Concrete Footings in South El Monte CA - a solid base for your addition or posts
Adding a room, a patio cover or a heavy post? We dig and pour footings sized for the load, so what you build sits steady.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
What do concrete footings do, and does my project need them?
Concrete footings are the buried concrete bases that carry the weight of a house, an addition, a column or a post down into the ground, and in South El Monte we dig, form and pour them so whatever you build on top starts on a solid base.
Most folks call me about footings because something new is going up: a room addition, a patio cover, a carport post or a block wall. Nobody sees the footing once it's done, and that's exactly why it's worth getting right, because fixing one later means breaking out whatever sits on top of it. The price moves with how much footing you need and how deep it goes, how easy the spot is to dig, and how much steel and forming it takes. The schedule mostly turns on the permit and the city's inspection calendar, then the weather and our crew's calendar. If the footings are part of a bigger job, like a whole new foundation, we plan the two together, and I'll give you your own number at the estimate once I've measured.
How do you know you need new footings?
Patio cover posts leaning
If the posts on your patio cover or carport lean, or the beam has a dip in it, they're usually sitting on a thin slab or a small pad that wasn't built for that weight. Waiting lets the frame keep twisting, and once it starts pulling at the house you're paying for framing repair on top of the footings.
Posts sitting on blocks
A lot of older sheds, shade structures and decks rest on loose blocks or bricks set right on the dirt. They usually hold until a wet winter or a heavy load shifts them, and by then whatever's on top is out of level and harder to fix.
Plans that call for footings
If you've got drawings for a room addition, a block wall or a new column, the footings go in first and everything else waits on them. Booking that part late usually pushes the whole project back, so it pays to get the footing work measured early.
How we dig and pour concrete footings
I start by marking where each footing goes and checking it against your plans, then we dig the trench or hole to the size the job calls for and clean the loose dirt out of the bottom, because a footing poured on fluffy soil can settle no matter how good the concrete is. Nobody admires a footing at a barbecue, so the bottom of that hole is the first corner people want to cut, and I'll spend the extra time there before I'd spend it on anything you can see. Next come forms where the ground won't hold its own shape, and rebar, the steel bars that help the concrete hold together under load, and I'll tell you up front who on the job handles that steel. When the truck shows up we keep an eye on the water, because a soupy mix is easier to pour but weaker, and the same amount of cement with less water makes stronger concrete. Then we level the top, let it cure, which is the wait while it gains strength before anything heavy goes on it, and clean up after ourselves.
Sometimes a call about footings turns out to be a different job. If your house or an old addition has already settled and the floors slope, that's usually a foundation raising job rather than new footings. And when a new post has to land where a patio or slab already sits, we use concrete cutting to open a clean square instead of jackhammering a mess.
Pad footings for posts and columns
A pad footing is a separate block of concrete under a single post or column, which suits patio covers, carports, decks and porch posts. It's the usual pick when the weight comes down on a few points instead of along a whole wall.
Thickened slab footings
A thickened slab is a footing poured as part of the floor itself, deeper at the edges or under a wall, which suits a new garage floor or a small addition going in at the same time. If you're pouring a floor anyway, it's worth asking about, since the footing and the slab go in together.
Get a free on-site estimate for your footings
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time. I come out myself to measure and talk it through, and the estimate is free, with no pressure to book.
- Based in
- South El Monte, CA 91733
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–10 PM
What happens after you call us about footings?
From your first call to the last walk-around, here's how a footing job runs with us and who you'll be talking to at each step.
Call or send a message
Call (626) 719-0110 or use the form, and tell us what's going up, where on the lot it goes and whether you have plans. We get back to you to set up a visit.
I come out and measure
I come out myself to look at the spot, measure and talk through what you're building, including anything that makes the digging harder. The estimate spells out the footings we talked about and what they'll cost, so there's no guessing when the truck shows up.
We pour, then walk it together
If you go ahead, we handle the permit when there is one and book any city inspections early, since the city wants notice ahead of time, then my crew and I dig, form and pour. Before we pack up, I go over the finished footings with you.
