2016: A Look at an Exciting Year Ahead

2016--A-Look-at-an-Exciting-Year-AheadJanuary is a funny month. You might be feeling a wee bit sluggish from the excessive amounts of eating and drinking during the holidays. Reference miracle hangover cures for such ailments, here. You may be feeling a bit strapped for cash as the bills from aforementioned holidays begin to roll in. You might be feeling nostalgic for a successful year’s completion. We certainly are. We can’t thank your valued customers enough for a truly wonderful 2015. With your help, we were able to expand our reach and assist more and more amazing families and businesses. It’s truly through your positive word of mouth recommendations that we’ve been able to grow as much and as quickly as we have.

On the other hand, you may see January as the best fresh start possible, and an abundance of excitement and trepidation for the year ahead. There are so many possibilities—it’s a blank, clean slate. You can set your expectations as high as you’d like, there’s no one stopping you. And finally… It’s the month of a funny little thing called resolutions.

Resolutions can be our voices of reason, or the bane of our existence, depending on how you handle them. We like to always operate on the former. Here at Restumping Melbourne, we relish New Year’s resolutions. We can’t reiterate enough how much we strive for progress in this industry. We do so in a variety of ways. These include immersing ourselves in educational opportunities, like tradeshows, and pouring over related publications. We’re searching for innovations in both materials and process. We’re looking for materials which are light, but sturdy, materials that will last for generations to come so that you and your loved ones can feel comfortable in your home. We’re looking for the tools that will expedite the install process and make sure that it’s done well, there will never be holes or workarounds when you’re working with Restumping Melbourne.

So as far as we’re concerned, January is a really exciting month. We’re writing our resolutions based around the above goals and we’re confident that we’ll meet and exceed each and every one. We’re looking forward to growing in 2016—to working with larger and more complicated properties. We’re looking for challenges and we’re looking to help.

The best way to meet and exceed your resolutions? Find an accountability buddy. The accountability partner is a great go-to to track your progress with. Who best to fit this role for Restumping Melbourne? We didn’t have to look very far. We hereby designate each of our wonderful customers as our accountability buddies. It’s through both your positive and constructive feedback that we grow. Please keep us posted on what works and what doesn’t through any medium that works best for you. Phone? Email? In person? The forum doesn’t mater to us. We love talking to you about your experience, so that we can integrate those learning’s moving forward.

Looking forward to a wonderful year!

Spotlight on Outdoor Deck and Verandah Services

We give a lot of real estate on this blog to restumping and underpinning. After all, they are the bread and the butter of what this company was founded upon. But it’s not the full extent of what Restumping Melbourne can offer you and your loved ones.

When the sun is shining, do you want to hang out inside, cooped up with none of the benefits of the sunshine? While that may have sounded like a rhetorical question, I assure you that that’s not the case. If the temperatures are comfortable, then most of us tend to gravitate outside. But comfortable tends to be a bit subjective. If you have no cover or structure to your outside areas, then you’re exponentially more susceptible to sunburns and other negative effects of the sun. There is a happy middle of the road here, and that’s the perfectly designed outside deck or verandah.

Spotlight-on-Outdoor-Deck-and-Verandah-ServicesLuckily for you, we count these areas as passions of our trade and have extensive experience designing and installing custom deck and verandah solutions for properties of all sizes. This is not an off-the-shelf solution, rather we’re happy to work through your individual needs and what will work best for you. There are a couple of specific questions to begin asking yourself-

  1. How do you want to use your outdoor deck or verandah?
  2. What look or finish are you looking for, for your verandah?
  3. Do you want this area covered? Not covered? Partially covered?

These are the tip of the iceberg but they’re great inspiration questions to guide the exact aesthetic and functionality of your next deck or verandah.

As far as the first question, there are a million different activities that you can take advantage of your deck or verandah for. It’s a great place to install a pool or a hot tub, either now, or down the line. We can work with partner contractors to make visions like this come true. It’s also a great property opportunity to build flower beds or set out pots of plants and herbs to bloom. This way they get the most sunshine. However, it’s very easy to give these plants and flowers too much sunshine, so our design will take some cover into account, if this is your function preference. Finally, it’s a great place to enjoy a cool beverage and barbecue with friends. If this is your ideal usage, then we’ll make sure that you have as much space as possible to invite over as many friends as possible.

The second question may open a Pandora’s box, but we’re not necessarily apologizing. Strategizing the look and feel of your deck or verandah is an activity that we take a lot of joy in, and we’re happy to brainstorm all day long. This also ties into the second question. There are a myriad of ways to design your outdoor space, covered or not. Explore your favorite online resources to your heart’s content. We’ll bring your dream to life.

So what are you waiting for? Give us a call to discuss your outdoor deck or verandah needs.

