Concrete footings in Oxford AL - a solid base sized for what it holds up
Leaning posts, a cracked block wall or a new addition on the way? We build footings dug and sized for what will sit on them.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- Replies within 1 business day.
Do you need concrete footings, and what goes into them?
Concrete footings are the wider concrete base under a wall, pier or post, and in Oxford, AL we build them so the weight of what you're building spreads into the soil instead of pressing down on one spot.
Most people call Oxford Concrete because something new is going on top, like an addition, a garage, a block wall or a deck, or because an old post or wall has started to move. The price moves with how many footings you need, how long and deep they run, how wide they have to be and how hard the digging is. The schedule turns on what the city says about your job, the weather on pour day and what we find once the ground is open, and your estimate lists what's in your price and what isn't.
How do you know your footings need attention?
A post that leans or sinks
When a porch or deck post tips or drops, the footing under it is usually too small, too shallow or sitting on loose dirt. Wait too long and the beam above it sags and starts pulling on everything it's tied to.
Cracks in a block wall
A crack that climbs through the mortar joints like a staircase usually means one end of the wall is settling more than the other. The longer it moves, the wider the crack gets and the more work it takes to set right.
New work on the plans
If you're adding a room, a garage, a carport or a deck, the footings are the first thing that goes in and the last thing anyone sees. Sizing them before the framing is planned costs a lot less than fixing them after the walls are up.
How we build concrete footings
Footings carry everything above them, so the first thing I ask is whether yours will hold up a full wall or a single post, and their size comes from your house and your lot. From there our crew lays out the lines, digs the trenches or holes, sets the rebar, which is the steel that keeps the concrete from pulling apart as it carries weight, builds the forms and pours. The part people most want to save on is the digging and the ground work, because nobody sees it once the wall goes up, and that's the one place I won't cut, since a footing is only as good as the ground it sits on.
Footing work often runs into other jobs. If the house you're tying into has already settled, foundation raising lifts that part back up before we build anything new against it, and when a footing has to go through an old driveway or patio, concrete cutting opens a clean path so we don't break up more slab than we need to.
Continuous footings under walls
These run the full length of the foundation under a wall, so they suit additions, garages, block walls and anything that puts weight along a line. They're the bigger dig, because the trench follows every foot of the wall above.
Pad footings under posts and piers
A pad sits under one concentrated load, like a porch post, a deck pier or a column, so it suits decks, carports and porches. Each pad goes exactly where its post lands, which is why we get the layout right before anyone picks up a shovel.
Get a free estimate for your footings
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time. I'll come out, walk the site with you and send a free estimate, with no pressure and no obligation.
(256) 649-5980- Based in
- Oxford, AL 36203
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–9 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–10 PM
What happens when you call about footings in Oxford?
From your first call to the last walk around the job, here's who does what and what you'll have in hand before you decide anything.
Call or send the form
Tell us the address and what the footings will carry, a wall or a post, and we'll set a time to come out. That one detail tells me a lot before I get there.
Walk the lot together
I walk the site with you and ask a lot of questions, about the soil, where the water runs and what's going on top. Your estimate spells out what's included and what isn't, so you're not guessing about extras later.
Dig, form and pour
If you go ahead, our crew preps the ground and sets the forms, and I'm on site for the pour. What we find in the holes can change the plan, and if it does, you'll hear it from me before any concrete goes in.
Walk the finished footings
Before we leave, we walk the finished job with you. We'll tell you how long the concrete needs before anyone starts building on it.
Why Oxford homeowners call Oxford Concrete for footings
The owner on every footing job
I come out to look at every job and I stay on it with the crew that does the work, so the person who asked about your soil is the one checking the holes before the pour. Nothing gets lost between the estimate and the dig.
Back in concrete since 2023
I learned concrete on a crew when I was younger, did other work for years, then came back and started this business in 2023. Coming back with fresh eyes is why I still want to know why one footing holds and another doesn't.
