Concrete footings in Petaluma CA - a solid base sized for your build and soil
Planning an addition, a garage or a new wall? We dig, form and pour footings sized for the build and the ground under it.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- Replies within 1 business day.
What do concrete footings do, and what goes into the price?
Concrete footings are the wide concrete base under a foundation, and they spread the weight of your walls into the soil so the structure above stays where it was built. Allied Petaluma Concrete digs, forms and pours footings in Petaluma, CA, for additions, garages, decks, retaining walls and new homes.
Most calls start with a plan for something that needs solid ground under it, like a room addition, a garage or the footings for a full foundation installation. The shape of the build moves the price most, because a continuous footing under the whole length of a wall costs more to put in than pads under single posts. What the ground is like, the total length, the depth and how easy the site is to dig and reach all matter too. The schedule usually turns on the city's permit review and on whether an engineer has to look at the design, more than on our crew. I'll put your figure in a written estimate that lists what's included.
How do you know your house needs new footings?
Posts sitting on dirt
Deck or porch posts set on bare ground or loose blocks usually settle at different rates, so the floor starts to tilt or bounce. The longer they sit, the more the boards, railings and fasteners pull loose, and the repair grows past the footings.
Cracks low on a wall
A stair-step crack in a block wall or a gap opening at the base of a foundation usually means the concrete under it isn't carrying the weight evenly. Left alone, those cracks let water in and keep widening, which makes the fix bigger.
Doors that stick or swing
When a door that used to close fine starts sticking, or swings open on its own, part of the house has often moved on its base. Waiting lets the movement spread into drywall cracks and sloping floors, so it's worth having someone look.
How we build concrete footings
Every footing job starts with questions, because I ask about the planned build and any soil testing before anything else, and the footing type and size follow from those answers. That way the estimate is clear and nobody's surprised once digging starts. Then we lay out the footing lines, dig the trenches or holes to the depth the plans call for, and clean out the bottom so the concrete sits on firm soil and not loose dirt. We set forms where the job needs them, place rebar, the steel bars that hold the concrete together under load, and pour. The concrete then cures, a slow stretch while it hardens and gains strength, before anything is built on it. If a budget has to give somewhere, I'd rather it not be the digging, because a clean, properly sized trench is the part nobody sees and the part that decides whether the walls above stay put.
Footing work often ties into other jobs around the house. If what you're dealing with is an older house that has settled, we also do foundation raising, and when a new footing has to run under an existing slab or patio, concrete cutting lets us open just that strip instead of breaking out the whole thing.
Get a written estimate for your footing job
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set a time. I come out, look at the site and send a free written estimate, with no pressure to book.
- support@petalumaconcretecontractor.com
- Based in
- Petaluma, CA 94952
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call about footings in Petaluma?
Here's how a footing job runs from your first call to the final walk-through, so you know who you'll talk to and what you'll get at each step.
Call or send the form
Call (707) 283-3110 or send the form, and we'll set a time that works for you. Tell us what you're building, so I come out knowing what to look at.
I look at the site
I come out myself, ask what the footings will carry and how you'll use the space, and check how the site digs and where water runs. You get a written estimate that lists what's included, so you can see where every dollar goes.
We plan around the city
Once you're ready, we sort out any city steps and set a date around the approval. Some Petaluma permits are issued at the counter or within a few days, but most take a few weeks and some take several months, so we plan the start with that wait in mind.
Pour, cure and walk through
Our crew digs, forms and pours, then the concrete cures before anything goes on top of it. I walk the finished footings with you before we pack up.
Why Petaluma owners call Allied Petaluma Concrete for footings
On a footing job, what matters most is the size and the ground under it, because none of it can be changed once the walls go up. Call (707) 283-3110 or send us your project, and I'll set a time to come out.
The owner writes every estimate
I come out to look at each job myself and write the estimate, and our own crew does the forming, pouring and finishing. You talk to the person who answers for the work, and the people on site are ones I know.
In business since 2013
I learned concrete on a flatwork crew pouring driveways, patios and walks, came back to the trade in 2013 and started this business then. Thirteen years on, I still care most about the work you can't see once it's poured.
Licensed and fully insured
California requires a licensed contractor for any work that needs a permit, even when the job comes in under $1,000. Footings carry everything built on top of them, so the license and the coverage should be in place before anyone digs.
Footings, permits and planning a build in Petaluma
Before any concrete goes in the ground in Petaluma, the city has a say. The city's Building Division requires a permit for a new foundation, and footings are part of one, while flatwork, the patios and walks that sit flat on the ground, is usually exempt unless it supports a structure that has its own permit. Retaining walls past a set height need a permit and engineering calculations too, and the city measures that height from the bottom of the footing, not from the ground you see. Getting a permit means an application, a fee and, in most cases, plans that city staff review, and every job has to meet the state building code and the city's codes whether it needs a permit or not. When your job needs one, we help with the application and plan our start around the city's approval and inspections.
We're based in Petaluma and work in the cities around it across the North Bay, and most of the footings we pour go under additions, garages, backyard rooms and walls on older houses and newer ones alike. On older lots with tight side yards we often can't get a machine to the trench, so we plan for hand digging and a longer reach for the concrete, and that shows up in the estimate, the same as on jobs in Novato and Santa Rosa.
Questions about concrete footings in Petaluma
Do I need a permit for concrete footings in Petaluma?
Yes for footings under a new foundation, because the city requires a permit for new foundations. If yours is a smaller job and you're not sure, you can email the Building Division at building@cityofpetaluma.org, and they answer questions about specific projects.
How much do concrete footings cost per linear foot?
Installed residential strip footings, the continuous kind that run under a wall, usually cost about $5 to $20 per linear foot across the US. That covers the concrete, the labor to place and finish it, trench digging, forms where needed, any rebar and the contractor's overhead and profit. It's a national figure, so your Petaluma price comes from the written estimate after I've seen the site.
Do I need a soil test before pouring footings?
It's a good idea, because a soil test before work starts shows whether the ground is weak and how to make up for it, and weaker soil needs wider footings that cost more. With weak soil and a heavier build, a structural engineer may also need to weigh in, so it's better to know before the estimate than after the trench is open.
How long does a concrete footing job take in Petaluma?
The permit review usually takes longer than the concrete work, since most Petaluma permits run weeks and some run months, as the steps above lay out. Once it's approved, the digging and pouring are the shorter part, and the concrete then needs time to cure before framing goes on top.
What causes concrete footings to crack or sink?
Most footing trouble comes from a footing that's too small for the load or one poured on loose fill instead of firm ground. Water that runs toward the house and sits around the footing makes it worse, so we look at where water goes on every site.
How do I tell if I need new footings or foundation raising?
Raising usually fits a foundation that has settled but is still in one piece, and new footings fit a spot where the base is missing, broken or too small for the load. I can usually tell which after looking at the cracks, the floors and the ground around the house, and I'll put my reasoning in writing.
Services that often go with footing work
Foundation raising
If part of your house has dropped and the doors and floors show it, raising the foundation back toward level can come before, or instead of, new footings.
Concrete cutting
Adding a post or wall through a garage floor or patio starts with a clean cut, so the new footing goes in without wrecking the slab.
Service areas around Petaluma for footing work
Allied Petaluma Concrete is based in Petaluma, California, and pours footings in the cities around it across the North Bay, including Rohnert Park and Cotati. The 12 cities below each have their own page, and they aren't the only places we work.
Petaluma, CA
Get your footings planned before you dig
Call (707) 283-3110 or send the form with your plans, a rough footing length and any soil test results, so the estimate fits your build from the start.