Restumping West Footscray
Restumping West Footscray means working under low weatherboard floors on basalt clay, and we arrange it through a licensed restumper.
Many West Footscray houses are older weatherboards on timber stumps. Sloping floors and jammed doors are the usual signs. Use the quote form or ask for a call back.
West Footscray houses and their stumps
West Footscray was first called Upper Footscray, and land sales began in the 1850s. Many older weatherboards in the Footscray area were built on timber stumps.
The council's heritage study describes an 1888 Late Victorian streetscape of undecorated weatherboard walls and L-shaped plans. It also shows a weatherboard Austerity house built around 1947 in Roberts St.
Sloping floors and jammed doors point to the original stumps. Some call this restumping and some call it reblocking. Some say stumps and some say piers.
Basalt clay under West Footscray floors
West Footscray's soil is rich in basalt and basaltic clay. The suburb sits at the eastern edge of the Victorian Volcanic Plain grasslands.
A foundation-repair contractor says inner-west suburbs mostly sit on shallow foundations over reactive clay. It says reactive clay shrinks in dry summers.
Heritage overlays and permits in Maribyrnong
West Footscray is in the City of Maribyrnong, about 7 km west of the Melbourne CBD.
In a Heritage Overlay, a planning permit is needed to demolish a building or carry out works. Routine repairs and maintenance are among the listed exemptions. A restumper can tell you if your street is covered.
Amendment C172 was prepared to put more Inter-war and Post-war housing in West Footscray under heritage overlays. It is worth checking whether your house is covered.
What to check before you call about a West Footscray floor
Where the floor slopes, how the doors close and whether cracks have opened are the first things to note.
Houses with a renovation or remodel, or an extension or addition, may have stumps of mixed age. Tell the restumper about any work done.
West Footscray: the suburbs we cover
West Footscray: West Footscray
We also cover Seddon nearby.
Questions from West Footscray
Why do West Footscray floors slope?
Old timber stumps and reactive clay are the usual causes. Reactive clay shrinks in dry summers. Many local houses are weatherboards built on timber stumps.
Do older West Footscray houses need a permit for restumping?
It depends on the property and the work. In a Heritage Overlay, works need a planning permit unless an exemption such as routine repairs applies. The restumper who quotes can tell you if your street is covered.
Are the houses here mostly weatherboard?
Many older ones are. The council's heritage study shows Late Victorian weatherboards from 1888 and a weatherboard house from about 1947 in Roberts St. Those low floors suit a licensed restumper.
How do I get a quote for West Footscray?
Use the quote form or ask for a call back. The restumper calls you back. A quote costs nothing and carries no obligation.
Restumping in the inner west
Get a quote and the restumper will phone you back
A registered building practitioner who works the inner west writes your quote.
Stumps, relevelling and making good, each on its own line.
Say when, and the restumper phones you then.
There's no charge and no obligation.
Our restumping services in Yarraville
Pick the job closest to what your cottage needs.