Adding a deck, porch or fence on uncertain ground? We pour footings sized from your plans that carry the weight down to firm soil.
Concrete footings in Tiburon, CA, are the piers that carry a deck, porch, fence or house down to ground firm enough to hold it, so whatever you build on top stays level instead of settling.
Most calls start with a plan for something new, like a deck off the back of the house or a porch being rebuilt, or with posts that have started to lean. A footing is a concrete column, usually sitting on a wider base at the bottom of the hole, and it's there because the dirt near the surface often can't carry weight on its own.
The price moves with how many piers your plan calls for, how wide and deep each one has to be, and how hard the digging is to get to and through. The schedule turns mostly on the permit and inspections, then on curing, the wait while fresh concrete gains strength before anything goes on it. Your written estimate spells out what's included for your job.
In California, the state license board describes a concrete contractor as someone who forms, pours, places and finishes concrete work, which is what a footing job takes. If someone else is framing your deck, it's worth knowing who's licensed for the concrete underneath it.
Three things shape a footing job more than anything else, and they're worth asking about before anyone digs. Here's what I look at and why each one matters to what you're building.
A pier poured in a round form tube usually sits on a wider concrete pad at the bottom of the hole. On soft soil, a pier without that base can sink, because the narrow column alone spreads the weight over too little ground. Ask any contractor how they'll build the base under each pier.
Each pier's width and base size come from your plan's pier schedule, which is a table of pier sizes, or from your engineer. On weak soil it's the base that gets widened or flared at the bottom, not the column. If you don't have plans yet, that's the first thing to sort out.
Before we dig, I look at where rain runs off your roof and across the yard, because water collecting around a pier keeps the soil under its base soft. If a pier lands in a spot that stays wet, we talk about drainage before the pour, while it's still easy to change.
From the first call to the last walk-around, here's who does what. I'm involved at every step, so you're talking to the same person who looked at your ground.
Call (415) 429-4397 or use the form, and tell us what the footings will hold up and where the property is. Plans or your engineer's numbers help a lot if you already have them.
I come out myself, look at the ground, measure and ask how you plan to use the deck, porch or addition. You get a written estimate in plain words that spells out what's included.
We sort out what the city or county asks for, then dig, build each base and pour, with inspections along the way. Tiburon allows work from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, heavy equipment from 8 a.m., and no work on Sundays.
Once the concrete has cured, we clean up and I walk the finished piers with you, so you and whoever is framing can see them before anything goes on top. Ask me anything then.
We size footings from your plans or your engineer's numbers, not a guess, because each pier has to match the load it carries and the ground it sits in. If you don't have plans yet, I'll tell you that up front, since that's really where a footing job starts.
Most of my care goes into the bottom of each hole. We dig to the depth the plan calls for, clean out the loose dirt and build the base before the column goes in, because that base is what actually carries the load. We set any rebar, the steel inside that helps concrete handle bending, wherever the plan shows it.
When a budget gets tight, the base is often the first thing people want to trim, because nobody sees it once the deck is built. I'd rather spend the money there and keep everything else simple. A pier that sinks takes the deck or porch with it, and fixing that later is a much bigger job than doing the bottom right.
Sometimes the job isn't all new work. If the house or porch you're building onto has already settled, foundation raising may be the better place to start. When an old patio or slab sits right where a new pier has to go, we use concrete cutting to open a clean hole instead of breaking out more than we need.
A form tube shapes the column and a wider pad is poured at the bottom of each hole. This is the common setup under decks, porches and fences, where the weight lands at separate posts.
One long footing poured in a trench runs under a wall or edge, used when the load runs along a line instead of sitting on posts. Your plan or engineer decides which one your structure needs.
Send us the site address and what the footings will hold up, and we'll get back to you within one business day. I'll come out, look at the ground, ask how you'll use the space and write up a free on-site estimate in plain words. There's no pressure and no obligation.
(415) 429-4397Tiburon's Building Division issues building permits, and with few exceptions they're needed for all fences and walls, which matters if your footings are for a fence. Its list names work like sheds and remodels but doesn't mention footings, so that list alone doesn't settle whether your job needs a permit. We ask about your job, help with the paperwork and wait until any permit is in hand before we dig.
That wait matters, because the city can issue a Stop Work Order on permit-required work that started without the permits it needed. Projects under a construction or demolition permit here also have to recycle or reuse at least 90% of their discards, so we keep leftover concrete, old forms and dirt from the holes sorted for hauling instead of sending it all to the dump.
Around Tiburon, most footing calls we get are for decks off the back of older houses, rebuilt front porches and fence lines between neighbors. We do the same work in Mill Valley and Sausalito, where the questions about plans and permits are much the same, though each city sets its own rules.
I started this business in Tiburon in 2020, after teaching myself concrete on small jobs around my own place and learning the rest next to people who'd been at it for years. Six years in, I still come out to look at every job and write the estimate myself, and I'm on site with our crew while the work gets done.
We're fully licensed and insured. Our work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee. What people tell us they notice most is that we take the time to explain what we're doing and why before anything gets poured. I'd rather answer a question twice now than have you wondering about it after the deck is built.
If you've got a deck, porch or addition in the works, call (415) 429-4397, email info@tiburonconcrete.com or send us a message. Have the site address and any plans handy, and I'll set a time to come out and walk the ground with you.
If the house or porch you're adding onto has already sunk at one corner, lifting it back first keeps new footings from being set to the wrong height.
Clean saw cuts through an old patio, walkway or garage slab let us set a pier exactly where your plan shows it, with less broken concrete to haul away.
We're based in Tiburon and work in cities across Marin and nearby, from Novato down to Sausalito and over to Richmond. The cities below have their own page, and we work beyond them too.
Installed concrete footings across the US usually cost about $4 to $20 per linear foot, a figure that covers the concrete, the labor and the digging. A wider, deeper footing on weak soil can cost several times what a shallow one does. Your written estimate spells out what's included for your job.
Piers are the right choice when the ground near the surface can't be relied on to carry the load, which is common under decks, porches, fences and pier-and-beam houses. The soil under your project helps decide it, and your plan or engineer has the final say. I'll look at the ground when I come out.
Tiburon's Building Division issues building permits and reviews the plans that come with construction applications. You can apply by email at building@townoftiburon.gov with the site address in the subject line. Send me what you have and we'll help you put the paperwork together for your footing job.
Under California's contractor rules, a home improvement contract has to include notices and disclosures that protect you as the owner. Any change to the contract has to be in writing and has to tell you about your right to cancel. Read those parts before you sign, and ask about anything that isn't clear.
Have the site address and the structure the footings will carry ready, along with any plans or engineer's numbers you have. If old posts or a slab are already there, leave them in place so I can see what we're working around. Nothing else needs clearing before I come out.
You can build on new footings once the concrete has cured enough to carry weight and any inspection the permit calls for has passed. Cure time depends on the mix and the weather, so I'll give you a realistic wait for your job when I write up the estimate.
Pier locations are fixed once the concrete sets, so call (415) 429-4397 or use the form while your plans can still change.
