Concrete footings in Pico Rivera CA - sized right for the weight and the soil
Adding a room, a patio cover or a wall? We dig, tie steel and pour footings sized to carry what your plans put on them.
Send your plans before anything gets poured
Call (562) 271-1038 or email contact@picoriveraconcrete.com, because a footing is sized from the plans, and one that's too small has to be dug back out.
What do concrete footings involve, and what sets the price?
Concrete footings are the buried concrete that carries a building's weight down into the soil, and in Pico Rivera we dig the trench, set forms where the ground needs them, tie in the steel, then pour and finish the concrete.
Most people call us because they're adding a room, putting up a patio cover or building a wall, and the first thing I explain is that a footing has to match two things, the weight it carries and what the ground under it can hold. One company's reading of the state code says the same, and that's why soil moves the price more than anything, since a wider, deeper footing on weak ground can cost several times what a shallow one does. The total length, the steel and how easy it is to get a trench in add to it. The schedule usually turns on paperwork more than the dig, because an addition needs plans and city approval first, and if your job needs a permit, we pull it and deal with the city for you. Your written estimate lists each part, so you can see what you're paying for.
Why Pico Rivera homeowners call Standard Pico Rivera Concrete for footings
The owner prices and runs it
I've run this business since 2017 and still come out to measure and write every estimate myself. Our own small crew does the work with me on site, so what we priced is what gets built.
Licensed and fully insured
We're licensed and fully insured, and I'm glad to show you both at the estimate before you sign anything. You should know who's digging next to your house before the first shovel goes in.
Built to the city's code
The city wants plans to meet its municipal code and the California Residential Code, so we build your footings to those plans. A footing that's off is hard to fix once walls sit on it.
With footings, the part you pay for is underground by the end of the day, so ask every question you have before we pour. Send us your plans or give us a call and I'll come take a look.
How we dig, steel and pour concrete footings
I start with the plans, because the footing size comes from them, and on a room addition I want them in hand before I give you a price. We dig the trench to the width and depth the plans call for, clean out the loose dirt so the concrete sits on firm ground, and set forms wherever the soil won't hold a clean edge. Then we tie the steel so it overlaps at the corners and where one footing meets another, since an unlapped joint is where a footing tends to split. We pour early in the day when we can, because concrete that dries too fast in afternoon heat comes out weaker, and we keep it damp while it cures, the stretch where it hardens and gains strength before anything is built on it. None of this shows once the walls go up, which is exactly why I won't trim the trench or the steel to make a bid look smaller.
Footings often come with other work. If an older part of the house has already settled and pulled away, foundation raising can bring it back up before we build next to it. If a new footing has to go through an existing patio, driveway or garage slab, we use concrete cutting to saw a clean opening instead of breaking out more than the job needs.
Continuous footings for additions
A long strip of concrete under the walls of a new room or garage, sized from plans with structural calculations. It suits additions, where the weight runs along the full length of each wall.
Pad footings for posts
A square pad poured under each post of a patio cover, carport or deck. It suits jobs where the weight comes down at a few points instead of along a wall, and it usually costs less than a full strip.
How do you know if you need new footings?
Posts on a thin slab
Patio cover posts bolted to an old slab often crack it around the base, since a slab isn't made to carry weight at one spot, and the post keeps sinking.
A wall that's leaning
A block or garden wall that leans or shows stair-step cracks usually sits on a footing that's too small or missing, and the longer it moves, the more of it has to come down.
A gap at an old addition
A crack or gap where an older addition meets the house usually means the two are settling on different footings, and it tends to widen and let water in if it's left alone.
Soft or soggy ground
Ground that stays soft or holds water where you plan to build usually means the footing needs to be wider or deeper, and finding that out after the pour costs far more.
What happens after you call about footings?
Call and set a visit
Call or message us to set a time. I look at the ground, measure, go over your plans and send a written estimate that lays out each part of the job.
Permit, dig, steel and pour
Once you say yes, we handle any permit the job needs, then dig and form the footings, tie the steel and pour. I run our crew on site.
Walk the finished work
After the pour we clean up and walk the footings with you before we pack up, so you see the finished work before anything gets built on it.
Footing questions we hear most
These are the questions people in Pico Rivera ask me most about footings. If yours isn't here, call and ask, since I'd rather answer it than have you guess.
How much do concrete footings cost in Pico Rivera?
Installed concrete footings across the US usually cost about $5 to $20 per linear foot, going by 2026 estimates, and that covers digging, forms, steel, the concrete and finishing, plus the contractor's overhead and profit. That's a national figure, not our price, and where your job lands depends mostly on the size your soil and plans call for. When you compare quotes, check that each one covers the same parts of the job, and our free estimate lists every part so that's easy to do.
Do concrete footings need rebar in California?
Usually, yes. One company's reading of the state code says most of California needs rebar, the steel bars set inside the concrete, along the top and bottom of every perimeter footing, the ones that run around the outside of a building. Installed prices normally include that steel, so expect it on a standard job and ask about it if a quote leaves it out.
Do I need a permit to pour footings in Pico Rivera?
A room addition does, since the City of Pico Rivera issues building permits for additions like a bedroom, bathroom or covered patio, and the footings are part of that work. The city's list names those additions rather than footings on their own, so for other footing work, ask the Building Division, which answers construction questions by phone, email or at its counter. For an addition, you first get zoning approval from the Planning Division, then submit full construction plans with structural calculations. If I'm not sure what your address needs, we check with the city before we start.
When is a contractor's license required in California for small concrete jobs?
Any job that needs a permit of any kind needs a licensed contractor, even if it costs under $1,000, according to the state licensing board. The same rule applies when an unlicensed person hires workers to help, so bringing on helpers doesn't get around it. Ask anyone you're thinking of hiring for their license before work starts.
How do I check if my Pico Rivera lot is in an earthquake hazard zone?
Look up your address on the state's EQ Zapp map, which shows whether a property sits in a mapped earthquake hazard zone or in an area that hasn't been evaluated yet. One kind of zone covers liquefaction, where shaking turns the soil soft like quicksand so it can't hold a building up, and those zones call for geologic and engineering studies before construction begins. Run it for any address, in Pico Rivera or the cities around it where we work, like Downey and Whittier, and send me the result, since the ground sets the footing size.
How long does a concrete footing job take?
The digging and pouring are usually the quickest part, and on an addition most of the wait comes before we break ground, while zoning and plans go through the city. After the pour, the concrete has to cure before framing or posts go on it. I'll go over the timing for your job when I write the estimate.
Get your footing job priced
Tell us your address, what you're building and any plans or EQ Zapp result you have, and we'll reply within one business day to set a visit. I come out, measure and send a free written estimate, with no obligation.
Footing work from trench to pour
Work that often goes with footings
Foundation raising
When part of the house has sunk and doors start sticking or cracks climb the walls, raising the foundation can level things before you add on.
Learn moreConcrete cutting
Need a footing in the middle of a patio or across a driveway? A clean saw cut opens only the space needed and leaves the rest whole.
Learn more