Concrete footings in Santa Barbara CA - built for your soil and your plans
Adding a room, a deck or a wall and unsure what it should sit on? We pour footings matched to your ground and plans.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We reply within 1 business day.
What does a concrete footing do, and what will mine need?
A concrete footing is the buried base that passes the weight of a wall, post or addition into the ground, and in Santa Barbara we build each one to fit the soil it sits on and the plans you're building from.
Most people call us because they're adding something with weight to it, like a room, a garage, a deck or a wall, and the plans show footings under it, or because something already built has leaned or cracked and they want the next one done right. The price moves with how long and how deep the footings run, what the ground is like and how easy it is to get a crew and concrete to the spot, while the schedule turns mostly on your soil and on the inspections that come before the pour, and your written estimate spells out what's in it.
How do you know if you need new or bigger footings?
Cracks climbing a wall
A crack that steps up a block wall or runs through stucco near the ground usually means the soil under it moved or the footing was too small for the load. Left alone, water gets into the crack and the movement keeps working on it, so the repair grows.
Posts or a deck leaning
When a deck, patio cover or fence leans, the posts are often sitting on shallow pads or straight in the dirt, and one corner has sunk. The longer it goes, the more strain lands on the beams and connections above.
Ground that cracks and swells
Soil that opens wide cracks in dry months and turns sticky after rain is usually clay. Building on it without planning for that is how new concrete ends up lifted and cracked a few seasons later.
How we build concrete footings
A footing job comes down to the ground it sits on and the plans, so I start by asking about your soil and any buyer's disclosures, and by reading what the drawings call for. Then we lay it out, dig to the width and depth the plans show, set the forms and tie in the rebar, the steel that helps the concrete hold together when the ground pushes or pulls on it, and stop for inspection before any concrete is ordered. The digging and the steel are buried the day we pour, so they're the first thing people want to trim to save money, and they're the last place I'll cut, because nothing built on top can make up for a footing that settles.
Footing work often touches what's already there. If an older part of the house has dropped, foundation raising can bring it back before new footings go in next to it, and when a new footing sits under an existing patio, drive or floor, concrete cutting gives us a clean opening to dig through.
Continuous footings under walls
A strip of concrete that runs the full length under a wall, an addition or a garage, so the weight is spread along the line of the wall. This is what most additions and long walls need, and the plans set its width and depth.
Pad footings under posts
A single block under one post or column that takes the weight straight down into the soil. It suits decks, patio covers and porches, where the load comes down at a few points rather than along a wall.
Get a free written estimate for your footing work
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set a time. I'll come out, measure and look at the ground, then send a written estimate. It's free, with no obligation.
(805) 869-0160- Based in
- Santa Barbara, CA 93101
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–10 PM
What happens after you call us about footings in Santa Barbara?
Here's how a footing job runs from your first call to the walk-through, and where the city's inspections fit in.
Call or send the form
You call (805) 869-0160 or send the form, and we set a time for me to come out to your property. If you have plans or drawings, send them along, since footings are built to what they show.
I measure and check the ground
I measure, look at the soil and where water runs, and ask what's going on top. You get a written estimate that spells out what's in it, so you can see where the money goes before you decide.
We dig, form and pass inspection
Once any permit is in hand, we dig, set forms and steel, and wait, because the city's inspection card says concrete goes in only after required inspections like the steel and forms are signed. Inside city limits, construction hours, prep included, run 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, so our work days fit that window.
We pour and walk it together
After the sign-off we pour and let the concrete cure, the slow hardening that gives it strength, before anything is built on it. Once it's done, I walk the finished work with you.
Why Santa Barbara owners call Premier Santa Barbara Concrete for footings
I do every estimate myself
The person who measures your job and reads your plans is me, and I'm on site with our crew when we form and pour. You're not passing details from a salesperson to a crew who never heard them.
Building footings here since 2017
We've been in business since 2017, and before that I learned the trade on a flatwork crew, pouring slabs, drives and walks, here in Santa Barbara. Footings and foundations built the way the plans show are a big part of what we're known for.
Fully licensed and insured contractor
We're fully licensed and insured, and that's worth asking any contractor about before they dig. Footings are buried and carry the weight of whatever you build, so you want the people who pour them to answer for the work.
What matters most on a footing is the ground under it, so call or send us a message with your address and plans, and I'll come take a look. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.
Footings and foundation work in Santa Barbara
Inside the City of Santa Barbara, a building permit is generally needed to build or alter a structure, and the city's list of exempt work names sheds and retaining walls, not footings, so we don't assume a footing job is exempt. Before we set a date we check with the city's building permits office or the county office that covers your address, and if a permit is needed we pull it or walk you through it. A city permit can lapse if the work passes no milestone inspection, such as the foundation inspection, within 180 days of being issued, or if work stops for 180 days, so we plan the schedule around review and inspections from the start.
Soil is the other local factor, because clay soils swell as they take on water from irrigation or rain, and a statewide guide from one California geotechnical association warns the force can be enough to lift buildings and crack concrete. That's why I ask about soil and buyer's disclosures at the first visit, and we ask the same questions on jobs in Goleta and Montecito.
Questions about concrete footings in Santa Barbara
How much do concrete footings cost?
Residential footings across the US usually cost about $5 to $18 per linear foot, based on national figures for 2026. That's the national picture, not a Santa Barbara price, which is why I measure your job and send a written estimate.
How do I know if my soil is expansive?
Check your home buyer's disclosures first, then ask the local building department or a soil engineer or geologist. Finding out early tells you whether the soil will shape the footing plan, and it's one of the first things I'll ask about.
How long does it take to prepare clay soil for footings?
Pre-wetting clay can take days or even weeks, and it's generally done with a geotechnical professional. The same statewide guide advises keeping clay from drying out before or during construction by covering it with plastic or wetting it, so a clay lot needs extra room on the calendar.
Do I need an engineer or architect for footings in Santa Barbara?
You'll need a licensed professional, such as an architect or engineer, if the work changes the safety of a building or the project is more than two stories tall, because the city requires one for both. Budget for that design work early, and we build the footings the way those plans show.
Does footing concrete need special inspection in Santa Barbara?
The city decides by the concrete's strength rating, so check which concrete your plans call for. When special inspection applies, the deputy inspector approves the work first, and then you request and pass a city inspection before the work is covered.
Can a handyman pour footings without a license in California?
An unlicensed person can only take on minor work up to $1,000 in California, and only if the work needs no permit and they employ no one on the project. Past that, the state licensing board defines a concrete contractor as one who forms, pours, places, finishes and installs concrete work, which is the whole footing job.
Related concrete work for footing jobs
Foundation raising
When part of your house has settled and the floors or doors show it, raising it back toward level should come before new footings tie in.
Concrete cutting
A new post or wall often has to land where a patio, driveway or garage floor already sits, and a saw cut opens that spot cleanly.
Service areas for concrete footing work
Premier Santa Barbara Concrete is based in Santa Barbara, California, and works across the South Coast and the cities around it, including Carpinteria and Ventura. Here are the 8 areas with their own page, though they aren't the only places we work.
Santa Barbara, CA
Get your footing job measured and priced
Have your address, what the footing will hold up and any buyer's disclosures on soil ready when you call (805) 869-0160 or send the form, so the first visit can go straight to the ground and the plans.