What to Do When Restumping Goes Wrong?

Posted by admin on

What to do when Restumping Goes WrongIf we didn’t paint a full picture of home renovations for our valued customers, we’d be doing you a massive disservice. There’s so much glitz and glamour showcasing the end result of a project, but the Restumping Melbourne team loves all of the steps that lead up to the success as well. Sometimes the projects that we work on are so quick and painless, an easy success story, and a feather in our cap as we reinforce our beliefs that we are the best in the business at reinforcing your foundation. But just as often, we relish the missteps and challenges that we encounter along the way with our different projects, knowing that the outcome will be even sweeter.

If you visit the Restumping Melbourne blog on a regular basis, you may have seen a similar topic in the past, but lo and behold, it’s one of the most popular drivers of traffic to our site. We’re not worried about numbers or traffic necessarily, but we do love to track the topics that you guys want to hear about. Embarking on any project related to your home can be so daunting, and it’s our number one priority to be your support system and advocate as you decide the work that you’re ready to tackle.

But what happens when this work goes wrong? That’s a loaded question and one that we’re sure we’ll tackle in future on a broader spectrum. But let’s start with what we know best – that’s reinforcing the foundation of your home through restumping, reblocking and underpinning. We know how to do it right, but not everyone does. And when a job of this magnitude goes wrong, it impacts pretty much every other aspect of your home. So, here’s what you can do when restumping goes wrong.

It sounds like a cop-out, but there are ways to completely avoid failure here. And they hark back to some of our favourite pieces of advice, like doing your homework and being onsite to monitor the experts that you’re working with. While you shouldn’t have to monitor them, for many types of personalities, it’s vital to save your sanity. If you’ve done your homework, you’ll know exactly what you’re looking for, while checking in. You’ll also know to look for the red flags, like lack of proper attire, equipment, or worst of all – unsafe working conditions.

If both of the above failed you, don’t despair and don’t stress. All you need to do is wait, write an honest review of the work performed, and then reach out to a company like Restumping Melbourne. There should be baseline barometers as to how companies conduct business – never so much as when you’re dealing with the foundation and the structure of anybody’s home.

Questions? Comments? Let us know. Whether your foundation needs work now or you’re planning ahead; whether you’re thinking about a fun home renovation project or you’re incredibly nervous about it – we’re here for you.

The Materials Used in Restumping

Posted by admin on with 0 Comment

1If you didn’t understand how houses are painted, would you feel comfortable entrusting the service to someone you barely knew and who didn’t explain their work at all? If you didn’t know how taxes worked, would you be okay calling up the first CPA in the phone book or listed on the internet and saying, “hey, take my money.” If you’ve answered yes to either of these questions, then we may have a larger problem on our hands.

The team at Restumping Melbourne knows our stuff inside and out. We have the decades of experience to prove it. But why should that be enough for you to choose us? It shouldn’t. You should feel comfortable asking us, “what on earth we’re doing and how,” at any point in the process.

Part of this is the materials that we use. The fact alone that restumping and reblocking are phrases used interchangeably depending on where you live, is probably confusing enough. Here’s a breakdown of the different materials used in the restumping process, all over the country.

Victoria:

  • Victoria chooses rot-resistant timber stumps. Victorian Red Gum is one of the most commonly used. There is an advantage with Victorian Red Gum– it’s 10% cheaper than concrete. However it does have the disadvantage of limited life expectancy. Many don’t care about this because they will still last upwards of 20 years and many assume that they won’t be in their homes that long. It’s still something to keep in mind, regardless.
  • In our opinion, an equally as impactful disadvantage with Victorian Red Gum timber stumps is that they won’t be nearly as well-secured to the the bearers as concrete stumps will be. This ultimately means that the home won’t be leveled as accurately.

Concrete:

  • Concrete stumps are used throughout Australia. They’re on the market in several different types. Those that cause the best connection have a 10mm diameter threaded rod at the top of the stump, which is then secured with a footing from a poured concrete pad. This threaded rod is what allows the stump to be bolted securely to the floor frame. Once you do this properly, you prevent both upward movement and downward movement. Then the concrete pad provides protection against the settlement of long term footing.
  • These concrete stumps last indefinitely– the longest shelf life by far. The only exception here is the most damp conditions because even the best concrete stumps are amenable to rust. If a stump rusts, it may expand and cause weakness.

Queensland

  • Life Victoria, Queensland has specialized stumps that they tend to use frequently when they enforce the foundation of their homes and businesses. In the past, the stumps that contractors used in the area were made from 300mm diameter ironbark or rot-resistant timber of a similar style.
  • These days, these choose CCA (Copper Chrome Arsenate) treated pine, or concrete stumps. In a lot of areas where the ground is particularly soft, a concrete footing is poured first.
  • High wind stresses are also particularly prevalent, so anchor bolts are required in each corner, around the perimeter every four meters and also under bracing walls.

We want to equip you to ask the right questions. If there is content that we don’t cover, feel free to reach out to any of our team members. We’ll be happy to help.