Concrete footings in Pittsburg CA - a solid base sized for the soil and the weight
Cracks over a sinking post, or a new deck or addition to support? We pour footings sized to what they'll carry.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- Expect a reply within 1 business day.
What goes into concrete footings for a deck, wall or addition?
The short answer: Concrete footings are the concrete base under a wall, post or column that spreads its weight into the soil. In Pittsburg, CA, we dig, reinforce and pour them for decks, room additions, walls and carports.
Most calls come when you're adding something that has to sit on solid ground, or when an old post or wall has started to sink. The price moves with how many feet of footing you need, how wide and deep the ground makes them, how much steel goes in and how easy it is to get a crew and concrete to the spot. The schedule turns mostly on whether there's a soils report or an engineer's design to wait on. If the whole house needs a new base, that's closer to slab foundation building. Either way, the estimate I write lists what's in the price and what isn't.
How can you tell a footing isn't doing its job?
Cracks in walls or floors
Stair-step cracks in a block wall or a crack running across a slab floor usually mean the ground under a footing moved, or the footing was too small for what it holds up. Left alone, a crack like that tends to widen with each wet and dry season, and the fix can grow from a footing repair to raising part of the house.
A post sinking or leaning
When one deck or porch post sits lower than the others, it's often resting on a small block or loose dirt instead of a real footing. The frame twists as the post drops, and the longer it goes, the more boards, railings and hardware need fixing too.
Water pooling by the foundation
Puddles that sit against a wall after rain soak the ground right where the footing carries the weight. Over a few seasons the soil under that corner softens, and that's usually where settling and cracks show up first.
How we build concrete footings
I start by asking what the footings will carry and whether there's a soils report, because those two answers decide the type and the width before anyone picks up a shovel. Then we lay out the lines, dig the trenches or holes down to firm ground and clean out the loose dirt, since a footing poured on loose fill settles right along with it. We set forms where the ground won't hold its own shape. Then we tie in rebar, the steel bars that keep the concrete from pulling apart when the ground shifts, and we pour. The concrete cures before anything gets built on it, and we backfill around it once it's ready. When a budget gets tight, people want to trim the digging and the steel because nobody sees them after the pour. Those are the two places I won't trim, because they're the whole footing.
Footings often come with other work. When a new footing has to go where an old slab or patio already sits, we start with concrete cutting to open a clean channel. If the house has already dropped, foundation raising brings it back up first, and the new footings carry it from there.
Continuous footings for walls
These run the full length under a wall, so they suit room additions, garages and block walls where the weight spreads along a line. They cost more to install than pads because there's more digging, steel and concrete in them.
Pad footings for posts
A pad sits under one heavy point, such as a deck post, a porch column or a carport post. If your project stands on posts, pads usually keep the price down because we only dig where the weight lands.
What happens when you call about footings in Pittsburg?
A footing job runs in four steps, and most of the thinking happens at the first visit, before anyone digs. Here's who does what, and what you get along the way.
- Step 01
Call or send the form
Tell us the address, what the footings will hold up and whether you have a soils report or plans. That lets me show up with the right questions instead of guesses.
- Step 02
I walk the site with you
I look the ground over and ask a lot of questions about the load, the drainage and what's under the dirt. You get a written estimate that says what's in it and what isn't, so you know what the price covers before you decide.
- Step 03
We dig, set steel and pour
If you go ahead, I run the job alongside our crew, from layout through the pour. I'll tell you what we're doing each day and when the concrete will be ready to build on.
- Step 04
Clean up and walk it
At the end we clear out the dirt and forms and walk the finished footings with you. You see them before anything covers them up.
Concrete footings in Pittsburg and what the ground can carry
The California Geological Survey's EQ Zapp map shows whether an address sits in a mapped earthquake hazard zone. That includes liquefaction zones, where the soil can turn to quicksand for a while during a quake. Building in one of those mapped zones triggers geologic and engineering studies, which look for ground failure risks and cut them down before construction starts. So before I price footings, I look up your address. If it lands in one of those zones, the footing design comes from that study and an engineer, not from my eye.
