Foundation installation in Vacaville CA - built for the soil under your house
Planning a new house or addition and not sure what it should sit on? We start with the soil and build to the plans.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- We reply within 1 business day.
What goes into a new house foundation in Vacaville?
The short answer: Foundation installation is building the base your house sits on, usually a slab poured on the ground or a raised floor over a crawl space, and Custom Vacaville Concrete Company builds them in Vacaville and the cities around it, from Davis and Woodland to Napa, Vallejo and Concord.
Most people who call about a foundation are building a house, an addition or a garage, and the first decision is what it sits on. The price turns mostly on the foundation type, the size of the footprint and what the soil report and plans call for, and the schedule turns on getting the soil work, the design and the city's sign-off done before anyone digs. If you already know you want a slab, our page on slab foundation building goes deeper, and either way I'll give you a written estimate that spells out what's included once I've seen the site.
How do you know it's time for a new foundation?
Cracked, sloping floors
If floors slope, doors stick or cracks run across the slab, the ground under the house has usually moved. Sometimes foundation raising brings it back and sometimes part of it has to be rebuilt, and every wet and dry season you wait gives the soil another round at it.
Posts sitting on dirt
An old porch, room or outbuilding resting on wood posts or loose blocks tends to rot and settle unevenly. Putting a real foundation under it before the framing gives out costs far less than replacing the framing too.
An addition on paper
If you've got drawings for an addition, a garage or a new house, the foundation is the first thing built and the last thing you can change. Settling the soil work and the foundation type early saves you redrawing plans later.
How we handle foundation installation
We start by helping you weigh a slab against a crawl space for your house and how you plan to use it, because that choice decides most of what follows. Soil testing and the design come before we dig, and we build to the plans that come out of that work, not to what's usual on the block. Once the plans are set, my crew digs out and compacts the subgrade, the soil the foundation rests on, then sets the forms and ties in the rebar, the steel inside the concrete that keeps cracks tight and holds it together when the ground shifts. We pour, finish and then let it cure, the slow hardening that gives concrete its strength, so nothing gets built on it before it's ready. If the budget gets tight, I'll tell you to cut somewhere you can see and not in the digging and compaction, because nobody looks at the base on pour day and it's the part that decides whether the foundation holds.
Most foundations carry their load on concrete footings, the wider, deeper concrete under walls and posts, and we also pour those on their own for porches and small additions. Property owners and builders putting up a shop or rental building can have the same crew handle concrete parking lot building once the building's foundation is in, so the ground prep gets planned once.
Slab on the ground
A slab suits a house or garage where you want the floor close to ground level with few steps up, and it's usually the simpler build. The trade-off is that pipes run under or inside the concrete, so a leak years later can mean cutting into the floor.
Raised floor over a crawl space
A crawl space suits you if you want the plumbing, wiring, ducts and framing within reach for repairs or a remodel later, which beats cutting into a slab. The catch is moisture, because a crawl space that stays damp can rot wood and ruin insulation and ducts, so keeping it dry has to be part of the plans.
What happens when you call about a new foundation?
Here's how a foundation job runs with us, from the first call to the final walk-through, so you know who you're dealing with and what you'll have in hand before any digging starts.
- Step 01
Call or send a request
Call (707) 898-1384 or use the form and tell us the address and what you're building. If you already have a soil report or plans, keep them handy, because they shape the whole job.
- Step 02
I walk the site with you
I come out myself, look at the lot and ask what the foundation has to carry. You get a written estimate that spells out what's included, so you know what you're paying for before we start.
- Step 03
We sort out paperwork and prep
If you go ahead, we sort out what the city wants for your address. Then we dig, compact the ground and set the forms and steel to the plans.
- Step 04
Pour, cure and walk it
We pour and finish the concrete and give it time to cure before anything goes on top. Then I walk the finished foundation with you.
