Differentiating Restumping, Reblocking, and Underpingigng

There are certain areas in Australia, especially in Melbourne, that have sandy and clay soil composition. Because of this, misalignment and depression of stumps in residential structures and homes are very common. Added to it are the changes in the weather that can cause the stumps to become feeble.
Once you see cracks on your wall, brickwork, and plasterboard, as well as misalignment of window frames and door jambs, restumping and underpinning must be your next step. Delaying repairs such as these can cause severe damage to your property, thus, making it more costly to schedule a repair or renovation.
While talking about the different ways to repair the foundation of your home, you must first learn to differentiate restumping, reblocking, and underpinning to help you decide on how to save your house from total wreckage.
Restumping or Reblocking
Restumping, which is also known as reblocking, is basically replacing old or cracked stumps of houses that use stumps as the foundation. This is usually needed when the stumps have become misaligned or have settled due to soil movement, changes in the weather, and rotting (if the stump is made of wood or timber).
Restumping in Australia may cost you, depending on the materials used and the number of stumps, $5,000 to $8,000. In order for your stumps to last longer (usually from 7 to 15 years or more), your contractor must use concrete stumps which are made according to Australia’s national standards. Also, finding a contractor that covers a Public Liability Insurance is a wise choice.
It usually takes 5 to 10 days (depending on the floor area) to restump a house. Restumping your house may or may not require you to go out of the house when there is ongoing work. Also, your floorboard may or may not be taken off during the restumping process. As long as there is ample space beneath your house for the contractor’s men to work at, your floorboard won’t be removed.
Many house designs in Australia feature wooden stumps as the foundation. Although these are made from premium timber and can last for many years, these can still rot and deteriorate due to various factors such as weather changes, sudden soil movement, and wear and tear due to pests. Because of this, you need to know when to replace your stumps before it’s too late.
Find out the following signs that your house needs restumping or reblocking:
– Doors and windows start to misalign and become crooked – This happens when the floor of your house begins to slope. This is one of the primary signs that the stumps have begun to rot or deteriorate. You can easily determine sloping floors when you feel like you’re walking on a hilly surface inside your house.
– Cracks on walls, door jambs, and window frames – Wall cracks can be classified into three types. First is the interior wall crack which usually occurs in the plasterboard. Second is the exterior wall crack which is usually seen on the brickwork or the surface of the wall. The third is the crack seen on foundation walls. These three types of wall cracks may not be serious at a first glance. However, delaying the necessary repairs might lead to more costly damage.
– Pest or moisture problems in timber stumps – Due to constant weather changes, your stumps may be exposed to constant moisture. Termites and other pests might get attracted to moist wood, making your stumps vulnerable to damage. Restumping is advised when faced with this kind of situation. Nowadays, more people in Australia get a new home with concrete or steel stumps for durability and longevity.
– Decaying of foundations under the house – This is greatly relevant to seeing any decaying timber or foundation wall inside the house because the external foundations are commonly the first part of the house subject to decay. It is because these are the ones exposed to various factors such as weather changes, pest attacks, and soil movement.
Underpinning
Whether the stumps on which your house is built with is made of high-quality timber, concrete, or steel, these are still prone to misalignment caused by subsidence or the movement and settling of the ground. Underpinning is one of the most effective ways of fixing misaligned or depressed stumps. While stumping and reblocking includes entirely replacing the cracked or rotten stumps underneath your house, underpinning is generally a different way. It is done by simply adding concrete mixture to coat the stumps, thereby reinforcing the foundation of your house with new material.
Unlike the new house plans and designs in Australia nowadays, houses made during the 1970s with wooden stumps need not only underpinning but restumping as well. Stumps made of wood and timber are advised, according to Australian construction standards, to be replaced with high quality concrete or steel stumps. This is to ensure that the foundation of the house will last for 10 to 15 or more years.
In most cases, underpinning costs lesser than restumping or reblocking as this only requires fresh concrete to reinstate an old structure. On the other hand, restumping includes replacing the entire structure with a new one. While these two repair methods are entirely different, checking the type of soil on which your house is built is the primary task that your contractor will do.
There are several factors why your house stumps need underpinning. Two of the most common culprits are water seepage and subsidence.
– Water Leakage and Seepage – Heavy rains, pipe leaks, overflowing flood water due to some inappropriate landscaping ideas in Australia are just some of the various factors that can contribute to water seepage. Water seepage is the movement or flow of the water from the upper ground toward the bottom of your house stumps. Over time, this can change the consistency of the soil, making the stumps vulnerable to damage and settling.
– Subsidence – This is the sinking of the soil where your house is built on. There are several reasons why the soil acts this way.
– Trees – these can loosen the soil beneath your house as their roots grow bigger and more invasive. Also, the roots have capabilities to collect water from the surrounding underground drips, making your stumps exposed to moisture.
– Clay soil – just like trees, a clay type of soil holds too much water, making it a contributor to moisture.
For Critical Projects, Trust Only the Experts!

When scheduling for a restumping or underpinning service, you must consider hiring the best people to do the job right in order to keep your money from flushing down the drain. Make sure that your contractor has the skills for the job and a heart for their clients.