Concrete footings in Cupertino CA - sized to your soil so the house stays put

Residential strip footings across the US usually cost about $5 to $19 per linear foot, and strip footings are the continuous kind that run under a wall. That's a national figure, not a Cupertino quote, so treat it as a starting point until I've seen your ground and written the estimate.

Look at the plan, because long walls get continuous footings and separate piers or columns get pads. Plenty of additions use both, with continuous footings under the walls and pads under a post or two inside.

Not if the job needs a permit. State rules let unlicensed workers take minor jobs up to $1,000 only when no permit is needed and they have no employees, so a permitted footing job calls for a licensed contractor, whatever the price. The state licensing board licenses concrete contractors for forming, pouring and finishing concrete.

It can, because cities use state Seismic Hazard Zone maps in permitting, and a zone flags weak ground that may fail in an earthquake. Bare land in a zone may need a site study first. Single-family frame homes up to two stories outside a development of four or more are exempt from the state rules, though the city can be stricter.