In our first article, Building on Coastal Soil: A Guide to Newport Beach Foundation Requirements, we talked about the unique challenges of our local ground. The biggest culprits? Loose, sandy soil and, most importantly, the high water table that sits just beneath the surface in so many Newport Beach neighborhoods.
So, you can’t just pour a standard “cookie-cutter” foundation and hope for the best. All that water creates immense “hydrostatic pressure”—a constant upward push against your foundation.
This leads to a critical question: What’s the right kind of high water table foundation?
For homes in this environment, it almost always comes down to two high-performance, engineered solutions: a post-tension slab-on-grade or deep pile foundation solutions.
As a specialized Newport Beach foundation contractor, we build both. The choice isn’t about preference; it’s about what the ground on your specific lot dictates. Let’s break down the difference.
Think of a post-Tension slab-on-grade as a “super-slab.”
A regular slab is just concrete and steel rebar. A post-tension slab is an advanced system where high-strength steel cables (called tendons) are run in a grid pattern inside the concrete.
Here’s the magic: after the concrete is poured and begins to cure, we use hydraulic jacks to pull those cables to an extreme amount of tension. We’re talking 30,000+ pounds of force. Once they are tight, they’re locked in place.
Imagine trying to pick up a stack of books from the side—they’d just fall, right? But if you squeeze that stack together as hard as you can, you could pick up the whole stack.
That’s post-tensioning. We are actively squeezing the concrete slab from the inside, holding it in a state of compression.
Monolithic Strength: This process makes the slab incredibly strong, flexible, and resistant to cracking.
Soil Movement: It acts as a single, rigid “raft” that can float on top of less-than-perfect soil. If one small area of soil shifts, the super-strong slab bridges over it without cracking or sinking.
Good for Pressure: It distributes the home’s weight evenly over a large area, which is excellent for handling the general upward pressure from a high water table.
A post-tension slab is a powerful solution for dealing with the unstable, sandy soil we have all over the coast.
Now, what if the soil isn’t just “unstable”? What if it’s truly “bad” for several feet down? What if you’re building a very heavy, multi-story home right on the Balboa Peninsula where the water table is just inches away?
In that case, you don’t build on the soil. You build through it.
This is where deep pile foundation solutions come in. This is the gold standard for a high water table foundation.
If a post-tension slab is a raft, a pile foundation is a pier.
Instead of a slab, this system uses long, powerful columns (the “piles”) made of steel, concrete, or engineered wood. We use massive, specialized equipment to drive, drill, or vibrate these piles deep into the earth.
We keep going down—10, 20, 50, even 100 feet—past all the loose sand, silt, and water, until we hit solid bedrock or a layer of dense, load-bearing soil that can support the structure.
The house is then built on a grid of concrete-grade beams that rest on top of these piles.
Total Stability: Your home’s weight is no longer resting on the unstable, wet surface soil. It’s anchored to the solid earth far below.
Eliminates Risk: Hydrostatic pressure? Soil movement? It doesn’t matter. The piles bypass those problem zones entirely.
Seismic Security: This is one of the best solutions for areas with high liquefaction risk, a key part of Newport Beach’s seismic readiness requirements. The piles anchor the house, preventing it from sinking or shifting during an earthquake.
This is the most important part: we don’t choose. Your property does.
As coastal soil experts, our first step is never to sell you a product. It’s to partner with a geotechnical engineer.
This engineer will take soil borings from your exact lot. They’ll analyze the soil composition, find the depth of the water table, and calculate the seismic risks. The result is a “Geotechnical Report,” which is essentially the instruction manual for your property’s foundation.
The report might say, “The soil is moderately expansive. A post-tension slab is required.”
Or it might say, “The top 30 feet are unstable, and the water table is high. Deep piles are mandatory.”
Our job as your licensed foundation contractor is to take that scientific report and execute it flawlessly. We have the expertise and equipment to build whichever system the engineering demands.
This expertise extends to your entire property. The same principles that make your foundation unstable also apply to your hardscaping. That custom deck you want? It can’t just sit on the ground. It needs proper concrete footings—like “mini-piles”—to be stable and durable for decades.
We are the Newport Beach contractor that understands the total structural needs of your property, from the foundation to the framing.
Choosing between a post-tension slab-on-grade and deep pile foundation solutions isn’t a budget decision; it’s an engineering one. Trusting a contractor who only knows how to do one or the other—or worse, who doesn’t understand why they’re needed—is a risk you can’t afford in Newport Beach.
Your foundation is the most critical component of your home. It has to be 100% right.
Are you planning a new custom home or a major remodel? Let’s talk about the right way to build it.
Contact Gaga US Construction for a professional consultation. We’ll review your plans and provide the certified, expert-driven foundation your investment deserves.
In Newport Beach, your patio isn’t just a patio. It’s the heart of your home’s outdoor life—an extension of your living room, a place for entertaining, and a private retreat. Creating this space for luxury outdoor living starts from the ground up, and the paver style you choose sets the entire tone.
You’re standing on your property, looking out at the harbor or feeling that coastal breeze. You’re ready to build the deck that will complete your outdoor living space. But now you face the single most important choice for your project: what material will you be standing on?
A new foundation is the most important part of your home, and it’s the only part you’ll never see.
When it’s done right, it quietly and reliably supports your home for generations. When it’s done wrong? It’s a catastrophic failure that can compromise the entire structure.
GAGA US INC is a licensed (#1074874 – B, C13) General Building Contractor based in Los Angeles. GAGA US works with professional contractors to ensure your construction needs are fully met and executed promptly.
