Foundation installation in Lomita CA - a base that fits your house and your plans
Planning an addition, garage or new home and not sure what goes under it? We help you pick and pour the right foundation.
- Service
- Foundation installation
- Call
- (424) 667-0052
How do you know it's time for a new foundation?
Plans with no foundation picked
You've got drawings for an addition or a garage, but nobody has said what goes under it. That choice sets a good part of the cost and how easy repairs are later, and changing it late usually means paying to rework the plans.
An old slab cracked into pieces
The old garage or shed floor you want to build on has wide cracks and pieces sitting at different heights. That usually means the ground under it settled, and building on top of it just carries the problem up into the new walls.
Puddles where the addition goes
Water sits for days in the spot where the new room is supposed to go. That usually means the ground slopes the wrong way or doesn't drain, and pouring there without fixing it leaves the new concrete sitting in wet ground.
What does a new foundation in Lomita involve?
Foundation installation in Lomita means pouring the concrete that a new home, addition or garage sits on. That's either a slab, one layer of concrete poured right onto packed ground, or a crawl space foundation, which raises the floor and leaves a shallow space underneath.
Most people who call us have plans for an addition, a garage or a new house and want to know what goes under it before anything else gets decided. The price moves with the size, which type you pick, how much digging and grading the lot needs, and how easily the crew and the concrete truck can get in, and the schedule turns mostly on the approvals and any study your lot needs before we start, then on the weather. Your written estimate puts a number on all of that. If you've already settled on a slab, our slab foundation building page covers that work on its own. We're fully licensed and insured, and we do what the state's contractor licensing board says a concrete contractor does, which is form, pour, place, finish and install concrete.
Details to note before an estimate
- What you're building and its rough size
- Where it sits on the lot
- Slab or crawl space, if you know
- Where water collects after rain
- Plumbing or ductwork you may change later
How we handle foundation installation
I start with one question, what you might want to change under the house down the road, because that usually decides between a slab and a crawl space. I'll also ask you to look up your address on the state's earthquake hazard map before the plans get too far along, and there's more on that in the questions below. Once the type is settled, we dig out and pack the subgrade, the ground the concrete sits on, and check where water runs so it heads away from the house instead of toward it. Then we set the forms and the rebar, the steel that holds the concrete together when the ground moves, pour early in the day so midday heat doesn't leave a weak, dusty top, and keep the concrete damp while it cures, which is the wait while it gains strength before it carries weight. When a budget gets tight, people want to trim the prep because nobody sees it on day one. I won't, because a nice surface on a poorly packed base settles right along with the dirt.
A crawl space or a heavy wall usually stands on concrete footings, the poured strips and pads that spread the weight into firm ground, and we form and pour those as part of the same job. If the new building is a shop or a small business space, our concrete parking lot building work can cover the lot out front, so the pavement drains away from the foundation we just poured.
Other work that goes with a new foundation
Concrete footings
Building a block wall, a porch post or a crawl space addition? Footings are the concrete strips and pads that carry that weight into firm ground.
Concrete parking lot building
Putting up a shop or small business building? The lot around it needs its own base and drainage so cars and rain don't undercut the foundation.
What happens when you call about a foundation in Lomita?
Call or send us a note
Tell us what you're building, where it's going and roughly how big it is. We'll set a time for me to come out to the property.
Walk the site together
I look at the ground, how water moves across the lot and how the crew can get in, and we talk through slab or crawl space. We also go over the permit side, which office is involved and who handles each step, and I walk you through any part that falls to you.
Get a written estimate
You get it in writing, with the prep, the steel, the pour and the curing spelled out and the reason for each. Hold us, or anyone else bidding the job, to that same list.
Pour, check in, walk through
I lead the crew on the job and check in with you before the pour and again at the end. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.
Questions before you book foundation installation
How much does foundation installation cost in Lomita?
Across the US, a slab or crawl space foundation usually costs about $4 to $16 per square foot, according to one national home publication, and crawl spaces tend to cost more than slabs. That's a national market figure, not our price, and where your job lands depends on its size, the type and how much ground prep the lot needs. I put your number in the written estimate after I've seen the site.
Should I choose a slab or a crawl space foundation?
A slab usually makes sense if you want a simple, economical, quick foundation and don't expect much work under the floor, while a crawl space is worth weighing if you do. The same publication notes that slabs are popular in warm climates for that simplicity, but a later plumbing, electrical or heating and cooling repair under a slab can mean breaking through the concrete, while a crawl space leaves limited room to get in. Weigh that extra labor against what you'd pay up front for the crawl space.
Who issues building permits after Lomita approves my project?
Los Angeles County Building and Safety issues the building permit once the City of Lomita has approved your project. The city's list of work that needs a permit names additions, new homes and garages but doesn't name foundation work by itself, so ask the city's Planning Division about your project at (310) 325-7110 ext. 103.
How do I know if my lot in Lomita is in an earthquake hazard zone?
Look up your address on EQ Zapp, the California Geological Survey's online map, which anyone can use on a phone or computer. Zones on that map mark where ground failure in an earthquake is more likely, and in them, geologic and engineering investigations find the hazard and reduce it before construction starts. The survey also says new construction and significant remodels need a geologic study of the specific site, so build time for one into your plans before we pour.
How long does a slab foundation last?
A properly built and maintained slab foundation can last 50 to 100 years, according to that same national publication. How long yours goes depends on the climate, earthquakes and work going on nearby, which is why the base prep and the upkeep afterward matter as much as the pour.
What is the best way to keep water away from a new foundation?
Get rain off the property quickly after a storm, because soil guidance from neighboring Torrance calls proper drainage after rain the most important single factor. Downspouts that empty well away from the house and a yard that slopes away from the new walls usually do most of that work.
Get a written foundation estimate for your lot
We reply within one business day to set a time for me to come out. The estimate is free, done on site and carries no obligation, and afterward you get it in writing with what we'll do and why.
Explore our services and areas
Services
- Concrete driveway building
- Concrete patio construction
- Stamped concrete services
- Concrete sidewalk building
- Garage floor concrete
- Decorative concrete
- Concrete retaining walls
- Concrete floor installation
- Concrete pool decks
- Concrete steps construction
- Slab foundation building
- Concrete parking lot building
- Concrete footings
- Foundation raising
- Concrete cutting
Book your foundation estimate in Lomita
Call (424) 667-0052 or use the form with your address and whether it's an addition, new home or garage, so I can check the hazard map and permit path before I come out.