What Makes a Great Contractor?

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I’m sure you’ve seen both good and bad contractors in your day. Hopefully more of the former, but too often we’ve received alls to help us eradicate situations where contractors have really made a mess of of it for our customers. This always hurts us to the core. In the mind of every team member at Restumping Melbourne, there is no reason out there why work shouldn’t be tip-top, done in a timely manner and with a smile on every team member’s face. The best way to circumvent a negative experience with your future work on your home or business? Call Restumping Melbourne. If that’s not an option, or you need a little time to realize that it’s the best option, here are some tips and tricks to look for in choosing your next contractor:

Make Sure That They, Or Their Company, Have a Vision- This should be a no-brainer, but too often, contractors decide to be solely logistical, with no creative drive. Your contractor or contracting company should be an equal balance of analytical, creative and logistical. It’s the trifecta of successful work. Your contractor should not only come to the table with ideas to upgrade your home or business, but when asked- a vision for their company or future. Emotion drives creativity, and you know that they’ll have a stake in the work that they do.

Discuss Leadership And What It Means To Them- When you choose a contractor, you’re giving them full reign over your home or business. You’re putting your trust in them, to manage this huge investment (probably emotionally, and financially), and you’re hoping against hope that they’re going to treat it with care and respect. You’re not going to get the same level of care and respect from someone who isn’t ready to lead his or her team. If your contractor can successfully lead a team, then your work will be done more quickly and more efficiently. You can read leadership from the initial conversation. They’re a listener, they’re thoughtful, they’ll deliver answers on every question that you come up with. And most of all? They have a plan.

1They Want To Learn And They Want To Teach- Here at Restumping Melbourne, we will never believe that there is a crux in the industry, or a pinnacle of when we’ll reach perfection. There are too many amazing vendors in the area, nipping at the backs of our heels. What sets us apart from them? And, what should set your next contractor apart from the pack? Both the drive to learn, AND the drive to teach. Do not think about them as two separate entities. Rather they should drive eachother, the chicken and the egg. If your contractor wants to learn, he or she will tend to be on the cutting edge of new methods and materials to integrate into their work. If they want to teach, you will feel far more looped into the project and up-to-speed on exactly what is happening.

When in doubt, give us a shout. We will cut through all the spin and help you achieve the quality of work that you deserve.

Our Home Renovation Services- Part I

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We’ve been Melbourne’s number one option for re-stumping and underpinning for many years. We’ve gained our reputation and the trust of Melbourne’s community through our tireless efforts to elevate our offering of services to the next level. This may have started with underpinning and re-stumping but we quickly realized an opportunity to expand into general home renovations. After all, when you’re looking at the myriad of property styles, sizes and types that we are, you begin to see a lot of consistencies… Or sometimes, inconsistencies. When we’re leveling the foundation of your home, it gives us an up-close-and-personal view of what may have been wrong with the foundation to begin with. This quickly leads us to nit pick every other thing potentially improvable about your property.

1We’re sorry, but this perfectionism is something that we’ll never apologize for. Although we sort of just did, but it will never happen again. And why would you want it to? You’re getting multiple services for the price of one when we survey your property because it opens the door to transparent and creative conversation about perfecting your dream property. You may have had your heart set on a certain style of verandah or deck. We’ll be able to tell you exactly how feasible this vision is, and what it will take to make it a reality. Conversely, sometimes we’ll need to be the bad guys to help you adjust your vision a little bit, so that it’s safe and comfortable for everyone who gets to experience it. 

So let’s talk through the process. It’s pretty similar to when you reach out to us with your underpinning and re-stumping needs. You know the different media you can reach out to us through– email, phone, in-person– all are options, and all make us very happy. We are so honored to chat with you about your needs, and outline how we can help.

