Foundation installation in Sunnyvale CA - slab or raised, matched to your plans
Building a home or addition and unsure about a slab or a crawlspace? We help you choose and build the foundation your plans need.
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Should your Sunnyvale home sit on a slab or a raised foundation?
Foundation installation in Sunnyvale means building the concrete base your house or addition stands on. That's either a slab, one continuous concrete surface poured directly on the ground, or a raised foundation that lifts the living space over a crawlspace. At Benchmark Sunnyvale Concrete Company, we build both, and we help you choose before anything is poured.
Most owners who call about a foundation already have plans in hand and a decision to make. The price moves with the type of foundation, the size of the footprint and what your plans and soils report call for underneath. The schedule turns mostly on the city's permit review and inspections, and partly on the weather around pour day. After I visit, you get the scope and the price in writing, so you're working from a figure for your own lot. We're based in Sunnyvale and work in the cities around it, and if your house will sit on a simple slab, our slab foundation building page covers that work on its own.
How our foundation installation work goes
I start by sitting down with you to go over your plans and soils report. We talk through whether a slab or a raised foundation suits the house, including how easy it will be to reach pipes and wiring if you remodel later. Once you've decided and the scope is settled, our own crew builds to your plans with me on site to oversee it. My closest attention goes to the parts nobody sees once the concrete is down, like the subgrade, which is the ground the foundation sits on, and where the water around the house will go.
Some jobs need only part of this. An addition or a porch that needs support at set points may call for concrete footings rather than a full foundation. Builders putting up a new commercial building sometimes have us plan the concrete parking lot at the same time, so the grades around the building work together.
Permits and ground for foundation installation in Sunnyvale
In Sunnyvale, the city's One-Stop Permit Center at City Hall reviews development projects and building plans. Permits are applied for through the city's online permit system. When your foundation needs a permit, we handle the application and the inspections with the city and keep you informed as it moves along. That way you aren't left chasing paperwork while the rest of the house is being planned.
Sunnyvale is one of the cities with basin land, where slopes run from 0 to 2 percent. That's the kind of flat ground the slab comparison above has in mind. Flat ground still needs a plan for where the water goes, so I look at drainage on every visit, the same way we do on foundation jobs in Santa Clara and Mountain View.
Foundations and slab work
Get a foundation estimate based on your plans
We reply to every call and message within one business day, and then we set a time for me to come out and look at your lot and plans. The estimate is free, done on site and comes with no obligation.
(669) 215-2122Questions about foundations in Sunnyvale
What is the best way to choose between a slab and a raised foundation?
The best way is to weigh your budget and the look you want against what your soils report says about the ground. The engineering firm's guide mentioned above names three things as deciding most of it. They are budget, architectural goals and the expansion index, a figure in your soils report. We go over that report with you before you decide.
How much does foundation installation cost in Sunnyvale?
We don't publish a set price for foundations, because the cost comes from your plans, your soils report and the type you choose, and those differ from one lot to the next. The size of the footprint and what the engineer calls for underneath move the price most. You get a figure for your own job after I've seen the lot and the plans.
Who is allowed to do foundation work in California?
Anyone who builds or alters a building or other structure in California must be licensed by the California Contractors State License Board. That applies when the project needs a building permit, uses employees, or costs $1,000 or more in labor and materials. The board describes a concrete contractor as one who forms, pours, places, finishes and installs concrete work, which is the work a foundation calls for.
How do I find out if my Sunnyvale project needs plan review?
Ask the city's permit staff. They will explain the process to follow, the documents you'll need and whether your project will require plan review. The online system you apply through is also where documents are uploaded, city comments answered, inspections scheduled and payments made. On our jobs, we take care of that part for you.
Will my lot need a ground study before building in Sunnyvale?
It may. California requires a site-specific geotechnical investigation, a study of the ground at the lot, before most developments for human occupancy are permitted within the state's Zones of Required Investigation. Whether your lot falls in one of those zones is a good question for the city's permit staff or your engineer. If you already have a soils report, please bring it to the estimate.
What should I have ready for a foundation estimate?
Have your building plans and any soils report ready, because the choice of type and most of the price come from them. If you don't have a soils report yet, we can still look at the lot together and talk through your options.
Plan your Sunnyvale foundation with us
Calling (669) 215-2122 while your plans are still being drawn leaves room to weigh a slab against a raised foundation before changes get harder to make.