Concrete footings in Garden Grove CA - a firm base your addition can stand on
Planning an addition or ADU and not sure what the city wants under it? We dig, form and pour footings that sit level and square.
- Service
- Concrete footings
- Call
- (714) 750-8944
How do you know you need new footings?
An addition in the plans
You've got drawings for a room addition, an ADU or a detached garage, and the framer wants to know when they can start. The footings and the city's steps ahead of them now set the pace for the whole project, and a late call is how framers end up waiting.
Cracks or a sinking corner
A crack stepping up a wall, or one corner of a shed, porch or older room sitting lower than the rest, usually means the footing under it was too shallow or poured on loose dirt. It tends to keep moving, and the longer it goes, the further the framing above it twists out of square.
Water sitting along the wall
Puddles that hang around next to the house or garage after rain usually mean the ground slopes toward the building and the soil beside the footing stays wet. Wet soil gives up support over time, so it's worth fixing the grade before you build anything new next to it.
What do concrete footings involve in Garden Grove?
Concrete footings are the continuous concrete base that runs around the edge of an addition, with pad footings set inside it to carry the interior loads. For footings in Garden Grove, we dig the trench, set the forms and the rebar, which is the steel that keeps the concrete from pulling apart, and then pour and finish the concrete so your framer starts on something level and square.
Most people who call me about footings are adding a room, an ADU or a detached garage, and they want to know what it'll cost and how soon the framing can start. The price mostly comes down to how many feet of trench the plans call for, how many interior pads there are, how much steel the design needs, how easily a truck and crew can reach your yard, and whether the soil has to be dug out and replaced first. The schedule usually turns less on the pour than on what comes before it, mainly whether your project needs a soils report and a permit, and your written estimate is where you'll see your own numbers. We're based in Garden Grove and work across the cities around it.
Details to note before an estimate
- Type of project and its square footage
- Whether the lot is in a flood zone
- Plans or engineer's drawings, if you have them
- Soils report, if one's already done
- Old slab or walk where footings go
- How a truck reaches the work area
How we build concrete footings
We lay out the lines from your plans and check them for square before anyone digs, because a footing that's off by an inch means the framer fights it for the rest of the job. We dig the trench to the depth on the plans and clean out loose dirt so the concrete sits on firm ground. Then we set the forms, tie the rebar, pour, and finish the top flat so the wood plate the walls sit on lands evenly. I spend more time on the bottom of that trench than on the finish, because nobody sees it once it's poured and it's what keeps the addition from moving. We keep the delivery ticket from the concrete truck for the inspector, and before we leave, we talk with you about where the water will go once the footings are in.
Footings often come with other work. If part of the house has settled and the new addition has to tie into it, foundation raising usually comes first so the old floor and the new one meet at the same height. When an existing patio, walk or slab sits where a footing has to go, our concrete cutting takes out only the strip that has to go and leaves a clean edge to pour against.
Work that often goes with footings
Foundation raising
Sticking doors or a sunken corner can mean the house has settled, and lifting it back to level should come before anything new ties on.
Concrete cutting
When a patio or driveway is in the path of a new trench, a straight saw cut removes just that strip and keeps the rest usable.
What happens after you call about footings in Garden Grove?
Call or send the form
You call or send the form, and I'm usually the one who calls you back to set a time to come out. Have your plans handy if you've got them, since the footing layout comes straight off them.
Walk the site together
I look at the ground and the access, take measurements and ask how you'll use the new space. You get a written estimate that spells out the prep, the concrete and anything that isn't included, so you can line it up against other bids.
Pull permits, dig and pour
Garden Grove takes permit applications online through its Development Access Website, and when your job needs a permit, we pull it and handle the inspections. The crew I've worked with for years does the forming, pouring and finishing, and I'm on site on pour day.
Walk the finished footings
When we're done, I walk the footings with you and go over how to look after them while they cure, which is the stretch when the concrete is still gaining strength. That's also when you can ask anything before the framer shows up.
Questions before you book concrete footings
How do I know if my Garden Grove project needs a soils report?
Most projects need one, because the city requires a geotechnical investigation, a study of the soil, for every project its policy doesn't exempt, and it bases that rule on all of Garden Grove lying in a liquefaction zone, ground that can lose its strength in a strong earthquake. The exemptions in the city's foundation policy cover one-story room additions, ADU additions and detached buildings up to a set size, plus second-story additions within the existing footprint, and those follow the city's alternate foundation requirements instead. I'll go over which path your plans fall on at the estimate.
Do I need a soils report if my house is in a flood zone?
Yes, the city requires a soils report for every project in a designated flood zone, even an addition its policy would otherwise exempt. That adds a step and a cost before any footing work starts, so it helps to know your flood zone status when you call.
How much do concrete footings cost per linear foot?
Residential strip footings across the US usually cost about $5 to $19 per linear foot, counting the concrete, labor, trench digging and rebar. That's a national figure, not our price, and your number moves with the length of trench, the number of interior pads, access for the truck and whether a soils report comes first. Our free estimate puts your own figures in writing.
Who can legally pour concrete footings in California?
A contractor holding California's concrete license, which covers forming, pouring, placing and finishing concrete, can pour your footings. An unlicensed person can only take work under $1,000, and only when it needs no permit and they employ no one, which rarely describes footings for an addition. We're licensed and fully insured, and I come out to look at the job myself.
How do I protect new concrete footings from water?
Keep water away from the soil around them, with the ground sloped away from the building so rain runs off instead of soaking in beside the footings. That's general engineering guidance rather than a Garden Grove rule, and it means planning your grading and downspouts along with the footings, not after.
What does Garden Grove require for footings on an addition without a soils report?
Exempt additions follow the city's alternate foundation method, which calls for a continuous footing around the perimeter, reinforced top and bottom, plus interior pad footings, poured with a mix of a set minimum strength and cement type. On some projects the top layer of soil comes out and is replaced with compacted clean fill before trenching, and the city wants a compaction certificate at the foundation inspection. The method also applies only when the footings keep the minimum distance from a slope that the building and grading codes set.
Get a written estimate for your footings
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day, and I'm usually the one who calls. I'll set a time to come out, walk the site and measure, then write up what's included so you can compare it with other bids. The estimate is free and comes with no obligation.
Explore our services and areas
Services
- Concrete driveway building
- Concrete patio construction
- Stamped concrete services
- Concrete sidewalk building
- Garage floor concrete
- Decorative concrete
- Concrete retaining walls
- Concrete floor installation
- Concrete pool decks
- Concrete steps construction
- Slab foundation building
- Foundation installation
- Concrete parking lot building
- Foundation raising
- Concrete cutting
Get your footings priced before framing starts
Call Solid Form Garden Grove Concrete at (714) 750-8944 or send the form with your project type, square footage and flood zone status, so I can tell you early which path the city will want.