Foundation repair in Hawthorne CA - a house bolted down and braced for quakes
Older house over a crawl space and worried about the next quake? We bolt it down and brace the short walls under it.
Custom Hawthorne Concrete and Masonry is a masonry contractor based in Hawthorne. We work on brick, block and concrete, and we do foundation repair for houses in Hawthorne and the cities around it, including bolting and bracing older houses that sit over a crawl space. I came up through restaurant kitchens before masonry, so prep comes first and nothing goes out that I wouldn't eat.
- Owner inspects and writes every estimate
- Our own crew does the work
- Plain answers on what a retrofit does
Foundation repair in Hawthorne starts under the house
For a lot of older houses in Hawthorne, foundation repair means a seismic retrofit. On a crawl space house, that's bolting the house to its foundation and bracing the cripple walls, the short wood walls around the crawl space, so it holds up better to shaking and soil failure in an earthquake. People usually call after a home inspection or a neighbor's retrofit gets them thinking.
On a crawl space house, I get under it first to see how it's tied down and how those walls are holding up. Then I tell you plainly what a retrofit will help with and what it won't. Price and schedule turn on the size of those walls and any rot we find, and the written estimate covers both. It's home improvement work under the Contractors State License Board, and we're licensed and insured.
- Anchor bolts. We bolt the wood frame of the house down to the concrete foundation so the two stay tied together.
- Cripple wall bracing. We brace the short walls around the crawl space so they're stiffer and less likely to fold when the ground shakes.
- Damaged framing. Rotted or damaged wood gets fixed first, because a bolt only holds as well as the wood it's fastened to.
- Clean finish. We haul out scrap wood and old hardware and close up the crawl space opening the way we found it.
Foundation work we take on
Our foundation work centers on crawl space houses, from a full bolt-and-brace retrofit to fixing the brick or block the house sits on.
Full crawl space retrofit
Bolting the frame to the foundation and bracing the short walls all the way around, done as one job on a house that has neither.
Finishing a partial retrofit
Some houses have a few old bolts and no bracing, or the other way around. We look at what's there and fill in what's missing.
Brick and block foundation walls
Where a brick or block foundation wall has crumbling joints, we rake them out and refill them, the same tuckpointing we do on any brick wall.
Brick chimneys
A cracked or leaning brick chimney is a separate job, and if yours needs work we can look at it on the same visit as chimney repair.
If there's foundation or masonry work you don't see here, ask when you call and I'll tell you if it's something we do.
Why a foundation retrofit is worth doing right
A good retrofit is mostly about the people inside. The main goal of one retrofit standard is lowering the risk to them, and it cuts down damage without stopping all of it, so plan on it as a safety step.
- Enough boltsA house with too few bolts can slide right off its foundation in a quake, so the anchoring has to be done properly.
- Bracing that holdsShort walls with poor bracing can collapse under the house, which is why bracing is half the job and not an extra.
- Plans that fitSome standard retrofit plan sets are written for use without an engineer on most common house layouts.
- Changes in writingIn California, any change to your contract has to be in writing, easy to read, and tell you about your right to cancel.
How a foundation job runs
I come out and look
You call, and I come out myself to look at the house and what's around it, like gutters, downspouts and how the yard drains.
You get it in writing
I write the estimate myself after the visit, and you get the price in writing, along with what the work covers.
Prep, work, walk-through
If you go ahead, our crew preps, covers what needs it and cleans as we go, with me or our lead mason running it. Then I walk it with you.
Why owners here call us for retrofits
We treat a retrofit like a busy dinner service. The prep decides how it turns out, and on this job the prep happens in a crawl space nobody sees. Call (424) 307-8119 to set up a visit.
Prep before speed
I'd rather spend an extra day on the slow part than hand you a retrofit with nice plating and a bad meal underneath.
Brick and block background
We're best known for careful brick repair and solid block walls, so the masonry under and around your house gets a trained eye too.
Backed by our guarantee
Our foundation work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee, the same as every other job we take on.
Retrofits in Hawthorne and nearby cities
Before I come out, it's worth typing your address into the state's EQ Zapp tool. It shows whether your lot is in a mapped zone for fault rupture, earthquake landslides or liquefaction, which is when soil briefly turns to quicksand and can't hold up a building. It also tells you if your area hasn't been evaluated yet.
We're based in Hawthorne and work here and in the cities around it, like Lawndale and Inglewood. Plenty of the older houses we see sit on short wood walls over a crawl space, and every one gets the same look under the floor before we suggest anything.
Tell us about your house
Send your address, whether there's a crawl space and any known rot or damage. We reply within one business day, and I come out for a free on-site estimate, no obligation.
Call (424) 307-8119Questions about foundation repair in Hawthorne
Does my Hawthorne house need an earthquake retrofit?
If it sits on a crawl space, the deciding factor is how well the short walls under it are anchored and braced. That's the first thing to weigh, and you can't judge it from the yard. I get under the house at the estimate and tell you what I see.
How much does foundation repair cost near Hawthorne, CA?
Foundation repair in the Los Angeles area usually costs about $600 to $2,300 per pier or repair point, and that's the going rate, not our price. On a crawl space retrofit, cost moves with the height, length and width of the short walls, materials and labor, and any rot or foundation damage. Your written estimate gives your number.
Are there grants for earthquake retrofits in California?
Yes, the Earthquake Brace + Bolt program offers up to $3,000 toward a seismic retrofit. To be considered once registration opens, you fill out the qualification questionnaire at www.earthquakebracebolt.com. I can't tell you when the next registration opens or whether your house qualifies, so it's worth checking there.
How much can a contractor ask for up front in California?
The state contractors board caps the down payment at $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less. Any other payments have to be listed in the contract and match work already done or materials delivered, so you pay as the job moves along.