Concrete footings in Fremont CA - a firm base for the wall, deck or room you build
Planning an addition, a wall or a deck, or seeing an old post sink? We dig, form and pour footings that carry the load.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- We reply within 1 business day.
What goes into a concrete footing job in Fremont?
A concrete footing is the buried strip or pad of concrete that carries a wall, post, deck or addition and spreads its weight into the ground, and Ironset Fremont Concrete digs, forms and pours footings for homes in Fremont, CA.
Most footing calls are for something going up, like a room addition, a block wall or a deck, and the rest are for an old post or wall that's given way. Concrete, labor and digging make up most of the price, so weak ground that calls for a bigger dig can cost several times what a shallow footing on firm soil does. The schedule mostly turns on the paperwork and the ground, because any permit and any question about your soil have to be settled before we dig. The estimate gives you your own price and the work in writing, so you're not planning around a guess.
How do you know you need a new footing?
Deck posts sinking or tilting
When a deck post has dropped or leans, the footing under it has usually settled into soft ground or loose fill. The longer it sinks, the harder the deck pulls on its other posts, and the fix gets bigger.
Cracks stepping up a wall
Cracks that climb a block or garden wall like stairs usually mean one end of its footing has dropped. Left alone, the wall starts to lean, and a leaning wall gets torn out rather than patched.
A new project on paper
A room addition, a patio cover or a new wall all need a footing under them before anything else gets built. Pricing the footing early keeps it from becoming the surprise line in your budget.
How we build concrete footings
What the footing carries and what the ground is like change the dig more than anything, so I look at both before I put a price on it. Once the permit side is settled, our crew digs down to firm soil, packs the bottom, sets the forms and ties in rebar, the steel that holds the concrete together when the ground moves. Then we pour, and the footing cures, which is the wait while concrete gains its strength, before anything gets built on top. Nobody sees a footing again once it's buried, so that's the last place I'd let a budget get cut.
Sometimes the footing isn't the whole job. A house that's already settled may need foundation raising first, and a footing that goes under an existing patio or garage floor starts with concrete cutting, and I'll tell you at the estimate if either one applies.
Get a written price for your footing job
We reply within one business day to set up a time. I come out for a free look at the job, then put the price and the work in writing, with no pressure and no obligation.
- hello@fremontcaconcrete.com
- Based in
- Fremont, CA 94538
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–10 PM
What happens after you call us about a footing?
Here's how a footing job runs from your first call to the cleanup, and who you'll deal with at each step.
Call and I come out
You call or send the form, and I come out to look at the job, measure it and ask what the footing needs to hold up. Have the address and any plans handy, since what sits on the footing shapes the whole job.
Get the work in writing
You get a written estimate that spells out the base, the steel and the joints, so you can see exactly where the money goes. If the job needs a permit, we sort it out before we dig.
We dig, pour and clean up
Our crew does the prep and the pour with me on site. We clean up before we leave, and the footing cures before anything gets built on it.
Why Fremont homeowners call Ironset Fremont Concrete for footings
Tell us about your project, or call (510) 574-8512, and I'll come out and look at the ground with you.
I'm on site for your pour
I come out to look at the job, and I'm there when our crew does the prep, forms, pour and finishing. The person who priced your footing is the one watching it go in.
Licensed and insured for concrete work
The state contractor board describes a concrete contractor as one who forms, pours, places, finishes and installs concrete, and a footing is all of that. We're licensed and fully insured, so the work on your lot is covered.
Fremont neighbors who saw our work
I learned this trade fixing slabs other people got wrong, and I made it a full business in 2021. Most of our calls still come from Fremont homeowners and their neighbors who saw the work up close.
Footings, permits and soil studies in Fremont
The City of Fremont says grading a single-family lot may need a grading permit, and its list names grading and slope repair, not footings, so whether your footing needs a permit is something to settle with the city for your job. When a job needs one, we work with the city or county office that covers your address and handle the paperwork and inspections. If your lot sits in a geotechnical hazard zone, city staff may tell you the project needs a technical peer review, where a second set of eyes goes over the geotechnical report, the study of your ground. The state has also released preliminary earthquake fault zone maps for public review that affect Fremont, so I check where a lot sits before I price the footing.
We're based in Fremont, and a lot of what we dig here is heavy clay that swells when it's wet and shrinks when it dries, which is hard on anything resting on it. I look at the bottom of every trench before the steel goes in, and we see the same kind of ground on jobs in Union City and Newark.
Questions about concrete footings in Fremont
How much do concrete footings cost in Fremont, CA?
Installed concrete footings across the US usually cost about $5 to $20 per linear foot, and that covers the digging, forms, concrete and labor. That's a national figure, not a Fremont quote, so I come out, look at your job and put your price in writing.
How does the soil on my lot change a footing job in Fremont?
Your soil can add time and cost, because the state maps earthquake hazard zones for fault rupture, liquefaction and quake-caused landslides. Liquefaction is when soil turns to quicksand and can't hold a structure up. If your lot is in one of those zones, plan time for a geologic and engineering study before construction starts, and I'll ask about it at the estimate.
Does the city of Fremont inspect concrete footing work?
Yes, every city permit comes with a building inspection, and the inspection is what closes out the permit and confirms the work matches the approved plans. Inspections can be booked with the city online in Citizen Access or by calling its Inspection Scheduling Line.
How do I know if a small footing job needs a licensed contractor in California?
Under state guidance, someone without a contractor license can only take minor work when the total price, labor and materials together, is less than $500. That exemption ends when the small job is part of a larger project.
How much can a contractor ask for up front on a footing job in California?
The state contractor board's guidance says the down payment on a home improvement contract can't be more than $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less. Finance charges aren't counted in that figure.
How do I check for buried lines before digging footings in Fremont?
Call USA Underground Alert at (800) 227-2600 two working days before any digging starts, which is what the city's grading permit steps say to do. We make that call before our crew digs a trench for a footing.
Other work that often comes with footings
Foundation raising
For a floor or wall that's already sunk out of level, raising it back up comes first, so new support goes under something sitting where it should.
Concrete cutting
Need a footing under an existing patio, driveway or garage floor? We saw a clean opening in the slab instead of breaking out more concrete than needed.
Where we pour concrete footings
Ironset Fremont Concrete is based in Fremont, CA, and takes footing jobs in the cities around it, from Hayward to Milpitas. Twelve cities have their own page here, and if yours isn't one of them, call and ask.
Fremont, CA
Book a look at your footing job
Call while your project is still on paper, so the footing is priced before the framer or deck builder is booked.