Concrete footings in Mesa AZ - a solid base poured on ground we've checked first
Planning an addition, carport or block wall? We check the ground first, then pour footings that keep the weight on firm soil.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- Replies within 1 business day.
What goes into a concrete footing job in Mesa?
A concrete footing is concrete poured into a dug-out trench or hole under a wall, addition or post, so the weight of what you build rests on firm soil, and at Cornerstone Mesa Concrete we dig, check and pour footings for homeowners, small property owners and builders across Mesa, AZ. The footing's width is what spreads that weight out, so the ground under it isn't asked to carry more than it can.
Most people who call about footings are planning something, like a block wall, a carport, a patio cover or an addition, or they have drawings that call for them. The price mostly moves with how wide and deep the footings run, how much digging that takes and what the soil turns out to be, and the schedule turns on the weather, any inspection before the pour and what we find once the ground is open. If you're putting up a whole house or a large addition, our foundation installation page covers that bigger job, and for any footing job your written estimate spells out what the price covers.
How do you know a wall or post needs better footings?
Cracks in a block wall
Cracks that step up along the mortar lines, or a wall that's started to lean, usually mean the footing under it was too small or sat on loose ground. Left alone, the crack keeps opening, and a wall you could have saved turns into a tear-out.
Patio cover posts sinking
If a post has dropped and the beam above it sags, the post is usually sitting on a thin slab or a shallow pad instead of a real footing. It moves a little more each season, and a sagging cover pulls on everything it's fastened to.
Soil washing out underneath
When water runs along a wall and you can see a gap or the edge of the footing showing, the ground that was holding it up is leaving. Fixing the drainage and the footing now usually costs less than dealing with a wall that drops later.
How our crew digs and pours concrete footings
We lay out where the footings run, and our crew digs them to the width and depth the job calls for. Before any concrete goes in, we check the bottom of the dig, and if it's soft or wet we fix that first instead of pouring over it, because concrete poured on bad ground settles right along with it. We clear out loose dirt and debris, set the rebar, the steel bars that keep the concrete tied together if the ground shifts, then pour and look after the concrete while it cures, the time it spends hardening and gaining strength. If a budget gets tight, I'd rather trim the look of what sits on top than the work under the footing, because the bottom of that trench is the one part you'll never see again once it's poured.
Footings often come up alongside other work. If a slab or wall has already settled because the ground under it gave way, foundation raising may bring it back up without starting over. When a new footing has to run next to or through concrete you're keeping, we use concrete cutting to open a clean line instead of breaking it out by hand.
Continuous wall footings
A strip of concrete that runs the full length under a block wall, an addition or a garage, carrying the load along its whole line. It suits anything heavy that sits on the ground end to end.
Pad footings for posts
A single block of concrete under each post of a patio cover, carport or pergola. It suits lighter structures where the weight comes down at a few points instead of along a wall.
Get a written price for your footings
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set up a visit. Estimates are free and done on site with no obligation, and they're written out so you can see what the price covers.
Call (480) 645-9450What happens after you call us about footings?
Here's how a footing job runs from your first call to the final walk-through, and who you'll be dealing with at each stage.
Call and set a visit
When you call, I set up a time to come out, look at the site and hear what the footings need to hold up. It helps to know roughly what's going on top, whether that's a wall, a cover or an addition.
Read your written estimate
You get a written estimate that spells out the prep, the pour and any removal, so you can see where the money goes before anything is dug. If the soil could change the price once the ground is open, I'll say so up front instead of explaining it afterward.
Dig, pour and walk it
Once you're ready, we schedule around the weather, and if the job has a permit, the city reviews the plans and inspects the work, so the pour lines up with that. Our crew does the work, I check in on site, and when it's done we walk the finished job with you.
Why Mesa owners call Cornerstone Mesa Concrete for footings
On a footing job, what counts is the ground underneath, and that's the first thing I look at. Ask for a site visit and I'll walk your lot with you.
