Reblocking
Reblocking is the Victorian term for restumping: replacing the stumps a house sits on once they rot, sink or crack.
Restumping in Herne Hill
Restumping Geelong restumps the postwar weatherboard homes that make up most of Herne Hill. We replace sunken and rotted stumps, relevel the floor frame and sort out subfloor drainage while we're under there. Request a quote and we'll arrange an inspection and a written price for your place.
Herne Hill grew up fast after the Second World War. The suburb's schools all opened in the mid-1950s to serve the young families moving in, and most of the housing dates from that boom: timber-framed weatherboards on stumps, with some earlier homes on the streets closest to Geelong West. That puts the original stumps at 70 to 80 years old, which is the age bracket where they fail.
The suburb is small and close to our other regular work, so inspections don't take long to arrange. If your floors have a slope you can feel walking down the hall, or the back door needs a lift and a shove to close, request a quote and we'll take a look under the house.
Local knowledge
Restumping older homes in Herne Hill
Housing here is consistent by Geelong standards: hipped-roof weatherboards from the late 1940s and 1950s, with brick veneer infill from later decades scattered through. The consistency cuts both ways. When one 1950s home in a street needs restumping, its neighbours built the same year by the same builders are usually not far behind.
The ground is Geelong's usual reactive clay, and Herne Hill's gentle rises mean stormwater runs across some blocks rather than away from them. Wet ground under one end of a house rots stumps faster at that end, which is why so many local jobs turn out to be a badly failed low side and a passable high side. We quote partial restumps where that's genuinely the case.
What to look for
Common problems we see in Herne Hill
- Late-1940s and 1950s timber stumps reaching the end of their life together
- Faster rot on the wet, low end of the block
- Floors sloping toward one corner of the house
- Cracks in plaster and sheet joints that keep reopening
- Loose piers under later additions and sleepouts
What we do
Services for Herne Hill homes
Timber Stump Replacement
Timber stumps rot from the ground line down, where soil moisture sits against the wood, and termites finish what damp starts.
House Levelling
House levelling, also called relevelling, brings sloping floors back to level by jacking the house and packing or adjusting the existing stumps.
Restumping Cost Guide
A full restump of an average Geelong home usually costs $4,000 to $20,000.
Get a free restumping quote in Herne Hill
Tell us about your place and we will get back to you with an honest assessment and a fixed price.
Herne Hill restumping questions
Our Herne Hill house is 1950s. Is partial restumping realistic or a false economy?
It's a genuine option here more often than in the older suburbs, because postwar stumps fail unevenly with ground moisture rather than all at once. As a rule of thumb, once more than about a third of the stumps are gone, a full restump usually wins on cost per year of life. We price both when it's close so you can decide.
Can you fix subfloor drainage while restumping?
Yes, and in Herne Hill it's often the difference between the new stumps lasting and history repeating. While the subfloor is open we can regrade soil, extend downpipe outlets and add vents. That work is cheap mid-job and expensive later.