Planning a wall, deck or addition and unsure what goes under it? We match the footing to the load and your soil.
Concrete footings in Vacaville are the concrete base under a wall, pier or column, and their job is to spread the weight of what you build into the soil so it has something solid to stand on.
Most footing calls come from someone adding something heavy, like a block wall, a patio cover, a deck or a room, who wants to know what has to go under it so it doesn't settle or lean later. The price moves with how much footing the job needs, how hard the digging is, what we find once we're in the ground and how easily we can get concrete to the spot. The schedule turns mostly on the permit, the inspections and the weather, and the estimate you get from me is in writing, with the work spelled out line by line.
I come out to look at your site and write the estimate myself, and I run the job once we start. Our own crew does the work, so the person who answered your questions on the walk-through is the one checking the trenches before concrete goes in.
We've been in business since 2013, and we're best known for slowing down and walking you through a job before anything gets poured. On footings, that means talking through the load, the ground and where your water goes, and if something isn't settled yet, I'll tell you instead of guessing.
We're licensed and insured. California gives concrete its own contractor class, the C-8, for contractors who form, pour, place and finish concrete, and forming and pouring footings sits right inside that work, from the open trench to the finished top.
That's our promise on footings too. When you're ready, call (707) 514-3389 or send the form, and tell me what the footing will carry, a wall or a pier or column, so I come out with the right questions.
We reply within one business day, whether you call or send this form. I come out, look at the site and what the footing has to carry, and give you a free estimate in writing with the work spelled out line by line. There's no pressure and no obligation.
Inside city limits, the City of Vacaville's Building Division reviews and inspects new construction and changes to existing structures. When your job needs a permit, we handle the application and set up the inspections, and we check your address with that office instead of guessing what applies. We keep the permit and approved plans at the job too, because the inspector won't inspect without them.
Two things shape the calendar here. PG&E asks for a call to 811 at least two working days before any digging, which is how those underground lines get marked, and our rain normally falls between October and April with summers mostly dry, so a winter job can end up waiting on wet trenches. We pour footings across Vacaville and in Fairfield, Davis and the other cities around it, and the calls are much the same everywhere, garden and retaining walls, posts for covers and decks, and footings for builders' slabs and additions.
I can't give a fair number before seeing the site, because footings vary so much from job to job. A long wall footing and a handful of post pads price very differently, and hard digging, tight access for the concrete or ground that needs fixing all add work. You'll see each of those spelled out in the estimate.
Most of the soil in and around Vacaville is expansive, the kind that swells when it gets wet and shrinks as it dries, and shallow footings that spread their load across the ground are typically very prone to damage from that movement. The usual advice on soil like that is to keep water away from the ground around the foundation, starting with a surface that slopes away from the structure. That's why I check where your water runs before we plan anything.
One trade guide advises waiting at least 3 to 7 days before soil is pushed back against a new footing or foundation wall. The wait keeps the pressure of the dirt from shoving concrete that hasn't finished curing. We plan the backfill around the pour so nobody rushes it.
According to one trade guide, the extra depth gets filled with compacted engineered fill, which is soil or gravel placed and packed to a set standard, or with poured concrete, not loose dirt. That's because a footing has to sit on undisturbed soil or engineered fill, and the same guide notes that over-digging adds material to the job. It's one more reason we dig carefully.
Know what the footing will carry, a wall or a pier or column, because that decides the type before anything else. Have any plans or drawings handy and mark roughly where the work will go. Then call (707) 514-3389 or send the form, and I'll set a time to come out.
