Reasons For Sub-floor Problems

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Restumping at its most basic definition solves sub-floor problems, helping to maximize the value of your home or your business. It’s the process of updating the current stumps, helping to hold up your foundation, with concrete or steel stumps. It will be a necessity for any home or business throughout its life.

But what is a sub-floor problem?

There are many types of sub-floor problems that area common for homes and businesses. Three of the top most popular ones are sinking floors, creaking or popping and uneven floors.

1First up- sinking floors. If the floor is sinking it was probably not installed properly to begin with. The most common reason is an excess of water or moisture. The moisture will cause the joist to rot. When the joist rots, it makes the beams sag. Confirming that the floors are sinking is an exercise that you can do on your own. To determine, you’ll need to take a look at the floor from underneath, most popularly from whatever basement space you have. If a trampoline effect is occurring where the floor (ceiling) is bowing in the middle, you’re looking at one sinking floor.

Creaking and popping noises are a second sub-floor problem that you need to look out for. Both creaking and popping are noises that you hear frequently when visiting older homes or structures. You probably attribute them to ghost stories or horror movies. Well this is a different kind of horror that we’re talking about– the horror of ignoring these noises. Don’t overlook these noises, because they may mean that your sub-floor is not secured to the underlying joists. What is a joist? You may say. Here’s your restumping fun word for the day. A joist is what supports foundations, walls or beams with ceilings and floors. It runs horizontally and can be made of concrete, steel, or wood. Typically a joist has the cross section of a plank, while a beam is bigger than a joist. Joists are often supported by beams laid out in repetitive patterns.It may also mean that your plywood or OSB was the wrong thickness. The recommended width is ¾ inch.

And finally, uneven floors. Uneven floors are simply caused by a foundation or a structure that hasn’t settled correctly. This may be due to the terrain, to moisture, or to other issues that Mother Nature has sent your way. These most notably include floods or earthquakes. They’re no fun to begin with, but uneven floors frequently go unnoticed for years after a natural disaster, especially if the difference is very minimal. No matter how minimal the difference however, it’s a sign that your foundation is slowly buckling and that it’s time to do something about it.

 

Restumping Melbourne wants to ensure that the process of updating your home or business is painless and positive. By noticing these types of sub-floor issues early and often, we can ensure that your foundation is updated and truly supported so that you can get back to living your life.

Before Getting Started

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What the heck is restumping? And why do you need to do it? Let’s walk you through the basics so you can understand exactly how we can help you.

Restumping and reblocking are the same thing. They’re both the process of replacing the timber stumps that support a house, business or school if the timber stumps are no longer effective. When the timber stumps are no longer effective, they begin to rot, rendering the foundation of your home or business less safe than we’d like it to be. At Restumping Melbourne, there’s not a spectrum of levels of rot that we’re okay with. Any rot whatsoever is not okay with us. There are many signs that you can look for that will suggest that you need to restump. These include cracked interior walls, bowed or soft floors, any cracking on exterior brickwork and doors and windows that aren’t functioning the way they used to. We’re used to working with a variety of soil compositions and conditions. They each will encourage your home to show the deterioration in a different way. However, at the end of the day, the end result is the same- a collapsed home or business.

downloadIt’s a huge business here in Australia but we want to be the most transparent with our customers about the process and any red flags to look for. We’ve heard horror stories about unexpected damage to walls, squeaking floors, crooked floors, disappearing contractors…the lot. It’s unfortunate but you will never encounter any of these pitfalls with us.

First thing we do is we select the stumps. There are several different varieties. Victorian red gum is a commonly used timber stump since it’s very rot resistant. It has the advantage of being more cost efficient than concrete, but will not last quite as long as concrete. You’re also going to find less accurate re-leveling with timber than you would with concrete. Concrete stumps will last lifetimes except in particularly wet and damp conditions. In conditions like these, the metal reinforcement in the stump might rust. When they rust, they expand- causing an increased degree of weakness.

You can choose to only partially restump your home or business, but we don’t recommend it. You’re pitting the stumps against each other, as they’ll deteriorate at different speeds. It’s a big job to swap out only one or two stumps.

Next up- we need to have an honest discussion with you, our customers, about what to expect. Remember- our quotes are free and with no attached obligation. We just want to sit down, get to know you and identify what your needs are so that we deliver. The types of questions that we want to cover include-

  • Will we follow all building regulations and obtain a council building permit? (The answer to this is always, yes!)
  • What sort of stumps will be used?
  • How will they be spaced?
  • Will we level the floors after completing the restumping?
  • An agreed upon cost, start and expected completion

Once all of these factors are agreed upon, it’s time to get to work!