Do I need to restump the whole house?
Hello, can someone give me any advice about stumping before I go ahead and spend about $6000.00 on restumping my whole home.
I just received two quotes for restumping my home and I was wondering whether there was a way that I can have the house releveled (without restumping). The loungeroom is uneven with the fireplace above the level of the floorboards and some of the doors are not level and there are some cracks in the walls. An archicentre consultant told me a couple of years ago that the stumps appear to be in good condition. One of the restumping companies also said they would last another 20 years.
Someone mentioned recently that if the stumps are in good condition that instead of restumping, that some kind of strong sheeting can be placed inbetween the stumps and the beams which would raise the level of the house without the need for replacing all the stumps. Is this possible and how much should this cost?
Also can someone please tell me what underpinning is?
Thanks a lot
Kerryv
Thanks everyone for your stumping advice!!
Can anyone please recommend a reputable stumping company in the Melbourne area (I'm in Oakleigh -SE Melb) who will quote on placing cement sheeting inbetween the bearer and the stump?
I think the main problem with my stumps is that they haven't decayed but have sunk into the ground and caused the house to be unlevel as my area has bad drainage.
Does anyone know if packing of cement sheeting (as an alternative to complete reblocking) is likely to level the floor in my loungeroom etc which is sloping away from the fireplace? I have been told that if I polish the floorboards in the loungeroom the uneveness will be more noticable.
Also Zenwood, you mentioned for me to look into the metal plate option as you say your house has stayed level for 15 years since having this done. I am assuming you had a similar problem to me in that your floors when unlevel before you had this done? Do the metal plates raise the stump level so that they are supporting the floor more?
Thanks again everyone
Kerryv