Restumping in Wollongong

What restumping in Wollongong actually involves

A raised timber floor sits on piers, and CSIRO says a pier whose ground has been eroded or saturated can lose contact with the bearer above it and may tilt or fall. That is the failure restumping answers. What CSIRO does not say is that piers fail for no reason: the ground moved, and the question for any quote is what moved it.

What to ask before piers are swapped

Fresh piers still stand on the old ground. Ask what took the earlier ones out, whether that has been put right, and how the new ones will be founded. A leak or a downpipe can be the reason, and replacing piers without fixing it changes the parts and not the cause.

The state's exempt-development code lists "restumping or repairing structure foundations without increasing the height of the structure" as an example of minor external work, but says its list is examples only, and the entry does not apply on a heritage item or in a heritage conservation area. In Wollongong the Illawarra Escarpment Landscape Area is one of the conservation areas on the local plan's heritage map. Whether a particular restumping is exempt is for the council or a certifier to say.

Restumping in Wollongong — common questions

Do I need a licence to restump?

NSW has no licence of that name. Piering work above A$5,000 sits under underpinning or piering, so ask which category the job is done under.

Does restumping need council approval?

The state code lists restumping without raising the height among examples of exempt minor work, subject to conditions, and its list is examples only. Whether one job qualifies is for the council or a certifier.

How much does restumping cost?

We show no restumping price. The costs page says why: the bands we could source were for Sydney.