Re-stump or Build Under

Discussion in 'Renovation & Home Improvement' started by BrisbaneInvestor, 31st Jul, 2020.

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  1. BrisbaneInvestor

    BrisbaneInvestor Member

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    Any builders on this forum that would be able to assist me with a question I have regarding a Queenslander style home.

    The home has been built on concrete stumps, 12 of which require replacing - not immediately, but in the near future. This will cost approximately $15,000 as I understand.

    The alternative option I have in my mind, given the house is legal height underneath, is to build an extra bedroom and bathroom. I was wondering whether this option may save the cost of re-stumping as the house would then be supported by the new walls?
     
    BrisbaneInvestor, 31st Jul, 2020
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  2. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    You will still need new stumps or steel beams to allow more open areas underneath if you build under.

    If you decide to restump, you should go steel beams and fewer stumps anyway to future proof the downstairs.
     
    wylie, 31st Jul, 2020
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  3. Zimplestiltskin

    Zimplestiltskin Well-Known Member

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    It won't save cost but if you ever want to build downstairs then it's a good time to do it now. Restumping and then building downstairs would be far less cost-effective.
     
    Zimplestiltskin, 1st Aug, 2020
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  4. Stoffo

    Stoffo Well-Known Member

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    Sounds like A LOT per stump !
    @wylie and others have some experience in this area
    Am siding with @Zimplestiltskin even if you can't afford to do a full reno downstairs in the short term, it would pay dividends to spend the current funds in a manner to assist with advancing the development of downstairs (steel beams spanning future proposed rooms with the supporting stumps/structure now)....

    My BIG question is if you already have concrete stumps why do they require replacement ?
    As these rarely fail ...........
     
    Stoffo, 1st Aug, 2020
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  5. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    We had two houses to lift and slide, and chose to put steel posts and steel beams under to suit the plans we had drawn up when we thought we would build under. Being an old cottage, we put timber posts at the front to keep with the look. Everything else is steel.

    The rough figures we were given were $90k to lift, slide, disconnect, reconnect services, slab. I worked on $100k to be safe.

    The plans we drew to build under according to the draftsman who did them would have been a $350k job. I think that probably is about right.

    We had two to do, before starting a townhouse build, so couldn't afford to build under x 2 - and didn't really think there was any profit in doing it anyway, because $100k of the cost (the lift, slide, disconnect, reconnection) were "invisible". Nobody was going to reimburse us for money that couldn't even be seen.

    So we used the plans we had for downstairs build-in and had steel made to suit that layout. We did put one car pad underneath so one car can be parked under securely.

    Our draftsman advised against putting a slab and plumbing in because more than likely the next owner will change things around. So we put a slab for a vehicle and gravel for the rest, battened it in and added a panel lift door.

    I toyed with closing in the lower level with weatherboard and windows but battening in was cheap and it seemed better to make a "one level" working house rather than a half-finished build-under.

    Everything is a compromise but this result gives what we had (but better layout upstairs now) with scope for building under down the track. When we sell we will hand over the plans so they can be used if the new owners like what we drew up.
     
    wylie, 1st Aug, 2020
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  6. Coxy89

    Coxy89 Well-Known Member

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    $800-$1000 is what most raisers quote per stump for replacement without a lift/shift.

    Concrete posts in Queenslanders especially those built in the 40s have low quality materials due to shortages after the war. In our place the reo in the concrete was substituted for metal strapping. Over time water got into them and they deteriorated a lot.

    The only way you will save money on the restump/build in is coordinating the steel posts with new walls downstairs and reducing the size of the steel beams under the house. Overall there isn't that much money to save like this though.
     
    Coxy89, 2nd Aug, 2020
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  7. BrisbaneInvestor

    BrisbaneInvestor Member

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    Concrete cancer unfortunately.

    Thanks everyone for the advice and recommendations. My plan is to replace with steel stumps and will discuss with the builder to place them to account for future development underneath
     
    BrisbaneInvestor, 16th Aug, 2020
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  8. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    wylie, 16th Aug, 2020
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  9. BrisbaneInvestor

    BrisbaneInvestor Member

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    Yes, thanks. I have been in touch with Raise My House. Quoted $11000 for the job which was much more competitive than a few other companies.
     
    BrisbaneInvestor, 16th Aug, 2020
    #9