A foundation is the one slab you never see and can never afford to get wrong. Detroit Concrete forms and pours footings and foundation walls to the engineer's drawings for new builds and additions, and handles repair, crack repair and waterproofing when an existing foundation needs it. Reinforcement, drainage and cure are done by the book, and every project starts with a free written estimate.
Everything above it depends on the foundation, so there is no room to improvise. Foundation installation starts with an accurate excavation and a footing sized and reinforced to the engineer's drawings, because the footing is what spreads the building's load onto stable soil.
The walls go up next: formed straight, rebar tied to spec, concrete placed and consolidated so there are no voids, then cured before anything is backfilled against them. Skipping a step here is invisible until it is a structural problem years later.
Drainage and protection finish the job. Foundation waterproofing and weeping tile keep groundwater out, which is also what keeps the basement dry. The same standards run through every residential pour we do.
Recent work
How it works
How We Pour a Concrete Foundation in Detroit
Excavate and survey
We excavate to the engineered depth, confirm the bearing soil, and survey the layout and elevations against the drawings before any concrete is ordered.
Form, rebar and inspect
Footings and walls are formed straight and true, reinforcement is tied to spec, and the work is ready for inspection before the pour.
Pour and consolidate
Concrete is placed and consolidated so there are no voids or cold joints, footings first, then walls, to the mix design on the drawings.
Strip, waterproof and cure
Forms are stripped on schedule, walls are damp-proofed or waterproofed, and the foundation is cured before any backfill goes against it.
When a foundation fails
Foundation Repair Before Small Cracks Get Big
Most foundation problems start small and quiet, a hairline in the wall, a damp corner, a door that suddenly sticks. Foundation crack repair seals those early, before water and frost can work them wider.
When movement has gone further, foundation repair addresses the cause, not just the symptom, and underpinning extends and strengthens a footing that was never deep enough. Pairing any repair with waterproofing keeps the fix from coming back.
Installation, repair, waterproofing and what foundation work involves in Detroit.
Yes. Foundation installation is formed, reinforced and poured to the structural engineer's drawings, footing size, wall thickness, rebar and mix design, and is ready for inspection before the pour.
Watch for stair-step or horizontal cracks, bowing walls, doors and windows that stick, sloping floors or a damp basement corner. Any of those is worth a look, and crack repair early is far cheaper than structural repair later.
Yes. Foundation waterproofing excavates the affected wall, addresses the cracks, applies a proper waterproof membrane and restores drainage and weeping tile so groundwater is carried away instead of pushing in.
Underpinning extends a foundation deeper or wider when the original footing cannot carry the load, common when adding a storey, lowering a basement, or correcting a footing on poor soil.
Yes. We pour footings and foundation walls for additions, tied in or isolated from the existing foundation as the engineer specifies, and matched so the addition settles with the house, not against it.
Homeowner reviews
What Detroit Homeowners Say About Their Concrete Foundations
Footings and a foundation wall for a two-storey addition. Poured to the engineer's drawings, passed inspection first try, and they sent photos at every stage.
F. W.
Detroit
★★★★★
Had a crack that leaked every spring. They excavated the wall, sealed it properly and redid the weeping tile. Bone dry through the next melt.
O. D.
Dearborn
★★★★★
Underpinning to lower our basement. Careful, methodical work, and they explained every step so we understood what was happening under the house.
H. S.
Sterling Heights
★★★★★
Caught a few small cracks early on their assessment and sealed them before winter. Honest about what needed doing now versus what could wait.
N. R.
Warren
From the blog
Concrete Guides & Articles
Practical reading on planning, finishes and caring for concrete in Detroit.
New build, addition, or a foundation showing its age, send us the drawings or just describe what you are seeing and we will set up a site visit with a written, itemised quote.
