Slab foundation building in San Bernardino CA - a slab built for the ground it sits on
Planning a home or addition and worried about the ground under it? We pour slab foundations planned around the soil you've got.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- Expect a reply within 1 business day.
What does building a slab foundation in San Bernardino involve?
Slab foundation building in San Bernardino means pouring the concrete slab your home sits on at ground level, along with the footings that carry its bearing walls, and the city requires both to be designed for the expansive soil here so the house has steady ground under it.
If you're building a house, an addition or a new outbuilding, the slab is the first thing that goes in and the last thing you'd ever want to redo. The price mostly moves with the size of the slab, the kind of slab your ground calls for, how much digging and grading the lot needs and how much plumbing has to be in before we pour. The schedule usually turns on the work before any concrete shows up, which means the soils report, the plans and the city permit, and once I've seen the lot, the estimate gives you your own figure.
How we handle slab foundation building
I want the soils report in hand before we talk design, because the ground decides what kind of slab makes sense, and some ground calls for a post-tensioned slab. If yours does, I'll explain why. Once the design is set, we dig out and grade the pad, then pack the subgrade, which is the soil and base the slab sits on, so it doesn't settle later. We set the forms and work with your plumber so every pipe and sleeve is in place before the steel goes down, then we place the rebar, the steel bars that hold the concrete together when the ground moves, or the cables if the slab is post-tensioned, and we pour, finish and start curing. If the budget has to give somewhere, I'd rather it not be the base, because nobody sees it after the first day but it's what decides whether the slab stays put.
Some plans call for something other than a slab on grade, and that's our foundation installation work. If you're putting up a shop or a small commercial building, we also do concrete parking lot building so the lot around it goes in on the same kind of base.
Rebar-reinforced slab with footings
This suits lots where the soils report says the ground is fairly stable, and a lot of additions and smaller homes end up here. Rebar in the slab and footings under the bearing walls carry the load, and it's the simpler of the two to build.
Post-tensioned slab
This suits ground the soils report shows moving a fair amount as it gets wet and dries out. Steel cables run through the slab and get pulled tight after the concrete hardens, which squeezes the slab together so it handles that movement as one piece.
What San Bernardino's soil and slopes mean for slab foundation building
A slab foundation is structural work, and the City of San Bernardino's Building and Safety Division requires a building permit for structural work, with only a few minor exceptions. On more complex projects the city checks the plans and specs against code before it issues the permit, in certain cases wants them drawn up by a California registered architect or engineer, and for new construction asks for a grading or drainage plan based on a survey of how the ground lies. We take care of the permit, and since each city and the county run things a little differently, we check with the right office for your address first. That office is also the place to confirm the current rules, because they can change.
The ground itself is the other half. On hillside lots the city makes a soils report mandatory when a retaining wall will be taller than 6 feet or when the footings' distance from a slope differs from the code's standard setback. Inside a state earthquake fault zone, a geologist licensed by California has to show the building won't sit on an active fault before the project is permitted. We're based in San Bernardino and work across the cities around it, and we run into the same expansive ground and sloped lots on jobs in Highland and Redlands, so we work in the same order there, soil and geology first, then the slab.
Why people building in San Bernardino call San Bernardino Concrete Company
I come out to every job
I look at every site myself before there's a number on paper, and our own crew does the work. I'm there for the pour and the steps that matter most on a foundation, so the person who planned your slab is the one watching it go in.
Running our own crew since 2020
Before I started this business, I spent years as the right hand to another concrete contractor here, walking jobs and running the crew. The awkward slabs, the ones with pipes running through them or a slope to work around, are the jobs we like most.
We're licensed and insured
A foundation is the one part of a house you can't easily redo, so you should know who's responsible while it's going in. Ask me about our coverage when I come out.
Straight answers about engineers
Between the expansive soil and the hills around San Bernardino, some slabs need an engineer's design or a geologist's report before anyone can price them properly. If yours does, or if part of the job is outside what we do, I'll tell you up front.
The sooner I see your lot, the sooner we can sort out what the ground needs. Call us or send a request and I'll come take a look.
Request a quoteGet a slab foundation estimate for your lot
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set a time for me to come out. Free quotes on site, and the estimate is obligation-free.
What happens after you call about a slab foundation?
Call or send the form
Reach us at (840) 222-9185 or through the form, and we'll set a time for me to visit. Have the property address handy, plus any soils report or plans you already have.
I walk the lot with you
I look at the site, ask how you'll use the building and go over any report or plans with you. You get a written estimate that spells out what's included and what isn't, so you can compare it line by line.
Paperwork, prep and the pour
Once the permit is sorted, our crew does the work, with me there for the base, the steel and the pour. In hot months, industry guidance is to pour early in the morning and keep delivery, placing and finishing moving, so expect pour day to start early and run on a tight schedule.
Go over the finished slab
When the slab is poured and curing, I walk the finished job with you. It's a good time to ask anything about the next steps on your build.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a slab foundation cost near San Bernardino?
A slab foundation of 800 to 1,200 square feet in nearby Riverside usually costs about $6.50 to $16 per square foot installed. That's what the market runs, not our price, and where your job lands depends mostly on what the soils report calls for, how much grading the lot needs and what has to go in under the slab. I'll give you your own figure once I've seen the lot.
Do I need a soils report to build a slab foundation in San Bernardino?
Plan on getting one. The city recommends a soils investigation report for any project in San Bernardino because of the expansive soil and hilly ground, and that report supplies the data the slab design is built on. Order it early, since the design really can't start until it's in.
What does a post-tensioned slab foundation do?
A post-tensioned slab is designed to resist soil movement caused by moisture, or span over it, while keeping its top surface level within allowed limits. The post-tensioning industry publishes general guidelines for these slabs on homes built on expansive or compressible soil, which is why the option comes up so often around here.
Who issues building permits in San Bernardino, and to whom?
The City of San Bernardino issues building permits, and it issues them to contractors who hold the right state license for the work and a current city business license. Builders with employees also show proof of workers' compensation insurance when the permit is issued, so it's fair to ask your contractor to see it.
What is the best way to cure a new concrete slab foundation?
Start curing right after the concrete is placed, because curing, keeping the slab from drying out too fast while it hardens, is what lets it gain strength instead of ending up with a weak, dusty top. For hot-weather concrete, industry guidance lists a membrane curing compound, seven days of continuous soaking, wet burlap or plastic sheeting, or curing paper.
What causes a new slab foundation to crack?
Most serious cracks come from the ground moving, either expansive soil swelling when it gets wet and shrinking as it dries, or loose fill settling because it wasn't packed. A little hairline cracking is normal as concrete dries, and a good soils report, a well-packed subgrade and water directed away from the house are what keep it from turning into something worse.
Other concrete work for your build
Foundation installation
If your plans call for a raised floor, a stem wall or a foundation that steps down a slope, this is the work that gets the house up off the ground.
Concrete parking lot building
Building a shop, a small commercial building or a few rental units? The lot around it needs the same attention to base and drainage so it carries cars without breaking up.
San Bernardino, CA
Get your slab foundation priced on site
We pick up seven days a week from 7 AM to 10 PM, so call (840) 222-9185 or send the form with your address and any soils report or plans you have.