Foundation installation in Vacaville: permits, quakes and clay
Whether your foundation needs a permit is the city's call for your address, so we don't guess at it. We find out what the city wants for the work at your lot, and when a permit is needed we pull it, keep the papers on site and meet the inspector. The city's design criteria also put Vacaville in a high earthquake design category, so expect the engineer's plans to account for strong shaking, and we build the steel and connections the way they're drawn.
The ground here bakes hard and cracks open by late summer and turns sticky after the first rains, and we see the same on jobs in Fairfield and Dixon. We don't leave a dug-out foundation open to the weather any longer than we have to.
Ask for a written estimate on your foundation
We reply within one business day, and there's no pressure to book. I'll set a time to walk the site with you, then you get a free written estimate at your property that spells out what's included. Have the address, the kind of project and any soil report ready.
Why Vacaville homeowners call Custom Vacaville Concrete Company
The estimator runs the crew
My crew does the digging, forming, pouring and finishing with me running the work. The person who told you what the job involves is the one standing there while it gets built.
In business since 2013
I started this business in 2013 after years of summers on concrete crews, beginning with the shovel work most people never see. Thirteen years in, I'd still rather give you the bad news at the estimate than on pour day.
Licensed and insured before we dig
We're fully licensed and insured. On a job that carries your whole house, that should be settled before anyone breaks ground.
Your address checked first
Before we price a foundation, I look at what the city wants for your lot, including whether it sits in a flood zone, since the city sends those owners to Public Works. Finding that out early keeps the plans and the estimate honest.
On a foundation, the soil and the plans count for more than anything you'll see on pour day. Call (707) 898-1384 or send us a request and I'll come out and walk the site.
Foundation questions we hear in Vacaville
What types of foundations do houses in Vacaville use?
Most houses sit on one of these: a slab on the ground, a crawl space, a basement, pier and beam, or deep foundations such as piles or drilled piers. Around here most of what we're asked about is a slab or a crawl space, and the soil report and plans settle which one fits your house.
What causes a slab foundation to crack in Vacaville?
Most slab cracking, settling, heaving or tilting comes from the soil underneath moving, and a City of Vacaville report says most of the soil in and around the city is expansive, so it shrinks as it dries and swells when it gets wet. That makes the ground under your house the first question if you're leaning toward a slab. One engineering guide notes that post-tensioned slabs, which use steel cables tightened after the pour, allow thinner sections on that kind of soil, and whether that suits your house is the engineer's call.
How do I find out if my soil is right for a new foundation?
You get a geotechnical investigation, which is a soil engineer digging borings or test pits and lab testing the samples, and one engineering guide says foundation design always begins there. Plan for that soil work to come ahead of the design, because the design is built on what it finds. If you already have a soil report, have it out when I come by.
How do I get a building permit for a foundation in Vacaville?
The first step is registering with the city's Building Division for online permit access, which contractors arrange by contacting the division and owner/builders do under a Public User account. Expect the project to include a foundation plan, structural calculations and the locations of the structural parts, since the city's plan check covers those. When we're building it, that side is on us.
When does a contractor need a California license to build a foundation?
A California contractor needs a state license when the project requires a building permit, uses any additional workers, or totals $1,000 or more in labor and materials, which covers just about any foundation. The state licensing board licenses anyone who builds or alters a structure, so ask any contractor you're considering which license they hold.
How much does a new house foundation cost in Vacaville?
There's no honest number until the soil report and plans are done, because they decide the type, depth and steel. Beyond slab versus crawl space and the size of the footprint, the price moves with how deep the footings go, how much steel the plans call for, how much dirt has to be dug and hauled, and how easily trucks can reach the site. I'll walk it with you and put all of that in a written estimate before we start.
Related concrete work for new foundations
Concrete footings
If a deck, porch or small addition needs firm support under its posts or walls without a full foundation, footings carry that weight down to solid ground.
Concrete parking lot building
Putting up a shop, office or rental building means somewhere for cars, and a lot poured over a properly built base holds up to traffic and delivery trucks.
Get your foundation priced before you build
Call (707) 898-1384 with your address, what you're building and any soil report, so we can tell you what's still needed before the design moves forward.