Reblocking Croydon

Near its retail strip, Croydon has weatherboard and brick veneer houses from the 1940s to the 1960s. Use the quote form and the restumper calls you back. It costs nothing and there is no obligation.

What Croydon houses mean for restumping

Suburban development in Croydon began with the 1880s railway, and most of it came after WWII. Post-war homes range from modest weatherboards to large estates.

Housing near the retail strip is from the 1940s to the 1960s. It is a mix of weatherboard and brick veneer. A weatherboard house raises subfloor and stump questions. A brick veneer house raises brickwork and roof questions.

The Croydon Parks area mixes old weatherboard with new brick. Most homes there are single-storey, with a handful from the interwar years.

Reblocking or underpinning: how to tell

Reblocking replaces the stumps, or piers, under a house. It suits sloping floors, cracked stumps and doors that stick.

Underpinning strengthens the footings under walls. It is for houses where the ground itself has moved, often shown by cracks in brickwork.

Melbourne's eastern suburbs are described as highly reactive clay, Class M to Class H under AS 2870. Clay that swells and shrinks moves a house. The restumper who quotes the job inspects the house and says which one it needs.

The job step by step

The steps for restumping, or reblocking, are the same in most houses.

1. The restumper inspects the subfloor and checks the floor levels.

2. The house is jacked up and the old stumps come out.

3. New stumps go in on new footings.

4. The floors are relevelled and the house is lowered onto them.

Stump replacement alone is sometimes enough when only a few stumps have failed.

Maroondah rules before work starts

Reblocking or restumping an existing building needs a building permit from the City of Maroondah. A planning permit may also be needed, whether or not a building permit is.

Maroondah has an Asset Protection Permit for moving materials and equipment across council assets. Its page lists restumping among the works. Damage to council assets must be reinstated within the time council sets.

Trees and native vegetation on private land are protected by overlays. A planning permit is generally needed before removal, which matters in a heavily treed area.

Termites and trees under Croydon floors

Termites are described as common across Victoria's eastern corridor. The restumper checks for them while the subfloor is open.

Maroondah has hills and ridgelines with many private gardens and trees. Roots can pull moisture from clay, so tree position is part of the inspection.

Croydon: the suburbs we cover

Croydon and its pockets: Croydon, Croydon North, Croydon Hills, Croydon South

Neighboring suburbs: Ringwood, Ringwood East, Kilsyth, Mooroolbark

Questions from Croydon