HOUSE REBLOCKING & RESTUMPING EAST MELBOURNE SUBURBS

The main difference between these two methods is that underpinning involves reinforcing concrete slabs with a new material rather than replacing them, whereas restumping, also known as reblocking, involves replacing all the damaged foundation stumps.

Signs that tell your house requires restumping include:

• Continuous cracking on the interior walls
• Windows and doors that are malfunctioning
• Soft, bowed, or uneven floors

Restumping involves replacing old red gum stumps and replacing them with concrete stumps that will support a timber-framed house.

Restumping is typically done when the red gum stumps rot due to moisture or when the existing stumps settle due to soil movement.

Unless your house sits on a well-built concrete foundation, most houses that sit on red gum stumps require restumping after some years.

Older houses often have red gum stumps, and they may last several years. Their lifespan depends on several factors. Restumping should be done as soon as the stumps show signs of damage.

It may take anywhere from one to two months for the house to resettle. The jacks used in lifting the house stay in place after restumping for a day or two for the installed concrete to fully dry.

For a Brick Veneer house – anything up to $10000
For a Weatherboard house – starting from $13000

The price may vary depending on several factors such as the total number of the stumps that require replacement, their height, whether you’ll be using steel or concrete stumps, and whether rotted joists and bearers require replacement.

In case your house looks uneven or sagging as a result of a sinking foundation, it can be raised or lifted with several hydraulic jacks to be levelled out.

In this case, any sagging bearers/beams will be located and lifted to their normal level. Hydraulic jacks can lift several tons.

Once the house is lifted and levelled, concrete stumps are placed beneath the sagging bearers/beams to support the raised level in place. The process of jacking up a sagging house includes:

Step 1

First, access the area beneath your house. Check for the beams/bearers holding up your house. In case the foundation appears to be sinking, lift the sinking section with a jack.

Check for any bowed beams beneath the house that appear to be sunk lower than other beams. Also, check where the floor is sagging and mark the problematic bearer/beam beneath.

Step 2

Next, position a hydraulic jack below the sunk beam. Jack it up to level the house. Use non-sagging beams as the ideal height when jacking up your house.

Jack up the beam slowly such that it gradually shifts and readjusts until its level again. In case several beams require being jacked up, use several jacks to lift them simultaneously.

Step 3

Get a concrete stump and place it under the beam such that the new level will be maintained upon removing the jack. You should size them in such a way that they fit into the raised gap perfectly.

The stump should be placed close to the jack and centered properly under the beam so that once the jack is removed, the stump will support the load that the hydraulic jack held.

It’ll take 7-10 days to elevate a typical house.

If your house is 500mm above the ground, you can live in it while it is being restumped, as the job will be done from underneath.

If your house is lower than 500mm from the ground, then floorboards will need to be removed which will make it difficult to live in.