House Levelling & Floor Re-levelling in Melbourne's North

When re-levelling makes sense

Re-levelling, also called re-packing, suits houses where the stumps are in good structural shape but the floor has moved off them. That happens more often than people expect. Common situations include:

• Concrete or steel stumps installed years ago where the ground has since moved and left some stumps carrying less load than others.
• Packers that have crushed, rotted or slipped out between the stump top and the bearer.
• Seasonal heave on reactive clay that has pushed some stumps up and left others behind.
• A previous restump that was never properly levelled at the end.

In each case the support is still there; it just is not touching the bearer at the right height. Re-levelling closes those gaps.

If inspection shows the stumps themselves have failed — timber rotted at ground level, concrete cracked through, steel rusted at the base — re-packing will only hold for a short time. In that case we recommend replacing those stumps instead.

How the work is done

First we map the floor with a laser or water level, room by room, so we can see exactly where it is high and where it is low. A typical northern suburbs weatherboard might be 30 or 40 millimetres out from one end of the hall to the other, with the biggest dip under the middle rooms.

Then, working from underneath:

• Jacks go under the bearers at the low points and the floor is raised in small, even steps.
• Old packers are removed where they have split, rotted or been stacked too high.
• New packers are fitted using durable materials that suit the stump type: hardwood or treated timber for concrete stumps, steel adjustment for adjustable steel stumps.
• Bearers are fixed back to the stumps with the correct ties.
• Readings are retaken and the floor is brought within tolerance.

The aim is a floor that is level enough to live on comfortably and stable enough to stay there. On an old house, perfectly flat is rarely achievable without stressing walls and ceilings that have spent decades in a slightly different shape. We agree a sensible target with you before we start.

Why the north is hard on floors

The basalt clay through Coburg, Pascoe Vale, Reservoir, Fawkner and further north is highly reactive. A wet winter can lift a stump and a dry February can drop it again. Over a few years, stumps that were set level end up at different heights. Houses close to large street trees, or on blocks where stormwater pools down one side, tend to move the most.

Around the Darebin and Merri Creek corridors and the valley slopes of Ivanhoe and Heidelberg, sloping sites add another factor. A floor may be level across the width of a house but fall away toward the downhill boundary, where the soil holds moisture longer.

Brick veneer and mixed houses

Brick veneer houses with a timber floor inside on stumps can be re-levelled too, but there is a limit. The internal floor can be lifted only as far as the brick outer walls allow, because the walls are carried on their own footing. If the walls have dropped as well, we may recommend underpinning before the floor is re-levelled so the two finish at the same height.

What you notice afterwards

When a floor is brought back toward level, internal doors that had been trimmed often end up with a small gap at the bottom; that is normal. Some old cracks may open slightly as plaster moves back into position. Give the house a few weeks, then patch and repaint. Windows that had been jammed usually start working again.

Re-levelling as maintenance

On reactive clay, floors move over time even on good stumps. Many owners in the north find a check and re-pack every so many years keeps the house comfortable without bigger work. Adjustable steel stumps make this easier, because a few turns of the threaded head do the job packers would otherwise do.

Book an inspection

We will go underneath, take readings, check the stumps and tell you straight whether a re-pack is enough or new stumps are the answer. Book a free inspection to find out.