Most of our footing calls are for decks, room additions, carports and walls on lots that have been built on and added to over the years. We see the same kinds of jobs in Antioch and Concord. We're based in Pittsburg and take jobs in the cities around it, so call even if yours isn't listed on this site.
Get a written estimate for your footings
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time for me to come out. The on-site estimate is free, and there's no pressure to book once you have it.
Why Pittsburg homeowners call C&K Pittsburg Concrete Company
The owner writes every estimate
I come out to look at the job and write the estimate myself, and then I run the work alongside our crew. The person who asked about your soil and your load is the one standing there when we dig.
Five years of tricky concrete
We've been in business since 2021, and we're best known for the jobs with a puzzle in them, like cutting into an old slab or raising a house. Footings that tie into older work are that kind of job, where reading the site first matters more than speed.
Licensed and insured, card on hand
We're fully licensed and insured. The state contractor board suggests asking any contractor to show their pocket license, the wallet card that shows the license, and I'm glad to hand mine over at the estimate.
On a footing job, everything that counts ends up underground, so get the soil and the load right before the first pour. Send us your project details or call (925) 318-8157 to set up a visit.
Concrete footing questions from Pittsburg homeowners
How much do concrete footings cost in Pittsburg, CA?
Installed concrete footings across the US usually cost about $4 to $20 per linear foot, with materials and labor together. That's the market's spread, not our price. Where your job lands depends on whether it needs continuous footings, which cost more than pads, and how wide the soil makes them, since wider footings cost more. Your own number comes from the estimate I write after looking at the site.
Why should I get a soil test before pouring footings?
A soil test shows whether the ground carries weight well, or whether the footing needs to make up for soil that doesn't. Weaker soil needs wider footings, and wider footings cost more. Testing early lets you plan the budget around the width the soil calls for instead of finding out partway through. If you already have a soils report, have it handy when you call.
How do I compare quotes for concrete footings?
Ask each contractor what their per-foot number includes. A labor-only rate covers layout, forming and pouring, while an installed price also takes in the concrete, digging, rebar and margin. Two quotes only line up once you know which kind you're holding. Ours spells out the digging, rebar and concrete it covers, so you can set it beside the others line by line.
Who is allowed to build concrete footings in California?
A contractor with the C-8 Concrete Contractor license from the Contractors State License Board can do this work, since that license covers forming, pouring, placing and finishing concrete. A general building contractor can take on a concrete-only job only by holding that license or by hiring a properly licensed concrete contractor. The board also requires concrete contractors to show proof of workers' compensation coverage to hold or renew that license, even if they have no employees.
What causes footings to crack and move on clay soil?
Clay swells when it's wet and shrinks when it dries, so the ground lifts in wet spells and settles in dry ones, and either change can crack the floors and walls of a house. A research review found that plants, drainage and differences in how footings are built strongly affect how footings hold up on that kind of clay. That's why I look at where the water runs and what's growing near the house before we dig.
How long does it take before you can build on new concrete footings?
Framing can go on once the concrete has cured, the stretch where it hardens enough to take weight, and I'll tell you when that is for your pour. Before that, most of the time goes into digging and tying steel. A soils report or an engineer's drawings can add waiting at the front end. Loading a footing early is a shortcut we don't take.
Related concrete work for footing jobs
Foundation raising
If floors slope or walls have cracked because part of the house dropped, raising it back to level comes before new footings can carry it properly.
Concrete cutting
When a footing has to go through an existing patio, garage floor or slab, a clean saw cut keeps the rest of the concrete from cracking around it.
Get your footings priced before you build
Call (925) 318-8157 with the address, what the footings will hold up and any soils report, and on the first visit I can tell you what's still left to find out.