Concrete footings in Tacoma WA - a solid base planned around your ground and site

Most calls start with a plan and one worry, which is whether the ground will hold the new work without settling. The price moves with how far the footings run, how deep they go, how easy it is to dig and get a truck in, and what turns up once the trench is open. The schedule turns on those same things plus the weather and any permit review, and your written estimate after we've seen the site is where your own numbers come from.

Before we settle on how deep the footings go, we look at the site, any slope and any old foundation close by, because a footing that's fine on open, level ground can be wrong beside a hillside or an older wall. If you're building next to an existing structure, we flag it at the start so it gets checked while the plans are still being drawn, not after the trench is dug. Then we lay out the lines, dig the trench and firm up the bottom, the subgrade the concrete sits on, since loose dirt left down there is what settles later. We set forms where the ground won't hold a clean edge, tie in rebar, the steel that holds the concrete together under load, then pour and let it cure, which is the wait while the concrete gains strength before anything gets built on top.

If the old foundation beside your project has already dropped, foundation raising may need to come first so the new work lines up with something level. When a new footing has to tie into an existing slab, or old concrete is in the way, we do the concrete cutting so the opening is clean and the rest of the slab isn't cracked loose.

In Tacoma, permits go through the city's Planning and Development Services, which runs Tacoma Permits and takes calls at 253-591-5030. The city builds under the Washington State Building Code with its own local changes, so what you read about footings for another place may not match what Tacoma asks for. Whether your project needs a permit is worth settling for your address before anyone digs, so before work starts we check which office covers you and what it will want to see. When the job calls for a permit we handle the paperwork, and if it's one you have to get as the owner, we tell you what to bring.

Around Tacoma we're often called to sloped lots, tight backyards and additions pressed up against older houses, which is right where depth and the neighboring foundation need the most thought. We see the same kinds of sites on jobs in University Place and Fircrest, and a wet stretch can hold up digging anywhere, so we plan the pour around the weather instead of pouring into a trench full of water.