Foundation installation in Midland TX - built to fit your lot and your budget

Let the engineer's soils study and your plans settle it, because the choice comes down to a shallow system or a deep one. Engineering guidance says shallow foundations usually carry more risk of damage but often get picked because they cost less, while deep systems use drilled piers that reach below the layer where moisture changes, so the house moves up and down less. That movement comes from expansive clay, which swells and can push a foundation up when it gets wet, then shrinks and lets it settle as it dries. The post-tensioning trade group also calls post-tensioned slabs, which are tightened with steel cables after the pour, a cost-efficient choice on soils like that.

Check with the city before anything gets dug, because Midland's Code Administration issues residential building permits for new houses, additions, remodeling, repairs and detached buildings, and its list doesn't name foundation work by itself. For a house or an addition, the city asks for drawn sections showing construction details for every proposed foundation. Inside city limits or out in the county, we check which office handles it before we schedule, and we can apply as your contractor or help you apply yourself. Work doesn't start until the permit's in.

The city requires a licensed and bonded contractor who's registered with the City of Midland for most construction projects. Homeowners can also alter or add to their own home themselves for their family, though they still need the permit and pay the required fees. If you're weighing doing part of it yourself, we can talk that through at the estimate.

The city inspects the footings, grade beam footings, spot and spread footings and any required piers as its foundation inspection. When the footings and slab go in all at once, called a monolithic pour, that inspection can be scheduled together with the slab inspection. We plan our pour day around it.

I can't give you an honest number until I've seen your plans and soils study, because the system they call for sets most of the price. A deep system with drilled piers costs more up front than a shallow one, and the size of the house, the depth and number of piers, the steel and how much dirt work the lot needs move it from there. Your written estimate lists what's included and what isn't, so you can compare it fairly.

The time on site is usually the short part, and waiting on the soils study, finished plans and the permit is what sets your start date. The post-tensioning trade group says a post-tensioned slab can often go in faster than a comparable slab built with rebar or wire mesh, since it has fewer pieces and less concrete. I'll lay out the order of work for your job when I come out.