Cerritos, Los Angeles County
Footings and Structure for Cerritos Decks and Additions
Footings, posts and framing for decks, additions and patio covers in Cerritos, set to a soils report and detailed for hard sun and dry wind inland.
What we watch most under a Cerritos deck, addition or patio cover is the structure that carries the load: footings, posts and the connections between them. Inland lots take hard sun, dry wind and an occasional heavy storm, and those swings test a foundation more than any finish. If the ground holds expansive clay, a soils report sets how deep and how heavily reinforced each footing has to be before framing is drawn.
Reading the soil before the pour
Test holes tell the engineer whether the soil swells when wet and shrinks as it dries, and by how much. Clay with a high expansion index pushes footings deeper, below the layer that moves with the seasons, and adds reinforcing bar top and bottom. Under a new slab, a compacted base and a vapor retarder go down before concrete. Finished grade slopes away from the work on every side, and downspouts empty into solid pipe that carries water past the foundation line. Each of those steps is drawn on the plans and checked by the inspector at the open trench stage.
Posts, beams and covers above grade
With the footings in, posts stand on galvanized bases that hold wood clear of the concrete, and beams are bolted or strapped with connectors rated for exterior exposure. On a raised deck, the ledger is flashed where it meets the house wall and fastened with structural screws or through bolts at the spacing the engineer sets. Exposed lumber gets a stain that resists ultraviolet fading, and lighter composite boards stay cooler under bare feet in summer. In Cerritos, a plan checker at the building department reads the calculations, and jobs in Lakewood, Downey, Whittier and Long Beach move through the same plan, permit and inspection order.
Work we take on in Cerritos
Each service is planned around the lot, sloped or level.
Building in Cerritos?
Send the address and the job, and a builder will arrange a visit to read the lot.