Foundation installation in Aliso Viejo CA - a base planned before it's poured
Not sure what your new home or addition should sit on? We pour the foundation from an engineer's plans and explain each choice first.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- Replies within 1 business day.
What does foundation installation involve in Aliso Viejo?
Foundation installation in Aliso Viejo means building the base your new home or addition rests on. That can be a slab poured on the ground or deeper supports that reach firmer soil, and either way it's built to an engineer's plans so the walls above stay put.
Most folks who call me are adding a room, building new or replacing something that failed, and they want to know what it'll cost and how long it'll take. The price mostly moves with the type of foundation the engineer calls for, how big and deep it is, how easy your lot is to dig and get a truck to, and whether old concrete has to be broken out and hauled off first. The schedule usually turns on paperwork more than pouring, because nothing gets dug until the plans are final, and a city review, when one's needed, adds its own wait. If a whole house is going on one slab, our slab foundation building page goes deeper on that, and your written estimate puts real numbers on all of it.
How do you know it's time for a new foundation?
A new room on the plans
If you're adding a room, a garage or a back house, the drawings need a foundation designed for that spot, not one borrowed from the old house. When it's left as an afterthought, the plans usually come back for changes and everything gets pushed back.
Cracks that keep getting wider
A hairline crack in an old slab is normal, but one that keeps opening, or one side sitting higher than the other, usually means the ground underneath has moved. Waiting lets water work in under the slab, and that tends to make the gap and the repair bigger.
Floors that slope, doors that stick
When a ball rolls across the floor or doors start rubbing the frame, the old foundation may have settled. Sometimes foundation raising fixes that for less than a new one, and I'll tell you straight if that's your case, but putting it off lets cracks spread into the walls and tile.
How we handle foundation installation
Every foundation we pour starts from an engineer's plans, and before anything goes to the city I sit down with you and go over the choices and what each one means for your house down the road. Once the plans are set, we lay out the footprint, dig to the depth they call for and pack the subgrade, which is the soil the concrete sits on, so it doesn't settle later. Then we set the forms and the rebar, the steel that holds the concrete together when the ground pushes or pulls, and we pour, finish and let it cure, which is the slow wait while concrete gains its strength before anything heavy goes on it. When a budget gets tight, people want to trim the base work first because nobody sees it after day one. I won't, because my dad taught me the work nobody sees decides how the rest holds up, and I'd rather help you save somewhere you can actually see.
A lot of additions sit on concrete footings, deeper strips of concrete under the walls, so we often pour those as part of the same job. If your project also needs room to park, like a small business or a few units sharing a lot, we handle concrete parking lot building too, so one crew sets the grades and the water runs where it should.
Get a written estimate for your foundation
Send your address, any plans you have and what you're building. We'll reply within one business day, I'll set a time to come out, and the on-site estimate is free with no pressure to book.
- Based in
- Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call about a foundation in Aliso Viejo?
Here's how a foundation job runs on our end, from your first call to the walk-through, so you know what's coming before the concrete truck shows up.
Call and talk to me
When you call, you talk to me, and we set a time for me to come out. Have your address and any plans from your architect or engineer handy.
I measure and write it up
I measure, look over the site and ask how you'll use the space. Your written estimate spells out what's included, like tear-out, hauling and the finish, so you can line it up against other bids.
We form, pour and cure
We set the forms, pour and give the concrete its cure time. Aliso Viejo allows construction from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays, with none on Sundays or federal holidays, so we plan dig and pour days inside those hours.
Walk the finished job together
Before we pack up, I walk the finished foundation with you so you can ask about anything you see. Then we clean up, because my dad taught me to leave a site cleaner than we found it.
Why Aliso Viejo homeowners call All Star Aliso Viejo Concrete for foundations
The owner writes every estimate
I come out to look at every job and write the estimate myself, then I work on site alongside our crew. The person who told you how it would go is the one standing at the forms on pour day.
Your choices explained before the city sees them
We build every foundation from an engineer's plans, and I make sure you understand the options before anything is submitted. Most of our calls come from people who want the job explained before they sign, and I'll talk you out of something that won't serve you.
