Not sure what should go under your new house or addition? We start with the soil and the plans, then build what they call for.
Foundation installation in Vacaville is building the base your house or addition sits on. Most often that's a slab poured right on the ground or a crawl space with room underneath, and less often a basement, piers and beams, or deep piers drilled down to firmer ground. Form & Pour Vacaville Concrete builds foundations in Vacaville and the cities around it, and the job starts with the soil, not the concrete.
Most people who call us have a lot, a set of plans in progress and a question about which foundation to choose, and that's the right time to call, before the design is locked in. The price moves with the foundation type, the size and shape of the house, how deep the soil report says we have to go and how easily trucks and a crew can get onto the lot. The schedule turns mostly on what happens before we dig, which is the soil work, the engineer's plans and the city's review of them. If you've already settled on a slab, our slab foundation building page goes deeper on that one, and either way your own figure comes in the written estimate I give you, with the work spelled out line by line.
I come out myself to look at the lot and write the estimate, and I run the job once it starts. Our own crew does the digging, forming and pouring, so the person who told you how it would go is the one on site making sure it does.
I started this business here in 2013, after years of summers on concrete crews learning from finishers who'd been at it for decades. That's 13 years of answering the same questions about slabs and footings, and I'm still glad to answer any of them twice.
We're licensed and insured, and you're welcome to ask about both before anything gets signed. A foundation is one of the biggest checks you'll write on a house, so I'd rather you check us out than just take my word for it.
We're best known for slowing down and explaining a job before anything gets poured, and if part of yours isn't settled yet, I'll say so instead of guessing. Satisfaction guaranteed on every job. Call (707) 514-3389 or send the form to get started.
We reply within one business day, and the estimate is free, done on site and comes with no pressure and no obligation. After you call or send the form, I come out to walk the lot with you, then put the work in writing line by line. It helps to have the property address, what you're building and any soil report handy.
In Vacaville, permits go through the city's Building Division, where contractors register for online permit access and owners pulling their own owner/builder permit register for a Public User account. When your job needs a permit, we handle the application and set up the inspections with the city, and we check your address with them instead of guessing. Expect the plan review to cover the foundation plan, the structural calculations and where the structural pieces sit, so those drawings are part of the job from the start. The city's design criteria also put Vacaville in Seismic Design Category D, the earthquake rating the engineer has to design the foundation for, and if your lot is in a flood zone, the city asks you to contact Public Works.
Around here we pour foundations for new houses, additions and garages on everything from infill lots to bigger rural parcels, and on almost every one the soil report ends up steering more decisions than the house plans do. We do the same work in Fairfield and Davis, and since each city has its own permit office, we check with whichever one your address falls under.
There's no honest number until I've seen the lot and the plans, because the soil report and the foundation type drive the cost more than anything else. Deeper footings, piers or a post-tensioned design add to it, while a simple footprint on good ground with easy truck access keeps it down. Your written estimate spells out each piece line by line, so you can see what you're paying for.
Soil movement is the main cause, and most of the soil in and around Vacaville is expansive, meaning it swells when it gets wet and shrinks as it dries. That's the movement that can crack, settle or tilt a slab, so we treat the soil report as the starting point and build to what the engineer designs for it.
Start with the soil work, because one engineering guide says foundation design always begins with a geotechnical investigation, meaning borings or test pits with the soil samples tested in a lab. The engineer designs the foundation from those results, and then the plans go to the city for review. Bringing us in during that stage lets me flag anything about access or the pour before the plans are final.
A contractor needs a license from the Contractors State License Board when the project needs a building permit, uses any additional workers, or comes to $1,000 or more in labor and materials. The board describes a concrete contractor as one who forms, pours, places, finishes and installs concrete work, so it's fair to ask anyone you're considering which license they hold.
Fixing it can mean cutting into the concrete, because plumbing lines and some utilities run under or inside a slab. That's one of the trade-offs I go over when you're choosing between a slab and a crawl space, since a crawl space leaves those lines where a plumber can reach them.
