Foundation installation in Los Angeles CA - built to suit the ground under your house
Building on clay or a slope and unsure what foundation it needs? We match the design to your soils report before anything is poured.
What does a new foundation involve in Los Angeles?
Foundation installation in Los Angeles is forming, reinforcing, pouring and finishing the concrete your house or addition sits on. It's either a slab on the ground or a raised foundation, built to suit the soil and slope of your lot so the ground moves the house as little as possible.
Most people call us while they're planning a new house, an addition or a rebuild, before the plans are final. The price moves with the foundation type your soil and slope call for, the size of the footprint, how much digging and steel the plan needs and how easy the lot is to reach. The schedule depends mostly on getting the soils report and permit sorted, then on the dig-out, the inspections and the weather on pour day. If your plans call for a simple slab, our slab foundation building page goes into that work, and either way your own figure comes from the estimate once I've seen the lot.
How we handle foundation installation
Before I settle on a design, I ask for your soils report, because the soil and the slope decide which kind of foundation will hold up. On hillside lots we work from the engineer's plan for the site. Then our crew digs out to the depth the plan calls for and packs the subgrade, the soil the concrete rests on, so it doesn't settle with loose dirt later. We build the forms, tie in the rebar, the steel that carries the load and keeps cracks tight, and set any pipes or conduit that have to run through the concrete. We schedule the pour to stay out of the midday heat, then finish it and let it cure, keeping it damp and undisturbed so it gains strength instead of drying out weak. If a budget gets tight, I'd rather trim something you can see than the base and steel, because nobody gets a second look at those once the house goes up.
A foundation rarely stands alone. Many houses and additions also need concrete footings under posts, walls or a raised floor, and we pour them as part of the same plan. On commercial or rental property, a new building usually comes with parking, and concrete parking lot building uses the same dig-out and base work, so it's easier to plan both at once.
Slab on grade
A slab poured right on prepared ground suits flat lots with stable soil, because it's the simplest foundation to build and keeps the floor close to the yard. It's the usual pick when the soils report shows the clay doesn't swell much.
Raised foundation with a crawl space
A raised floor on footings and piers leaves a crawl space, so later plumbing and wiring work is easier to reach. It suits gentle slopes and soil that moves, though it takes more work than a slab.
Engineered hillside or deep foundation
Steep lots and soft ground call for a design from the engineer, such as stepped footings or piers drilled down to firmer soil. It's more work up front, and it's the kind I'd want on ground that won't carry a standard slab.
Foundation installation on Los Angeles ground
Who issues your permit depends on where your property sits. If it's in unincorporated LA County, LA County Public Works issues it, and if it's under another jurisdiction, a different office may handle it. That's why I ask for your address on the first call. When a job needs a permit, we figure out which office covers your address and handle the application and inspections for you.
The ground also changes a lot across the basin. One engineering firm notes that parts of the Los Angeles basin are mapped as prone to liquefaction, and the soils report may then call for deep foundations such as drilled piers or stone columns instead of shallow footings. We're based in Los Angeles and work across the city and many of the cities around it, and the soils report steers the design on jobs in Glendale and Pasadena the same way it does here.
Foundations from forms to pour
Why call us for foundation work
The owner gives your estimate
I come out to look at your lot and give the estimate, and I lead the crew that builds the foundation. The person who explained the plan to you is the one on site when the forms go up.
Pouring concrete since 2013
We've been in business since 2013, so 13 years, and I learned the trade from my dad, hauling and mixing before I ever finished a slab. That's where I picked up the habit of spending my time on the parts you won't see later.
Fully licensed and insured in California
We're fully licensed and insured. California's contractors board counts forming, pouring, placing and finishing concrete as concrete contractor work, and that's exactly what a foundation job is.
Flat basin lots and steep hillsides
Around Los Angeles we work on flat lots in the basin and steep ones in the hills, and the dig-out, forms and access change a lot between them. I walk the lot with you so the estimate fits the ground you actually have, not a typical one.
The ground under your house matters more than anything we pour on top of it. When you're ready, send us your address and any soils report or call (213) 329-1820.
(213) 329-1820Get a foundation estimate for your lot
Send your address, your lot's slope and any soils report you have, and we'll reply within one business day to set a time for me to come out. Estimates are free, done on site and come with no obligation.
Foundation questions from Los Angeles owners
What is the best way to choose between a slab and a raised foundation in Los Angeles?
Your soils report should drive the choice, because one engineering firm says it depends heavily on budget, design goals and the expansion index in that report, a measure of how much the clay swells. On expansive soil, a conventional slab on grade can be expected to move unevenly. A structural slab built over void forms essentially eliminates that movement when enough of a gap is kept under the first floor, so it's worth asking about.
What changes when you build a foundation on a hillside lot in Los Angeles?
You'll usually need an engineered foundation on a steep lot. One engineering firm says neither a standard slab nor a shallow crawl space works on lots over 8% slope without major site work, and points to stepped foundations, drilled piers or a downhill partial basement. For hillside grading, the City of Los Angeles calls for a soils engineer and an engineering geologist to explore, unless the city waives it when the plans and site show the grading meets code.
Does a seismic hazard zone affect a new home foundation in Los Angeles?
It can, because the state says a mapped Seismic Hazard Zone means weak soil or rock may lie beneath the property, and that ground can fail in an earthquake and damage buildings unless proper precautions are taken during grading and construction. State seismic hazard rules exempt single-family frame homes up to two stories that aren't part of a development of four or more units. Local agencies can be stricter than state law, so ask your local office which rules apply.
How much does foundation installation cost in Los Angeles?
There's no single price, because the cost follows the foundation your soils report and slope call for. Drilled piers and stepped hillside work cost more than a slab on flat, stable ground, and a raised floor adds footings and framing that a slab doesn't need. Hard access, long pipe runs and extra steel push it up too. Your figure comes from the estimate after I've walked the lot.
How do I plan plumbing under a new slab foundation?
Settle the pipe layout before the pour, because any plumbing routed in a slab is locked in for the life of the building. Moving a drain later means cutting through concrete. We go over the plan with you and your plumber so pipes and sleeves sit where the house needs them before we pour.
What are drilled piers and when does a foundation need them?
Drilled piers are deep shafts a drilling rig bores through a layer of expansive clay until they reach stable, non-expansive soil or bedrock, then filled with concrete and steel. They're used when the soil near the surface moves too much or is too weak to carry the house on its own. Your soils report and the engineer's plan tell us whether your lot needs them.
Plan your foundation, footings and slab with us
Call (213) 329-1820 before your plans are final, so the foundation fits the ground while the design is still easy to change.
