A full restump, day by day
Every job varies with stump count and access, but a typical full restump of a 40-80 stump house runs to a recognisable rhythm. Day 1: set-up - access cleared, equipment under the floor, first section propped. Days 2-6: the production phase - the crew works section by section through the repeating cycle of jacking, pulling old stumps, digging and concreting new holes, and setting new stumps, typically clearing 10-20 stumps a day depending on clearance and digging conditions. Days 7-8: re-levelling - the whole house brought gradually back toward level on its new stumps, checked room by room with laser levels. This stage is deliberately slow: a house pushed quickly back to a shape it left over decades cracks its plaster in protest, so good crews take the last lifts in small stages. Day 8-9: pack-down, spoil removal, and the final inspection under the permit. The process guide explains what happens inside each of those stages.
Partial restump timelines
A partial restump - commonly 8-20 stumps in one failed zone - runs one to three days: a day of set-up and stump replacement for a small job, stretching to three where access is tight or the section needs careful re-levelling against the rest of the house. The overhead doesn't shrink with the job, though; the crew still mobilises, digs, concretes and certifies, which is why a 10-stump job costs far more than a quarter of a 40-stump one. If the contractor finds the surrounding stumps in worse shape once they're under there, a partial job can also grow - agree in writing how variations will be priced before day one, not during it.
Living through it
Most families stay, and contractors plan for it. What that actually feels like: noise - digging, jacking, hammering and grinding under your feet through work hours; people under the floor - voices and torchlight through the boards, and a crew who know which room you're standing in; brief service interruptions - plumbing that runs through the subfloor sometimes needs disconnecting for a few hours while its section is lifted, and the crew should warn you the day before; and the house changing shape around you - during the re-level, doors that always stuck swing free, gaps you'd stopped seeing close up, and fresh hairline cracks open in plaster as the frame moves back toward square. That last one unnerves people, but it's expected: budget for some patching and painting after any full re-level, and say so to your painter rather than your contractor's lawyer.
What's disruptive - and what's fine
Genuinely disruptive: work-hours noise (working from home is hard), a torn-up garden bed or path along the access side, no washing machine on the day the laundry's plumbing is disconnected, and dust. Fine, despite how it sounds: sleeping in the house every night, cooking, kids and pets (kept clear of the work zone), and leaving furniture in place - lifts are millimetres at a time and rooms aren't emptied. Power almost never goes off; water rarely, and briefly. If a quote assumes you'll vacate, ask why - compare that against other quotes, because for a standard restump it's unusual.
Moving out, and weather delays
Moving out makes sense in a small set of cases: a raise-and-restump where the house goes up the better part of a metre or more and stairs and services are rebuilt, a job where the subfloor itself is being rebuilt (bearers and joists out), or a house with no working bathroom once wet-area plumbing is disconnected for days. For everything else, staying is normal. Weather is the honest wildcard: heavy rain fills open stump holes, turns clay access to mud, and delays concrete pours and their cure time. A wet week can push a 9-day job past a fortnight, and a contractor who allows for that in the schedule is being straight with you - it shouldn't change the price unless the contract says otherwise.
Restumping a rental while tenants are in it
Is it your repair? Yes. Sinking, rotten or rust-jacked stumps are a structural fault in the building, and tenancy law in every Australian state requires the landlord (the rental provider or lessor) to keep the premises in good repair regardless of the home's age. Bouncy floors, sloping floors and gaps opening under skirtings are not wear and tear a tenant can be blamed or charged for. If a floor has become unsafe to walk on, the fault can fall into the urgent repair category, which shortens the time you have to act and in most states lets the tenant arrange the repair and bill you if you don't. Treat the first report as the start of the clock: book an inspection, keep the written trail, and tell the tenant what you have arranged.
Do the tenants have to move out? Usually not. A relevel or a partial restump is one to three days of noise and people under the floor, and tenants live through it the same way owner-occupiers do. A full restump is seven to nine working days and is still normally done with occupants in place; the exceptions are the same as for anyone - a raise, a subfloor rebuild, or a job that leaves the house without a working bathroom for days. What the restumper will need from the tenant: clear access along the side of the house and under it, cars off the driveway, anything stored under the floor removed, pets kept clear, and tolerance for short water disconnections. Furniture stays put. Put those requirements to the tenant in writing before the crew arrives, and give the contractor the tenant's contact details so day-to-day warnings about plumbing go straight to the person in the house.
Notice, rent and refusal. Entry to carry out repairs needs written notice under every state's tenancy rules; non-urgent repairs need longer notice than urgent ones, and the exact number of days differs by state, so check your state tenancy authority or ask your property manager before setting a start date. A tenant can't reasonably refuse access for a repair you are legally obliged to make once proper notice has been given, but repeated refusals are resolved through the tenancy tribunal, not by turning up with a crew. If part of the home is genuinely unusable during the works - a bathroom out for days, or a room closed off - a rent reduction for that period is the normal settlement and far cheaper than a dispute. Where the job really does need the house empty, agree a rent-free period and firm dates in writing, or time the work for a changeover between leases. Waiting until the lease ends is often suggested on forums; it only works if the floor is safe to leave that long, and a hazardous floor can't wait.
Insurance, timing and cost. Landlord insurance generally excludes gradual settlement and stump deterioration the same way home insurance does, so expect to fund the restump yourself; the insurance guide covers the narrow cases where a claim can succeed. For budgeting, a partial restump of one failed zone is a fraction of a full job, and the cost guide gives ranges by stump count and house type. The decision that drives everything - tenants stay or go, three days or a fortnight, partial or full - comes from a restumper's inspection under the floor, which is where to start.
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Common questions
Why do some quotes say two weeks when others say one?
Crew size, access and honesty about weather. A three-person crew in a tight subfloor genuinely needs longer than a five-person crew under a high-set house. A longer quoted duration isn't a red flag by itself - a vague one is. Ask each contractor to break the days down by stage and the difference usually explains itself.
Will my plumbing and power really stay connected?
Power yes, essentially always - it enters overhead or through walls, not the subfloor. Water and waste run under the floor, so expect the affected runs to be disconnected for a few hours as their section is lifted, then reconnected. Flexible connections installed during the job make future movement kinder to the pipes.
The crew finished but the house needs to 'settle'. Is that normal?
New stumps on properly concreted footings don't need a settling-in period - that phrasing sometimes covers a re-level that wasn't finished. What is normal: minor timber adjustment noises for a few weeks, and hairline plaster movement as the frame relaxes into its corrected shape. The floors themselves should be at the quoted level on the day of handover.
Is a bouncy floor in a rental normal wear and tear?
No. Wear and tear covers things like worn carpet, faded paint and loose door handles from ordinary use. A floor that bounces, slopes or has opened gaps is the structure moving underneath it, which is the landlord's repair in every state. The tenant should report it in writing; the landlord should get a restumper to inspect and confirm whether it's a few stumps or the lot. Most repairs are done with the tenant still living there.