Planning a new home or addition on bare ground? We build the slab on a packed base, with the reinforcement and vapor barrier done right.
Slab foundation building means pouring the reinforced concrete slab your house or addition sits on. In Gilroy we build it over a packed base and an unbroken vapor barrier, the plastic sheet that keeps ground moisture out of your floors, so it's built to stay level and dry.
Most people who call about a slab have plans in hand and a cleared lot, and the first real choice is the reinforcement. Rebar, the steel bars set inside the concrete, and wire mesh are the familiar options. Post-tensioning uses steel cables pulled tight after the concrete hardens. I go over that choice with you, since it changes the cost, the schedule and how the slab handles cracking.
The price moves with the slab's size and thickness, the reinforcement and how much digging and fill the base takes, and the schedule turns on the permit, the inspections and the weather on pour day. When a job needs a permit, we pull it and line up the inspections, after I check with the city or county office for your address. If your plans call for a different kind of foundation, that's our foundation installation work.
Call (408) 427-8265 or use the form, tell us where the lot is and what you're building, and we'll set a time for me to come out. If you have plans or a soil report, have them handy for the visit.
I take the measurements myself and look at the ground, the grade and where water runs around the pad. Then I write the estimate line by line, so you can see what's in it, what isn't and how each reinforcement choice changes the price.
Before the pour we go over the layout with you, including where the joints go and how water will drain away from the house. Changes are cheap at this point and expensive once the concrete is down.
On pour day our own crew works to the plan we agreed on, and I'm on site for it. We then cure the slab, keeping it covered and damp so it hardens evenly and gains strength, and protect it until we hand it over.
A slab is only as good as what it sits on, so we dig out the soft dirt and pack the base instead of raking it level and pouring over it, because raked dirt settles and the slab goes down with it. We set the forms to your plans, check that the ground falls away from the house, and patch any tear in the vapor barrier before concrete goes on it.
We pour early in the day, because concrete placed in midday heat can leave a weak, dusty top later. Control joints, the shallow cuts that give a slab a planned place to crack, go in on time instead of being skipped. It's the same order of work I learned on commercial slabs and still follow on concrete parking lot building.
What a slab foundation job includes:
Hairline cracks in a house slab are usually just shrinkage and mostly need watching. A slab that's sinking, heaving or split with one side higher is different, and the cause is usually in the ground under it. If the ground has stopped moving, I'd usually fix the section that moved before talking about a new slab, since replacing a slab under a standing house is a big job. A new slab makes sense for a new house, an addition or a slab too far gone to save.
Size and thickness set how much concrete and steel the job takes, and post-tensioning, rebar and mesh each price out differently. The ground matters too, since extra digging, fill and packing add cost, and so does a tight site the truck can't reach. When budgets get trimmed, the base is the first thing people want to cut because nobody sees it. It's the last place I'd cut, because a slab on a poor base tends to settle and crack however good the finish looks.
I learned concrete on commercial slabs, footings and paving, and I've run this business in Gilroy since 2017. I'd rather settle questions on paper before the truck shows up than fix them after, so you know where the joints go, how water drains and what the reinforcement is before we pour.
We keep the site tidy, stay inside the area we've marked out and tell you ahead of time when the concrete truck is coming. You'll know exactly what you're paying for, because the estimate spells it out. Your satisfaction, guaranteed. If that's how you want your slab built, call (408) 427-8265.
Call (408) 427-8265 while your plans can still change, so the reinforcement and drainage get decided on paper instead of on pour day.
Send the lot address, the rough slab size in square feet and any hazard map result. We reply within one business day to set up a free on-site estimate, with no pressure to book.
On ground that swells and shrinks, a post-tensioning trade group calls a post-tensioned slab a cost-efficient, high-performance choice, so it's worth weighing first when you compare bids. The same group says post-tensioning cuts down on cracking and keeps any cracks that do form tight, which helps keep insects out and limits water getting in. Ask every bidder which reinforcement they're pricing, and I'll walk you through ours.
A reinforced concrete slab in the San Jose area usually costs about $9 to $15 per square foot. Where yours lands depends on the reinforcement, the size and how much ground prep the lot needs, and the estimate I write up shows what's in your number and what isn't.
If the lot is in a state earthquake hazard zone, cities and counties require a site-specific soil study before they issue a permit for most occupied buildings, because ground in those zones likely has weak soil or rock that can fail in an earthquake. A single-family frame home of up to two stories, outside a development of four or more units, is exempt from the state's study requirement, though the city or county can ask for more than state law does. You can look your lot up on the state's EQ Zapp hazard map from your phone and send me the result.
A vapor barrier maker notes that even small holes in it can sharply raise the moisture coming up through the floor, which can lead to flooring that fails or can't be laid on schedule. Another barrier maker's guide has crews level and compact the subgrade, the soil under the slab, and clear out rocks and sharp debris that could puncture the film. That's why we treat the barrier as part of your finished floors, not just plastic on the dirt.
Most of the time goes into the work before the pour, the digging, base, forms, reinforcement and inspections, and then the slab needs time to cure before framing goes on it. A post-tensioning trade group notes that a post-tensioned slab can often go in faster than a comparable rebar or mesh slab, since there are fewer pieces to handle and less concrete to place. I'll go over the order of work for your job and what each step waits on.
A licensed concrete contractor, since the state licensing board defines that trade as one that forms, pours, places, finishes and installs flat and other concrete work. We're licensed and insured, and our own crew does the work.
We're based in Gilroy and build slabs in Morgan Hill, San Martin and many other cities nearby. Pick your area below, or call if yours isn't listed.