Fully licensed and insured for footings
Oxford Concrete is fully licensed and insured. That matters on footing work, because it's deep digging right next to your house and mistakes there are hard to undo.
Comfortable with slopes and old slabs
Around Oxford we're best known for jobs with a catch, like an awkward slope, a cut through an old slab or a layout that isn't standard. A sloped lot changes how footings get laid out, and that's the kind of problem I like working out.
On footings, the ground under them matters more than anything you'll see afterward. Send us the details and I'll come out and take a look.
What Oxford's permits and soil mean for your footings
Before any digging starts, we check with the City of Oxford's building office about your footings and tell you plainly what the job needs and who handles it. The city takes permit applications online or on paper at its office, and when there's a question about how the building code applies to your project, the city's Building Official is the one who answers it, so we ask instead of guessing.
Most of the mapped soil in Calhoun County is rated low for shrink-swell, the swelling and shrinking some clay does between wet and dry spells. That rating describes the county as a whole, though, not your back yard, and since the strength of the soil is part of what sets a footing's width, I look at your own ground when the holes are open. We're based in Oxford and work across many of the cities around it, and we treat footing jobs in Anniston and Jacksonville the same way, by digging first and trusting what we find over what a map says.
Questions about concrete footings in Oxford
How much do concrete footings cost in Oxford, AL?
There's no single price for footings, because the cost comes down to how many you need, how deep and wide they go and how hard the digging is. A long continuous footing under a wall takes more digging, steel and concrete than a few pads under deck posts, and tight access, rock or an old slab in the way all add work. Your estimate is where your own number comes from.
How deep does a concrete footing need to go?
The bottom of a footing has to sit below the frost line, the depth where the ground freezes in winter. Below that line, frost heave, which is freezing water in the soil swelling and pushing the footing up, can't get to it, so the frost line where you build sets the depth, and we confirm it for your lot before we dig.
How do I know how wide my footings should be?
Width comes from your own house and lot, because the model building code for homes ties it to how many stories the footing holds up, what the walls are made of and how strong the soil is. Tell me how many floors and what kind of walls are going on top, and I'll look at the soil when I'm out.
Can concrete footings be poured in hot weather?
Yes, but the heat can decide what time of day your pour gets scheduled, because the ready-mix industry's trade association advises placing and finishing concrete outside the hottest part of the day when possible. The same group advises starting to cure right after finishing and keeping it up for at least 3 days in hot weather. Curing means holding the water in so the concrete hardens properly, with wet burlap and plastic sheeting or a liquid curing compound.
Who needs a license to build footings in Oxford, AL?
Any person or company doing business in Oxford needs a City of Oxford business license before they start work in the city. If you're building or improving a one- or two-family home on your own property for your own use, not to sell, and you supervise all of it yourself, the state Home Builders Licensure Board exempts you as your own contractor. Any subcontractor you hire under that exemption still has to be licensed if their part of the work costs more than $10,000.00.
What causes concrete footings to sink or crack?
Usually it's the ground under them, because a footing set on loose fill or soft soil, or one where water keeps collecting, moves whenever the ground does. That's why I care most about the part nobody sees once it's poured, and we look at where the water runs off your roof and yard before we set a single form.
Other concrete work that often comes with footings
Foundation raising
When part of your house has dropped and doors start sticking or walls crack, raising the foundation lifts it back up so new work isn't built on a slant.
Concrete cutting
Old slabs, walls and floors often sit right where a footing or a doorway needs to go, and a saw cut removes just that piece cleanly.
Cities where we build footings around Oxford
Oxford Concrete is based in Oxford, Alabama, and we work across Oxford and many of the cities around it, including Anniston and Talladega. These 10 cities have their own pages, and they aren't the only places we go.
Oxford, AL
Tell us what your footings will carry
Have the address and whether it's a wall or a post ready when you call (256) 649-5980 or send the form, and I can start thinking about your ground before I even pull up.