Foundation installation in Lafayette LA - a floor set at the right height for your lot
Building on a low lot or on clay that moves? We help you choose pier and beam or a slab and build it on solid ground.
What kind of foundation does a new Lafayette home need?
Foundation installation in Lafayette sets a new home on its base, either a slab built up on fill or a raised pier and beam system, and that choice decides how high your floor sits above flooding and how the house handles clay that swells and shrinks.
At B&R Lafayette Concrete Construction, foundation calls usually come from people with a lot and a house plan who aren't sure whether to build up on piers or build on the ground. The price moves with the size of the house, how high the floor has to sit, which system you pick and how much work the ground needs before any concrete goes in. The schedule mostly turns on the permit answer for your address and on dry weather for the pour, and the written estimate after my visit spells out what's included for your lot.
What happens when you call about a new foundation in Lafayette?
Call and set a visit
Call (337) 216-1997 or send the form, and we'll set a time for me to come out to your lot. If you know your flood zone, please have it handy, since it shapes the whole conversation.
I walk the lot with you
I look at the spot, ask how you'll use the house and watch where the water goes, because drainage and floor height drive the foundation choice. You get a written estimate that lists what's included and what isn't, so you know what you're paying for before you decide.
We check permits before scheduling
Before anything goes on the calendar, we check with the permit office for your address. If a permit is needed, we take care of the application and keep you informed, and the work gets scheduled after that.
Our crew builds, I check
On the work days our crew lead runs the job with our finishers, and I come by to check the work and answer your questions. When the foundation is done, we clean up and walk it with you.
Foundation installation from the ground up, and the work that goes with it
With your flood zone and floor height in mind, I lay out a raised pier and beam system and a slab side by side and explain the trade-offs plainly, because this choice only gets made once. On lots in a Special Flood Hazard Area, the city requires the lowest floor to sit at least 1 foot above the Base Flood Elevation, the flood level it works from, so on those lots that line sets how tall your foundation has to reach. Clay matters too, since about 11% of the soil in Lafayette Parish is rated high-expansive, the kind that swells and shrinks, and the trouble tends to show up on lots with poor drainage, cut-and-fill grading or old plumbing leaks, so I look hard at where your water runs. Once you've chosen, our crew digs out and packs the subgrade, the ground the foundation sits on, instead of raking loose dirt level, because a base that settles takes the concrete down with it. We set the forms and the rebar, the steel inside that holds the concrete together when the ground pulls at it, pour early in the day so midday heat doesn't leave a weak top, and keep the concrete damp while it cures, the slow stretch when it gains its strength. When a budget gets tight, the base is the first thing people want to trim because nobody sees it on day one, and it's the one place I won't cut, since everything you build sits on it.
A new foundation usually brings other pours with it. Porches, additions and the piers under a raised house sit on concrete footings, which we dig, form and pour with the same care as the main foundation, and for small business owners putting up a new building, we also handle concrete parking lot building so the lot drains away from the building we just set.
Get a written foundation estimate for your lot
We reply to every call and message within one business day to set a time for me to come out, and the on-site estimate is free with no obligation. Your address, and your flood zone if you know it, help me prepare for the visit.
Foundation questions we hear in Lafayette
How much does a new foundation cost in Louisiana?
A pier and beam or slab on fill foundation in Louisiana usually costs about $28,000 to $51,000 per job. That range is the going rate across the state, not our price, and the written estimate after I see your lot lists what your job includes.
What is the best foundation for a new home in Lafayette, pier and beam or a slab?
When your floor has to sit well above the ground and cost matters most, pier and beam is usually the better choice. In Louisiana it costs about the same as a slab on fill or less, that edge grows the higher the floor goes, and raised open foundations handle clay that swells and shrinks better than a slab. If you'd rather have a slab, one trade group says a post-tensioned slab, built so the concrete is held squeezed tight from the inside, resists that soil movement better than an ordinary one.
How do I know which foundation fits my lot's flood zone?
Your lot's flood zone and its risk of scour, which is water washing the soil away, decide which raised designs fit. Raised slabs and crawlspaces suit non-coastal A zones, a kind of inland flood area, where there are no breaking waves or heavy scour. Shallow foundations such as footings and slabs suit places away from coastal or riverside areas with deep scour, while deep foundations like driven timber or steel piles rest on soil well below ground and resist scour and erosion.
Can I raise my existing slab house instead of building a new foundation?
Usually that's a hard road, because lifting a slab house with the slab left whole is technically challenging and often not feasible. If your house sits on a slab and takes on water, it's worth talking through the options before you decide.
Who handles construction permits in Lafayette?
Lafayette's Development and Planning office issues the city's construction permits, which most construction needs. Its list names residential building, floodplain development and land disturbance permits but doesn't name foundations, so the permit office for your address is where that question gets settled, and we ask it for you.
Who is allowed to do structural work on a house in Louisiana?
In Louisiana, a home project with any structural work, or one of $50,000 or more, needs a licensed Residential Building Contractor, and that contractor has to both bid and do the work. A foundation is structural, so ask anyone bidding your job to show their license and proof of insurance. We're fully licensed and insured and glad to show you.
Other concrete work that goes with a new foundation
Concrete footings
Planning a porch, a room addition or a raised house? Footings carry each post and wall load, so they need the same dug-out, packed ground as the house.
Concrete parking lot building
A new storefront or office needs a lot that takes daily traffic and sheds rainwater away from the doors, starting from a base built for the weight.
Settle your foundation type before plans are final
The foundation you choose sets your floor height and the steps, porch and driveway that meet it, so it's easiest to decide early by calling (337) 216-1997 or using the form, and thank you for considering us.