In business since 2023
I started this business in 2023 after years on my dad's crew, pouring concrete since I was a kid. He drilled into me that the base under the slab and the curing after it matter most, and I still build that way.
Licensed and fully insured
We're licensed and fully insured, so you aren't carrying the risk if something goes wrong on your lot. California's contractor license board treats forming, pouring and finishing concrete as its own kind of contracting, which is worth knowing when you compare bids.
On a foundation, the part that counts gets buried on day one, so bring every question you've got. Call (949) 619-8302 or send us your project details and I'll come take a look.
Foundation and footing work on Aliso Viejo's clay soil
Foundation plans here go through the city's building plan check, and whether your job needs a permit is the city's call, so we ask before anything else. We check with the city's Building & Safety office on each job, handle the permit paperwork when one's needed and tell you up front whose name it goes under. It's also worth a look at the state's liquefaction zone map, which shows where wet ground may lose strength in a strong earthquake, because property in a mapped zone may need a study of that hazard and steps to reduce it during permitting.
The city says expansive soil, clay that swells when it's wet and shrinks when it dries, is common here, and so are high sulfate levels, a salt in the soil that the city ties to the concrete touching it. That's why the slab type and the concrete mix are real decisions in Aliso Viejo, and I'd rather settle them with your engineer while the plans are still on paper. We're based in Aliso Viejo and work across the cities around it in Orange County, and we ask the same soil questions on jobs in Laguna Niguel and Mission Viejo.
Questions about foundation installation in Aliso Viejo
Which foundation type is best for a home on shifting soil in Aliso Viejo?
A post-tensioned slab is worth asking your engineer about, because the post-tensioning trade group calls it a cost-efficient, high-performance choice for homes on soil that shrinks and swells. That group also says it cuts down on cracking and keeps any cracks that form tight, so less water and fewer insects get in to damage flooring or start mold. Your engineer makes the final call from what's under your lot.
How much does foundation installation cost in Aliso Viejo?
There's no single price, because it turns on the system your engineer specifies, the size of the footprint, how hard the site is to dig and reach, and whether old concrete comes out first. Guidance written for another region found that a foundation's risk usually runs opposite its cost, so shallow systems cost less up front and carry more risk than deep ones. My written estimate breaks out each piece so you can compare bids.
How do I submit foundation plans to the City of Aliso Viejo?
You submit them online through the city's Customer Self-Service Portal for building plan check, with a complete set of scale drawings. Your designer usually puts that set together, and as I mentioned above, we handle the permit paperwork when one's needed.
Who has to design the foundation plans for a house in Aliso Viejo?
A licensed architect or engineer does, because the city requires one for any part that affects an engineered building, including structural and seismic work. Their plans and calculations come wet stamped, which means signed, dated and marked with the designer's original seal. We build from those plans, not from a sketch on a napkin.
What causes cracks in a new slab foundation?
Moisture changing in the soil under the slab causes a lot of it, and trees and plants close to the house make cracks worse because their roots pull water out from underneath. That makes your planting plans near the walls worth thinking about before the new slab goes in. A base that's dug out and packed, not just raked level, takes care of the rest.
How long does foundation installation take?
Most of the wait usually comes before we dig, while the engineer finishes the plans and any city review runs its course, so I can't give you a date until those are done. Once we pour, the concrete needs its cure time before framing goes on it, and that's one wait we don't rush.
Related concrete work for your foundation project
Concrete footings
For an addition, a block wall or a deck post, footings carry the weight down to firmer ground at the depth your plans call for.
Concrete parking lot building
When your project needs room to park, like a duplex lot or a small business, we pour a lot that's graded so rain runs off instead of pooling.
Service areas we cover across Orange County
All Star Aliso Viejo Concrete is based in Aliso Viejo, CA, and works across the cities around it in Orange County. The 12 cities listed here, including San Juan Capistrano and Lake Forest, each have their own page, and they aren't the only places we go.
Send us your foundation plans today
Call (949) 619-8302 while your plans are still on the engineer's desk, since a change costs a lot less on paper than in concrete.
Aliso Viejo, CA