Happy New Year to all of our valued community of customers. Happy New Year to our team and all of our family and friends. It creates a warm feeling in your stomach, doesn’t it? You accomplished hopefully everything that you wanted to, and now you’re on the hunt for your next set of goals. We know that we are. We aim to have the mindset each day, but when there’s a holiday involved, specifically geared to inspire, there’s even more reason to challenge ourselves. We challenge ourselves for you and also for ourselves so that we can grow as teammates, employees, a company and as a general service that we can offer you.

Sometimes that means going back to basics and answering the simplest questions that you need the answers to. One such? Why on earth do we even need foundations? We know what they are, and hopefully, you do too. If not, definitely make a point to peruse the entirety of the Restumping Melbourne blog. It’s a wealth of knowledge. It discusses what foundations are, how we build them, the different tools and materials that we take advantage of, how they’re maintained and the role that they play in the bigger picture of your dream home. It’s a lengthy list. We can’t reiterate enough the importance of painting the broader picture for you and your knowledge. Only then you can feel comfortable about making updates to your home.

So, back to our question. Why does a home need a foundation? It’s not like it’s going anywhere, right? Wrong. The land and soil on which our properties are built shift each and every day. When there’s a big rainstorm, the soil will compact and shift. Conversely, when there’s no rain, the soil can dry out and not cause the fortitude that you need to keep your home in place. She’s a fickle mistress, that Mother Nature. Either way, there’s a massive opportunity for your home to move one direction or the other – not something that you want to happen.

We’re sure that it must have been an interesting conversation back in the day – the process of determining exactly how to stake your home into the ground so that it was as permanent as possible. The mechanisms and processes have changed over hundreds of years, but the premise remains the same. We know that there will be a continued evolution of said processes over thousands of years to come, as companies like Restumping Melbourne think through the right materials that leave the smallest carbon footprint, but still make sure that you maintain yours.

We do this with your input and feedback and value it more than we can say. Especially as we move into 2020, please continue to provide us with your thoughts and opinions on your experience as we restump, reblock or underpin your property. We’re excited to connect and more than happy to answer any questions that you may have.

Not a topic that we touch on a lot, is it? After all, if we’re a company that is so storied as experts in the restumping, reblocking and underpinning businesses, we should want you to have foundation damage, right? Absolutely not. We’ll always be here – by phone, email or in-person – to support if you’ve already reached that point, but it’s in the interests of everyone involved if we’re able to mitigate the issue entirely!

So, what is the homework that you can do to avoid working with us altogether? (We know, we know, we don’t want this to happen either, but we’re here to save you money and time!) You’ve already taken the first and best step. You’ve joined our blog community, and we’re thrilled to have you. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been here once or a million times, we value you, and see you as far more than customers. You’re friends, you’re partners, and we’re with you for life. So, this blog can be our conversation platform to continue all of the important conversations that turn your house into a home.

Step one, complete. Here are other tips that we recommend in order to avoid any kind of reinforcement that you need on your foundation prior to any damage:

Leverage de-humidifiers and fans

We can’t tell you the number of calls, emails and in-person visits (broken record, but you really can reach out to us in every way!), that have to do with moisture. It’s one of those things that falls off of the radar really easily, but the issues associated are so easy to avoid. When you run a shower or a bath and there’s an accumulation of moisture, you have no idea how much of a catalyst it can be to your home and your home’s foundation.

Check all of the time

If your door is not swinging closed all the way, or jamming when you try to properly open it, you probably have an impending issue with your foundation. Keep a regular and critical eye on doors, floors, walls and ceilings, so that you don’t need to call teams like ours.

Do regular research

We know that it’s not fun, but if there have been seismic shifts in your area, or if the soil that your home has been built on has seen an abundance of inclement weather situations, it’s always in your best interest to spend the 30-min a week to check on what’s happening with the weather and the climate. Worst case scenario? You learn the information that you need to know now in order to make the right decision for you. Best case scenario? You become an aficionado about the weather, the climate, the temperatures of your area, and more. You might just find out that you should have gone into meteorology after all!

Questions? Comments? Give us a shout. The team would love to hear from you and start the conversation about the best ways to make your home the very best that it can be.

We know it’s not Halloween, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t like to share creepy stories when we can. These are not to alarm, but rather to educate and inform the valued customer base of Restumping Melbourne – always our number one goal. If you’re newer to the Restumping Melbourne site, welcome! We’re glad to have you here. You’ll find that we’re your one-stop shop for all things foundation reinforcement. If you’re old hat on our site, then you already know the name of the game.

We pride ourselves on our work and we pride ourselves on our customer service. Our support remains long after your restumping or underpinning job is done, and we’re always around to answer any questions that you may have. That also means that we like to have a little fun with you. Read on for some of our favourite foundation horror stories, that hopefully also serve as a reminder of the importance of our services:

The one where they didn’t vet their contractor

We’re going to lump many different stories that we’ve heard into one giant hypothetical nightmare, here. And reinforce exactly why it never pays to go the cheap route when it comes to labour. We’re talking about your home after all. This is the tale of a family who picked their contractor off of the internet and didn’t vet them or ask for references. They were so motivated to get the work done, that they allowed the contractor into their home and let him well enough alone. Imagine their surprise when they came home at the end of the day and all of their belongings were gone. He wasn’t a contractor at all.

The one where they weren’t on the same page with their contractor

At least in this scenario, the family had vetted their contractor. They knew that she would do excellent work and were ready to get the process going. Then began the conversations back and forth. The family thought that they had been very clear in what they were looking for, but alas- did not get it on paper. When the work was complete, it was very different than what they had imagined. Because they didn’t have any proof on paper, they didn’t have any sort of case against the contractor.

The one where they had the wrong sort of work done

These families experienced similar scenarios but at a much greater price. They didn’t know anything about foundation reinforcement, instead, were told to execute on the work by a friend who just thought it might be a good idea. The contractor came in and did the work, received his payment and left. Two years down the road, cracks appeared in the walls. The wrong area of the foundation had been reinforced and now the work had to be completed all over again.

As mentioned, these are cautionary tales that can be completely avoided if you work with the Restumping Melbourne team. Reach out with any questions or comments. We’d love to hear from you.