The restumping process, step by step

Knowing what should happen is your best quality control. Here's a professional restump from first call to final certificate.

1. Subfloor inspection (free, ~1 hour)

Full crawl, every stump checked and mapped, moisture and ventilation assessed, photos taken. You get shown the evidence, not just told conclusions.

2. Fixed written quote

Stump count, material recommendation for your soil, levelling scope, days on site, permit line item, exclusions with unit prices. Valid start window included.

3. Permit & engineering (allow a few weeks)

Engineer computes the stump layout for your soil class; a registered building surveyor issues the building permit. Lodged the day you accept — this runs while you're scheduled.

4. Site set-up (day 1)

Access points opened, services located and protected, floors inside protected where levelling is planned.

5. Support & jacking

The house is progressively supported on hydraulic jacks and steel needles — it is never "hanging"; load moves in controlled stages.

6. Out with the old, in with the new

Old stumps removed, new holes excavated to engineered depth (mandatory inspection at this stage), new concrete or steel stumps installed plumb, ant caps fitted on every one.

7. Levelling

Staged lifts across multiple points, checked with laser levels, bearers re-seated and packed to spec. On big historical sags this is deliberately gradual — protecting your plaster matters more than a stopwatch.

8. Reinstatement & clean-up

Spoil removed, brickwork/base cladding reinstated, access points closed, subfloor left cleaner than found (no old stumps buried under your house — a cowboy signature).

9. Final inspection & certification

Building surveyor's final inspection, completion certification issued, guarantee delivered in writing, and your paperwork file handed over complete. Keep it with your title documents.

Total elapsed: usually 3–6 weeks from acceptance, with 3–7 of those days on site. It starts with the free inspection.