Concrete footings in Manchester NH - a solid base that carries what you build

I give you a price after walking the site, because the number of footings, the digging and the time of year all move it. My written estimate lists what's included, so you can compare it with other bids before you decide.

It can be done, as long as the ground is thawed and the new concrete is kept warm while it gains strength. A Michigan concrete group's cold-weather guide says to place concrete only on ground that's at least 40°F, thawing frozen ground first with ground heaters or blankets, and to cover fresh concrete right away with insulated blankets, straw or a heated enclosure so it stays at 50°F or above for at least 3 days. So a late-fall job can add a thawing step, and you'll likely see covers on the footings after the pour.

It's a design where the footing and the slab are typically poured together, with insulation along the slab edge and an insulated wing reaching outward to keep winter frost from driving under the slab. The insulation does part of the frost work, so the building's heat matters. One builder's guide says the version for a home heated all the time needs an average indoor temperature of 64°F or more, and there are separate designs for unheated and semi-heated buildings, so tell us at the estimate how you plan to heat the space.

You apply through Manchester's Building Division, which approves building permits, handles field inspections and keeps the records for projects in the city. A deck or porch permit asks for construction details such as the material, and many outdoor projects need a site plan drawn to scale showing every structure on the lot with the setbacks noted, all under New Hampshire's State Building Code, which sets the minimum statewide. We help you pull that together, and if a permit's needed, we either take care of it or walk you through it, depending on whose name the city wants on the application.

The plan has to change before any concrete goes in, because shallow rock can keep a footing from reaching the depth the building department and local codes require. That's the point where we stop and talk it over with you, as I mentioned above, rather than pour and hope.

Usually it's what they sit on or when they were poured. A footing set on loose dirt that was never dug out to firm ground settles as that dirt does, and a pour rushed into cold weather can come out weaker than it should. If an old one has already let your porch or deck drop, I'll look at what's under it when I come out.