Rebuilding or building new on a Malibu hillside lot? We build the foundation your engineer and geology report call for, with the scope in writing.
Foundation installation in Malibu means building the concrete that carries your house's weight down to ground that will hold it. That can be a slab, footings or deep supports drilled below a slope. On most lots here, lining up the plans and city reviews usually takes longer than the concrete work itself.
The foundation calls we get usually come from owners working through a rebuild or a new house with their architect or engineer, often on a slope. The price depends on the type of foundation the design calls for, how deep the digging or drilling goes, how much steel goes in and how hard it is to get equipment onto your lot. A flat lot with a slab foundation is a simpler job than a hillside. The schedule depends mostly on city reviews and the inspections the work has to pass along the way, not on the pour itself. My estimate gives you a written scope with a price you can compare line by line.
I come out and take the measurements myself, and I'm on site while our crew does the work. Before concrete I ran a sign shop for years, where a job was only right if every measurement was right. I started this business in Malibu in 2023.
I want you to know exactly what you're paying for, so the scope is written down before any work begins, including what goes under and into the concrete. If something in the ground doesn't match the plans, I'll check with your engineer and get back to you. Satisfaction guaranteed.
We're fully licensed and insured. California's Contractors State License Board sets a separate class for concrete contractors, covering the work of forming, pouring, placing, finishing and installing concrete. To set up a visit, call (424) 388-5404 or use the form on this page.
Send your address, whether the lot is on a hillside and any geotechnical report you have, and we'll reply within one business day by phone or message. The estimate is free, done on site and comes with no obligation. I'll measure the area, look at access and any existing concrete, and send a written scope with a price you can compare line by line.
All of Malibu sits in the California coastal zone, so building here follows the city's Local Coastal Program unless the work is exempt. If your project includes work to reduce a ground risk, the city may require a full Coastal Development Permit, which goes through Malibu's Planning Department. Whether your job needs one isn't settled until the city looks at it. Before we price the job, I find out what the city asks for at your address and tell you what I found. Where approvals are needed, we plan the start around them. We can handle the concrete side of the paperwork or work alongside your architect or engineer, and the city has the final word on your lot.
The city's hazard maps include known landslides, plus state-mapped zones for liquefaction, where shaking makes soil act like liquid, and for landslides set off by earthquakes. Near the beach, the city's coastal engineering staff also review a wave run-up report, which studies how far waves reach. They look at how waves would hit the project and the neighbors, the beach conditions and flooding from the sea. On our jobs here, that usually means steep access, tight streets for equipment and plans that have been through several reviews before they reach us. We're based in Malibu and take jobs in many of the cities around it, including Topanga and Calabasas.
On Los Angeles hillside lots, the most common deep foundation is the caisson, a concrete pier drilled into bedrock or stable soil below the layer where the slope could slide. It carries the house's weight and resists the ground moving sideways. One engineering firm notes that helical piers, which are screwed into the ground by machine, go in faster than drilled caissons and suit lots with difficult access or noise limits, so ask your engineer whether they fit your site.
Sometimes, but not until the city has reviewed it. An existing foundation in a fire-damaged building needs a feasibility review by the city's Environmental Sustainability Department, the first of two required steps before reuse is allowed, and test results drive that review. Foundation parts with a compressive strength under 2,500 psi can't be reused, and compressive strength measures how much load the concrete can hold. If you're hoping to keep the old slab, footings or piles, plan for the review and testing first.
A slab foundation in the Los Angeles area usually costs about $5 to $12 per square foot installed. That's the usual rate for a slab across the area, not our price, and a hillside foundation on drilled supports is a different kind of job. Your written estimate breaks out the size, access, digging and steel, so you can see where your number comes from.
The City Geologist reviews engineering geology reports and building or grading plans for projects in Malibu, and staff tell the city and the owner about possible geologic hazards tied to the project. Your geotechnical report should identify those hazards. If you don't have a report yet, you can start by talking with the city's geotechnical staff.
Start with structural plans. For a remodel, the city asks for plans that show what percentage of the exterior walls and foundation the work will change. Your architect or engineer usually draws those, and we price and build from the same set so the scope matches what the city sees.