Why South El Monte homeowners call us for footings
I measure every footing job myself
I come out to every estimate myself from here in South El Monte, and the work is done by me and my crew. So the person who heard what you want is the same one standing at the hole on pour day.
In business since 2023
We've been at it since 2023, and the business grew out of weekend jobs for neighbors who kept passing my number around. That's why I still pick up the phone and take the smaller jobs a lot of outfits don't want to bother with.
Licensed and fully insured on every job
We're licensed and fully insured. California's contractor license board has a concrete class for contractors who form, pour, place and finish concrete, so it's fair to ask anyone bidding your footings about their license.
Concrete is hard to undo once it's in the ground, so I'd rather answer every question before we dig. Tell us about your project and I'll come take a look.
Footings, permits and foundation work in South El Monte
In South El Monte, the city's Building & Safety Division takes building permit applications and checks construction plans against the California Building Code, the Los Angeles County Building Code the city has adopted, and city and state rules. Whether your footing job needs a permit is the city's call, so I check with the right office for your address before we dig, and when it does, we pull the permit and set up the inspections. Some cities around here have their own permit counters and some areas go through the county, which is why we check every time.
The state maps Seismic Hazard Zones, and a property inside one likely has weak soil or rock under it that can fail in an earthquake and damage what's built there unless the grading and construction take the right precautions. It's worth finding out whether your lot is in a mapped zone before the footing is designed. A lot of our footing calls are for patio covers, carports and additions on older single-story houses, and we're based in South El Monte with the same kind of work on jobs in El Monte and Rosemead, out to West Covina and down toward Downey.
Questions about concrete footings in South El Monte
What does a concrete footing do?
A footing takes the weight of whatever sits on it, a house, an addition, a column or a post, and passes it down into the soil underneath. It's the first thing that goes in and the last thing anyone thinks about, so I'll walk you through the size and the spot at the estimate.
How much do concrete footings cost?
Installed residential strip footings, the long footings that run under walls, usually cost about $5 to $19 per linear foot across the US, counting concrete, labor, digging and forms. That's a national range, not our price, and where your job lands depends on how deep and wide the footing is, how hard the digging is and how much steel goes in. I'll give you your own number after I measure.
How do I apply for a building permit in South El Monte?
Building permit applications in South El Monte go through the city's Online Permit Portal and land with the Building & Safety Division. On our jobs you don't have to deal with it, because we pull the permit when one's needed.
How much notice does South El Monte need for a building inspection?
The city wants 24 hours' notice for a building inspection, and a Monday inspection has to be requested by the Thursday before. Inspections are booked by calling (626) 579-6540, though when we have the permit we set them up for you and plan the work around them.
What causes cracks in new concrete footings?
Water in the mix is a big one, because hardened concrete shrinks in direct proportion to how much water went in, so a wetter mix shrinks more. That shrinking pulls at the concrete as it hardens, which is one more reason we keep the mix from getting soupy, as I mentioned above.
How long does a concrete footing job take?
A footing job's schedule usually turns more on the permit, the inspections and the cure than on the digging and pouring. The concrete needs time to gain strength before framing or anything heavy goes on it, so I'll give you a realistic timeline at the estimate once I know what's going on top.
Other concrete work that goes with footings
Foundation raising
When an older house or addition has already settled and the floors slope or doors stick, raising the foundation is usually the fix rather than a new footing.
Concrete cutting
When a new post has to land on an existing patio or slab, we saw-cut a clean opening so the footing goes in without breaking up the rest.
Cities where we pour concrete footings
South El Monte Concrete is based in South El Monte, CA, and the 12 cities listed here, from West Covina down to Downey, each have their own page. We take footing jobs in other nearby cities and county areas too, so call if yours isn't on the list.
South El Monte, CA
Book a visit to measure your footings
Tell us what's going up, where on the lot it sits and whether you have plans, and I'll show up ready to answer the hard questions.