Restumping in Melbourne's Eastern Suburbs

The houses of the east

Drive through Blackburn, Nunawading or Ringwood and the pattern is easy to spot: single-storey weatherboards and cream or red brick veneers on generous blocks, many built from the late 1940s through the 1960s. Box Hill has older pockets as well, with interwar bungalows near the shopping centre and the railway. Most of these homes were built with a suspended timber floor on stumps, and many of them still have the stumps they were built with.

The stumps of that era tend to be one of two types:

• Timber stumps, often red gum or similar hardwood, which last well but eventually rot at ground level, especially where the subfloor stays damp.
• Early precast concrete stumps, which were lighter and less reinforced than modern stumps. Over decades the steel inside rusts, the concrete cracks and the stump loses strength.

Ground conditions east of the Yarra

The eastern suburbs mostly sit on clay soils over old sedimentary rock. It is not as violently reactive as the basalt clay of the north, but it still moves with the seasons. The bigger local factor is trees. Blackburn, Heathmont and parts of Mitcham are known for leafy blocks with large eucalypts and established gardens, and big trees draw a lot of moisture from the soil. That dries the clay unevenly, so one corner of a house can drop while the rest stays put.

Creeks and gullies add their own variation. Homes near the Blackburn Lake and Mullum Mullum Creek corridors, or on the lower side of a sloping street, can have wetter subfloors that speed up rot in timber stumps and bearers.

What we often find under eastern suburbs homes

• Brick veneer homes with internal cracking. In a brick veneer house the timber frame and floor sit on stumps while the outer brick skin sits on its own footing. When the stumps drop, the internal plaster cracks and doors bind, even if the brickwork looks fine.
• Extensions on different footings. Many eastern homes have a 1970s or 1980s family room or rear extension. Where the old house and the addition meet, you often see a step in the floor or a crack running across the ceiling.
• Low subfloors. A lot of post-war veneers sit fairly close to the ground, which makes access tight and work slower.
• Termite activity. Bushy blocks and timber in contact with soil make termite damage to stumps and bearers a regular find.

Full restump or targeted repairs?

Not every eastern suburbs house needs a full restump. If the movement is concentrated along one side, under a wet area or where an extension meets the original house, a partial restump and re-level may solve it. If the original timber or early concrete stumps are failing across the whole floor, replacing them all at once is usually better value than coming back for another round in a few years. Level readings and a stump-by-stump check at the inspection tell you which category your home falls into.

Concrete or steel for the east

Reinforced concrete stumps suit most eastern suburbs homes well. Adjustable galvanised steel can be a sensible choice near big trees, or where an owner expects some ongoing seasonal movement and wants to fine-tune later. We talk through both at the inspection.

Suburbs we cover in the east

Box Hill, Box Hill North and South, Blackburn and Blackburn North and South, Nunawading, Forest Hill, Vermont, Mitcham, Ringwood and Ringwood East and North, Heathmont, Croydon and the surrounding streets. If you are close by and not sure, just ask.