Seems high to me too......but, does it include the plumbing under the slab? Also, how thick are they pouring it? What is a yard of concrete going for in your area?

I'm in San Marcos, TX and my slab foundation was $42k for about 3000sf. It's conventional steel w/ rebar . Sounds like a bargain to me!

How many yards estimated in the slab?

Gilbert, AZ.

2800 sq ft home + 3 car garage
large back patio
front porch
expansive soils (bit more excavation, rebar, concrete)

Total was $21,000

If your paying 10k for the cost plus to build your home, it is very likely the GC is marking up materials for "just in case" costs. He's covering the liability cost of something not working out right and him having to cover the costs. The foundation of a home is not a place to cut back on costs or be frugal. Ensure that he's reputable and pay his asking price.

-Steve

Build NW of Houston. Total slab 3656 including 2 porches and garage. Living area 2628. Conventional slab per engineered design $23,576. Didn't include termite treatment. We had a ton of select fill brought in and dirt work done by someone else so no excavation was done either.

What were the other foundation trades bids?

For a 2,589 sq ft slab that translates to approximately 45 cu yds X say $90/cu yd equals $4,050. That does not include the footings.

Re:"we got a good bid in from one contractor" and "The company is only charging us a $10,000 fee to build the house " definitely raises suspicions about how well your build will go.

Is the contractor doing the foundation himself? What other jobs will he do on your house?

If his company is doing the foundation, framing, & other functions I can see how he would only charge $10,000 to be the GC. He'll definitely make it up in those other areas. One way to test it is to tell him he will only be the GC & all work will be done by others. He will most likely walk away.

If he is not doing any of the hands-on work, then make sure you see the invoices from the subs & material suppliers. And to whatever extent you can make sure there is not some kickbacks going on from the subs that may be friends of his.

What size house are you building? Regardless, the $10K sounds really low unless maybe he is really functioning as a "construction consultant" & not as the GC.

Oops, I forgot about the porches, garage and workshop. So it's actually 4770 square feet for $42k. That seems to be more in line with everyone else's cost and your quote.

What is the psi rating of the concrete that they will use? Are they using rebar, rebar plus piers,or rebar plus post-tension?

I've got 3600 SF in Oklahoma (which equates to 4700 SF including garage). Total price of footing, stemwall, slab and termite treatments was 17,271. Concrete prices are very high and going up.

"Concrete prices are very high and going up."

Urban legend. Here in DFW, a cubic yard is $88, if you buy more than 9 cubic yards.

http://www.cooperconcrete.com/products.htm

It's been at this price for more than a year.

Given the groaning and moaning in the construction business lately, I expect it to go down. Less demand = lower prices.

I,m planning on doing a project of same size(2600 sf) slab of 4 inches thickness in Mesquite TX. Any thoughts of what bids I should expect on the excavation, site prep and foundation. Our lot is level and without any trees or rock. The concrete is expected to be 100psi and piers will be used

what price did you get back?

Greg, this is an old discussion from 2008. Are you looking for concrete prices in south texas? If so, I would be happy to list what I paid.

Hi Ninjaneer

yes i would like to know what you paid I'm in Texas dfw area my foundation size 4,100 sf. with 50 piers. what size was yours and did you have any piers. Thanks

Hi gregwilcox, would you mind giving the name of the engineer who designed the foundation and how much do they charge for slab on pier foundation

Hi Singhal, I used Gram - Martin Engineering out of Grand Prairie Tx to design my foundation.