Foundation Installation in San Fernando CA - a base that fits your lot and soil
Stuck between a slab and a raised foundation for your new home? We'll weigh it with you and build the base your soils report supports.
Should your San Fernando home sit on a slab or a raised foundation?
Foundation installation in San Fernando means building the base your house sits on. That's either a slab-on-grade poured at ground level or a raised foundation over a crawlspace, and we build both for new homes, additions and backyard units.
Most people call us with plans in hand and one big question about which way to go. The price moves with the type you pick, the size of the footprint, how much digging the lot needs and what the soils report asks for. The schedule turns on the same things, plus the number of piers on a raised foundation and how quickly inspections get booked. Your written estimate puts a price on your own job, and when the job calls for a permit, we pull it and work with the city or county office through plan check and inspections.
How do you know it's time for a new foundation?
Most foundation calls start with a plan rather than a problem, but an older house can also tell you its base is wearing out. Here's what usually brings people to us.
You've got plans for a new home or backyard unit, and the first question is what it sits on.
You're adding rooms onto your house, and the addition needs a solid base of its own.
Your builder or designer has asked you to choose between a slab and a raised foundation.
Your soils report came back flagging clay, and you want to know what that means for the base.
Cracked or crumbling concrete in the crawlspace of an older raised house usually means the foundation is wearing out.
Floors slope and doors stick in an older house, which can mean the base underneath is giving way.
Call while your plans are still on paper, because it's much easier to plan around your soils report than to change course once framing is booked.
What happens after you call about foundation installation in San Fernando?
From the first call to the final walk-through, you deal with me, and our own crew does the work. Here's how a foundation job usually runs.
Call or send a message
Call (818) 806-6170 or send the form, and tell me a little about the house or addition you're planning. We'll set a time for me to come out.
I come out and measure
I come see the lot myself, measure it and hear what you have in mind. If you're choosing between a slab and a raised foundation, I lay out the tradeoffs in cost, repair access and schedule right there.
Get a written estimate
You get a written estimate that spells out the prep, the work and the cleanup, so you can see what you're paying for before you decide. When you're ready, we set a date.
We pour and walk it
Our crew digs, forms and pours with me on site, and the work pauses for inspections as each stage is ready. When it's done, we walk the finished foundation together before we pack up.
Get a written foundation estimate for your lot
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set a time for me to see your lot. The estimate is free, done on site and comes with no obligation.
- Call
- (818) 806-6170
- Hours
- Mon–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
Slab and raised foundations, and the ground under them
A slab-on-grade is one pour at ground level, reinforced with rebar or steel cables so the concrete holds together under load. The part I won't cut corners on is the subgrade, the packed ground the slab sits on. It's buried by the end of the first day and it's the first place people look to save money, but a slab only stays flat if what's under it does.
A raised foundation lifts the floor over a crawlspace. It starts with concrete footings, wide bases set into the ground to spread the weight, with short concrete walls or piers rising from them to carry the house. Whichever way you go, the dig-out, the packed base and a plan for where the water runs get the same care we give every pour, from a patio to a concrete parking lot.
The ground itself is the other big piece. Soils reports around the Los Angeles valleys often flag expansive clay, soil that swells when it's wet and shrinks as it dries. We run into it in San Fernando and the cities around it, like Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena and Santa Clarita, and it's why I'd rather read your soils report before anyone settles on a design.
Foundation installation questions we hear in San Fernando
How do I choose between a slab and a raised foundation in San Fernando?
It comes down to your budget, your design goals and the expansion index, a rating in your soils report for how much the ground moves. Getting that report early tells you which option fits your lot, and once it's in, we let it make the final call.
How much does foundation installation cost in San Fernando?
A slab usually costs less to start than a raised foundation, and your own figure comes from seeing your lot and your plans. A post-tensioned slab, one with steel cables pulled tight inside the concrete, generally takes less labor and formwork, the wooden forms that hold wet concrete, than a deep raised foundation. Call (818) 806-6170 and I'll come out to price your lot.
How long does it take to install a house foundation?
One Bay Area foundation contractor reports a slab typically takes 2 to 3 weeks to be ready for framing and a raised foundation 4 to 8 weeks. The raised side stretches with the piers, the soil and the inspections mentioned above, so if your build schedule is tight, the slab is the easier one to plan around.
Is it easier to fix plumbing under a slab or a raised foundation?
A raised foundation is easier, because the crawlspace keeps the plumbing, mechanical and electrical lines where someone can reach them. Under a slab, even a small leak usually means concrete cutting to get to the pipe, and that gets expensive. If you expect to remodel or add on later, that access is worth weighing against the slab's lower starting cost.
Do I need a geologic study to build a foundation in San Fernando?
For new construction or a significant remodel, state earthquake hazard guidance says a site-specific geologic study is required, so builders can plan around known hazards. If your lot sits in a seismic hazard zone, you may also be required to look into that hazard and deal with it during local permitting. You can check your address on the state's earthquake hazard zone map from a phone or computer.
Who licenses foundation contractors in California?
California's Contractors State License Board licenses concrete contractors, the people who form, pour, place, finish and install concrete work. We're licensed and insured, and I run our own crew on site, so you know who's answerable for the work under your house.
Other concrete work for a new build
Concrete footings
If you're building a deck, a porch or a block wall, footings carry the load down into firm ground so what's on top has something solid under it.
Concrete parking lot building
Putting up a duplex or a small shop usually means parking too, and it needs the same packed base and drainage planning to handle daily traffic.
Get a foundation estimate for your lot
Call (818) 806-6170 or use the form, and have your property address and any soils report handy so I can look them over before I come out.
Mon–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM