Concrete footings in Laguna Niguel CA - a firm base for whatever you build on top
Planning an addition, a wall or a patio cover and not sure what has to go under it? We'll work out the footing plan and pour it.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- Expect a reply within 1 business day.
What do concrete footings involve in Laguna Niguel?
Concrete footings are the concrete we dig and pour below the ground line so a room addition, retaining wall, pool or other structure in Laguna Niguel has something solid to sit on, built to either a soils report or the city's basic foundation requirements.
Most people who call us about footings are adding a room, building a wall or putting up a cover, and they want to know what's going under it before they spend anything. The price moves with how wide and deep the footings run, how much digging the ground takes and how firm the soil is. The schedule turns mostly on whether your project needs a soils report and how long the city's permit review takes. I'll come look at your site and give you a written quote that spells out what's in it and what isn't.
Does your project need new concrete footings?
Adding a room
A new room needs its own footings under every wall before framing can start.
Building a retaining wall
A wall holding back soil needs a footing sized to keep it from leaning forward.
Putting up a patio cover
Posts carrying a roof or pergola need concrete under them so they don't sink or tip.
Garden wall leaning over
A wall that's tilting or splitting often has a footing too small or shallow for its soil.
How we build concrete footings
Before anyone digs, I help you sort out what will guide your footings, an engineer's report or the city's basic foundation requirements, because that choice shapes both the plan and the price. If you already have a report or plans, we build to them. Then we mark out the lines and dig the trenches to the depth and width the plan calls for. We set the rebar, the steel bars that hold the concrete together when the ground pushes on it, and pour.
Footings often come with other work. When the house you're adding onto has already settled, we may suggest foundation raising so the old side sits level before the new footing meets it. When a trench has to cross an existing patio or slab, concrete cutting lets us open just the strip we need and leave the rest alone.
Continuous footings
These run as one long trench under the walls of a new room or garage, which suits most additions. They spread the weight of a wall evenly along the ground.
Pad footings
A square block of concrete under each post suits patio covers, pergolas and decks. Each pad carries one post's load, so its size matters more than its length.
What happens after you call about footings?
Call or send the form
Call (949) 312-6257 or use the form, and tell us what you're building and whether you have a soils report or plans. We'll set a time for me to come out.
Walk the site together
I show you what I see in the ground and the slope and talk through what I'd do and why. You get a written quote that lists what's included and what isn't, so there are no surprises later.
Paperwork first, then the pour
We sort out any city paperwork before the crew shows up, and the schedule is built around that review. Then the crew digs, sets the steel and pours to the plan in your quote.
Walk through the finished work
When the work is done, I walk you through what's normal for new concrete and how to look after it. You'll know which small cracks are expected and which aren't.
Which kind of concrete footing fits your project?
Standard footings, unless your ground or design says otherwise.
Laguna Niguel asks for a soils report whenever the foundation goes beyond the ordinary, such as piles, caissons, deepened footings or a post-tensioned slab, which is a slab squeezed tight with steel cables after the pour. Picking one of those adds the report to your job, so it changes the plan and the budget before anyone digs.
Footings get buried the day they're poured, which makes them the first place people want to save money. I'd rather trim something you can see and change later than skimp on what's holding the house up. I also won't steer you toward a heavier design your project doesn't need.
Examples of concrete work
Look through these examples of concrete work, from footings and walls to slabs and steps, to get a feel for how the trade's work looks once it's finished.
Get a written quote for your footings
Tell us what you're building, the address and whether you have a soils report or plans. We reply within one business day, and I'll come out for a free on-site estimate with no obligation.
Why Laguna Niguel homeowners call Select Laguna Niguel Concrete for footings
I write every estimate myself
I come out to every job and write the estimate myself, and a lead hand runs the crew on site. I'm back for the pours and the final walkthrough, so the person who made the plan sees it go in.
Fully licensed and insured
We're fully licensed and insured, and we're glad to show you the paperwork before you sign. Footings carry everything built on top, so it's worth knowing who's pouring yours.
Concrete mixed to city rules
Laguna Niguel sets the cement type and strength for any concrete that touches soil, whether or not there's a soils report. We order every footing pour to that mix, so it's settled before the truck shows up.
Plain answers before we dig
We've been in business since 2020, and I explain each job in plain words before we start so you know what you're paying for. Satisfaction guaranteed. Call (949) 312-6257, use the form or email info@concretelagunaniguel.com when you're ready.
Questions about footings in Laguna Niguel
How do I know if my project needs a soils report in Laguna Niguel?
The city requires a soils report for any new construction, for additions closer than 10 feet to the top or bottom of a slope, and for the special footing designs covered above. If your addition or remodel meets none of those, the city accepts its minimum construction requirements instead, and the foundation plan shows them, including how far below natural grade the footings have to go. I'll help you work out which side of that line you're on at the estimate.
How much do concrete footings cost?
Installed concrete footings across the US usually run about $4 to $20 per linear foot, and that's a national market figure, not our price. Concrete, labor and digging drive it, so a wide, deep footing in weak soil can cost several times what a shallow one does. For your own number, I'll come out and write you a quote that lists what's in it and what isn't.
Do I need a grading permit to dig footings in Laguna Niguel?
Not when the digging is for footings under a building permit, because the city treats footing excavation as an exception to its grading permit. The building permit described below is what covers the work.
Who can legally pour concrete footings in California?
A contractor licensed in the state's concrete classification, which covers forming, pouring, placing and finishing concrete, can take on footing work. If a general builder takes a contract for footings alone, it needs that classification itself or has to hand the work to a licensed concrete contractor, so it's fair to ask a builder which way they'll handle it.
How are new footings for an addition tied into an old foundation?
For additions built to the city's minimum requirements, the new footings and slab are pinned into the existing foundation with steel dowels set into holes drilled in the old concrete. That ties the two together so they resist soil movement as one piece instead of pulling apart.
What causes concrete footings to crack or shift?
Most of the time it's the soil moving under them, since clay that swells when it gets wet and shrinks as it dries can cause anything from minor to serious damage to a building. Research on footings in that kind of soil points to plants, drainage and uneven construction as big factors in how they hold up. Some hairline cracking is normal in any concrete, and I'll show you what's worth keeping an eye on.
Want to know which path your footings take?
I'll come out, look at the ground with you and leave you a written quote showing what's included and what isn't.
Work that often goes with footings
Concrete footings and the ground in Laguna Niguel
Laguna Niguel requires a building permit for every structure, so footings for an addition, a wall or a pool go through the city before we pour. When we're your contractor, we pull that permit and handle the paperwork ourselves, plan the schedule around the city's review and tell you early if anything has to come from you, like an approval from your HOA. One more rule worth knowing is that where soil or a structure has already failed on a lot, any construction or repair there needs a soils report first, because the ground under the new footings has already shown it can move.
We're based in Laguna Niguel and work across Orange County, and the hillside lots here look a lot like what we see on jobs in Aliso Viejo and Mission Viejo. If you'd like to know whether your property sits in a state earthquake fault zone or seismic hazard zone before we talk about what goes under your footings, the state's EQ Zapp map lets you check.