Foundation installation in Glendale CA - a base planned for your lot and soil
Building new and not sure whether your lot wants a slab or a crawl space? We plan the foundation around your soil and slope.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- We respond within 1 business day.
What does it take to install a new foundation in Glendale?
Foundation installation in Glendale, CA, is forming, pouring and finishing the concrete your house stands on, either as a slab on the ground or over a crawl space. Getting the type right gives the house a base that suits your lot's ground and moisture.
Usually you've got a lot or an addition drawn up and a question about what goes under it. Before I can answer that, I want to see how the ground slopes, what the soil is doing and where the water runs after a rain, because those pick the foundation type and how deep the footings go. The price moves with the size of the footprint, slab or crawl space, how much digging and grading the slope takes and how much steel the plans call for, while the schedule mostly turns on the city's plan review and any soil study your lot needs. You'll see all of that laid out in a written estimate that spells out what's included.
What on your lot will shape the foundation?
The ground slopes away
If the spot where the house goes falls off toward the street or the back of the lot, the foundation has to handle that with stepped footings, a crawl space or a fair amount of cut and fill. Pour a slab over fill that was raked level instead of packed and it settles with the dirt, which is a hard thing to fix with a house on top.
Dirt that cracks in summer
Wide cracks in the dirt in August and sticky mud in winter usually mean clay that swells and shrinks with the water in it. A foundation that isn't planned for that movement tends to show it later as cracks in floors and walls, and that costs far more to chase down than to plan for now.
Puddles where the house goes
Water that stands on the pad after a rain, or runs toward it from the neighbor's side, shows you where it'll go once there's concrete there. Leave it and you get soggy ground under the slab or a damp crawl space, so we sort out the drainage before the forms go up.
How we handle foundation installation
A new foundation starts with the lot, its slope and what the soil report says, and that's how I help you choose between a slab and a crawl space. Once the plans are set, our crew lays out the footprint, digs out and packs the subgrade, the ground the concrete sits on, because loose fill keeps settling long after the pour. We dig the footings, set the forms and tie in the rebar, the steel that holds the concrete together when the ground moves, then pour early in the day in hot weather so the top doesn't dry too fast and come out weak. After that the concrete cures, kept damp and left alone while it gains strength, before anything gets built on it. If the budget gets tight, I'll cut almost anything before the base prep, because nobody sees it on day one and it's the part that decides whether the house stays put.
Not every project needs a whole house foundation. An addition, a garage or a wall often just needs concrete footings, the strips of concrete that carry the walls, and we dig and pack for those the same way. For property managers and small business owners, that same care with the ground goes under our concrete parking lots, where the base takes traffic every day.
Get a written estimate for your new foundation
Send your address and a few words about the project, and we'll get back to you within one business day. I'll set a time to walk the lot and give you a free on-site estimate, with no obligation.
- team@glendaleconcretecompany.com
- Based in
- Glendale, CA 91205
- Hours
- Mon–Sun: 6 AM–11 PM
What happens after you call about a new foundation?
Here's how a foundation job runs with us, from your first call to the walk-through at the end, and where the city's review fits in.
Call or send a request
Call (747) 372-8605 or use the form, and tell us your address and what you're planning to build. We'll set up a time for me to come out.
I walk the lot with you
I look at the slope, the soil and the drainage, ask a lot of questions and give you a written estimate that spells out what's included. That's where you'll see what's driving the cost before you commit to anything.
We submit and wait on review
Once you say go, we submit the permit and plans and build the city's review into the schedule. In Glendale, regular plan check takes about 8 to 10 weeks from the day the plan check fees are paid, so it pays to start early.
We prep, pour and walk it
Our crew preps the ground, sets the steel, pours and finishes, with inspections where the permit calls for them. At the end we walk the job with you.
Why Glendale homeowners call Masterwork Glendale Concrete Company for foundations
I come out and run it
I come out myself to look at your lot and give the estimate, and our own crew does the work with me running it. The person who heard your questions on the first visit is the one standing there at the pour.
Trained on another contractor's crew
We've been in business since 2020, and before that I spent years as another contractor's right-hand person, starting with forming and finishing and working up to running jobs. Puzzles like a footing on a slope or a house that's settled are the calls we're known for.
Fully licensed and insured, start to finish
We're fully licensed and insured. That way the risk of something going wrong during the dig or the pour sits with us, not with you.
