Concrete footings in La Palma CA - a footing that holds your addition steady
Planning an addition, a patio cover or a block wall that needs footings first? We dig, form and pour them to your plans.
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What goes into a concrete footing for my project?
Concrete footings are the strips and pads of concrete buried under a wall, an addition or a post, and they carry that weight down into firm ground so the structure doesn't shift. In La Palma, CA, we handle concrete footings as one job, from digging the trench to finished concrete, and the city's plan review usually sets the pace more than the pour does.
If you're reading this, you probably have drawings for a room addition, a garage, a block wall or a patio cover, and they call for footings before anything else goes up. The price moves with how many feet of footing there are, how deep they go, how hard your ground is to dig and whether an old patio has to come out first, while the schedule turns more on the city's review and inspection dates than on our crew. I'll put all of that in a written estimate after I've seen your lot, and if your plans call for a full slab instead, that's our slab foundation work.
How we build concrete footings
I'll ask for the address, your plans and what the footing will carry right at the start, because a footing under a two-story wall and one under a patio post are very different jobs. Then we lay out the lines, dig the trench, clean and pack the bottom of it, which is the subgrade, the dirt the footing actually sits on, and set the forms. We pour early in the day when it's hot so the concrete doesn't dry out too fast, then keep it damp while it cures, the waiting period while it gains strength before anything gets built on top. Here's the trade-off I'll always name. Once the wall goes up, nobody ever sees a footing again, so the trench work is the last place I'd cut to save money, and I'd rather spend your budget on a firm, clean bottom than on anything you can see.
Footing jobs often come with other work attached. If the new footing runs through an existing patio or driveway, our concrete cutting crew saws a clean opening so the rest of the slab stays put. If part of your house has already settled and the addition has to tie into it, we'll talk about foundation raising before we pour.
What La Palma asks of a concrete footing job
Footing work here goes through the city, and the city says almost all improvement plans need plan check before it issues a permit, so plan on a review before we dig. Whether your particular footing needs a permit is the city's call, not ours, and the city's building and safety office runs permits and inspections online and takes calls at 714-690-3340 if you want help with an application. When a job needs a permit, we handle the application, book the city inspections and tell you ahead of time if you need to be home for one.
We're based in La Palma and work in the cities around it, and most of the footings we pour are for additions, patio covers and block walls behind houses with tight side yards, so a lot of the digging is by hand and the dirt gets wheeled out. We run into the same kind of lots on jobs in Cypress and Buena Park, though each city runs its own permits.
Footing work, start to finish
Get a written estimate for your footings
I'll get back to you within one business day, set a time to come out, and give you a written estimate after I've seen the lot. The estimate is free and done at your property, with no pressure and no obligation.
(562) 586-9385Questions about footings in La Palma
How much does a concrete footing cost per linear foot?
An installed residential strip footing usually runs about $5 to $19 per linear foot across the US, and that covers the concrete, labor, digging and forms. That's a national figure, not our price, so your own number comes from the written estimate after I've seen your lot.
What causes a house footing to move after it's poured?
Soil that swells when it's wet and shrinks when it dries can do it, lifting the house above and then letting it settle, often more than a home can handle. It's worth asking early whether your lot's soil behaves that way, and I'll bring it up at the estimate visit because it shapes how the footing gets planned.
When does La Palma do building inspections, and do I need to be home?
The city inspects Monday through Thursday mornings until noon, with no inspections on Fridays, and whether you need to be there depends on the type of inspection. It generally wants 24 hours' notice through its online portal, though a call before inspections start may get a same-day visit. Since we book them, we'll tell you ahead of time if you need to be home.
Can an unlicensed worker pour a small footing in California?
Only on very small work. California lets someone without a license take a job under $1,000, but only when it needs no permit and that person employs no one, so a footing that needs a permit or a hired crew falls outside it. The state licensing board describes a concrete contractor as one who forms, pours, places, finishes and installs concrete work, and that's exactly what a footing is.
How do I compare concrete footing bids from different contractors?
Ask every contractor how deep the footing will go, because depth is the biggest reason footing prices vary so much from one bid to the next. We write the depth into our estimate for that reason, so you can line ours up against the others fairly.
What should a home improvement contract for footing work include in California?
It has to carry information, notices and disclosures that protect you as the homeowner, so read it closely before you sign. Any change to it later must be in writing, legible and easy to understand, and it must tell you about your right to cancel.
Send us your plans for a La Palma footing
If your plans are still in the city's review, call (562) 586-9385 anyway, because I can look at the lot now and we'll be ready to dig once the permit comes through.