Concrete Footers & Foundations
We dig footing trenches deep enough that the ground under them never freezes, then pour concrete footers and small foundation walls that carry your addition, deck, or wall for the long haul.
Footings & Small Foundation Walls
A footing is the wide concrete base under a wall, post, or slab. It spreads the weight out over the soil so the ground can carry it. Get it wrong and everything above it leans, cracks, or sinks.
Murray General Contracting pours concrete footers and small foundation walls across the Lehigh Valley, from Allentown and Bethlehem to Easton and out to Breinigsville. We handle footings for room additions, decks, porches, garages, sheds, and the bases that retaining walls and slabs sit on. We dig the trench to a depth your local inspector will pass, pour onto solid undisturbed ground, and tie in any rebar the plans call for.
One local crew does the digging and the pour, so the trench is right before the truck shows up. You get a free estimate within 48 hours of sending us the details.
How We Pour A Footing
We mark the footing lines off your plans or the load points, so each footer lands square under the wall, post, or slab it has to carry.
We trench down past the local frost line, roughly 36 to 42 inches in this area, so the bearing surface sits in ground that does not freeze and lift.
We set the width and depth the load needs and tie in rebar where the plans or code call for it, so the footing works as one solid piece.
Concrete goes onto undisturbed, compacted dirt, never loose fill, and gets screeded level so the wall or slab above it starts off true.
We leave the footing ready for inspection, then pour any short foundation walls on top and walk the work with you before we move on.
Why It Holds
Freezing soil expands and shoves a shallow footing upward. We dig past the freeze so the base sits in stable ground year round.
A footing is only as good as its width. We set the size to spread the weight of the wall, deck, or slab out over the soil.
We pour onto undisturbed, compacted dirt. Loose backfill settles later, and a footing on it goes down with it.
We pour to the depths and sizes your local code calls for, so the footing passes inspection and the build keeps moving.
Footing & Foundation Work We Do
A footing is usually step one for something bigger. We can pour the base and then build the retaining wall on top, prep the ground for a garage floor or slab, or handle the excavation and site work that has to come first.
Did a fantastic job. Fast. Trustworthy. Honest. On time. Everything you want in a contractor.Jeffrey Ulle, Google review
Footing Questions
In this part of Eastern Pennsylvania the frost line sits roughly 36 to 42 inches down, so footings have to bear below that depth. We dig the trench to a code depth your local inspector will sign off on, then pour onto undisturbed, compacted ground so the footing carries the load without settling.
When the ground freezes it expands, and that movement is called frost heave. A footing poured too shallow gets lifted every winter and dropped every spring, which cracks the wall or slab above it. Pouring below the frost line keeps the bearing surface in stable ground that does not freeze, so the structure stays put through Lehigh Valley winters.
We focus on footings and small foundation projects: additions, decks, porches, garages, sheds, and the footers and short walls that retaining walls and slabs need. We are upfront about scope. If your project calls for a full basement foundation, we will tell you honestly and point you in the right direction.
A footing is the wide concrete base that spreads the weight of a wall, post, or slab out over the soil so the ground can carry it. Without one, a heavy load concentrates on a narrow strip and pushes into the dirt. The footing is the part you never see, and it is the part that decides whether everything above it stays level.
Yes. The same crew handles the excavation, sets the trench to depth and width, and pours the concrete. Doing the digging and the pour with one crew means the trench is right before the truck arrives and nobody is waiting on a subcontractor.
Yes. Bring the plans or the load points and we will pour footings sized and placed to match. We work to the footing sizes and depths your plans and the local code call for, so the framing crew or builder lands on a base that is ready to build on.
Keep Exploring
Free estimates on concrete footers, footings, and small foundation walls across the Lehigh Valley and Eastern Pennsylvania.