We’ll start with a basic introductory conversation outlining who we are and what we do. We’ll get to know each other so that the working relationship becomes so comfortable that all stress outlining your project magically disappears. You can share sample pictures of what you’re looking for, and we’ll show sample pictures of our work. Again, with our storied history in Melbourne, there’s a pretty good shot that we’ve already worked on a project pretty similar to what you’re looking for. There should be so many questions during this process. Bring it! We’re looking forward to serving you with the perfect answer for every question that you have. In fact, we’ll be worried if you don’t ask us enough questions…

If you feel like we’re aligned– personally and professionally, then we’ll begin to put together a plan for you. The plan will be visual, it will be extensive, and it will always include a timeline and an estimate. We won’t cause you to incur any costs until you sign on the dotted line.

And then, the fun begins… Stay tuned for Part II of everything Re-Stumping Melbourne has to offer when it comes to your home

Reasons For Sub-floor Problems

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Restumping at its most basic definition solves sub-floor problems, helping to maximize the value of your home or your business. It’s the process of updating the current stumps, helping to hold up your foundation, with concrete or steel stumps. It will be a necessity for any home or business throughout its life.

But what is a sub-floor problem?

There are many types of sub-floor problems that area common for homes and businesses. Three of the top most popular ones are sinking floors, creaking or popping and uneven floors.

1First up- sinking floors. If the floor is sinking it was probably not installed properly to begin with. The most common reason is an excess of water or moisture. The moisture will cause the joist to rot. When the joist rots, it makes the beams sag. Confirming that the floors are sinking is an exercise that you can do on your own. To determine, you’ll need to take a look at the floor from underneath, most popularly from whatever basement space you have. If a trampoline effect is occurring where the floor (ceiling) is bowing in the middle, you’re looking at one sinking floor.

Creaking and popping noises are a second sub-floor problem that you need to look out for. Both creaking and popping are noises that you hear frequently when visiting older homes or structures. You probably attribute them to ghost stories or horror movies. Well this is a different kind of horror that we’re talking about– the horror of ignoring these noises. Don’t overlook these noises, because they may mean that your sub-floor is not secured to the underlying joists. What is a joist? You may say. Here’s your restumping fun word for the day. A joist is what supports foundations, walls or beams with ceilings and floors. It runs horizontally and can be made of concrete, steel, or wood. Typically a joist has the cross section of a plank, while a beam is bigger than a joist. Joists are often supported by beams laid out in repetitive patterns.It may also mean that your plywood or OSB was the wrong thickness. The recommended width is ¾ inch.

And finally, uneven floors. Uneven floors are simply caused by a foundation or a structure that hasn’t settled correctly. This may be due to the terrain, to moisture, or to other issues that Mother Nature has sent your way. These most notably include floods or earthquakes. They’re no fun to begin with, but uneven floors frequently go unnoticed for years after a natural disaster, especially if the difference is very minimal. No matter how minimal the difference however, it’s a sign that your foundation is slowly buckling and that it’s time to do something about it.

 

Restumping Melbourne wants to ensure that the process of updating your home or business is painless and positive. By noticing these types of sub-floor issues early and often, we can ensure that your foundation is updated and truly supported so that you can get back to living your life.

Keeping in Touch with Your Restumping Team

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We take the responsibility of restumping your home or business very seriously. There are amazing restumping options in the area of Melbourne, but you’ve chosen us. And for that, we thank you. We’re only as good as our word and our final product, and both (in our humble opinion) should be air tight (pun intended).

To that point, we really rely on customer feedback. We like to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly. If you’ve had a wonderful experience with our team, or our services, please let us know. Our team works their butts off seven days a week and we love to give them pats on the backs when merited. It just powers them to work that much harder.

At the other end of the spectrum, we are huge fans of constructive criticism. If there is something that we could have done better, please, PLEASE let us know. Constructive criticism and helpful suggestions for improvement are how we strive for the next level. They’re the only way that we can improve. That’s why we continue to train and to learn, to educate ourselves about the newest advances in restumping technology and processes. We will never think that we’ve reached our peak, that we’ve reached our best We believe that the journey for improvement never ends.

