The short version
- Consumer Affairs Victoria says sloping or bouncy floors, and cracked walls from a house sinking, can mean the stumps need replacing.
- Consumer Affairs Victoria says anyone who reblocks or restumps a home must be registered with the Building and Plumbing Commission, whatever the job costs.
- Councils list restumping and reblocking among works that commonly need a building permit, so buyers should ask for the paperwork on any past restump.
Walk through enough older weatherboards in Preston or Reservoir and you get used to floors with a bit of character. A marble left in the hallway would roll somewhere. The question buyers ask me is whether that's normal for an old house or a sign the stumps underneath are tired.
Restumping and reblocking mean the same job: replacing the stumps that hold the floor up. I started as a carpenter on renovations and I'm still building as a registered builder, so here's what I look at and what I'd want to know before buying one.
How do you know if a house needs restumping?
A house usually needs restumping when the stumps have rotted, sunk or moved enough that the floor above has dropped out of level. Consumer Affairs Victoria lists the signs to watch for at an inspection: sloping or bouncy floors may mean stumps need replacing, and cracked walls can point to the house sinking.
When I'm inside a weatherboard, the clues I pay attention to are:
- Floors that slope, dip or feel springy underfoot, especially near the middle of the house
- Doors that bind, swing open on their own or have been planed to fit
- Gaps between the skirting boards and the floor
- Cracks in plaster above doors and windows, or along cornices
- Windows that stick or sit out of square
Any one of these on its own can have another cause. A door can stick because it's been painted ten times. Several of them in the same part of the house is what makes me want a close look underneath. My earlier post on wall cracks goes into crack widths in more detail.
What does the subfloor inspection tell you about the stumps?
The subfloor inspection is where the condition of the stumps actually shows up, because you can't judge stumps from inside the lounge room. Where the subfloor is safe to get into, I go under the house with a torch and look at the stumps, the bearers and joists sitting on them, and the ground around them.
I'm looking for stumps that have rotted at ground level, leaned, sunk or been packed up with odd bits of timber over the years. I'm also checking for damp soil, poor ventilation and timber in contact with the ground, because those conditions suit both rot and termites. A building and pest inspection covers the subfloor as part of the job, and you can see what's included under pre-purchase inspections.
Some older homes have a very low or closed-in subfloor. If I can't safely get under, the report will say so, and that's a gap you should take seriously on a house with uneven floors. An inspection report is a visual inspection on the day. It is not a guarantee that every stump is sound.
Does a house that has already been restumped need a permit?
A house that has already been restumped should have had a building permit for the work, and you should ask to see it. Councils such as Glen Eira list reblocking or restumping of an existing building among the works that commonly need a building permit.
Who did the work matters too. Consumer Affairs Victoria says anyone who reblocks or restumps a home must be registered with the Building and Plumbing Commission, regardless of the value of the work. Restumping is structural. It's the house's support, so it isn't a weekend handyman job.
If the agent tells you the place was restumped a few years ago, that can be good news. Ask for the permit details and who did it. Consumer Affairs Victoria suggests checking the Section 32 and contacting the local council to find out whether permits were obtained for renovations, and warns that illegal alterations may become your responsibility once you sign the contract. Your conveyancer can help you with that part.
Should you walk away from a house that needs restumping?
A house that needs restumping can still be a good buy, as long as you know the scope of the job before you commit. Plenty of good old weatherboards have been restumped and will be fine for a long time after. The trouble starts when buyers find out after settlement and haven't budgeted for it.
What changes the picture is how much of the house is affected, whether the bearers and joists have also deteriorated, whether there's termite damage in the subfloor timber, and how the floors and walls have moved in the meantime. Levelling a house during a restump can also open up cracks in the plaster or change how doors close, so allow for some patching and adjusting afterwards.
A building inspection report isn't a quote for repairs. If restumping is likely, get a quote from a registered restumper or builder before auction day or before your cooling-off period ends, so you're bidding with real numbers rather than a guess.
What should you do before buying an older weatherboard?
Before buying an older weatherboard, book an inspection that includes the subfloor, and do it early enough to act on what it finds. At the open, walk the hallway slowly, open and close a few doors and look at the gaps under the skirtings. Ask the agent whether the house has been restumped and when.
If you're looking at a period home, my period home inspections cover the things that go with older construction, including the subfloor. Once you have the report, ring me and we'll talk through what the stumps mean for this particular house.
Common questions
Is restumping the same as reblocking?
Yes. Both words describe replacing the stumps under a house, and you'll see trades and councils use either one.
Can a building inspector tell me how long the stumps will last?
Not with any certainty. A visual inspection reports the condition I can see on the day. Timber stumps can look fine above ground and be soft below it, which is why soft or rotted stumps get flagged for further checking.
Do sloping floors always mean bad stumps?
No. Old houses can have floors that were never perfectly level, and some slope has been there for decades without getting worse. The subfloor tells you whether the movement is old and stable or ongoing.
Sources
- Consumer Affairs Victoria - Inspect properties before you buy
- Consumer Affairs Victoria - Becoming a registered building practitioner
- Glen Eira City Council - Do I need a building permit?
General information only, based on a visual inspection perspective. It is not legal or financial advice, and every property is different. An inspection report is not a guarantee that a property is free of defects.
About Dale
Dale Phelan owns DSP Building Inspections and does every inspection himself. He started out as a carpenter, became a registered builder (Domestic Builder Unlimited, DB-U 61057), and has project-managed, built and developed more than 35 homes around Melbourne. He is still actively building, so his reports explain the likely cause of each defect and how urgent it is. More about Dale