Stump Inspections in Melbourne's West — See What's Under the Floor

Who books a stump inspection

The reasons vary, but most people fall into one of a few groups:

• Buyers looking at an older house. Cottages and postwar homes across the west are often sold still sitting on their first stumps, and the cost of fixing that can change what a place is worth to you.
• Owners with a floor on the move. We can tell whether you are looking at tired packers, a few bad stumps or a whole-house problem.
• People worried about cracks. Some cracking is just old plaster. Some is the house moving. A look underneath usually makes it clear which.
• Anyone about to renovate. New kitchens, bathrooms and rear extensions all lean on the existing subfloor, so it pays to know its condition before the builder starts.
• Owners holding a big quote. If someone has told you the whole house must be reblocked, a second opinion costs nothing to book.

Inside the house

We start with the floor itself. Using a level, we take readings throughout each room and along the length of the house. Plotted together, those readings show whether the whole floor has slumped, whether one corner has dropped on its own, or whether there is a ripple running across several rooms. The pattern often points straight to the cause.

Under the house

Where there is room to crawl, we work our way across the subfloor and check:

• Each stump in reach, probing timber for soft rot at the ground line and looking at concrete for cracks or rust stains.
• Plumb and bearing, since a stump that has tilted or punched down into the clay is no longer doing its share.
• Bearers and joists, for decay, splits, sag and borer holes.
• Packers, to see whether they are crushed, rotten, loose or missing altogether.
• Earlier repairs, such as bricks or offcuts shoved in to prop up a low spot.
• Moisture, including wet soil, puddles, leaking pipes and vents covered by paths or garden beds.

When there is no crawl space

Some cottages sit very close to the ground, and some blocks rise toward the back so the subfloor gets tighter and tighter. If we cannot get under safely, we still take the full set of floor readings and look at everything visible from vents, the hatch and the outside of the house. That is often enough to give a clear direction, but it cannot confirm every stump, and we are upfront about what was and was not seen.

What happens next

We go through the results with you in everyday language and give you our recommendation. Sometimes the right answer is to do nothing and keep an eye on it. Other times it is a re-level, a partial or full reblock, framing repairs, or getting an engineer to look at the footings. If the inspection turns up something outside our trade, such as possible termites or old sheeting that may contain asbestos, we tell you and suggest the right person to call.

A note for buyers

Our check is narrower and deeper than a general pre-purchase report. A building inspector looks at the whole house; a pest inspector looks for termites and timber pests; we spend our time under the floor. On an older cottage in Footscray, Yarraville or Williamstown, or a postwar home in Sunshine or St Albans with a visible lean, having all three gives you the fullest picture before you commit.