Building on a Portsmouth lot and not sure whether a slab, crawlspace or piles fits? We match the foundation to your flood zone and soil.
Foundation installation in Portsmouth puts a slab, a crawlspace or a deep pile or column foundation under a home, and the type you choose decides how well the house stands up to erosion and water damage.
Most people who call us are building a new home or an addition, or replacing a foundation that has given out, and the first question is always which type. I start with the lot, because a lot here may sit in a coastal flood zone, so we look at the flood zone and the soil together before we talk about type. If the house needs concrete footings under walls or columns, we plan those at the same time.
Price mostly follows the foundation type, its size and what the ground asks for. The schedule turns on the permit, the weather on pour day and the curing time, the days concrete needs to harden before anything is built on it. We want the choice to fit the property first and the budget second, and your estimate gives you the price for your own house.
Reach us at (757) 731-7248 or through the form, and we'll set a time to come see the lot. If you have a soils report or a survey, please have it handy.
I come out myself, walk the site with you and ask how you'll use the house or addition before we talk about type. Your estimate tells you which foundation I'd recommend for the lot, why, and what it costs.
If you go ahead, we take care of the permit and inspections, and I run the work with our own crew from digging out to the pour. The city reviews the construction plans before work starts, so that review comes first on the calendar.
Once the concrete has cured, I walk the finished foundation with you and go over what we did and why. Then it's ready for framing.
Most of a good foundation is decided before the forms go up. The city's Building Inspection Division applies floodplain, zoning and historic preservation rules to building in Portsmouth, and some plans need a soils report under the city's expansive soils policy, giving the soil type, how much weight it can carry and the foundation type. Termites are on the city's design list too, so the plans allow for them.
Once the type is settled, our crew digs out and packs the subgrade, the ground the concrete rests on, rather than just raking it level, because a base that settles takes the concrete down with it. We set the rebar, the steel that holds the concrete together, then pour and give it the full time to cure before anything goes on top.
What our foundation work covers:
If your house sits on a foundation that is sound but has settled, foundation raising is usually the better choice, because the rest of it still carries the house. A new foundation makes sense for a new home or an addition, or when the old one is broken through or the wrong type for the lot. Once I've looked under the house, I'll tell you plainly which one I see and why.
The type of foundation and the size of the footprint set most of the price, and the soil and flood zone often decide the type for you. How much digging, fill and base the lot needs comes next, then what any soils report calls for and how easily our crew can reach the site. If a budget runs tight, please let us trim somewhere other than the base, because it's hidden on day one and carries the house for as long as it stands.
I learned concrete on a municipal crew, where every sidewalk and curb had to meet the city's standard, and I've run this business the same way since 2013. The base, the drainage and the steel are planned before a truck arrives, whether the job is a home foundation or one of our concrete parking lots for a property owner.
I come out myself and work alongside our own crew, so the person who gave you the estimate is the one on your site. We keep our mess off your yard and driveway, and I'd rather explain a step twice than have you surprised later. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.
Call (757) 731-7248 with your address, the kind of project and your flood zone if you know it, and we'll start from the lot.
Tell us your address and the project, and we'll reply within one business day to set a time. I come out for a free on-site estimate, with no pressure to book.
Across the US, a concrete slab or crawl space foundation usually costs about $6 to $18 per square foot, and a crawl space costs more per square foot than a slab. Those are national figures, so your lot, its soil and its flood zone decide where your job lands. I give you the price for your own house at the estimate.
A deep pile or column foundation is the type FEMA's coastal guidance requires in V Zones and recommends in A Zones, because shallow foundations are more prone to scour, where moving water washes the soil out from under them. The same guidance prohibits slabs and crawlspaces in V Zones and doesn't recommend them in coastal A Zones, and a crawlspace built in one needs flood openings. Outside those zones a slab or crawlspace fits, though a slab gives less protection from water damage than a raised foundation where flooding happens.
Yes, building a house or adding onto one takes a building permit from the city's Department of Permits and Inspections, which requires one to erect, enlarge, alter or repair a structure. The city highly recommends that the contractor pull the permit, and whoever pulls it schedules the inspections, so we pull it and schedule them ourselves. If you'd rather pull it yourself for our work, the city first asks for a notarized homeowner's affidavit.
Virginia licenses contractors in Class A, B and C, and the class a contractor needs rises with the value of a single contract or the total over twelve months. Portsmouth confirms contractor licensure through the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation, so ask to see the license and make sure it suits the size of your job. We're licensed and insured.
Start with the lot, because the flood zone and the soil can rule a type out before cost ever comes up. Where both fit, think about later repairs, since fixing plumbing, wiring or heating and cooling lines under a slab can mean breaking through the concrete, which adds labor and cost. If you expect to change those systems, please count that when you compare a slab with a raised foundation.
A slab can crack when the ground moves under it, especially in areas with expansive soils or frequent freeze-thaw cycles, and a soft base, late or skipped joints, or a pour in midday heat make it worse. Beyond the packed base described above, we cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the concrete a straight, planned line to crack along, and we time the pour for the cooler part of the day.
We're based in Portsmouth and pour foundations across the cities around it, including Norfolk and Chesapeake. Choose your area below, or call (757) 731-7248 if yours isn't listed.
