Foundation installation in Palos Verdes Estates CA - a base built to fit your lot
Building on a slope or unsure what your soil allows? We'll help you pick the foundation that fits and build it on carefully prepped ground.
I write every estimate myself
I come out to look at your lot and write the estimate myself. Our crew does the forming, pouring and finishing, and I'm by the site as the job goes, so the person who priced it is there to answer questions.
Running this business since 2013
I started this business in 2013, and we're best known for careful prep and for taking the time to explain things. I'd rather spend an extra half hour on your questions than have you feel lost about your own foundation.
Fully licensed and insured
We're fully licensed and insured, so the responsibility for building your foundation sits with us. When you're ready for me to look at your lot, call (424) 307-8097 or fill out our estimate request form.
Foundation installation in Palos Verdes Estates
Foundation installation gives your house its concrete base. We level the building site, pour the footings, then pour the foundation, often one solid slab under the whole house. We do it for homeowners in Palos Verdes Estates and the cities around it who are building new or adding on.
If you're building new or adding on, the first decision is usually which kind of foundation fits your lot. Slabs are prone to cracking, especially on expansive soil that swells and shrinks with water, so the ground under your house is part of that choice. Price moves with the size of the home, the foundation type and how much work the slope adds, and the schedule turns mostly on approvals and site prep. Your estimate puts a figure on your lot.
The city enforces its building code on new construction and asks anyone planning a new home or an addition to check with the city first. When your job needs a permit, we take care of it, and if we're not sure what applies, we ask the city before we start. The state licensing board warns that hiring an unlicensed "consultant" or acting as your own builder puts full responsibility for the job on you, and possibly taxes and workers' comp too.
Foundations, footings and the prep around them
Slab or stem wall on a slope
On a sloped lot, I'll talk through a slab versus a stem wall with you, because the slope changes what fits. A slab is one solid pour under the whole house, and a stem wall is a short wall around the outside of the home, partly below ground. We'll stand on the lot together while I show you where each one would sit, what it means for the digging and the forms, and why I'd lean one way, so you're choosing with the whole picture in front of you.
Footings, base and forms come first
Before any foundation goes in, we level the building site and pour the concrete footings, the wider concrete that spreads the house's weight into the ground. I learned under an old school finisher who'd make me pull my forms and set them again if they were off at all, and we still set forms that way. If the budget's tight, the base is the last place I'd cut, because it's hidden on day one and the whole house sits on it.
Crew and materials lined up for pour day
We line up the crew and materials ahead of time so the pour can go without stops, because concrete left waiting on a late truck or a short crew doesn't tie together like one steady pour. When we can, we also keep the finishing out of the worst midday heat, since a surface that dries too fast can end up weak and dusty. Property owners with a lot to pave get the same planning on a concrete parking lot, where a big pour leaves even less room for a stall.
Get a free foundation estimate for your lot
We get back to you within one business day, then I come out to your lot and write up a free estimate in person. There's no obligation and no pressure to book.
(424) 307-8097How a foundation job goes with us
I come out and look
Call (424) 307-8097 or send the form with your address, the home's square footage and what you're building. I come out, look at the lot and the slope, listen to what you want and write up an estimate.
Approvals, then ground and forms
Once you're ready, we sort out the permits and the Homes Association steps first, since those come before any digging. Then our crew preps the ground, packs the base and sets the forms, and I check them before anything gets poured.
Pour day and the final walk
Pouring a slab typically takes a full eight-hour day, so we plan it inside the city's construction hours, 7 AM to 7 PM Monday through Thursday, 7 AM to 5:30 PM Friday and 9 AM to 5:30 PM Saturday. Then I walk the job with you.
Foundation questions from Palos Verdes Estates
How much does a new foundation cost in Palos Verdes Estates?
A concrete slab foundation across the US usually costs about $6 to $14 per square foot, and since it's priced by the square foot, a bigger house costs more in total. That's a national figure, and a crawl space runs higher per square foot than a slab. I'll give you the number for your own lot after I see it.
What kind of foundation works best on a sloped lot?
One cost guide calls a stem wall a good choice on a slope, because its sections can be built to different heights to follow the ground. The same guide says a stem wall adds stability where earthquakes may happen or soil may become unstable. Which one fits yours depends on how steep the lot is and what the soil does.
Do I need city or Art Jury approval to build a foundation?
You'll need Art Jury approval, because the Palos Verdes Homes Association says no structure can be built or altered without it, and the city requires Homes Association approval for most projects. If a new home or addition may trigger grading or coastal review, the Planning Department takes questions at (310) 378-0383. We'll help get your Homes Association and Art Jury paperwork ready.
How do I know if my property is in an earthquake hazard zone?
You can look it up on EQ Zapp, the state's online map, which works on a computer, tablet or phone. The state zones mark areas subject to fault rupture, liquefaction, where soil briefly turns to quicksand, and earthquake-induced landslides. In those zones, geologic and engineering investigations can find and reduce the hazard before construction starts.