Concrete footings in McAllen TX - solid support for what you build on top
A sagging porch post or a new carport on the way? We dig and pour footings planned around what they carry and the ground below.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- We respond within 1 business day.
What do concrete footings do, and when do you need them in McAllen?
Concrete footings in McAllen, TX are the concrete pads and trenches under posts, columns and walls that carry the weight of what you build down into the ground, and we dig, reinforce and pour them for porches, carports, additions and other structures.
Most people call me when something new is about to go on top, like a carport, a covered patio, a room addition or a block wall, or when an old post has started to lean. The price mostly comes down to how many footings you need, how far we dig and how hard the ground is to work, and the schedule turns on the weather, the cure and any city inspection your job needs. If you're putting a whole building on concrete, a slab foundation may fit better, and either way your written estimate gives you the figure for your own job.
How do you know your footings need work?
A post that's sinking
If a porch or carport post has dropped or started to tip, the footing under it was usually set on loose dirt, or there isn't a real footing there at all. The longer it goes, the more the framing above it twists, and fixing that costs more than the footing would have.
Cracks around a column base
Cracks spreading out from where a post or column sits on a slab usually mean the slab is carrying weight it was never built to hold. Left alone, they open wider each time the ground gets wet and dries out, and water starts getting in underneath.
Plans for something new
A carport, addition or wall on your list means the footings go in first, and the right plan depends on what's going on top. Sorting that out before you order materials saves you from changing the plan after the holes are dug.
How we build concrete footings
A footing carries everything above it, so before I price one I want to know what you're building and how the ground moves. Once that's settled, we mark out each footing, dig down to firm, undisturbed soil instead of loose fill, and clean out the holes or trench so nothing soft ends up under the concrete. We set the rebar, the steel bars that hold a footing together when the ground pushes on it, then pour and keep the concrete damp while it cures, the waiting period while it gains strength before anything heavy goes on it. Nobody sees a footing once the posts or walls go up, so it's the first thing people want to cut, and I'd rather cut almost anything else because a footing that settles takes the whole structure with it.
Sometimes the job starts with what's already there. If part of your house or an old slab has settled, foundation raising may make more sense than new footings beside it, and when a footing has to go through an existing patio or driveway, concrete cutting lets us open a clean, square hole instead of breaking out more than we need.
Pad footings under posts and columns
A square or round pad of concrete under each post, the usual choice for carports, porch columns, pergolas and decks. Each pad takes the weight of one post down into the soil, so the layout follows your framing plan.
Continuous footings under walls
A trench of concrete that runs the length of a wall, used under room additions, block walls and garden walls. It spreads the load along the whole line, which suits walls that would crack if one spot settled.
Get a free written estimate for your footings
Send the address and what the footings will carry. We get back to you within one business day to set a time for me to come out, and the on-site estimate is free with no obligation.
- Based in
- McAllen, TX 78501
- Hours
- Mon–Sun: 7 AM–11 PM
What happens when you call about footings in McAllen?
Here's how a footing job runs from your first call to the final walk-through, and what you'll have in hand before any digging starts.
I come out and look
You call or send the form, and I come out to the spot, ask a lot of questions about what's going on top and take my own measurements. Have a rough size of the structure in mind, because that's where my questions start.
You get it in writing
You get a written estimate that lays out the work and the price for your job, so you can decide without guessing what's included. If the job needs city paperwork or inspections, we help you line them up and plan the pour around them.
We pour and walk it
Our crew digs, sets the steel and pours with me on the job. When we're done, I walk it with you so you see what's going under your structure before it gets covered.
Why McAllen owners and builders call us for footings
I look before we price
I'm the one who comes out to look at your job, and our crew does the work with me on site. You're not handing your footing to someone who never saw the ground it's going in.
In business here since 2017
I learned concrete on a crew here in McAllen, pouring flat slabs and foundations, and started this business in 2017, nine years ago. We're the crew people call when a job has a catch, like an odd slope, a tight entrance or an old slab nobody can explain.
Licensed and insured on your property
We're licensed and insured. That matters on a footing job, because we're digging and pouring right up against your house, your fence line and your utilities.
On footings, the ground and the steel you won't see later decide how the job holds up. Tell me about your project or call (956) 331-0213, and I'll come take a look.
Footings, foundations and city inspections in McAllen
In McAllen, the city's Building Permits and Inspections Department issues permits to build, expand or change a building, and its list of work that skips a permit covers finish work, not footings. That list doesn't settle your job either way, so we check with the city office that covers your address, help you line up the permit if you need one and plan the pour around the inspections. The city's development guide says inspections start once the permit is issued and building begins, and it lists a foundation and steel inspection that looks at the vapor barrier and how the reinforcing steel is spaced and supported, which means the steel has to be right before any concrete goes in. Steps can change, so the city's permits office is the place to confirm the current ones, and it takes calls when owners need help.
The ground matters just as much. The McAllen soil series, a soil type of this area, is described as deep, well drained and loamy, letting water through at a moderate rate, and Texas has large areas of soil that moves with moisture. That describes the area, not your lot, so I look at the ground on every job before we plan the footings, the same way we do on jobs in Pharr and Edinburg. We're based in McAllen and work in McAllen and the cities around it.
Questions about concrete footings in McAllen
How much do concrete footings cost in McAllen?
Installed concrete footings across the US usually cost about $4 to $20 per linear foot, and that's the national market range, not our price. Concrete, labor and digging set it, so a wider, deeper footing on weak soil can cost several times what a shallow one does. Your written estimate gives you the figure for your job.
Do I need a permit for concrete footings in McAllen?
Possibly, and you'll want to know before anyone digs. The city's list of work that needs no permit doesn't include footings, so we check with the city for your address and help you line up the permit and inspections if your job needs them.
Can concrete footings be poured in the summer in McAllen?
Yes, though summer is when hot-weather trouble with concrete usually shows up, even if it can happen any time of year. Sun and wind dry fresh concrete faster than the same temperature on a calm, humid day, so a windy afternoon calls for more care than the thermometer suggests. We plan summer pours for the cooler part of the day and keep the concrete from drying too fast, and you're welcome to ask exactly how before we start.
What causes concrete footings to sink or crack?
Most of the time it's the ground moving under them. Expansive soils swell when they get wet and shrink as they dry, and that can cause anything from minor to major damage to a building, so how the soil behaves under your site shapes how we plan and price the footing. Loose fill left under the concrete and water running toward the house make it worse, and we deal with both before the pour.
What is the best way to get footings built better than code minimum?
Ask for it before the price is set, because a building code only sets the minimum needed for public health and safety. The residential concrete code lets an owner ask for better materials and construction than that minimum, though never lower. If you want more than the minimum, we'll talk through what that gets you on your job.
How do I get ready for a concrete footing estimate in McAllen?
Have the property address, what the footings will carry and its rough size ready when you call (956) 331-0213 or send the contact form. That's enough for me to start asking the right questions, and I take my own measurements when I come out.
Concrete work that often comes with new footings
Foundation raising
Lifting a settled slab or porch back toward level can take strain off the framing above it and keep small cracks from turning into bigger repairs.
Concrete cutting
Clean saw cuts let us open a patio, driveway or old slab exactly where a new footing, pipe or joint needs to go, with less mess and patching.
Cities we serve around McAllen
Craftsman McAllen Concrete Construction is based in McAllen, TX, and we pour footings across the 12 cities listed below, including Mission and Weslaco. These are the cities with their own page here, not the only ones we work in.
Get your footings planned before you build
Call (956) 331-0213 or send the form now, because the footings go in before anything else and your framer or carport crew can't start until they're poured and checked.