Glendale's plan review scheduled early
I put the city's plan review wait on the calendar at our first meeting, since it usually runs longer than the concrete work. That gives you time to line up your builder and your money around it instead of finding out late.
On a foundation, what matters most is the ground nobody sees once the concrete's down, so that's where I start. Send us your address and plans or call (747) 372-8605, and I'll come out and take a look.
Foundations and footings in Glendale
When your project needs a permit, and a new house or addition usually does, we pull it and line up the inspections, and if we're not sure what's required we check with the city before we start. The City of Glendale decides through its review whether your lot needs extra study before it issues the permit. The city points applicants to its latest Informational Bulletin to see whether a project needs a soil report, also called a geotechnical report, and you can find it through the city's development services FAQ. For projects with limited ground hazards, the city may accept a modified soil report based on a private firm's experience with local soils instead of sampling on your lot, though it decides those case by case. Some lots in mapped earthquake zones need a geologist's study too, which I cover in the questions below.
We're based in Glendale and work all over the city and the cities around it. A lot of the ground we dig here is hillside or clay that cracks open in summer, so I look at how the water runs and how the pad steps down the slope before we talk about concrete. We see the same hillsides and clay on jobs in Burbank and Arcadia, and we handle them the same way.
Questions about foundation installation in Glendale
How much does a new foundation cost in Glendale?
The cost of a new foundation in Glendale comes mostly from your lot, so I price it after seeing the slope, the soil report and the plans. A simple footprint on a flat pad with a slab usually costs less than a crawl space on a sloped lot, and a soil report that calls for deeper footings or more steel adds to it. The written estimate lists each piece, so you can see where the money goes.
Is a slab or a crawl space better for a sloped lot?
A crawl space usually fits a sloped or uneven lot better than a slab. One national cost guide says slabs give good moisture control but suit sloped ground poorly, while crawl spaces handle uneven ground but are prone to moisture problems. So it comes down to how much your lot falls and how much moisture upkeep you're willing to take on, and I'll walk through both with you on site.
How long does it take to put in a new foundation?
Most of the wait on a new foundation is usually the city's plan review, which runs for weeks before anyone digs, not the concrete work itself. Once we're on site, the time turns on how much digging and grading the slope needs, the inspections and the curing before framing starts. I lay out the whole timeline for you at the estimate.
How do I apply for a building permit in Glendale?
You apply online through the Glendale Permits Portal, where the city takes submissions, reviews them and issues all of its permits, and nothing is submitted in person. If we're building your foundation, we handle that part for you.
How do I find out if my property is in an earthquake hazard zone?
Type your address into EQ Zapp, the state's online tool, and it shows whether your lot sits in a mapped earthquake hazard zone or whether your area hasn't been evaluated yet. In the state's seismic hazard zones, most occupied buildings need a site study by a state-licensed engineering geologist or civil engineer before the permit, though a single family frame home of up to two stories that isn't part of a development of four or more units is exempt, unless the city is stricter. In an earthquake fault zone, a California-licensed geologist has to show in a written report that the building stays off active faults, so have your EQ Zapp result handy when you call.
What causes a new foundation to crack?
Soil that shrinks and swells is a common cause, because it heaves when it's wet and settles as it dries, and research on home footings finds that movement often goes beyond what a house can take. Cracked floors and walls are the usual result, and the same research found that drainage and planting near the house make a real difference in how footings hold up. So I'll ask how water drains and what's planted along the house, and if your lot has a soil report, it tells us what your ground does.
Other concrete work that goes with a foundation
Concrete footings
When you're adding a room, a garage or a heavy deck instead of a whole house, footings may be the part of the foundation your plans call for.
See the service Concrete footingsConcrete parking lot building
If you manage a property or run a small business, a parking lot built on the same dug-out, packed base stands up to daily traffic and delivery trucks.
See the service Concrete parking lot building
Areas we serve around Glendale
Masterwork Glendale Concrete Company is based in Glendale, CA, and works all over the city and the cities around it. Each of the 12 areas below has its own page, from Pasadena to Sierra Madre, and they aren't the only places we go.
Glendale, CA
Book a site visit for your foundation
Send your address and any EQ Zapp result through the form or call (747) 372-8605, and our first talk can start with your actual lot instead of guesses.