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We offer restumping and underpinning, verandah and deck construction and home renovations. What do all of these have in common? They’re all improving upon something already in place. When you first built or purchased your business or home we hope that the foundation was in place, that whatever deck or verandah came with the property was built carefully and considerably. When you reach out to Restumping Melbourne, it’s because something needs to fixed or updated. This isn’t anyone’s fault. Except maybe Mother Nature. She does tend to wreak havoc on your home or business. So consider our services somewhat necessary evils and the best way to maximize the value of your property. As far as restumping, we recommend checking for signs of foundation damage every five to ten years. As far as adding potential verandahs and deck spaces, there’s no time like the present.

With Restumping Melbourne you can expect transparency, and you can depend on dependability. You can also depend on timeliness and communication for the entire  team. We believe in our product and we love our customers. We’re a lucky bunch because we come to work everyday to enjoy what we do and to make a difference in the lives of everyone around us. If we communicate so well as a team, there’s no reason why our customers don’t deserve the same courtesy. No matter through what channel, reach out to us! Use this handy page on our site to shoot us a note. Give us a call at 03 9357 2826 or 0413 060 254. You can also email us at info@restumping-melbourne.com.au.  If you don’t reach us right away, hold tight. We will respond as soon as possible and ensure that we work tirelessly until you are totally comfortable and have all your questions answered.

 

Before Getting Started

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What the heck is restumping? And why do you need to do it? Let’s walk you through the basics so you can understand exactly how we can help you.

Restumping and reblocking are the same thing. They’re both the process of replacing the timber stumps that support a house, business or school if the timber stumps are no longer effective. When the timber stumps are no longer effective, they begin to rot, rendering the foundation of your home or business less safe than we’d like it to be. At Restumping Melbourne, there’s not a spectrum of levels of rot that we’re okay with. Any rot whatsoever is not okay with us. There are many signs that you can look for that will suggest that you need to restump. These include cracked interior walls, bowed or soft floors, any cracking on exterior brickwork and doors and windows that aren’t functioning the way they used to. We’re used to working with a variety of soil compositions and conditions. They each will encourage your home to show the deterioration in a different way. However, at the end of the day, the end result is the same- a collapsed home or business.

downloadIt’s a huge business here in Australia but we want to be the most transparent with our customers about the process and any red flags to look for. We’ve heard horror stories about unexpected damage to walls, squeaking floors, crooked floors, disappearing contractors…the lot. It’s unfortunate but you will never encounter any of these pitfalls with us.

First thing we do is we select the stumps. There are several different varieties. Victorian red gum is a commonly used timber stump since it’s very rot resistant. It has the advantage of being more cost efficient than concrete, but will not last quite as long as concrete. You’re also going to find less accurate re-leveling with timber than you would with concrete. Concrete stumps will last lifetimes except in particularly wet and damp conditions. In conditions like these, the metal reinforcement in the stump might rust. When they rust, they expand- causing an increased degree of weakness.

You can choose to only partially restump your home or business, but we don’t recommend it. You’re pitting the stumps against each other, as they’ll deteriorate at different speeds. It’s a big job to swap out only one or two stumps.

Next up- we need to have an honest discussion with you, our customers, about what to expect. Remember- our quotes are free and with no attached obligation. We just want to sit down, get to know you and identify what your needs are so that we deliver. The types of questions that we want to cover include-

  • Will we follow all building regulations and obtain a council building permit? (The answer to this is always, yes!)
  • What sort of stumps will be used?
  • How will they be spaced?
  • Will we level the floors after completing the restumping?
  • An agreed upon cost, start and expected completion

Once all of these factors are agreed upon, it’s time to get to work!

Welcome!

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Welcome to Restumping Melbourne! We are so excited that you’ve visited our site and want to share with you what sets us above and beyond other restumping, reblocking and underpinning companies in Melbourne and the rest of Australia. At base level, we also offer general construction, repair, decking and renovation works. More holistically, we ensure that your home or business is a place that you’re proud of, and that it will be for years to come. Consider this blog a forum to keep you up-to-date on all things restumping, reblocking and underpinning. We want to continue the conversation about your needs and how we can best service you. Check back in regularly for seasonal deals, tips, and helpful knowledge about restumping, reblocking and underpinning.

Continue reading “Welcome!” →