Foundation installation in San Rafael CA - built to your engineer's plans
Cracked floors, a tired old foundation or a new addition on the drawings? We build the concrete your house stands on, to your engineer's plans.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
What goes into a new foundation in San Rafael?
Foundation installation in San Rafael means forming, pouring and finishing the concrete your house stands on, built to your engineer's plans so the walls and floors above have something solid and level to carry them.
Most people who call us have drawings for a new house or an addition, or an old foundation that's cracked and worn out, and they want to know what it'll take. The price turns on what the engineer has drawn, how much digging and steel that means, the soil and the slope, how close a concrete truck can get, and whether an old foundation has to come out from under the house first. The schedule turns mostly on finished drawings and the city's permit review, then on the weather for the pour. We're based in San Rafael and take jobs in many cities around it, from Petaluma down to Berkeley, and my written estimate lays out each step for your lot.
How we handle foundation installation
We build to the engineer's plans, and I look at utilities and access on the first visit, because a gas line in the wrong spot or no room for the pump truck changes the whole job. We mark where the lines run, lay out the footprint and dig the footings to the depth on the drawings. Then we pack the subgrade, the soil the concrete sits on, so it doesn't settle later, set the forms and tie in the rebar, the steel inside that holds the concrete together when the ground pushes or pulls. When the job is permitted, the inspector sees the forms and steel before we pour, and after the pour we finish the top and keep it damp while it cures, which is the slow hardening that decides how strong it gets. If the budget gets tight, I won't trim the digging or the base to save money, because that's the part you'll never see again and the part the whole house depends on.
Foundation work often ties into other concrete. Where the plans call for separate pads under porch posts or a detached garage, we pour those concrete footings in the same visit, and on commercial or multi-unit builds we can take on the concrete parking lot too, so one crew sets the grades around the building.
Raised slab
A raised slab is a continuous concrete wall around the outside, filled with packed soil or gravel and topped with a concrete floor. It suits you if you want a solid concrete floor over filled ground with the house sitting up off the yard.
Crawlspace foundation
A crawlspace uses the same kind of perimeter wall, but the floor is wood framing over open air underneath. It suits you if you want a wood floor and room under the house to reach plumbing and wiring later.
Replacing an old foundation
When an old foundation has failed, the house has to be held up while the new one goes in. One Bay Area contractor says a serious replacement usually takes structural engineering, temporary shoring and protection, and careful handling of utilities and access, which is why I start with your engineer and the utilities.
Call before the drawings are final if you can, because I'd rather see the lot and the access while the plan can still change.
What happens after you call about a new foundation?
Here's who does what, from the first call to the last form coming off. I handle the visit and the estimate myself, and our own crew does the work with me there.
Tell us about the job
Call or send a message with your address and what's going on, whether it's a new build, an addition or a foundation that's cracking. Drawings help if you have them, but you don't need them to call.
I come out and measure
I come out myself, measure, and ask what the foundation has to carry and what's going on top of it. You get a written estimate that lays out each step, so you can see where the money goes before you decide.
We settle permits and layout
Before the pour we settle permits, layout and where the water will go once the house is up. The city lists residential building permits at 2 to 6 weeks, so we plan the start date around that wait.
We form, pour and finish
I'm on site with our crew from setting the forms to finishing the concrete. We clean up, leave it curing and tell you what comes next before the framing starts.
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 come out. The estimate is free, done on site and in writing, with no pressure to book.
(628) 234-2042Foundation installation permits and ground in San Rafael
Permits for work here go through the City of San Rafael. The city issues a general permit that requires plan review for residential work, and its list names new houses, additions, repairs, decks and retaining walls, but not foundation installation on its own. So I check with the city whether your job needs a permit, and when it does, we handle the application and the inspections. New applications go in through the city's online system, OpenGov.
Lots here are often steep, and plenty of houses have retaining walls tied right into the foundation. One contractor flags those sites, along with expansive clay, fill dirt placed with no record of how, and creep, the slow slide of soil downhill, as the jobs that take more work. We see the same hillside lots on jobs in Mill Valley and Fairfax, and on those I want the engineer involved before any price is final.
Foundation questions from San Rafael homeowners
How much does foundation installation cost in San Rafael?
I can't give a fair number until I've seen the lot, because foundation cost comes down to the design, the ground and how hard the site is to work. Deep footings, heavy steel, a hillside, tight access or an old foundation to remove all push it up, while a simple footprint on flat, firm ground keeps it down. After the visit you'll have each step priced in writing.
Is a raised slab or a crawlspace better if my lot may flood?
Raised slabs have been observed to hold up against flood forces better than crawlspaces, so a raised slab is usually the stronger pick on a lot that may flood. Neither type does well when water washes the soil away from around the foundation, which is called scour. Federal Building America guidance says to assess the flood risk before designing a house on a raised slab, so raise it with your engineer early.
What causes floors and walls to crack on some soils?
Some soils swell when they get wet and shrink as they dry, lifting the house and letting it settle again, and cracked floors and walls are the usual result. That's why the ground under your lot belongs in the foundation plan from the start. I look at the soil on the visit, and the engineer decides how deep and how stiff the foundation needs to be.
What license does a concrete contractor need in California?
California's Contractors State License Board defines the concrete contractor class as one who forms, pours, places, finishes and installs mass, flat and other concrete work, which takes in foundations. We're licensed and insured, and you're welcome to ask about it at the estimate.
Do I need an engineer for a new house foundation?
Usually, yes, because we build foundations to an engineer's plans and the engineer sets the depth, steel and design for your soil and slope. If you don't have one yet, I'll tell you at the visit whether your job needs one, and I'd rather say so up front than pour something that won't hold.
What happens if foundation work is done without a permit in San Rafael?
The city says work done without a permit is subject to extra fees, and getting a permit afterward doesn't approve work that isn't up to code. That's why I check with the city before we dig, so the question is settled before any concrete goes in.
Concrete work that goes with a new foundation
If you're building a deck, carport or garden wall instead of a whole house, properly sized footings under each post or wall may be all the job needs.
A new building with customer or tenant parking needs a lot that drains away from the foundation, and planning both at once avoids grading the site twice.
Book your foundation estimate in San Rafael
Call (628) 234-2042 or use the contact form while you're still choosing between a raised slab and a crawlspace, so what I see on your lot can help you decide.