Concrete footings in Baldwin Park CA - a solid base matched to the ground under it
Adding a wall, a patio cover or a room and need something solid under it? We plan the footing around your ground first.
What a concrete footing does under your project
A concrete footing is the band or pad of concrete at the bottom of a wall, a post or an addition, and its job is to spread that weight out into the ground. Almost all of it ends up buried, which is why I walk you through each step, because once the dirt goes back you won't see most of what you paid for.
We prepare the subgrade, the dirt the footing sits on, then set the forms and the rebar, the steel bars that hold the concrete together, before we pour, work out the air pockets, finish the top and let it cure. A footing can be a job of its own, or the first piece of a slab foundation or a full foundation installation.
On a footing job in Baldwin Park, the price mostly moves with the size of the footing, the digging and what the ground needs before we pour, since a wider or deeper footing takes more concrete and labor at the same length. The schedule usually turns on the permit and inspection, when the job needs them. My estimate spells out what's included and what isn't.
What a concrete footing can support or fix
A base for walls and posts
A block wall, a patio cover or a set of steps puts a lot of weight on a small patch of ground. A footing spreads that load wider and sits on firm, packed soil, so the structure has something steady under it instead of loose dirt.
The first pour for an addition
Before a room addition or a new garage can go up, the footings set the line and level everything else is built from. If they're off, the walls and floor above carry the mistake, so we check the layout before anything is poured.
Replacing a footing that failed
An old wall that leans or cracks often has a footing under it that was too shallow, too small or never there at all. We break out what's left, dig down to better ground and pour a new one built for the load it carries.
Footings, foundation raising or concrete cutting?
If you're building a new wall, cover or room, you need a footing. If a house or wall that's already standing has sunk or tilted, that's usually foundation raising, lifting what's there back toward level, and I'll tell you once I've looked whether new footings belong in that fix.
When the footing has to go through a slab, a driveway or a patio that's staying, we start with concrete cutting, sawing a clean opening instead of breaking out more than we need. That keeps the rest of your concrete in one piece and the patch around the new footing small.
What to settle before we dig the footing
What the ground needs
Clay soil swells when it gets wet and shrinks as it dries, and that movement is often more than a house can handle. That's why we settle what the ground under your footing needs before anything gets poured.
Where the money goes
Nobody sees a footing once it's backfilled, so the digging, the packed ground and the steel are the first things people want to trim. I'd rather keep those and save somewhere else, because a footing that settles can't be fixed without breaking it out.
Access and your yard
We'll talk through how we get equipment and concrete to the spot, and whether a fence, a sprinkler line or a planter is in the way. I want your yard left the way we found it, apart from the new work, so we plan for that before we dig.
Footing work in Baldwin Park
Baldwin Park's Building and Safety Division issues building permits, checks plans and inspects the work, and home building here follows the California Residential Code, which the city adopted as its own. Whether your footing needs a permit is something to check with that office, and when a job needs one, we take care of it as part of the work.
We're based in Baldwin Park and work in the cities around it, including West Covina and El Monte. If you're adding a block wall, a patio cover, steps or a room, tell us what's going on top and whether a slab or driveway is in the way, since both change how we dig and form the footing.
Questions people ask about concrete footings
How much do concrete footings cost per linear foot?
Across the US, installed residential footings usually run about $5 to $20 per linear foot, covering the concrete, labor, digging and forms. Treat that as a national guide, not our price, since the size of the footing and your ground change the number. Your own figure comes in writing after I walk the job.
What license should a concrete footing contractor have in California?
Look for a state contractor license in the C-8 Concrete class, which covers forming, pouring, placing and finishing concrete. That class leaves out anyone whose only work is setting steel bars, so ask who handles the concrete itself. We're licensed and fully insured.
Do I need a licensed contractor for a small footing job in California?
In California you do whenever the work needs a permit of any kind or the person doing it hires workers, even on a job under $1,000. So a small footing for a post or a short wall still calls for a licensed contractor once a permit applies.
How can I check if my Baldwin Park property is in an earthquake hazard zone?
You can look up your address on the state's EQ Zapp map from a phone, tablet or computer. The state sends its hazard zone maps to cities and counties for planning construction, and local agencies can be stricter than state law, so it's worth knowing before we plan your footing.
Will a new concrete footing crack or settle like the old one did?
It's much less likely to when the ground under it is dug out, packed and planned for, since loose dirt or moving soil is usually why an old footing settled. We settle what your ground needs before the pour and put the budget into that prep.
Who comes out to look at a concrete footing job?
I do. I come out myself to walk the job and write the estimate, and I'm on site running our crew when the footing goes in, so the person who planned it is there for the pour.
Tell us about your concrete footing job
Send the lot address, a rough length of footing in linear feet and any plans. We'll reply within one business day, and I'll come out for a free, no-obligation estimate.
(626) 412-8829Mon–Fri: 6 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–11 PM