Why there's no flat rate

Ask around about restumping cost and you'll hear a wide range of figures. That isn't because builders are making it up. Two houses on the same street can have very different jobs underneath them: one with a roomy subfloor and dry clay, the other with a crawl space you can barely fit a hand into and a bearer line that's been eaten by termites. A fair quote comes from looking under the house, not from a per-square-metre guess over the phone.

What you can do is understand the things that move the number up or down. That makes it much easier to compare quotes and to spot one that has left something out.

The number of stumps

The biggest single driver is how many stumps need replacing. A small cottage might sit on a modest number of stumps, while a larger family home or a house with an extension can have many more. Stumps are typically spaced along each bearer, so the floor area and the layout of the rooms both play a part.

It also matters whether you need a full restump or a partial restump. If only one section of the house has failed, such as the stumps along a wet side boundary, replacing just those can be an option. But a partial job only makes sense if the remaining stumps are genuinely sound. Mixing new concrete stumps with old timber ones that are a few years from failing can simply move the problem along.

Access under the house

Access has a large effect on labour time. Things that make a job slower and harder include:

Low subfloor clearance, where the crew has to dig out to get room to work
No side access, so excavated soil and old stumps have to be carried out by hand
Decks, verandahs and paving that block the perimeter
Services under the floor, such as gas lines, plumbing and ducted heating, that need to be worked around
Sloping blocks, where stumps on the low side are much taller than on the high side

A tight inner-city block with a neighbour's wall right on the boundary is a very different job from a freestanding house in the middle of a wide suburban block, even if the floor area is similar.

Stump type and footing design

Most Melbourne restumps use reinforced concrete stumps or adjustable galvanised steel stumps, each set on a concrete footing. Steel stumps generally cost more per stump but allow height adjustment later. Your building surveyor or engineer may specify footing sizes and depths based on the soil, and deeper or larger footings mean more digging and more concrete.

The ground beneath you

Melbourne's soils vary a lot from suburb to suburb. Highly reactive clay swells when wet and shrinks when dry, and it often calls for deeper footings to get below the zone that moves the most. Rocky ground, such as basalt in parts of the north, can be slow and hard to dig. Fill, soft ground or a high water table can also change the footing design. A soil test is sometimes recommended so the footings can be designed properly, and that is an added cost on some jobs.

What you find when the floor is exposed

Stumps are rarely the only thing that has suffered. Once a crew gets under the house, they often find:

Bearers and joists that are rotted, split or termite damaged and need replacing
Floorboards that have rotted near wet areas like bathrooms and laundries
Old repairs that need to be undone, such as packers stacked on top of each other
Drainage problems that caused the original failure in the first place

A good quote should say clearly what is included and how any extra timber replacement will be priced. If a quote is very low, check whether it assumes no bearer or joist work at all.

Permits and paperwork

In Victoria, restumping generally needs a building permit issued by a registered building surveyor, along with the inspections that go with it. Some quotes include the permit, some list it separately, and some leave it out entirely. Make sure you are comparing like with like. If your property is under a heritage overlay, there may be extra steps, particularly if any external change is planned, such as raising the house.

The finishing work inside

Re-levelling a house that has been out of level for years moves the whole structure. Cracks in plaster can open or close, doors may need planing or rehanging, and cornices or skirting boards can shift. Some of this settles on its own, and some needs a plasterer or carpenter. It's worth asking your restumper what they include and what you should budget for separately with other trades.

Getting quotes you can compare

To compare restumping quotes properly, check that each one covers:

The number and type of stumps, and whether it is a full or partial job
Footing sizes and whether engineering or soil testing is included
Permit and inspection costs
How bearer, joist or floorboard replacement will be priced if needed
Rubbish removal and site clean-up
Any warranty on the workmanship

The cost of waiting

Restumping is rarely cheaper next year. As stumps keep sinking, the movement spreads into framing, plaster, windows and plumbing, and the repair list grows. If you are seeing the early signs, an inspection now gives you a clear picture of where the house is at and what it would take to fix, so you can plan the work on your own timeline instead of in a hurry.

Book an inspection

The only way to get a real number is to have someone look under the floor. Melbourne Restumping Co can inspect your subfloor, explain what we find in plain language and give you a written quote that sets out exactly what is and isn't included.

What Does Restumping Cost in Melbourne? The Factors That Set Your Price