The Best Way to Stay Cool in the Heat

Mother Nature can be one tricky lady. One minute she’s scorching us all with her fiery rays of sun, the next she’s dumping down torrents of ice, cold rain. You simply never know. You may have noticed that the past couple of posts have touched on ways to keep you and your loved ones comfortable, looking at your home from the INSIDE. So it may surprise you to find that our suggestion to stay cool in the heat…enjoy it responsibly!

The services of Restumping Melbourne are robust and extensive. They’re not just for the underpinning and reblocking services that your home requires. They’re not just for your foundation- out of sight and out of mind. They’re also for the architectural elements of your house that you want to share with everyone and show off for all to see. And that includes beautiful decks and verandah spaces where you can rest your feet and enjoy an ice-cold beverage (adult-style or other).

The-Best-Way-to-Stay-Cool-in-the-HeatSo the first step is deciding if a deck or verandah space is right for you. Devil’s advocate– it might not be. Your home may need releveling services based on the terrain of the area. You’ll need to figure out the boundaries of your property and if you’d like to keep a portion of the outdoor area for grass, a pool or garden full of flowers. However if you’re comfortable with getting these extra pieces of work done, then you’re well on your way. Based on that information, you’ll be able to determine how many squares of land you have at your disposal to build a deck or verandah space. There is a noted difference between the two. A deck is open-air. A verandah space is covered and frequently wraps around the front of the house. Both have great benefits, best of all- that you’re able to enjoy the sunshine from the privacy of your own property.

Once you’ve determined if a deck or verandah is right for you, the Restumping Melbourne team can take it the rest of the way. We’ll do a valuation onsite and let you know exactly what you can expect. If there are extra services needed based on the terrain of the property, or the slope, we’ll keep you posted on the timeline and any additional costs associated. We’ll always be totally transparent about any changes along the way, keeping you looped in as much or as little as you would like.

Once we’ve installed your deck or verandah and ensured that it meets the vision and functional criteria that you expected, then it’s time for you to truly enjoy the great outdoors. At this point we just have a few wise words to pass on—sunscreen, cold beverages, music at an appropriate temperature or a good read for an afternoon, and the best people that you can find.

Questions? As always reach out to your Restumping Melbourne team. We’re pleased and honored to help with any of your reblocking, releveling and deck or verandah needs.

The Materials Used in Restumping

1If you didn’t understand how houses are painted, would you feel comfortable entrusting the service to someone you barely knew and who didn’t explain their work at all? If you didn’t know how taxes worked, would you be okay calling up the first CPA in the phone book or listed on the internet and saying, “hey, take my money.” If you’ve answered yes to either of these questions, then we may have a larger problem on our hands.

The team at Restumping Melbourne knows our stuff inside and out. We have the decades of experience to prove it. But why should that be enough for you to choose us? It shouldn’t. You should feel comfortable asking us, “what on earth we’re doing and how,” at any point in the process.

Part of this is the materials that we use. The fact alone that restumping and reblocking are phrases used interchangeably depending on where you live, is probably confusing enough. Here’s a breakdown of the different materials used in the restumping process, all over the country.

Victoria:

  • Victoria chooses rot-resistant timber stumps. Victorian Red Gum is one of the most commonly used. There is an advantage with Victorian Red Gum– it’s 10% cheaper than concrete. However it does have the disadvantage of limited life expectancy. Many don’t care about this because they will still last upwards of 20 years and many assume that they won’t be in their homes that long. It’s still something to keep in mind, regardless.
  • In our opinion, an equally as impactful disadvantage with Victorian Red Gum timber stumps is that they won’t be nearly as well-secured to the the bearers as concrete stumps will be. This ultimately means that the home won’t be leveled as accurately.

Concrete:

  • Concrete stumps are used throughout Australia. They’re on the market in several different types. Those that cause the best connection have a 10mm diameter threaded rod at the top of the stump, which is then secured with a footing from a poured concrete pad. This threaded rod is what allows the stump to be bolted securely to the floor frame. Once you do this properly, you prevent both upward movement and downward movement. Then the concrete pad provides protection against the settlement of long term footing.
  • These concrete stumps last indefinitely– the longest shelf life by far. The only exception here is the most damp conditions because even the best concrete stumps are amenable to rust. If a stump rusts, it may expand and cause weakness.

Queensland

  • Life Victoria, Queensland has specialized stumps that they tend to use frequently when they enforce the foundation of their homes and businesses. In the past, the stumps that contractors used in the area were made from 300mm diameter ironbark or rot-resistant timber of a similar style.
  • These days, these choose CCA (Copper Chrome Arsenate) treated pine, or concrete stumps. In a lot of areas where the ground is particularly soft, a concrete footing is poured first.
  • High wind stresses are also particularly prevalent, so anchor bolts are required in each corner, around the perimeter every four meters and also under bracing walls.

