How a restump is priced
Per stump, then adjusted. The builder counts the stumps on the inspection, puts a rate on each that reflects the type of stump, the depth and the ground, adds the levelling, adds the building permit and the council permit, and adds a rate for any bearer and joist work that is found once the baseboards are off. The things that move the price are listed below. The thing that moves it most on an old West Gippsland house is the timber above the stumps, because it is wet, and the thing that moves it least is the size of the house.
What moves the price
| Factor | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Number of stumps | A railway-era weatherboard on a 1.2 metre grid can have sixty stumps under a modest floor. A 1960s house on bearers at 1.8 metres has half that. The count sets the base. |
| Clearance | A house 250 mm off the ground is dug by hand lying on your side. One 600 mm up with room for a small machine is a different day. Low clearance is common on the flats. |
| Stump type | Precast concrete is the common choice. Hot-dip galvanised adjustable steel costs more per stump plus a poured pad, and can be relevelled later with a spanner. |
| Ground | Deep red soil digs easily. The wet ground on the Moe River flats does not, and holes go deeper and wider. Water in the holes in winter slows everything. |
| Bearers and joists | Rotted or termite-eaten timber replaced while the floor is up. On an old house with few vents it is often the biggest variable, and it is not known until the baseboards are off. |
| Permits | The building surveyor's fee for the building permit. Baw Baw Shire's asset protection permit, $305.40 from 1 July 2026 with no bond during the trial. Report and consent if the house is on flood-prone land. |
| Access | Can spoil and stumps go down the side on a machine, or does every barrow go through the gate by hand past the neighbour's fence. |
| Drainage and vents | Regrading under the house, vents, an agricultural drain. Cheap compared to the stumps and the reason the stumps last. |
| Full or partial | The permit, set-up and levelling are spread over the stumps done. Doing twenty of sixty now and the rest later costs more than sixty once. |
What the law adds, and when
Three thresholds under Victorian law change what the paperwork looks like, and a quote near one of them should say which side it is on.
- Any value: registration. The Building and Plumbing Commission requires a builder in the business of restumping or reblocking a home to be registered regardless of the cost of the work. The general $10,000 registration threshold does not apply to this trade.
- Over $10,000: a major domestic building contract. Consumer Affairs Victoria states the threshold for a major domestic building contract is $10,000. Above it, the contract must be in writing with the content Consumer Affairs Victoria lists.
- Over $20,000: Home Warranty insurance. From 1 July 2026 the builder must take out Home Warranty insurance through the Commission after signing a major domestic building contract where the work costs more than $20,000, replacing the earlier $16,000 domestic building insurance threshold. The builder pays the premium and you receive a notice of cover.
Seven things a quote should name
- The number of stumps, and whether it is all of them or a list.
- The stump type: precast concrete, hot-dip galvanised adjustable steel, or a mix, with pads or sole plates and ant caps.
- The depth the holes go to, or the words firm ground below the moisture line.
- Relevelling: which bearers, to what tolerance, with steel packers.
- Bearers and joists: a rate per metre of bearer and per joist for what is found, agreed before work starts.
- Permits: who lodges the building permit, who lodges the asset protection permit, and whether both fees are in the price.
- The builder's registration number, to check on the Commission's practitioner register, and the Home Warranty insurance if the job is over $20,000.
Reading two quotes against each other
If one quote is a third cheaper than another for the same house, look for what is missing rather than what is clever. Common gaps: the building permit is excluded, the stumps are timber, the bearers are excluded or priced as a vague extra, there is no mention of vents or drainage, or the number of stumps is lower because the inspection was shorter. A quote that cannot be compared on those seven lines is not a quote, it is a number.
What a sale changes
Where a building report has flagged the stumps and settlement is waiting, buyers and sellers want a figure fast. A written quote after a subfloor inspection is the figure to negotiate on, and the buying guide explains how that usually goes in Warragul and Drouin's market.
What a cost guide cannot tell you
It cannot give you a price for your house, because the number that matters most, the state of the bearers, is under the baseboards. It cannot tell you whether the dearer quote is the better one; only the seven lines above can. And it cannot tell you what the ground will do next: on reactive clay, a cheap relevel this year and another in three years is dearer than deeper stumps once.
Check the current rules before you rely on this
This page describes what moves the price of restumping in Baw Baw Shire and the contract and insurance thresholds that apply. It describes the rules in general terms as they stood in October 2026. Standards, forms, thresholds and fines change.
The authoritative sources are Consumer Affairs Victoria, preparing a major domestic building contract, Consumer Affairs Victoria domestic building consumer guide, Building and Plumbing Commission on domestic building insurance and Home Warranty cover, Building and Plumbing Commission (as the VBA) on registration being required for restumping and reblocking at any value and Baw Baw Shire Council on asset protection, nature strips and road reserves. Where anything here differs from those sources, they are right and we are not.
We are not building surveyors, engineers, planners or lawyers. For what applies to your house, ask a registered building surveyor or ring Baw Baw Shire Council on 03 5624 2411.
Accurate at the time of writing, October 2026. Always check the source before relying on it.