Concrete footings in San Carlos, CA - a steady base dug to the right depth
Planning a deck, addition or new posts and not sure what they'll sit on? We dig, form and pour footings that carry the load.
Do you need a concrete footing, and what goes into one?
A concrete footing is the block of concrete in the ground that takes the weight of a post, column, wall or floor and passes it down to the soil. In San Carlos, we dig, form and pour concrete footings for decks, porches, additions and new slabs so whatever you build has a steady base.
Most people call us when they're adding a deck, a porch or a room, or when an old post has started to lean and they want to know if the footing under it is the problem. The price moves with how many footings you need, how long a run goes under a wall, how deep we dig and how hard that digging is, and the schedule mostly turns on getting the soil checked before we pour. If part of the house has already settled, foundation raising may be the job to talk about first. We're fully licensed and insured, based in San Carlos and working in the cities around it, and the written estimate spells out the work for your lot.
How do you know a post or slab needs a new footing?
Footings are buried, so you usually see the trouble in what sits on top of them. These are the signs that send most people our way, along with the plans that need footings first.
A deck post that leans or has sunk usually means the footing under it is too small or shallow.
A deck that bounces or dips near one post often points to a footing that has settled.
Sticking doors and sloping floors near an addition can mean the footing under that wall is moving.
A post set straight in the dirt or on a loose block has no real footing and keeps settling.
Cracks at the base of a column, or a slab edge pulling away, usually mean the support shifted.
A new deck, porch, addition or shed on your plans needs footings placed and poured before framing starts.
If a post is leaning or a floor is moving, call (650) 866-1977 rather than wait, because the weight keeps pressing on whatever has already given way.
What happens when you call about footings in San Carlos?
I keep the steps simple, and the one that sets the pace is the soil check between digging and pouring. Here's how a footing job usually runs with us.
Call or send the form
You call (650) 866-1977 or send the form with your address and what's going on top of the footings. We set a time for me to come out.
I measure and walk the site
I usually come out myself to measure, look over the ground and talk through what you're building. Then you get a written estimate with the footings and the work spelled out, so you know the cost before anything is dug.
We dig and wait for the soil check
Our crew digs to the depth the plans call for, and we leave room in the schedule for the soil check before any concrete goes in. If the job needs a permit, we settle with you who will pull it before work starts and write that into the contract.
We pour and walk it together
We set the forms, place the steel where the plans show it, pour and finish, and I check the work as it goes. I go over the finished footings with you before we call it done.
Get a written estimate for your footings
Send the form and we get back to you within one business day to set a time for me to come out. The estimate is free, done on site and comes with no pressure and no obligation.
- Call
- (650) 866-1977
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–11 PM
Footing types, depth and the ground underneath
For a deck post or a column, the usual choice is a pad footing, a single block of concrete under each support. If you're pouring a new floor anyway, ask about a thickened slab, where part of the slab is poured deeper so it works as the footing. A new footing under an existing patio or garage floor means opening the slab first, which is where concrete cutting comes in.
Most of what a footing is worth sits in the hole, not in the concrete you can see, so depth and prep are the last places I'd cut to bring a price down. A footing poured on loose dirt settles with the dirt. Inside it, rebar, the steel bars set in the concrete, helps keep a crack from turning into a break if the ground moves, and it goes where the plans put it.
If you're shoring up an older house rather than adding to it, San Mateo County says a voluntary foundation upgrade with no other addition or structural change typically needs no geotechnical report, a study of the soil. The exceptions include a home in a County landslide hazard zone or on a slope of 25% or steeper, so a steep lot can change what has to happen before we dig.
Concrete footing questions from San Carlos homeowners
How much do concrete footings cost in San Carlos?
Across the US, a residential strip footing installed with concrete, labor, digging and forms usually runs about $5 to $19 per linear foot. That's a national range for the market, not our price, and depth, access and how many pads you need push it one way or the other. Our written estimate gives you the figure for your own lot.
How deep do concrete footings need to be around San Carlos?
San Mateo County's guidelines call for footings at least 24 inches deep below undisturbed natural ground on projects that don't need a soil report. A national deck guide also calls for footings on undisturbed soil, ground nobody has dug up or filled, and below the frost line where that's deeper, and it leaves the frost line to the local building office. We dig to the depth your plans call for.
Do I need a licensed contractor for small footing work in California?
In California, an unlicensed person can only take on work under $1,000, and only when the job needs no permit and they have no one working for them on it. The state licensing board raised that limit from $500 to $1,000, and if any of those conditions isn't met, the work needs a licensed contractor. We're fully licensed and insured.
How do I check if my San Carlos lot is in an earthquake hazard zone?
Type your address into the state's EQ Zapp tool and it shows whether your property sits in one of its mapped earthquake hazard zones, or tells you when that area hasn't been evaluated yet. Where the state has found weak soil or rock likely under a property, those materials can fail in an earthquake and damage what's built on them unless grading and construction take proper precautions.
How long does a concrete footing job take?
Most of the schedule goes to digging and waiting for the soil check, not to the pour itself. We hold the concrete until the soil has been looked at, so the timing of that visit sets the pace more than anything else. I'll tell you how that's likely to go for your job when I come out.
What causes a concrete footing to sink?
Footings usually sink because they sit on loose fill or disturbed soil, aren't deep enough, or are too small for the weight on them. Water running toward a footing can soften the ground around it too, so I look at where your water goes when I'm on site.
Related work that often comes with footings
Foundation raising
If part of your house has already dropped or a floor slopes toward one wall, raising the foundation back toward level may come before or alongside new footings.
Concrete cutting
When a new post has to land where a patio or garage slab already sits, we cut a clean opening so the footing can go in.
Book a site visit for your footings
Call (650) 866-1977 or use the form with your address, what you're building and a rough length of footing, so I come out ready to measure.
Mon–Fri: 8 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–11 PM