Licensed and fully insured
We're licensed and fully insured, which matters because Arizona's exemption that lets unlicensed workers take small jobs under $1,000 ends once the work needs a building permit. The city points owners to the state Registrar of Contractors' guidelines to check whether a project needs a licensed contractor, and notes that owner-occupied projects may not.
I write every estimate myself
I come out myself to look at your ground and write the estimate, and I check in on site while our crew forms, pours and finishes. The person who looked at your dig is the one answering for it.
Trained to tear out bad work
I learned under a boss who checked every edge and made us tear out anything that wasn't right, and I've run Cornerstone Mesa Concrete since 2021 to that same standard. It means problems get caught in the trench, before anything is built on top.
Footings, permits and hard ground around Mesa
Mesa's Development Services issues construction permits, and its list names additions, carport or patio enclosures and detached structures over 200 square feet, not footings on their own, so ask the city whether your job needs one before anything is dug. When it does, we settle with you up front who pulls it, and we work to the inspections the city sets. If your lot might sit in a flood zone, tell us early, because the Maricopa County Flood Control District has to approve it before you apply for the city permit, and that way things get done in the right order.
Caliche is the other thing we plan for. It's soil cemented together by calcium carbonate, common across southern Arizona, and it can sit at the surface or further down as a layer from a few inches to several feet thick, anywhere from fairly loose to hard as rock. Nobody knows what a dig holds until it's open, so I'll tell you at the estimate when the ground could slow the digging, and we meet the same thing on jobs in Gilbert and Chandler.
Questions about concrete footings in Mesa
How much do concrete footings cost in Mesa?
Installed concrete footings across the US usually cost about $4 to $20 per linear foot, and that's the market's range, not our price. Concrete, labor and digging make up the price, the footing's size moves it within that range, and a wider, deeper footing on weak soil can cost several times a shallow one. Your written estimate after I've seen the site is the number to plan on.
How do I know if my soil needs wider footings?
You find out by looking at the soil before the footing is sized, because standard widths assume ground that can carry a set load, and loose sand, soft clay or fill often carry less. One national code guide says weaker soil calls for wider footings and engineering, and where the soil is uncertain it advises a geotechnical investigation, a study of the ground by a soil specialist, or at least a visual soil classification before standard sizes are used.
What does the inspector check before footings are poured?
Inspectors look at the bottom of the trench for debris, loose soil, standing water and organic material, and all of it has to come out before the pour. If the soil is soft, wet or disturbed, the inspection fails and the concrete waits until the contractor fixes it, which is the same check we make before any concrete goes in.
What is the best way to pour concrete footings in Arizona heat?
The best way is to time the pour to the weather, because national concrete guidance says heat speeds up how fast cement reacts and how fast fresh concrete loses moisture, which can hurt the finished concrete. That guidance is to schedule the pour for a time of day or night with better weather, so in summer, expect your pour time to follow the forecast.
How do I keep new concrete footings from drying out too fast?
Ask your contractor how they'll keep the concrete from losing moisture while it's placed and while it cures, because that step is part of the same national hot-weather guidance. It's a fair question at any estimate, and I'll walk you through how we handle it on yours.
Who issues construction permits in Mesa?
Mesa's Development Services issues construction permits, and the same office reviews plans and inspects residential projects. If you're not sure whether your footings need one, ask at the estimate and we'll go over it with you.
Other concrete work that goes with footings
- Foundation raising
Worth a look when an older slab or wall has dropped, because lifting what's already there can be simpler than tearing it out and pouring new.
- Concrete cutting
Useful when a new wall or addition meets an existing patio or driveway, so the opening for its footing is saw-cut straight and the rest stays in place.
Service areas we cover around Mesa
Cornerstone Mesa Concrete is based in Mesa, Arizona, and takes footing jobs across the cities around it. The 12 areas below have their own pages, including Tempe and Scottsdale, and they're not the only places we work.
Mesa, AZ
Get your footings checked and priced
Tell us what the footings will hold up when you call (480) 645-9450 or send the form, so I can look at the right part of your lot on the first visit.