I come out and look at it myself
I walk the spot, ask what's going on top and look at the ground and where the water runs, because all of that bears on how deep the footing goes. Then I talk through your choices and give you a price for your job.
Concrete footings in Little Rock AR - solid support under every post and column
Got a sinking deck post or a new addition coming? We dig and pour footings to the depth your load and local code call for.
What does a concrete footing do, and does my project need one?
A concrete footing is the support at the base of a structure that carries the weight above it down into the soil, and we dig, form and pour footings for decks, porches, additions, posts and columns in Little Rock and the cities around it.
Most folks call us when they're building something new, like a deck, a porch, a carport or an addition, and the plan says it needs footings. Others call because a post sank or a deck started leaning, and that usually means the footing under it was too shallow, too small or never there at all.
Depth moves the price more than anything, because a deeper hole means more digging and more concrete, and the number of footings adds up from there. The schedule turns on the permit, if your job needs one, and on the curing wait after the pour. I check with the city or county office for your address about what your footing needs, and we handle the permit paperwork when one's required. The estimate puts a number on your own job.
What happens after you call us about a footing?
It's the same people from the first look to the last walk-through, and here's who does what.
Our crew digs, and I check before the truck comes
Our own crew handles the dig, the forms and the pour, with me running the job on site. I check the prep before the concrete truck shows up, and I walk the finished footings with you.
Licensed in Arkansas, insured on every job
We're fully licensed and insured. We've been in business since 2020. Arkansas sets a contractor's home improvement license by job size, with a Limited license covering residential projects under $50,000, labor and material included, and an Unlimited license covering any size, so make sure whoever you hire holds the right one for your job.
How we build concrete footings
Depth is the big question on a footing, so I start with what it'll carry and what the code for your address asks before anybody picks up a shovel. Posts and columns each get their own pad footing, a separate block of concrete under each one, set where your plan calls for it. If you're pouring a new slab floor, the footing can be a thickened slab, where the slab runs deeper right under the load, so one pour does both jobs. Then our crew digs, forms and pours. Nobody sees a footing once the deck's on it, so that's where I'd spend your money first, because a short hole can't be fixed after the framing goes up.
Footings sometimes land where old concrete already sits, and when a slab or walk is in the way we use concrete cutting to open a clean hole instead of busting up more than we need. If part of your house has already settled, that calls for foundation raising, which is a different job from new footings, and I'll tell you straight which one you need.
- Working out what each footing will carry and what code asks for your address before we dig
- Pad footings for each post or column, set where your plan puts them
- Thickened-slab footings poured as part of a new floor slab
- Digging, forming and pouring by our own crew
- Cleanup and a walk-through of the finished footings with you
How a footing goes in
Once the plan's settled, the work runs in four steps, and the first two decide how well the footing holds.
Mark each spot
We stake out every footing where the plan puts it, so each post or column lands square over its concrete. A footing that's off by a few inches ends up carrying weight on one edge.
Dig to depth
Our crew digs each hole to the depth we settled on and down to firm soil, not loose fill. Loose dirt at the bottom settles, and the footing goes right along with it.
Set forms and clean the hole
We set forms, the boards or tubes that hold the concrete's shape, wherever the footing needs one. Then we clear loose dirt and standing water out of the bottom, because concrete poured into mud isn't sitting on anything solid.
Pour and let it cure
We pour, then let it cure, which is the wait while concrete hardens and gains strength before it takes weight. Load it early and you weaken the part you paid for.
Get a price on your footings
Send the form or call (501) 274-1092 with what you're building, its rough size and the property address. We respond within one business day. Then I come out, look at the spot and give you a free estimate at your property, with no obligation.
(501) 274-1092Questions about footings in Little Rock
How much do concrete footings cost in Little Rock?
Across the US, a residential strip footing usually runs about $5 to $19 per linear foot installed, counting concrete, labor, excavation and forms. That's a national range, not our price, and a strip footing is the long, continuous kind under a wall, so posts on separate pads price differently. Your estimate gives you the number for your own job.
How deep does a concrete footing need to go in Little Rock?
Local building code sets how deep and how wide a footing has to be, and footings usually have to reach below the frost line so freezing and thawing ground doesn't shift them. That's why the code for your address is the first thing we look up, before the dig is planned.
Who issues building permits in Little Rock?
The City of Little Rock's Building Codes Division issues construction permits in the city and handles plan review and inspection for building work. Their permit help line is (501) 371-4832, or you can email Permits@littlerock.gov. Arkansas building codes are statewide minimums that apply even where no permit or inspection is required, and like I said up top, we handle the paperwork when your job needs a permit.
How long do concrete footings need to cure before I build a deck?
One concrete maker's guide says to give a deck footing one day before building on it or putting heavy weight on it, or about 3 days with standard concrete mix. So the wait is short, and the mix sets how short. We'll tell you which mix went in and when you can start framing.
Footings on Little Rock's clay
A lot of the ground here moves. In Pulaski County, one summary of federal soil data rates about 25% of the mapped soil acres high for shrink-swell and another 11% very high. Expansive clays across Arkansas swell when they're wet and shrink when they dry, and houses can break apart when the building leaves that out. Many of those problems can be handled with engineering before anything's built, which is why I look at the ground at the estimate and not on pour day.
We're based in Little Rock and work across the cities around it in central Arkansas, including North Little Rock, Sherwood, Bryant and Conway. Decks, porches, carports and additions need footings in all of them, and we do the same work there that we do here. If you don't see your city on the site, call and ask.
Settle the depth before you dig
Getting the depth right on paper costs a lot less than digging out a short footing under a finished deck, so call (501) 274-1092 or send the form.
Tell me what you're building and where, and we'll talk through what needs to go under it.
Tell us about your project