Reblocking & restumping in South Kingsville,
done once, done properly.
Whole-of-house concrete stump replacement for weatherboard and timber-frame homes in South Kingsville and the surrounding Hobsons Bay council area. Computer-levelled, fully permitted, and backed by a 15-year written guarantee on every job we sign off.
Replacing every stump
that holds your house up.
Reblocking, restumping and underpinning all describe the same family of work: replacing the supports under your house. South Kingsville is a small, tightly-held pocket of period weatherboard homes, most on their original timber stumps. On a typical one, those supports are timber stumps installed when the home was first built. After 60, 80, sometimes 100 years in the ground, they rot, lean and let the floor drop.
We replace them all. Every stump, every load point, every bearer connection. New concrete stumps with steel caps, computer-levelled to engineering spec, and signed off with all the building permits. The house ends up sitting straighter than it has in decades, and it stays that way.
The ground under South Kingsville. South Kingsville sits between the clay of the inner west and the sandier ground closer to the bay. That mix means different parts of the same block can move at different rates, which is why the floors rarely drop evenly. Every house is different, which is why the inspection happens on site and not over the phone.
Getting to the job in South Kingsville. South Kingsville's period cottages sit on tighter blocks than the newer streets around them, so side access is often too narrow for a machine and the excavation is done by hand.
Old cottage at the front,
new extension at the back.
South Kingsville is a small pocket wedged between Spotswood, Newport and Yarraville, and a lot of its period weatherboards have already been extended once. The usual shape is the original cottage at the front, still on its timber stumps, with a newer kitchen and living area across the back. Sometimes that back half is on concrete stumps, sometimes it is a slab.
That junction is where most of the trouble shows up. The old front of the house keeps moving with the ground and the new back of it does not, so the crack runs along the line where the two meet: a step in the floor at the old doorway, a gap opening in the skirting, a hallway door that drags only on one side. Re-packing the front stumps does not fix it if they are failing, because the front keeps settling away from the extension.
The fix is to reblock the original part of the house and bring it back to the level of the extension, not the other way round. A slab cannot be raised to meet the old floor, so the old floor is set out to meet the slab. We measure both before quoting, so the figure reflects the levels the house actually has.
Since May 2026 we have had enquiries from nine households in Newport, which shares South Kingsville's 3015 postcode, and more from Yarraville and Williamstown close by. A pattern runs through them: a lot of these houses are not on their first set of stumps. One Newport house was reblocked in 2017, before its current owners bought it, and now has sloping floors at the front. Two were already on concrete stumps, with sloping floors or cracking walls. In Williamstown, a house restumped six years ago has a sticking front door and a floor that has dropped in places.
Movement after an earlier restump does not always mean another reblock. If the stumps under the house are sound concrete and it has only dropped, the fix can be a re-level: jacked, bearers repacked, surveyed again. If the earlier work left some of the original timber stumps in place, those are usually what keep moving, and that part of the house needs reblocking. We find out which by getting under the floor, and if a re-level will do the job we say so.
Old meets new
The crack between an original cottage and its extension is usually the stumps, not the extension.
Level to the slab
A slab cannot move up, so the original floor is reblocked to meet it.
Restumped before?
Sound concrete stumps and a dropped floor can be a re-level. Original timber left in place is what keeps moving.
How you know your stumps have had it.
If two or three of these are happening in your house, it is almost always the stumps. We will tell you straight after the inspection. No upsell.
A marble rolls across the lounge, or one room feels like it dips. That is the bearers losing their seat.
Frames go out of square as the floor moves. Doors stop closing. Windows stick when they never used to.
Stair-step cracks above doorways, hairlines along the cornice line, gaps opening up in skirting.
If you can push a screwdriver into a stump or it crumbles when you knock it, the timber has gone.
Stand at the front fence. If the eave line sags or the verandah droops at one end, the supports have moved.
If the house has never been reblocked and it was built before the 1970s, it is on borrowed time.
Five clear steps. Two weeks on most houses.
Every job runs the same way. You know what is happening, when, and what we will need from you. No mystery, no creep.
Free on-site inspection
We come out, get under the house, and assess every stump. Honest, on the spot, no obligation.
Fixed-price written quote
A clear scope, a fixed price, and a timeframe. No surprises mid-job. No verbal agreements.
Permits and engineering
We pull all building permits, organise engineering sign-off, and handle council where needed.
Reblock the house
Hydraulic jacks, every stump replaced, computer-levelled across the whole footprint. You can stay in the house.
Sign-off and 15-year guarantee
Final inspection, paperwork, written 15-year guarantee in your hand. We are still here in 15 years.
We do not use timber. Ever.
Timber stumps are how you got here. Concrete stumps with steel caps will outlast the house. There is no good reason to put back what failed.
Real jobs, real homes.
Photographed under the house and from the street. This is the work, with nothing tidied up for the camera.
The questions we get every week.
Do you service South Kingsville?
Yes. South Kingsville is squarely in our patch. Maribyrnong & Hobsons Bay Reblocking is family-owned and based in Melbourne's inner-west, and we reblock and restump homes across South Kingsville most weeks. Free on-site inspection, fixed written quote, and the same 15-year guarantee as every job.
Do I need a permit to reblock in South Kingsville?
Yes. Reblocking is structural work, so it needs a building permit before we start. In Victoria that permit is issued by a registered building surveyor rather than over the counter at Hobsons Bay City Council, and we arrange it as part of the job - it is in the quoted price, not billed on top.
Can we stay in the house during the reblock?
Yes, on most jobs. We do the work in stages so the house stays livable. You will hear us, and there are short windows where the floor moves a few millimetres at a time, but you do not need to move out.
How long does a full reblock take?
Most single-storey weatherboards take one to two weeks on site, plus a few weeks lead time for permits before we start. Larger homes and tight access add days, not months.
Will reblocking fix my cracks and sticking doors?
In most cases, yes. Once the house comes back to level the doors free up and most hairline cracks close. Larger plaster cracks may need a quick patch afterwards. We will tell you what to expect on inspection.
Do I need a permit for reblocking?
Yes. A reblock is structural work and requires a building permit. We organise it. You do not need to call council or chase a private surveyor.
What does reblocking actually cost?
It depends on the number of stumps, the height under the house, and the access. We quote a fixed price after the inspection, in writing. No hourly rates, no scope creep mid-job.
Is the 15-year guarantee in writing?
Yes, every job. You get the document with the final paperwork. We have been here for 35 years and we will be here in 15.
Reblocking across the inner-west and the Ranges.
We are inner-west locals who know the housing stock street by street, and we take the same crew and the same guarantee up into the Macedon Ranges. Find your suburb for reblocking and restumping right where you are.
Other work we do under the house.
Underpinning
Strengthening footings on brick, slab and double-storey homes that are subsiding.
Learn more →Levelling, Lifting & Raising
Computer-levelled lifting and raising for floors that have dropped, sloped or settled unevenly.
Learn more →Timber to Concrete Conversion
Replace tired weatherboard-era timber stumps with modern concrete stumps for life.
Learn more →
Think your house needs reblocking?
Let us tell you for free.
We will come out, crawl under the house, and give you the truth. If you do not need it, we will tell you. If you do, you will know exactly what is involved and what it costs before you decide anything.