Concrete footings in Dixon CA - a solid base for your addition or garage
Adding a room or garage, or seeing cracks in an old foundation? We prep and pour footings that give your building firm support.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- Replies within 1 business day.
What's involved in concrete footings for an addition, garage or patio cover?
Concrete footings are the base under a building, the strip or pad of concrete in the ground that gives your walls or posts firm support from the soil below. For concrete footings in Dixon, CA, the job usually means checking the soil first, then digging the trenches, setting steel and pouring, and it often comes with cutting through an old slab or leveling part of the house.
Most footing calls we get are for a room addition, a garage, a workshop out back or posts for a patio cover, and some are for an old section of foundation that's settled. The price moves with how much footing your plan calls for, how much digging and soil work the lot needs, and how easy it is to get equipment and the truck to the spot, while the schedule turns mostly on the permit and the inspections. Your own figure comes from the estimate, once I've seen the site.
When does a house or shed need new footings?
Cracks in the foundation
A crack running down a foundation wall, or one that's wider at one end, usually means the footing under it has moved with the soil. Left alone, water gets in, the crack keeps opening, and a simple repair can turn into new footing work.
Posts or sheds leaning
A patio cover post, carport or shed that leans or sinks at one corner is often sitting on a small block or bare dirt with no real footing under it. Each wet winter it drops a little more, and the framing above starts to twist out of square.
An addition on the plans
If you're adding a room, a garage or a workshop, the footing is the first thing built and the last thing you can change. Getting the soil and the layout right now costs far less than fixing a settled corner after the walls are up.
Work that often comes with footings
Foundation raising
If part of your house has settled, lifting it back toward level often comes before new footings, so the new work ties into a sound structure.
Concrete cutting
When a new footing runs under an existing patio or garage floor, cutting a clean opening first saves breaking out more slab than the job needs.
How we build concrete footings
I'd like to see any soils report you have before we dig, because it tells us what the clay under your lot is doing and what the footing has to deal with. We lay out the footings, dig the trenches, clear out loose dirt, debris and any standing water, and set the rebar, the steel inside the concrete that keeps it from pulling apart when the ground moves. Then we try to pour soon after the trenches are open, so they don't sit and dry out. Footings get buried and nobody looks at them again, which is why they're the last place I'd trim a budget, since a nice floor on top can't make up for a weak footing underneath.
Some footing jobs need other work first. If a corner of your house has already dropped, foundation raising brings it back up so the new footing meets a level structure. If the footing has to go through a patio, walk or garage floor, concrete cutting saws a straight line through the slab, so the patch afterward stays small.
Wall footings for additions and garages
A continuous footing runs under every wall of a room addition, garage or workshop, so the whole wall sits on one long strip of concrete. It's the usual choice for anything with full framed or block walls.
Pad footings for posts and covers
A pad footing is a square block of concrete under a single post, for patio covers, decks, carports and porches. It suits lighter structures where the weight comes down at a few points instead of along a wall.
Get a free on-site estimate for your footings
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set a time for me to see the site. The estimate is free, with no obligation, and you can call (707) 640-8084 instead.
Call (707) 640-8084Why Dixon homeowners call Premier Dixon Concrete for footings
I see every job myself
I come out to look at every footing job, and I'm on site running our crew when it gets dug and poured. The person who saw your soil and heard your plans is the one making the calls at the trench.
A licensed and insured crew
We're licensed and insured. The state licensing board describes a concrete contractor as the one who forms, pours, places and finishes the concrete, so it's worth asking anyone you're comparing which license they carry.
Built to Dixon's local code
Footing work in Dixon follows the state building codes plus the city's own local changes, so we build to both, not just the state book. We work the same way in Vacaville, Davis, Woodland, Fairfield and the cities on the Sacramento side.
Running this business since 2023
I poured flatwork, the slabs like driveways and patios, when I was young, worked outside the trade for years, and started this business in 2023 because concrete is what I'm good at. You get straight answers about what concrete can and can't do, cracks included, before any work starts.
With footings, the soil and the timing count more than anything you'll see later, so tell us what you're planning and I'll come out and take a look.
What happens after you call us about footings?
Call or send us a message
Tell us the address and what you're planning to build, by phone at (707) 640-8084 or through the form. We take calls every day from 7 AM to 11 PM and set up a time for me to come out.
I look at the site
I walk the ground, ask how you'll use the building and look over any soils report or plans you have. Then I give you the estimate, so you know what the work costs before anything gets dug.
We line up permits and inspections
If there's a permit, the city starts its review only once a complete, paid application is in, so we get the filing right the first time. Dixon inspects Monday through Thursday, with none on Fridays or city holidays, so we plan the digging and the pour around those days.
We pour and explain curing
We prep the trenches, pour and clean up the site. Before we leave, I walk you through curing, the time the concrete needs to harden and gain strength before framing or weight goes on it.
Common questions
Will Dixon's clay soil affect my concrete footings?
It can, because expansive clay shrinks when it dries and swells when it gets wet, and that movement can lift and crack slabs and structures sitting on shallow footings. Much of Solano County's soil is this kind of high shrink-swell clay, well above the California average, and since a house or garage puts fairly light weight on its footings, the soil's upward push has to be part of the plan. That's why I ask about the soil before anything else.
What is the best way to build footings on expansive clay soil?
Start with the soil, because where clay needs fixing, state guidance on building foundations says the first thing to consider is removing and replacing it or treating it in place, which can add to the job before any concrete goes in. Timing matters too. One soils report for a Dixon site found that footing trenches left open for a long time in clay can shrink and crack at the surface, and it called for keeping them moist until the steel and concrete go in, which is why we pour soon after digging.
Do I need strip footings or deep piles for an addition in Dixon?
Usually strip footings, or spread footings under single posts, because state foundation guidance says buildings carry low enough loads that these typically give enough support. The same guidance calls driven piles rarely warranted for buildings, so most owners can plan around standard footings. If your plans call for something different, we build to the plans.
How do I apply for a building permit in Dixon?
You apply online, since the City of Dixon takes all permits through its Dixon Civic Access system and you need an account there to apply. You can start from the city's permits page. If your footing job needs a permit, we pull it and set up the inspections, and if we're not sure whether it does, we ask the city before we start.
How much do concrete footings cost in Dixon?
There's no set price, because footings are priced job by job. The big factors are how much footing your plan calls for, whether the clay has to be dug out or treated first, how much steel goes in, whether we have to cut through an existing slab and how close we can get the truck. I give you your number at the estimate, after I've seen the site.
Will my new footings crack like my old foundation did?
New concrete can still get fine cracks as it cures and ages, and I'd rather tell you that now, but the cracks that cause trouble usually come from soil that moved, trenches that dried out or a footing poured without enough steel. Those are the parts we put our time into. If an old section has already settled, we'll look at whether it needs lifting or replacing before we tie new work into it.
Get your footings planned before you dig
Call (707) 640-8084 or send the form with the site address, what you're building and any soils report, so I can check the right things on the first visit.