Foundation installation in Auburn ME - a dry, solid base under your house
Building a new home or addition on a wet or sloped lot? We pour one planned for water and the years ahead.
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What goes into a new foundation in Auburn?
Foundation installation in Auburn means building the concrete walls or slab your house rests on, set to handle frost and the moisture in the ground around it, so the house above stays dry and level.
Most people who call about a foundation are building a new house or adding onto one, and they want the part nobody sees to be the part they never think about again. The price mostly turns on the size of the footprint, whether you want full basement walls or a shallow slab, how wet the site is and how much digging it takes to get down there. The schedule turns on the permit, the weather and how long the concrete needs before soil can go back against it. When a budget gets tight, the buried part is usually the first thing people want to trim, and I'd rather trim almost anything else, because nobody digs a foundation back up to fix it. If your plans call for a slab on grade, our slab foundation building page covers that job, and your written estimate puts your own numbers on all of it.
How we handle foundation installation
A foundation has to keep water out for as long as the house stands, so we start by talking through how wet your site is and what protection it calls for. Then we dig out and pack the base, pour the footings, and form and pour the walls or slab with rebar, the steel inside that keeps concrete from pulling apart as it moves. We let it cure, which is the wait while the concrete gains its strength, and put on the moisture protection your site needs. We brace the walls before any soil goes back against them, because backfill pushes hard on a wall that isn't held at the top and bottom yet. Ask any crew how they'll support the walls before backfill, since the answer tells you a lot.
Foundation jobs often bring other concrete with them. The footings under the walls are their own piece of work, and our concrete footings page covers them for additions, garages and decks. If you're putting up a shop or a commercial building, concrete parking lot building usually follows once the building is closed in.
Full basement walls
This suits a house where you want storage, mechanicals or living space below ground. It's also where most of the water planning goes, because those walls sit in the ground for the life of the house.
Frost-protected shallow foundation
A national builder's guide describes this method, which uses insulation to warm the soil so the foundation doesn't have to go as deep. It suits homes on a ground-level slab on moderate to low slopes best, where one pour can speed up the build.
Walkout basements on a slope
If your lot falls away enough for a walkout, the same guide says the shallow method can still work. The catch is that the foundation gets insulated on the downhill side of the house.
Foundations for additions
Adding onto a house means working close to what's already there. The guide notes that shallow foundations are useful on remodels because putting them in disturbs less of the site.
What Auburn's rules mean for foundation installation
In Auburn, Permitting and Code Enforcement handles building permits and Public Works handles fill and excavation permits, but the city's permit list doesn't name foundation work by itself, so the list alone doesn't settle what your job needs. We ask the city before we book anything, and when a permit is called for we handle the application. If your lot sits in a flood area, the city's Zoning and Planning department reviews flood hazard development plans and site plans, and that needs sorting out before the dig. Maine's building code applies to every building built or renovated in the state, whatever the size of the town, and meeting it is the owner's responsibility, which is one more reason we check first.
Radon is the other Maine rule that touches a foundation, because only the owner or occupant, or someone registered with the state, may test for radon or install a reduction system, and a home that's for sale needs a registered provider. Maine CDC recommends a radon test after work that disturbs the ground around a house, so plan one once the foundation is in. We see the same mix of new homes, additions and wet lots on jobs in Lewiston and Portland, and we plan the water the same way there.
Why Auburn homeowners call Sterling Auburn Concrete for foundations
The owner prices and pours it
I come out to look at the job and give the estimate, and I lead the crew that builds it. The person who heard what you need is the one standing at the forms on pour day.
Running this business since 2013
I started this business in 2013 after learning the trade on other crews, and my first pour was a barn floor. Thirteen years in, I still spend the most time on the part that ends up buried.
Permits checked before we book
Before we book a job, we check with the local permit office on what it needs, and when a permit is called for we handle the application. In Auburn that means getting it sorted with the city before anyone starts digging.
Licensed and fully insured, every job
We're licensed and fully insured. That covers you and your property while our crew and our equipment are working in your yard.
Water protection and wall support are the decisions you can't undo once the soil goes back. Tell us about your project and I'll come out and look at the site with you.
Request a quoteGet a free on-site estimate for your foundation
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set up a visit. I come out, look at the site, measure it and ask how you'll use the house, then you get a written estimate. It's free and there's no obligation.
What happens after you call about a foundation?
Call and I come out
You call, and I come out to look at the job, measure it and ask how you'll use the house. Have your plans or a rough sketch handy if you've got one.
Get your written estimate
You get a written estimate for the job, so the numbers are on paper before you decide anything. Take your time with it.
Permit check and pour date
Once you're ready, we check what the local permit office needs and set a pour date that suits the job. The base gets dug out and packed before any concrete shows up.
Pour, cure and walk through
We pour and finish the foundation and let it cure properly. Then we walk it with you before we pack up.
Frequently asked questions
How much does foundation installation cost in Auburn, ME?
There's no set price, because every foundation is priced from its own size, depth and site, and your written estimate gives you your number. Full basement walls cost more than a shallow slab, a wet site that needs waterproofing adds to it, and a lot that's hard to dig or reach adds more. Call (207) 707-4423 to set up a visit.
Can a frost-protected shallow foundation work in Maine winters?
Yes, a national builder's guide says insulation that warms the soil lets these foundations sit as shallow as 16 inches in almost all of the continental US. Whether it fits your house comes down to your plans and your lot, and that's something I look at on site.
How do I choose between dampproofing and waterproofing for a new foundation?
Use waterproofing if water in the ground will press on the walls, and dampproofing only where it won't. One block maker's guide says dampproofing resists soil moisture where no water pressure is expected, while waterproofing also stands up to liquid water and the pressure of water pushing on the wall. We make that call with you once we've seen how wet your site is.
Should a new foundation in Maine include radon control?
It's worth planning for, because Maine's building code lists a radon control standard for new low-rise homes, and those features usually cost less to build in than to fix after the house is up. The foundation is the cheapest point to do it, so we talk it through at the estimate while the ground is still open.
What causes cracks in a new concrete foundation, and will mine crack?
Some cracking can't be fully prevented, but it can be greatly reduced or controlled when its causes are planned for from the start. Most foundation cracks are no cause for alarm. We plan for them with a packed base, rebar in the concrete and walls braced before backfill, because concrete is stubborn and it's easier to plan for it than argue with it.
Which Auburn office do I apply to for a building permit?
Building permits go through Auburn's Permitting and Code Enforcement, and completed applications go to Auburn Hall at 60 Court Street. Fill and excavation permits go through Public Works. When a permit is called for on our job, we handle the application for you.
Other concrete work that goes with a foundation
Concrete footings
Pouring a deck, garage or small addition that doesn't need full walls? Footings carry the load into the ground, and getting them sized and placed right keeps the structure from shifting.
Concrete parking lot building
Building a shop, office or rental property along with the foundation? A poured lot gives cars and trucks a surface that drains away from the building and holds up to daily traffic.
Auburn, ME
Book your foundation estimate in Auburn
Have the property address, the type of home and your slab or basement plans ready when you call or fill out the form, and the first visit covers a lot more ground.