we needed a culvert.

We are tired of the gravel but now that everything has settled and water is running properly, we feel we are ready to put a hard surface down - at least in the front of the house.

Well - I think the answers here are a bit unusual. The vast majority of houses built around here have a concrete driveway from day 1. I'm sure it depends what part of the country you are in and what the soil is like.

So my answer is about a month before you move in. Timed so that no big trucks will drive on it for a few weeks. My builder usually does it just after granite is delivered but in our case we did it right before. The granite truck didn't use the driveway.

Thanks for the input. Our was built on solid shell so I think that we are pretty stable. I am just tired of dealing with the mud.:)

You will want that concrete to setup for about 30 days before you put any real weight on it like a car.. so plan accordingly. As long as the soil is compacted and you have plenty of expansion joints, you should be fine.

Here is a link that might be useful: From Plat to Place