What You Need to Do When Your Home Begins to Sag

Construction & Contractors Blog

Parts of Australia have been suffering from a drought for years now, and due to the parched condition of the soil and its reactive nature, this can cause shifting and movement in the foundations of your property. Sometimes people note with alarm cracking in external brickwork, uneven flooring or doors that won't close properly. If you're worried about these conditions and wonder what you can do to remedy the situation, you may need to consider underpinning or restumping. What's the difference and what's involved?

Determining the Need

The selection of one or other of these processes depends on the severity of the individual condition. Each one seeks to remedy damage caused by settlement or movement and it's usually necessary to get an expert to advise you on the extent of your problem and the process ahead.

Underpinning is a selective process that identifies individual walls that have come under pressure due to foundation failure beneath. House restumping is more extensive and generally involves replacing the base upon which your home was initially built, also known as the stump.

Underpinning

When underpinning is advised, an excavation will need to be made underneath the footing in question, firstly to determine how extensive the damage is. Once a plan is formulated, concrete is inserted in and around the original foundation, to act as a stabiliser to the surrounding soil. As this is done, the integrity of the original footing is renewed, the floors above will return to their normal levels and any cracking can be repaired.

Restumping

Restumping involves removing the timber stumps that were originally inserted beneath the house when it was first built. Modern homes today do not use timber as a base like this, but rather rely on concrete foundations. These are far more durable, although they are still vulnerable to a certain amount of shifting in the soil that surrounds them. The timber stumps, conversely, will only last a certain amount of time before they deteriorate and will need to be replaced with concrete alternatives.

Interior Work

Whether you have new or repaired concrete 'stumps' in place after the job is completed, it's likely that a certain amount of work will have to be engaged indoors. The floor levels may need to be reset and cracks that will have appeared in plaster will need to be filled. Usually this type of remedial work is not extensive and can be completed very quickly after the major work has been finished.

It's best to get professional advice to help you determine your approach and to see whether you just need some underpinning or a more complete job.

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27 January 2017