We want to equip you to ask the right questions. If there is content that we don’t cover, feel free to reach out to any of our team members. We’ll be happy to help. 

 

Keep a Cool Head During Your Renovations

It’s a scientific fact, home renovations are one of the most stressful situations that you can put yourself in. They can bring out all sorts of personality facets that you didn’t even know you had- rage, frustration, anxiety, sleeplessness, sadness, pain. It’s unfortunate, and not at all okay with us, but it makes sense. You lose control of your home or business, you’re giving the power to more or less perfect strangers, and you’re bargaining with your hard earned money on a vision that may or may not become a reality.

1With Restumping Melbourne on hand, you can dispel a few of these quandaries right off the bat. We never want to be perfect strangers. We’d rather skew towards friends and valued partners by the time our work together is complete. We accomplish this through constant and comprehensive communication, and maybe a joke or two along the way. Our thought process is simple– your home renovation shouldn’t be a headache, but rather a tool and a process to create wonderful, lasting memories.

Many home or business owners put off renovations that will had exponential value to their property, solely because they’re scared of the impending stress. But if you keep a cool head and follow our tips throughout the process, you’re much less likely to take out negative emotions on those around you, and more importantly, on yourself.

Plan Ahead- Organization and planning are the arch-rivals of stress. When you’ve done your homework and checked all of your boxes, there is less margin for error. When there’s less margin for error, you can rest easy because you’re an expert on the process. Restumping Melbourne can alleviate this burden even further by helping you plan ahead. We will provide all paperwork and information you could possibly need in order to make a well-informed decision.

Let Friends and Family Know- Don’t keep your upcoming home renovation a secret. If you share the news with those closest to you, then you’re sure to get heads bobbing in sympathy and acknowledgement. Most likely they’ve been through it themselves at some point. Not only can they potentially offer advice, they’re now aware that your blood pressure may steadily rise. They’re more likely to be a sounding board to vent to or even someone to provide a couch to sleep on, should you need it.

Schedule a Reward Post-Renovation- Sure, the renovation in itself is a reward. You’ve just upgraded your home or business, potentially adding thousands of dollars in value and definitely making it either more comfortable or more aesthetically pleasing. But let’s be honest, you deserve a reward on top on that. Book yourself a massage or take the family out to dinner at a fun restaurant. Coming home will be even more magical with the renovation complete.

Follow these tips and be sure to reach out to your Restumping Melbourne team to answer any questions or concerns that you might have. With these tools, you’re sure to have a much smoother ride when it comes to your home renovation. 

Our Home Renovation Services- Part II

The easiest way to set ourselves up for success as a company and a partner in your home renovation process, is to elevate you as a major stakeholder in every decision that we make. While we certainly consider ourselves experts in our skill-set, that doesn’t mean that we’re not open to conversations and questions about our ideas for your homes and businesses. That is how great collaborations are fostered, and we are all about great collaborations.

1So let’s talk through the remainder of the process, the services that you can expect (both tangible and not so) through the duration of your renovation.

So far we’ve walked through the pre-process, which is where most of the creative conversations will take place. After all, we won’t feel comfortable having you sign on the dotted line for our services with any project, if we can’t promise you alignment with the vision that has been in your head for so long.

But if we’re on the same page, then it’s time to get the home renovation party started. You now have in-hand contract with duration and costs. If we see these numbers changing once the work has begun (whether it will take longer or cost a different amount), then we will communicate that to you immediately. You won’t be put in positions to sign away your life based off of our updates, we’ll always give you options. For example, if it’s going to take two weeks longer to give you one product, but we can give you a secondary product in one week– it’s up to you which you prefer. We will give you our opinions– sure– but you make the final decisions.

Our work should take up to ten days, dependent on customizations, size of the land and specific challenges. For 80% of instances you shouldn’t even have to leave your house. There’s a good chance, if we’re only working on the foundation of the home, that you won’t know that we’re there. During this time we will give you updates as frequently as you’d like. If you don’t want any updates, then we’ll be quiet as mice, unless we need cost/time/material approvals. If you want daily updates on exactly what is going on, then that is exactly what you will get. You will have one Team Lead from Restumping Melbourne, one consistent face to see each day and to ensure you that everything is always under control.

And when the work is done? Well then it’s time for an in-person walkthrough. We should have answers to any questions that you may come up with. We can explain the materials that we’ve used. We can explain exactly how long your restumped foundation will last and best practices to make sure that this duration is as long as it can be.

Only once we receive a seal of approval and firmly shake hands, will we settle all accounts. But the relationship doesn’t stop there. Our work with foundations traverses into a host of knowledge about the durability of walls, floors and homes in general. Feel free to reach out with questions at any time. Our friendship and commitment to you, is lifelong.

What Makes a Great Contractor?

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.

Reasons For Sub-floor Problems

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.