Foundation installation in Cambridge MA - a footing and walls built to keep water out
Building a new house or addition and need it to sit on something solid? We dig, form and pour the footing and walls.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- Replies within 1 business day.
What goes into installing a new foundation in Cambridge?
Foundation installation means digging out the site, pouring the footing the house rests on and building the concrete walls on top of it, and at M&K Cambridge Concrete Company we do that work for new homes and additions in Cambridge, MA.
If you're planning a new house or an addition, the foundation is the first thing we build and the last thing anyone looks at, so it's worth knowing what drives the cost before you settle on a design. The biggest swing is whether you want a basement, because a basement means digging deeper and hauling away more dirt, while shorter walls or a slab foundation keep the dig smaller. From there the price moves with the size of the footprint, the kind of wall and how easily our equipment can reach the spot. The schedule turns mostly on the permit, the weather on pour day and the curing, which is the stretch when the concrete hardens and gains strength before anyone builds on it. When I come out, the estimate I write lists what's included and what isn't, so you're working from your own number and not a guess.
How do you know you need a new foundation poured?
Plans for an addition
A new room, garage or house needs its own footing and walls before the framer can start. Leaving the foundation until late is a common reason a framing date slips, because the permit and the pour both have to come first.
Water collecting by the house
Puddles that sit against an old wall after rain usually mean the ground falls toward the house. If you're building nearby, that tells us where the drain and the grading have to go, and ignoring it now means fighting water in the new space later.
Old walls crumbling away
Foundation walls that flake, bow or leave sand on the floor under an old porch or back addition are usually past patching. Waiting lets the load above them shift, and that's when the framing and the finishes start cracking too.
How we do foundation installation
We lay out the footprint, dig down to the depth the plans call for and pour the footing, a wide strip of concrete that spreads the weight of the house. Then we set the wall forms on top, tie in rebar, the steel bars that hold the concrete together if it cracks, and pour the walls. The drain is where I spend extra time, because national guidance on basements puts it beside the footing, not on top of it, so water stays off the seam where the wall meets the footing. We let the walls cure before we backfill, since pushing dirt against green concrete is an easy way to damage a new wall. When a budget gets tight, people want to cut what goes underground and keep what they'll see, and I push the other way, because you can redo a finish later but you can't get back under a footing once the house is on it.
A foundation often connects to other concrete work. Some jobs only need concrete footings under a porch, a deck or a column, and we pour those with the same attention we give the footing under a house. On a new building that needs paved parking around it, we can handle the concrete parking lot building as well, so one crew plans the grades and the drainage together.
Full basement walls
A basement can be a good fit on a steeply sloping lot, or for an owner who wants comfortable, usable space below the house. It costs more to dig, but you end up with floor area you wouldn't have otherwise.
Insulated foam-form walls
These are rigid foam blocks or panels set up on site with concrete poured inside, and the foam stays on both faces of the wall as insulation. They suit a basement you plan to finish and heat.
Shorter walls without a basement
A short wall on a footing suits a flat lot or an addition where you don't need the room underneath. Less digging usually means a lower price and less time with an open hole in the yard.
Get a free foundation estimate for your lot
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set up a free on-site visit, with no obligation. Have your address, home type and planned basement use ready for the visit.
(617) 613-6953- Based in
- Cambridge, MA 02139
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–9 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call about a foundation in Cambridge?
Here's how a foundation job runs from your first call to the last load of backfill, and who you'll be dealing with along the way.
Reach us by phone or form
Call (617) 613-6953 or send the form, and we'll set a time to come look at the lot. A rough idea of where the house or addition will sit helps us plan the visit.
I measure and write it up
I come out myself, measure, ask what you need from the space and write an estimate that lists what's included and what isn't. You see what you're paying for before anything starts.
We line up permits and weather
Once you're ready, we sort out the permit and any city review covered below. Then we pick a pour day around the forecast so the concrete isn't fighting midday heat or a hard rain.
We dig, pour and backfill
Our crew digs, forms and pours with me on site while the work gets done, then lets the walls cure before backfilling. We finish by walking the job with you and cleaning up.
