Foundation Contractor

Building a home? We'll explain the process of the concrete foundation.

Most homes are designed to be built on a concrete foundation. When you see a home, you will often notice that there is concrete at the bottom of the siding of your house. This is the foundation of the hone. Unless your floor is a concrete slab, your floor will most likely be screwed into parts of the foundation. 

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When you see the site after excavation has been started, you will notice that the ground is much lower than the surrounding area. This is because the foundation of the home is often installed under the frost line, about 12" under the level of the grass. Do not worry. Once the foundation is poured, the area will be backfilled, raising the ground level back to the normal expected height. Concrete foundations are a bit more complex than than normal concrete flatwork (driveways, walkways, patios and such).

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You will also work closely with the city inspector during installation. Sorry, there is no way around this. So your contractor MUST be properly licensed, bonded and insured. To make sure the contractor is properly and currently licensed, you can check out their license status with the State at:

www.lni.wa.govThe bond, insurance and license status of all contractors are listed here for free. This site is updated on a daily basis. Please do your due diligence.

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First comes the job start inspection. You will schedule this with the city. Most inspectors will call you before making their way to the site. If you or the contractor are not on site, they may leave and tell you to reschedule so they can leave directions for your site. Someone must always be present during inspections with the city. 

Always have a set of plans on site as well. The inspector will want to see them. They inspect dozens of site each day. And they are randomly assigned according to the job phase.

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Forming then begins. Most contractors will want the homeowner to indicate where all four corners of the house will lie. After that, we will lay the forms accordingly and install rebar. Then it's time to schedule the next inspection. Once we get the green light, we are cleared to pour. We will pour the footing for the house and then go through the whole process again to pour the stem walls. The completed house footing will often look like an upside down "T". 

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Once this is completed, your concrete contractor will be done and it will be time for the framing team to begin.

Pouring the driveway and garage slab will be optional. It will also be done once the doors are installed. That way, extra steps can be made to accommodate the door height. 

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Some companies only pour house foundations. Others prefer to stick to the simpler flatwork. You are allowed to hire separate companies to do your foundation and flatwork separately. 

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