Foundation installation in Lake Forest CA - built for the soil under your house
Planning a new home or addition on clay or a sloped lot? We match the foundation to your soils report and your engineer's plans.
Complete Lake Forest Concrete Company is a concrete contractor based in Lake Forest. I started it after years on an old-school boss's crews, and we pour foundations, driveways, patios and walks for homeowners and small property owners across Orange County. With foundation installation, we start with your soils report and your lot, because they decide what goes under your house.
- Owner writes every estimate on site
- Soils report reviewed before pricing
- Site cleaned up when we leave
Foundation installation starts with your soil
A foundation is the concrete base your house sits on, and its job is to be stiff enough, or deep enough, to hold steady while the soil underneath pushes and pulls. Most calls are for a new home or an addition, and the first question is slab or raised. I go over your soils report and your lot with you before we talk price, because those two things make that call.
What moves the price is the foundation type, how much your lot slopes, how deep the concrete footings need to go and how much steel and formwork the plans call for. The schedule turns on the soils report, the engineer's plans, the permit and the weather. Your own figure comes in the estimate, after I've walked the lot with you.
- Soils and plans first. We read your soils report and your engineer's plans with you, since how much your soil swells points toward one foundation type.
- Footings and subgrade. We dig footings to the depth on the plans and pack the subgrade, the ground the concrete sits on, so it won't settle.
- Steel in place. We set the rebar, the steel that keeps concrete from pulling apart, where the plans show it before anything gets poured.
- Pour and cure. We pour, finish and keep the concrete damp while it cures, the slow hardening that gives it strength, before framing goes on top.
Foundations we pour and build
We build the foundation your engineer designs for your soil and lot, from a simple slab on flat ground to a raised floor on a slope, plus foundations for additions.
Slab-on-grade foundations
A slab poured on prepared, packed ground, with deeper footings under the walls. On a flat lot with steady soil, it's often the simpler build.
Post-tensioned slabs
Steel cables run through the slab and get tightened after the pour, squeezing the concrete so it holds together. Your engineer may call for one on soil that swells and shrinks.
Raised foundations
Footings around the edge and short stem walls hold the floor up off the ground, which leaves a crawlspace where pipes and wiring stay within reach.
Addition foundations
New footings and a slab or raised floor for a room or garage addition, tied in to your existing house the way your engineer details it.
If your job isn't listed, like a shop slab or a concrete parking lot for a small property, call and ask us about it.
Why foundation installation is worth doing right
Once the house is framed, the foundation is the one part you can't get back to cheaply. Built right for your soil, it's what holds the floors level and the walls above it square as wet winters and dry summers come and go.
- Base before looksThe packed base is buried by the end of day one, which is exactly why it's the last place we'd cut to save money.
- Steel where it's drawnRebar in the wrong spot does about as much good as rebar left in the truck, so we check it before the pour.
- Cool-hour poursWe schedule pours away from midday heat, because concrete placed in the hot sun can end up weak and dusty on top.
- No rushed cureConcrete gains strength slowly as it cures, so we keep it damp and don't hurry the next trade onto it.
How a foundation job runs
Call and site visit
You call or send the form, and we set up a visit. I come out myself, walk the lot with you and look over your soils report and any plans.
Options and estimate
I explain slab versus raised for your lot and why one fits better, then leave you an estimate built on your engineer's plans.
Build and walk-through
Once you say go, our crew handles the forms, steel, pour and finish. I check the work at the key steps and walk it with you at the end.
Why homeowners hire us for foundations
I learned this trade under a boss who made me redo forms until they were right, and I still work that way. When you're ready, call (949) 619-8295 or use the form below to set up a visit.
Explained before it's priced
I'd rather you understand your foundation well enough to question my bid, and anyone else's, than sign something you can't follow.
Our own crew does it
The forms, steel, pour and finish are done by our own crew, not whoever's free that week. Satisfaction guaranteed on every job.
We work with your engineer
We build to the plans your engineer signs off on, and if something on site doesn't match the drawings, we stop and ask.
Foundations on clay soil in Lake Forest
Clay is what we watch for around Lake Forest. Parts of Orange County have expansive soil, and when winter rains come, that clay soaks up water, swells and pushes up on the bottom of a foundation. We ask about it on every lot, here and on jobs in Mission Viejo and Irvine.
California cities and counties issue permits, and in the state's mapped hazard zones most occupied buildings need a site soil study first. State rules exempt a single-family frame home of one or two stories outside a development of four or more, but cities can be stricter, so we check with your building office and handle any permit application with you.
Tell us about your foundation job
Send the form or call us with your lot address, project type and any soils report. We reply within one business day, and the on-site estimate is free with no obligation.
Call (949) 619-8295Foundation questions we hear
Should I build a slab or a raised foundation in Lake Forest?
Your soils report, your lot and your budget decide it, one engineering firm says, and the report's expansion index, a measure of how much the soil swells, guides which type fits. A raised foundation handles a sloping lot without big retaining walls or hauling dirt off, so on a hillside that saving can outweigh a slab's lower upfront cost.
Is a post-tensioned slab cheaper to build than a raised foundation?
Usually, yes, at least to build, since one engineering firm notes post-tensioned slabs generally take less labor and formwork than deep raised foundations. The Post-Tensioning Institute, a trade group, calls it a cost-efficient choice for homes on soil that shrinks and swells. Your own figure depends on your plans and lot, and it comes in the estimate.
Will a new slab foundation move or crack on expansive soil?
Some uneven movement is possible and should be expected with a conventional slab on expansive soil, according to a structural engineering magazine. A structural slab poured over void form, which leaves a gap under the first floor, essentially removes that movement as long as the gap stays big enough. Your engineer picks the design, and we build to it.
Who licenses concrete contractors in California?
The Contractors State License Board does, and it describes a concrete contractor as one who forms, pours, places, finishes and installs concrete work. We're fully licensed and insured, and we build to the plans your engineer signs off on.