Concrete foundations today must adhere to a different set of codes and specifications than in years past.  Today’s concrete foundation designs take into account soil conditions, seismic activity for the San Diego area and loads experienced by the structure. Footing sizes, rebar sizes and hardware location and sizes are all components that must be taken into consideration for each individual application.  In thirty two years of concrete foundation installation in the San Diego area, Nevares Concrete has seen many changes. Increased moisture barrier thickness has become a big concern. Many older foundations with less than today’s standard have had moisture infiltration problems. Mold, efflorescence and discoloration don’t have a chance with today’s concrete foundation requirements.

Here are some kind words from one of our satisfied concrete foundation customers in La Jolla:

“We were building a new custom home in the Bird Rock area of La Jolla. We saw T. E. Nevares Concrete’s crews and trucks working on many other projects in the area. When I contacted Tom Nevares, owner of T.E. Nevares Concrete, he quickly put my concrete foundation concerns to rest. After a short conversation, I could tell Tom was well versed and had vast experience in large scale concrete foundations work. My experience with Tom and his company from  a business as well as construction aspects, were both very professional and pleasant. The whole crew was clean, fast, respectful and really did a bang up job for us.”

H.L. Wiggins

La Jolla

Some of the biggest contributors for foundation repair in San Diego and surrounding areas are:

1. Inadequate drainage and water control  away from concrete foundation

2. Expansive soil conditions under concrete foundation

3. Inadequate compaction techniques used under concrete foundation at time of construction

Soil conditions that impact foundation repairs in the San Diego area fall into three main categories:

1. Point Loma formation, is an excellent material to build foundations on. However, San Diego coastal areas where this formation is found, are full of cliffs, valleys and peaks. When developers first started building foundations for San Diego area houses, many were built in the coastal areas. Having primarily sloped conditions in these areas, developers would cut and fill prior to foundation construction.  Inadequate compaction techniques used during this era were the leading contributor to the need for foundation repairs in these areas. A typical remedy for a cut and fill situation would be a caisson and grade beam/underpinning type of foundation repair.

2. High clay content soils found largely in the La Mesa/Santee (San Diego’s East County) area. Water is the number one offender in expansive soil conditions and a big contributor to the need for concrete foundation repair. Lack of control of adequate drainage can greatly affect these soil conditions and cause foundations to heave. Concrete Foundation repair for this type of situation would be a combination of remove and replace existing interior foundation with structural slab and underpin perimeter of existing foundation. Foundation repairs of this type definitely require temporary re-location of the occupants.

3. Steep slope type situations in San Diego are desirable to builders because of the views available from being at the top of a slope. However, much planning and consideration must be put into practice prior to foundation construction. In the old days, San Diego city requirements were inadequate. Today’s seven foot to daylight rule is what should have been done all along. Foundation repairs for slope type installations typically require shoring of the existing structure and a combination of caisson and grade beam and retaining wall fixes.
T.E. Nevares Concrete has extensive experience in concrete foundation repair in all types of soil conditions throughout San Diego County. We are proud to say that we can get in quick, clean and safe, exercising the highest degree of professionalism for  your San Diego area concrete foundation repair.

Here is an excerpted version of an article written by Balvant Rajani, on the best practices that will help ensure good long-term performance, safety and comfort of concrete sidewalks.

The average service life of concrete sidewalks in San Diego is 20 to 40 years, but failure can occur as early as one to five years after construction. Many of the problems of sidewalks in San Diego are the result of lack of attention to detail during the design and construction stages. This Update describes practices that prolong San Diego sidewalk life and in so doing, advance the four key sidewalk attributes: safety, comfort, appearance, and life-cycle cost performance.

Sidewalk Subgrade

The sidewalk subgrade is the native soil that is graded and compacted to provide an even surface to support the sidewalk. The sidewalk subgrade material should have uniform stiffness to avoid differing frost or expansion characteristics. In some cases, the sidewalk concrete is placed directly on the subgrade, but it is strongly recommended that a granular sub-base be placed between the native soil and the concrete slab.