The part of the house below ground
Footings, walls and floors for new basements, built to the plans and the engineer's design. Send us the plans or a photo of the lot.
Basements
A basement is the one part of a house you cannot easily redo. Once the walls are backfilled and the house is framed on top, what is down there stays down there. The concrete has to hold back the soil around it, carry the house above it and keep water on the outside. Getting there means following the design closely and not rushing the steps between pours.
We pour basements for builders and for owners putting up a new home or adding on. Wall height, wall thickness, footing size and steel all come from your plans and your engineer. Send the plans if you have them. If you are still deciding, send a photo of the lot and tell us what you are planning.
Basement concrete
- Footings
- The wide concrete base under the walls, dug and poured first, to the size on the plans.
- Basement walls
- Formed and poured walls with the steel and the window and door openings the plans show.
- Basement floor
- The slab inside the walls, poured after the plumbing under the floor is in.
- Walkout and stepped walls
- Stepped footings and walls where the lot slopes and one side of the basement opens to the yard.
How the job goes
- 1
Plans and layout
We work from the foundation plan. After the hole is dug, the corners are set out and checked against the drawing so the footings land where the house needs them.
- 2
Footings
Footing forms and steel go in on firm ground at the bottom of the hole. Your city or county may require an inspection before concrete is placed, so the pour is scheduled around it.
- 3
Walls
Wall forms are set on the footings, with rebar, openings and anchor bolts placed as the plans show. The walls are poured, the concrete is vibrated to settle it around the steel, and the forms come off once it can stand without them.
- 4
Floor and backfill
The floor slab is poured after the plumber is done under it. Backfilling against the walls waits until your builder or engineer says the walls are ready for it.
What makes it last
Concrete fails from the bottom up. These are the parts you will never see once the job is done, and they decide how the slab holds up.
- Engineered walls
- A basement wall holds back a lot of soil. Its thickness and steel are set by the engineer and local code for your lot, and we build to those numbers.
- Footings on solid ground
- Footings spread the weight of the whole house. They need to sit on firm soil at the depth the plans call for. If the bottom of the hole turns out soft or wet, we stop and bring in the engineer.
- Concrete worked in around the steel
- Voids in a wall are weak spots and a way in for water. Vibrating the concrete as it goes into the forms helps it fill in around the rebar and the openings.
- Water kept outside
- Damp proofing, drain pipe and gravel around the walls are what help keep a basement dry. Those details are on the plans and are often done by another trade. We line them up with your builder before backfill, while the walls are still open.
Start with a photo.
435·220·5536Text us a photo of the spot and rough measurements. We will tell you what we can from the photo, or come out and take a look.
Get a quoteBasements: straight answers
Do basements work in this soil?
It depends on the lot. Some ground in Washington County swells or settles when wet, and rock or caliche can make digging slow. A soils report tells you and your engineer what the lot can take. We build what that design calls for.
What do you need from me to start?
The foundation plans, the lot location and where the project stands. If the hole is not dug yet, tell us who is digging. If you do not have plans yet, send a photo of the lot and we can talk through what comes first.
Do I need a permit for a basement?
Your city or county may require a permit and inspections for a basement, as with any new home or addition. Check with them first. Tell us which inspections they call for and we will plan each pour around them.
When can the walls be backfilled?
Not right away. New walls need time to gain strength, and they are typically sturdier once the floor framing on top ties them together. Your builder or engineer makes that call. Backfilling too early is a common way basement walls get damaged.