Services Offered By Commercial Foundation Contractors

Commercial foundation contractors can provide a variety of useful services for their clients, including:

Foundation installation – primarily slab-on-grade and pier-and-beam foundations
Pavement installation
Concrete finishing
Foundation repair – including crack repair
Drainage construction
Site preparation
Soil stabilization

In all, your commercial foundation contractor should have the capabilities needed to take your raw piece of land and provide you with a fully finished concrete foundation. This takes a difficult-to-find combination of technical precision and heavy earth moving resources. As such, it is important to partner with a contractor who has a well-established project history.

A Closer Look at the Services a Commercial Foundation Contractor Offers

Commercial foundation contractors are highly skilled teams, capable of performing a range of services for most of the early steps in construction. Those services include:

Site preparation and soil stabilization – Before a concrete foundation can be installed, the project site must first be prepared. This involves clearing the land of all vegetation and existing structures (demolition), grading the site and stabilizing the soil.
During site grading, the desired elevations are established across the project site and are designed to promote optimal drainage. The site may be graded for aesthetic or other purposes.
Commercial foundation contractors can also offer soil stabilization services, which are important for establishing a reliable build site for any foundation. During the soil stabilization process, the foundation team will use either chemical stabilization (lime cement) or mechanical stabilization (compaction) to firm up the site and ensure it has the proper load bearing characteristics required.
Foundation installation – Once the site is prepared and stabilized, it can take a concrete foundation. In the Houston area, this almost always means a slab-on-grade foundation or a pier-and-beam foundation. Slab-on-grade commercial foundations are the first choice for their reliability, durability and cost efficiency. Pier-and-beam foundations are recommended in areas where flooding or particularly unstable soils are a concern.
Commercial concrete foundation crews are experts in forming, pouring and shaping concrete to any size or shape. During installation an expert foundation contractor can install any concrete structures necessary along with the foundation, including concrete footings.
Commercial foundations are built with reinforced concrete, so your contractor will also have experience in various reinforcement methods, such as installing rebar or using a post-tensioning anchorage system.
Concrete pavement installation – If your contractor can install a commercial-scale foundation, they can probably install a variety of concrete pavement structures, too. This includes parking lots, streets, sidewalks and walkways. Concrete pavement is characterized by its durability and utility as it can withstand heavy traffic and the elements if it is properly installed and maintained.
Chances are, if you are installing a concrete foundation, you will also need to install some pavement. Your commercial foundation contractor should be able to assist with this.
Drainage structure construction – Many commercial properties in and around Houston are protected from flooding by concrete drainage structures. This includes curb and gutter systems, drains, catch basins, culverts, and retention/detention ponds. Concrete can be waterproofed and possesses excellent hydraulic efficiency, making it the ideal material for drainage structures. If your foundation contractor has experience with building drainage structures, it will save your organization time and money by using a single company for the work on your property.
Concrete finishing – Following forming and pouring, a concrete foundation contractor can finish any concrete they install. During the finishing process, the concrete is properly textured for optimal traction and durability. For foundation work, finishing the concrete with proper curing processes establishes sufficient structural strength. Finishing pavement promotes better pedestrian safety and aesthetics as well.
Foundation repair – Concrete foundations are exposed to constant tensile and load-bearing stresses, and Houston’s unstable soils do not help. Eventually, even well-installed commercial foundations will exhibit signs of wear and damage. A commercial foundation contractor can inspect any foundation damage, determine if the structure is threatened and recommend the ideal fix.

Concrete maintenance and crack repair methods may include routing and sealing the crack, drilling and plugging, injecting epoxy into the concrete or stitching cracks together.

What to Look for in a Commercial Concrete Foundation Installer

Commercial concrete foundations are major projects and therefore require major skills to properly manage. To ensure you are working with a reputable contractor, look for the following when choosing a crew to hire:

A history of commercial concrete projects – Nothing beats experience in the commercial foundation industry, and that means experience with projects similar to yours. Ideally, you will want to partner with a contractor that has poured foundations like yours in terms of size and layout. They should also be comfortable with the site’s climate, soil and traffic conditions.

Commercial foundation contractors succeed on their experience and reputation, so they maintain up-to-date work portfolios of their previous projects. This should be a point of focus when researching a potential contractor.
A history of satisfied clients – Reputable foundation companies should also have contact information for several of their previous clients who can provide a testimonial on the contractor’s behalf.

You will not have licensing or certification to rely on when assessing contractors, but you can contact previous clients and confirm that the foundation company hit their budget and timeline targets. Confirm that they were on time and took the appropriate safety measures. Confirm that everything was done in a transparent and fair-dealing fashion.
Professionalism and a detail-oriented approach – You should expect prompt, courteous communication at the minimum when partnering with a commercial foundation contractor. Beyond that, your contractor should have answers for all of your questions. What type of foundation will you install? Will there be a foundation plan to look at beforehand? Will your team pull the project’s permits? What will you do to minimize any disruption to the property and to any neighbors?

Reputable foundation contractors strive to provide high quality concrete work without disrupting any activities on the property. To do so, they must be detail-oriented and thoughtful in their project management approach. Verify that your contractor prioritizes project management by asking the important questions.

An Experienced Commercial Foundation Contractor Can Provide a Full Range of Concrete Services

Commercial foundation contractors can provide a full range of site development and concrete installation services, including site clearing, site grading, soil stabilization, pavement installation, foundation installation and foundation repair. If you are developing a raw piece of land, you will likely need all of the above services to get your site ready for construction. Fortunately, if you are working with an experienced, proven foundation company, they will offer all of the above services – so you will only need to partner with a single team to get your property ready for construction.