Concrete Foundations & Footings
Solid foundations and footings that provide the structural support your building projects require.
Why Foundations and Footings Matter
Your foundation is literally what everything else sits on. Whether you are building a new home, adding a room, constructing a garage, or putting up a storage building, the foundation determines whether that structure stays level and stable for decades or develops problems within years. This is not an area where you want to cut corners or guess at the requirements.
Footings are the wider concrete bases that support foundation walls. Think of them as the feet that spread the load of your building across a larger area of soil. Without proper footings, foundation walls can crack, settle unevenly, or even fail completely. The size and depth of footings depend on your soil type, the weight of the structure, and local building codes.
In Whittier, soil conditions vary significantly from one neighborhood to another. Some areas have stable, well-draining soil that makes foundation work straightforward. Other areas have expansive clay soil that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, putting stress on foundations. We assess your specific site and design footings and foundations that work with your soil rather than fighting against it.
Foundation and Footing Services We Provide
Foundation work ranges from simple concrete piers for a small addition to complete house foundations for new construction. Here are the types of foundation and footing projects we handle regularly:
Common Foundation Projects:
- •New home foundations: Complete foundation systems for residential construction, including trenching, rebar placement, and forming.
- •Garage and ADU foundations: Foundations for detached garages, workshops, and accessory dwelling units.
- •Room additions: Footings and foundation walls that tie into your existing home structure properly.
- •Concrete piers and grade beams: Post-and-pier foundations for hillside homes or areas with challenging soil.
- •Stem walls: Short foundation walls that raise wooden structures above ground level to prevent moisture damage.
- •Equipment and structural footings: Isolated footings for columns, posts, or heavy equipment that need solid support.
Each of these requires careful planning and execution. We work from engineered plans when required by code or project complexity. For simpler projects, we follow standard practices and local code requirements. Either way, you get a foundation built to support your structure safely and reliably.
How We Build Quality Foundations
Foundation work starts with excavation. We dig trenches or holes to the depth specified by your plans or local code requirements. Depth matters because footings need to extend below the frost line (not a major concern in Whittier) and into stable, undisturbed soil. Trenches must have level bottoms and proper width to support the concrete and reinforcement.
Reinforcement is critical for foundation strength. We place rebar according to engineering specifications or standard practice, tying it together properly and supporting it at the correct height within the footing. This steel reinforcement gives concrete the tensile strength it lacks naturally, preventing cracking and failure under load.
Forms create the shape of your foundation walls. We build these carefully, ensuring they are plumb, level, and properly braced to withstand the pressure of wet concrete. Anchor bolts or hold-downs are set into the fresh concrete at the right locations so your framer can attach the structure later. Getting these details right during the pour is essential, because fixing mistakes after the concrete hardens is difficult or impossible.
Inspections are part of most foundation projects. The building department typically inspects trenches and reinforcement before we pour, then inspects the finished foundation. These inspections verify that the work meets code and is done correctly. We coordinate with inspectors and address any issues promptly. If you need other concrete work or retaining walls, we can handle those as part of your overall project.