Slab foundation building in Compton CA - a dry, level base for your new home

A concrete foundation in the Los Angeles area usually costs about $5 to $12 per square foot, and that's the going rate around here, not our price. Where your job lands depends on the size, the digging and base work, the slab type and what goes underneath. Your own number comes from the written estimate after I measure.

On ground that swells and shrinks, a post-tensioned slab is usually the stronger pick, because steel cables tightened inside the concrete squeeze it together and resist the pull of the moving soil. A post-tensioning trade group calls it a cost-efficient answer for home foundations on that kind of ground, while one Texas company's guide notes that stable, even soil makes the extra step less valuable. I'll go over which one fits your lot before you sign anything.

It might, because state rules require a study of the ground before permitting most buildings people live in inside mapped hazard zones. Some single-family homes are exempt from the state rule, but local agencies can be stricter, so it's worth asking early. You can type your address into the state's EQ Zapp map to see whether your lot is in a mapped earthquake hazard zone or hasn't been evaluated yet.

Most cracks come from a base that was raked level instead of dug out and packed, joints cut late or skipped, or a pour done in the midday heat. Concrete shrinks as it cures, so we cut control joints, shallow lines that give it a planned place to crack, and the steel holds any crack tight. No slab is crack-proof, but a solid base and joints in the right spots usually keep cracks small and where you'd expect them.

Slope the ground away from the house and add gutters and a drain pipe around the edge, which national guidance says helps keep the foundation from getting soaked. The moisture barrier under the slab handles water coming up from below. I check where water runs on your lot at the estimate so the slab doesn't end up sitting low.

A contractor licensed for concrete work, which the state defines as forming, pouring, placing, finishing and installing concrete. A general building contractor can take a concrete-only job only with that specialty license, or by hiring a properly licensed specialty contractor to do it. Ask whoever bids your slab which license covers the work.