Why Cambridge homeowners call M&K Cambridge Concrete Company for a foundation
The owner measures and stays
I come out for every estimate, and I'm on site with our crew while the work gets done. The person who talked through the drain and the footing with you is the one watching them go in.
Licensed and insured before digging
We're fully licensed and insured. A foundation puts an excavator and an open hole on your property, so it's worth knowing that before the first bucket of dirt comes out.
Cambridge permits taken out by us
We check what each job needs with the city's building office, and when a permit applies we take it out ourselves as your contractor and keep it posted at the job site. You aren't left chasing the paperwork while the hole sits open.
In business since 2023
I learned this trade setting forms and pushing wheelbarrows before I finished slabs myself, and I opened this business in 2023. That's why I look hard at the parts nobody sees once the concrete is down.
On a foundation, what counts most is what ends up buried, so the place to start is a visit to your lot. Send us a message or call (617) 613-6953 and I'll come take a look.
Foundations, footings and flood checks in Cambridge
Before we plan the walls for a new building in Cambridge, we check the lot against the city's flood standards, which apply to new buildings on lots the city has mapped with long-term flood elevations. You can look up your own lot on the city's flood map tool. If none of those elevations sit above the ground at your site, the design doesn't need to change. If they do, the project's materials go to the city for review before it issues a building permit, so we want to know early, well before the plans are final.
Two other checks are worth making up front. Cambridge points owners to its Inspectional Services Department or the Community Development Department to confirm a project fits the zoning rules, and the Cambridge Historical Commission protects homes in historic or neighborhood conservation districts, landmarks and properties under preservation restrictions, so ask early whether yours is one. Here and on jobs in Somerville and Watertown, we often see additions that tie in beside an older foundation, and we plan the new footing around what's already in the ground.
Questions about foundation installation in Cambridge
How much does it cost to put in a new foundation near Cambridge, MA?
Laying a foundation in the Boston area usually costs about $8 to $55 per square foot, which is what the market charges around here, not our quote. The wide spread comes mostly from whether there's a basement, what kind of wall goes in and how hard the site is to reach. Your own number comes from the on-site estimate.
Do I need a building permit for a new foundation in Cambridge?
Yes, the city requires a building permit before anyone builds, alters, repairs or tears down a structure, and Cambridge's building office issues it. The permit has to be in hand before work starts and posted where it can be seen at the site, and we take care of that as part of the job.
Who has to oversee foundation work on a house in Massachusetts?
The state requires a licensed construction supervisor or a registered design professional to oversee construction of 1- and 2-family homes. Cambridge issues building permits to construction supervisors licensed by the City of Cambridge, and to homeowners working on a 1- or 2-unit home they live in or plan to. If you're hiring, ask which license the contractor holds.
What causes cracks in a new poured foundation wall?
Small cracks are common in concrete walls, usually from the concrete shrinking as it dries, and most of them are no cause for alarm. Good practice can reduce or control cracking but can't stop it entirely, so I'll walk you through the steps we take on your wall, like the rebar, the pour timing and the curing.
How long does foundation installation take in Cambridge?
Most of the calendar goes to what happens before the dig, like the permit and any flood review, more than to the pour itself. After that, the job turns on the size of the foundation, the weather and how long the walls need to cure before backfill, and we'll talk it through when I come out.
Can a contractor licensed in another state build a foundation in Massachusetts?
Not on that license, because Massachusetts doesn't recognize contractor licenses from other states. If the work is on an existing 1- to 4-family home you live in, like an addition, the contractor usually also has to be registered with the state's home improvement program.
Related concrete services for new construction
Concrete footings
Stand-alone footings carry porches, decks, columns and small additions, and one poured to the right size keeps that load from settling unevenly over the years.
Concrete parking lot building
A new multi-unit or commercial building often needs paved parking, and a concrete lot with planned slopes moves rainwater away from the building and its foundation.
Cities we pour foundations in around Cambridge
M&K Cambridge Concrete Company is based in Cambridge, MA and works across the cities around it, including Somerville and Brookline. Each of the 12 cities below has its own page, and they aren't the only places we work.
Cambridge, MA
Book a foundation estimate before you dig
Call (617) 613-6953 or use the form early, because the permit and any flood review have to clear before the first footing goes in.