Should You Restump Your Home Before Renovating? Why Order of Work Matters

Apr 23, 2026

If you’re planning home renovations, particularly if it is an older Melbourne property, the excitement of a new kitchen or an extension to your home might make you overlook what is happening beneath. Before a tradie sets foot inside your home, you need to check and see if your stumps are up for the job.

Melbourne’s older homes were typically built on wooden stumps that have a lifespan of around 30 years. Before you begin any renovations, you need to check how old your home is, and get your stumps looked at. You don’t want the weight of your new home renovations weighing heavily on your stumps.

Restumping your home is one of those foundation tasks that needs to happen before anything else in your home renovation. Get it right at the start, and everything else sits on a solid base.

In this article, the team at Vic Metro Underpinning and Restumping is going to let you know why foundation repair should be the first order of business when renovating your home, and what can happen if you don’t start off on the right foot.

What Are The Signs That Your Stumps Need Replacing?

You might feel your home needs a renovation because it ‘feels tired’. This feeling often comes about because your house is leaning, or there are cracks in your walls. These signs could actually be pointing to an issue with the stumps of your home or foundation issues that need to be addressed before you start anything on the inside.

Here is a list of signs that your stumps need replacing:

• Sagging floors. If floors feel spongy when you walk on them, or have a distinct slope on them, this can be a foundation failure. Try placing a ball on the floor and see if it rolls in any particular direction.
• Jamming windows or doors. If a door or window sticks when you’re trying to open or close, this implies the frame has shifted due to sinking stumps.
• Cracks in the walls. Visible cracks in the plaster or drywall, and those stepped cracks following the brick line indicate structural movement of your home.
• Visible stump damage. If you check under your house and literally see damage to your stumps, from termite or water damage or rusted steel supports, this implies you need your stumps replaced..

What Happens if You Renovate Before Replacing Your Stumps?

If you begin renovations before replacing old or damaged stumps it can lead to further damage to your new renovations as the foundations beneath your home continue to shift or sag. You will need to spend money repairing your renovations, and then fix your stumps so it doesn’t continue to degrade. Restumping first guarantees the structural stability of your home and will keep your renovations looking good and feeling solid for years.

If you renovate before checking and restumping your home you could be adding weight to your home on already compromised stumps. New appliances in the kitchen, new flooring, an extension to the house, all this adds weight to stumps that were not designed to hold extra weight.

If you complete your renovations and there is damage to the work, and it is discovered the damage was caused by faulty stumps shifting your home, your home insurance claim can be rejected. You could also lose any claims against the people who installed your new kitchen, because it wouldn’t be their fault that damage occurred.

Always prioritise structural work over cosmetic work.

Why Stumps Should be First on Your Renovation List.

Following on from that this is why you should restump your home before you do any cosmetic renovations inside your home.

Addressing your stumps first can save you money. Restumping a home means you need to lift a home, replace the stumps and then bring it back down. If you have new tiles in your bathroom, this process could crack them. This can be expensive to replace.

Restumping your home brings it back to true level, not slanted. Trying to renovate where doors and windows stick is troublesome. You have to make adjustments so the doors fit, and if your home continues to sag, they’ll stick again. But if you provide a firm, level base, you won’t have that problem.

Replacing old wooden stumps with modern options like galvanised steel, is in theme with renovating and updating your home. It gives you immunity to termites and will be something that lasts for many years, just like your new bathroom.

At Vic Metro, we offer restumping in Melbourne, Mildura, Shepparton, Warrnambool, and various other locations across Victoria. Reach out to us now to learn more!

Do All Your Stumps Need to be Replaced?

Generally no, not all of your stumps need to be replaced. Stumps are replaced based on their deterioration, with most homes only needing a partial restumping to help support rotten floors or earth sagging in just part of your home.

Get a professional to check your stumps and only replace the ones that need it. A good rule of thumb is if more than 2/3rds of your stumps need replacing, then you should consider a full restumping.

Alternatively, if you are going to upgrade from wooden stumps to new steel or concrete stumps, then you could consider a full re-stumping project.

Timber vs Concrete vs Steel Stumps – What’s the Difference?

Timber, concrete and steel stumps differ in durability, price and longevity.

Timber Stumps

They have a lower initial cost to install and are perfectly fine for wet areas if they are properly treated. However they can be vulnerable to rot, termite attack and moisture. They have a lifespan of up to 40 years.

Concrete Stumps

Concrete stumps are durable and high strength, they are rot-proof and have low maintenance. They can be expensive to install and can be prone to cracking if the house settles further. They have a lifespan of 30 years or more.

Steel Stumps

Steel is the most durable of the three kinds of stumps. They are fire resistant and easy to install, and some installs can be adjustable which is good for sloping project sites. Steel stumps do have the highest upfront cost to install, however steel stumps can last over 50 years so they do make a good investment.

Renovating your home is exciting, but as in all good projects, if you don’t have solid foundations then it can all come tumbling down. Good stumps make good foundations and when they’re in good shape so too will the rest of your home.

The message here is simple- address issues with your foundations before you start any renovations. This will save you time and money in the long run, as you won’t need to repair your renovations when your home starts to slip.

At Vic Metro Underpinning & Restumping, we’ve helped homeowners across Melbourne get their foundations right before the real work begins. With 40 years of combined industry experience, qualified engineers on every project and a free structural assessment to get you started, we make the process straightforward from the very first call. If you’re planning a renovation and want to make sure your home is ready for it, get in touch with our team today on 03 9102 1452 and we’ll make sure everything that follows is built on solid ground.