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Serving Downey, CA and surrounding areas. (562) 636-0357
Serving Downey, CA and surrounding areas. (562) 636-0357
Adding a room, building an ADU, or putting up a detached garage? We install reinforced concrete footings in Downey that are sized for local soil conditions, meet California seismic standards, and pass city inspection the first time.
Concrete footings in Downey provide the underground base for additions, ADUs, garages, and structural walls - most standard jobs involve two to three days of active work after permits are approved, with a curing period of about a week before framing begins.
A footing is not visible once the project is done, but it determines whether everything built on top of it stays level and stable for decades. In Downey, that job is complicated by clay-heavy soil that moves with every wet and dry season, and by California seismic requirements that mandate steel reinforcement and specific depth standards. These are not details you want to discover failed inspection after the pour.
If your footing project is part of a larger build, we also handle full foundation installation when the scope calls for it. Many Downey homeowners start with footings and add foundation work as their addition or ADU project develops.
Diagonal cracks near the corners of doors or windows, or long cracks running along a concrete slab floor, are common signs that the ground underneath has shifted. In Downey, clay soil expands and contracts with the seasons, and this movement is one of the leading causes of footing failure in older homes. It does not always mean a catastrophic problem, but it does warrant a professional assessment.
When a footing shifts, the structure above it moves too, and one of the first places you notice it is in doors and windows that no longer open or close properly. If this is happening in multiple spots around your home, the issue may be coming from below. This is especially worth checking in Downey homes built before the 1980s, which may have footings that were not designed for current seismic standards.
If you are adding a room, building an ADU, or putting up a detached structure in Downey, new footings are almost certainly required before work can legally proceed. This is not a sign of a problem - it is the starting point for any new construction. The City of Downey requires a permit and inspection for this work, and Downey's ADU activity has made footing permits among the most common the building department sees.
A visible gap forming between your main house and an attached porch, step, or garage means the two structures are moving at different rates. This often happens when one section has a footing that has shifted or settled while the adjacent one has not. In Downey's clay-heavy soil, this kind of differential movement is common in homes that are several decades old and should not be ignored.
Every footing job starts with a site assessment - checking the soil, measuring the area, and confirming what the new structure will require before we dig anything. In Downey, that assessment has to account for clay content and depth to stable soil, because a footing poured at the wrong depth in expansive clay will shift regardless of how good the concrete is. We size the footing for the load it will carry and for the soil conditions we find, not for a generic Southern California average.
Steel reinforcement is not optional on any footing we build in Downey. California seismic requirements mandate it, the city inspector will verify it before the pour, and it is what keeps a footing intact when the ground shakes. We also handle the foundation raising side of the job when older footings have settled and need correction before new construction can proceed above them.
The permit process is part of the service, not an afterthought. We pull the building permit from the City of Downey, coordinate the pre-pour inspection, and hand you the signed permit documentation when the job is complete. For larger projects that also need a full foundation installation, we can scope both together so nothing falls through the cracks between trades.
For homeowners adding a room or enclosed space to an existing Downey home who need new footings tied into the existing structure.
Designed for the detached or attached ADU builds that are common throughout Downey, with permit handling included.
Sized for the load of a one- or two-car garage structure, with seismic reinforcement and city inspection coordination.
Suitable for homeowners building retaining walls on sloped lots or as part of a landscaping or drainage correction project.
Most of Downey's housing stock was built between the 1940s and 1970s, and a significant number of homeowners are now adding ADUs, room additions, or detached garages to those older properties. That creates a specific challenge: new footings need to be tied into or sited near existing foundations that may not meet current standards. A contractor who knows how to assess that existing structure - and how Downey's clay soil has affected it over decades - is the one who will keep your project from stalling at inspection. The California Geological Survey identifies expansive clay as one of the most damaging soil conditions for residential foundations in the Los Angeles Basin.
The seismic dimension matters as much as the soil. Downey is in one of the most active earthquake zones in the country, and California's Building Standards Commission requires footings in this region to include steel reinforcement and meet specific design minimums. The city inspector checks for this before the pour - and that inspection is the checkpoint that protects you, not just a bureaucratic step. We have run through this process many times in Downey, in Norwalk, and in Compton, where the same soil and seismic conditions apply.
Summer heat adds one more variable. Freshly poured concrete that dries too fast in Downey's summer conditions loses strength before it fully cures. We schedule pours for early morning during warm months and keep the concrete moist during the curing window. This is a detail that matters more in Southern California than in most of the country, and we account for it on every job we run near Long Beach and throughout the greater Downey area.
We visit the site before quoting - not over the phone - because soil conditions, access, and what the new structure requires all affect the price. You get a written estimate before any work begins, and we respond within one business day of your first contact.
We handle the City of Downey building permit application on your behalf. Most standard footing permits take a few days to two weeks for approval. Work does not start until permits are in hand, and we coordinate the pre-pour inspection as part of the permit process.
The crew digs to the required depth, builds the wooden forms that define the footing shape, and places the steel reinforcing bars. This is when the city inspector visits to verify depth, width, and reinforcement - before the pour, while everything is still visible.
The concrete pour typically takes a morning. After that, the footing needs about a week of curing before framing can start - longer in summer, when we keep the surface moist to prevent early drying. At completion we hand you the signed permit documentation to keep with your home records.
We visit the site, assess soil conditions and seismic requirements, and give you a written price. Responses within one business day. No obligation.
(562) 636-0357Downey has been one of the more active cities in Los Angeles County for ADU construction, and we have run footing projects for ADUs throughout the area. We know the City of Downey's permit timeline and inspection expectations, which keeps your project on schedule instead of stalling at approvals.
Every footing we build includes the steel reinforcement required by California's building standards for this seismic zone. We do not skip it, reduce it, or treat it as optional. The pre-pour inspection will check for it, and we build to pass - not to renegotiate after the fact.
Parts of Downey have more pronounced clay content than others, and we adjust footing depth and sizing based on what we find on your specific site. A footing that works in sandy soil may fail in clay - we account for the difference rather than applying a one-size approach.
You can verify our California contractor license through the California Contractors State License Board before signing anything. We pull every required permit and do not ask homeowners to work around the process. Unpermitted footing work creates serious problems at resale and during insurance claims.
When soil knowledge, seismic experience, and a permit process handled without shortcuts come together, you get a footing that supports your project for the life of the structure - not just long enough to get a sign-off. That is what every Downey job we take on is built to deliver.
Lift and stabilize settled foundations on older Downey homes before adding new footings or framing above.
Learn moreFull foundation pours for new builds and major additions where footings alone are not the complete scope.
Learn moreCity inspection slots book out - reach out now and we will get your permit application started this week.