Melbourne, VIC
Underpinning Melbourne
Underpinning is the work Victoria's repair and alteration exemptions leave out: the Building Regulations 2018 exempt repairs and alterations from a building permit only where they do not include "underpinning or replacement of footings". House Underpinning Melbourne refers enquiries about underpinning, restumping and reblocking, house levelling, subfloor repair, screw piles and resin injection to an independent local provider, who inspects and quotes. This site does no building work and does not set the price.
Thanks — we have your enquiry. Someone will be in touch shortly. Prefer to talk now? Call (03) 9122 8610.
- Enquiries are referred on to an independent provider covering your part of Melbourne.
- This site does no underpinning itself, and the provider, not this site, sets the price after inspecting.
- A notice at the start of every call says it may be recorded.
Six services
Underpinning services in Melbourne
Before you call anyone
Four facts that change what you ask
- Foundations data before you sign Where work under a major domestic building contract will alter your footings or may adversely affect them, the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 requires the builder to obtain foundations data first, and bars a later charge for a cost that data would reasonably have shown.
- The contract carries a registration number A major domestic building contract must state the registration number of the builder who enters into it, and a person may not enter into one unless their registration authorises the work. Ask for the number before you compare quotes.
- Water is the first suspect An August 2015 information sheet from the Victorian Building Authority says the greatest cause of building damage by far is an excessive change of moisture in the foundation soil around the perimeter of a house. Ask what has been done about the water.
- Cause before repair CSIRO says remediation of footings and foundations is generally the realm of a specialist consultant, and a 1984 CSIRO bulletin on damage to buildings on clay soils says effective repair cannot be achieved without a proper investigation to uncover the cause.
Three steps
From enquiry to quote
- Say what you can see Your suburb, the signs you have noticed (a crack, a bouncy or domed floor, a pier that has tilted) and when you first saw them.
- It is referred on This site refers your enquiry to an independent local provider. The provider pays for the introduction, never you.
- The provider inspects and quotes The provider looks at the house, decides what has moved and why, and quotes for the work.
Underpinning across Melbourne
Melbourne has no single rule for work beside a footing, because each council sets its own. Hume City Council, which covers Craigieburn, says restumping or completing underpinning work requires a building permit. Casey, for Clyde North, and Yarra Ranges, for Upwey, list restumping and underpinning among the works that need no asset protection permit. Wyndham City, for Point Cook, asks to be told about damage already on its roads and footpaths and says it charges no fee or bond. At Reservoir, Darebin's heritage schedule names precincts, and under a Heritage Overlay work that needs no building permit may still need a planning permit. Underneath the council rules, CSIRO's footing guide names the same handful of causes wherever the house stands: clay that swells and shrinks with moisture, tree roots that dry the soil nearby, erosion, and saturation from a leak or an overwatered garden bed.
Where enquiries come from
Suburbs we cover
Enquiries reach this site from across Melbourne. Suburbs with a page of their own are linked below, each read against what its council and the state's public records say about work beside a footing.
- Melbourne
- Craigieburn
- Point Cook
- Reservoir
- Clyde North
- Seaford
- Altona
- Upwey
- Pakenham
- Werribee
- Berwick
- Tarneit
- Sunbury
- Glen Waverley
- Frankston
- Rowville
- Croydon
- St Albans
- Ferntree Gully
- Mill Park
- Epping
- Mount Waverley
- Narre Warren
- Keysborough
- Mornington
- Mooroolbark
- Preston
- Bentleigh East
- Noble Park
- Langwarrin
- Doncaster East
Suburbs without a page, Frankston and Glen Waverley among them, are covered on the same terms.
- Craigieburn
- Point Cook
- Reservoir
- Clyde North
- Seaford
- Altona
- Upwey
- Pakenham
- Werribee
- Berwick
- Tarneit
- Sunbury
- Glen Waverley
- Frankston
- Rowville
- Croydon
- St Albans
- Ferntree Gully
- Mill Park
- Epping
- Mount Waverley
- Narre Warren
- Keysborough
- Mornington
- Mooroolbark
- Preston
- Bentleigh East
- Noble Park
- Langwarrin
- Doncaster East
Get a quote today
Call or send the form with your suburb, what you can see and when you first noticed it. It is referred on to an independent local provider, who contacts you to inspect and quote. The price is the provider's to set, not this site's.
Call (03) 9122 8610Last reviewed · Updated · First published