Inspection and quote
A real quote starts under the house, not on the phone. The contractor crawls the subfloor, counts and probes the stumps, checks bearer condition, and measures floor levels through the rooms above. Two things drive the price they land on: the stump count (a typical house has 40–80; at $500–$700 each supplied and installed, that's most of the bill) and access — generous crawl space is fast, while a house sitting low to the ground means hand-digging in tight clearance and costs more. A written quote should specify the number of stumps, the material going in (concrete, steel or timber), the levelling standard, and who handles the permit. Choosing a contractor covers the questions worth asking before you sign anything.
Permits and engineering
In most states restumping is building work that needs a permit and, depending on the job, engineering input — computations for the stump sizing, or a design where the house is being raised. Budget roughly $800–$2,000 for permit and certification costs, usually arranged by the contractor and itemised in the quote. This stage is paperwork time, not site time: allow one to several weeks between signing and the crew arriving, longer if an engineer's design is needed. Requirements differ by state — the regulations guide covers who must be licensed and what gets inspected where you live. Don't let anyone talk you out of the permit; it's what makes the job insurable and provable when you sell.
Site prep and the jacking sequence
On day one the crew clears access, protects paths, and gets equipment under the floor: hydraulic jacks, steel needles or temporary props, and the new stumps staged around the perimeter. Then the core rhythm begins, and it's the same for the whole job — support, lift, swap, set. The house is taken one section at a time, never all at once. Jacks take the load beside a group of old stumps; the house is lifted in small, controlled increments — millimetres, not centimetres, per lift; the old stumps come out; new holes are dug to engineered depth (or old ones cleaned out and deepened); the new stumps go in and are concreted; and once the concrete has taken, the load comes back down onto them. Then the crew moves to the next section and repeats. A full restump runs this cycle over roughly seven to nine days; a partial job one to three.
Re-levelling and certification
With every stump replaced, the house is brought back toward level — the pass where laser levels come out and the floors you've lived with for years get corrected. Good crews lift gradually, sometimes over more than one visit, because a house pushed quickly back to a shape it left slowly will crack its plaster in protest. The finish standard should match the quote: "practical level" (within a few millimetres) is the norm. Finally the work is inspected and certified under the permit, and you should walk away holding the permit documents, the certificate of final inspection, any engineering computations, and the warranty. Keep all of it — it's part of what you paid for, and buyers' inspectors will ask for it one day.
What the site looks like
Expect honest mess, contained. Spoil heaps from the stump holes, stacks of old stumps coming out and new ones going in, trenches of access dug along the perimeter, and crew working lying down under your floor. Inside, doors may bind and gaps may open mid-job while the house sits between old level and new — normal, and temporary. What you should not see: the whole house on jacks at once, old stumps snapped off and left in the ground under the new work, or concrete poured into holes half-full of water.
Ask to see a levelling record at the end — the before-and-after floor measurements. Contractors who work to a standard keep one; it's your evidence the re-level actually happened.
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Common questions
Do I need to move out during restumping?
Usually no. The house stays connected to power and water for almost all of the job, and lifts are millimetres at a time. Expect noise, some plaster cracking and a day or two of interruptions — living through it covers the reality in detail.
What happens to the old stumps?
They come out entirely — pulled or dug — and leave site as spoil. A stump snapped off at ground level with a new one placed beside it is a shortcut worth catching: the rotting remnant keeps feeding moisture and termite risk into the subfloor.
Is my furniture safe inside during jacking?
Yes, with normal precautions. Lifts are small and gradual, but take fragile items off high shelves, secure anything top-heavy, and expect cupboard doors to swing as sections move. Crews will tell you which rooms are being worked under on which days.
Can bearers and joists be replaced at the same time?
Yes, and it's the cheapest time to do it — the floor is already supported on jacks and the trades are already under there. A good inspection flags rotten bearers before quoting so the variation doesn't ambush you mid-job.