Low built houses. Urgent advise required.

[WebBoard]

From: Anonymous


Hi Guru's,

Has anybody had experience with houses that have been built low to the ground(not much room between floor and dirt). Ie. very difficult to get under the house to replace stumps or check out broken pipes etc... Vendor is taking offers up till this Saturday afternoon and not sure whether to make an offer. A friend of mine tells me that you'd need to rip out all the floorboards in the house just to replace stumps. This could cost me thousands of dollars I'd imagine. I would not do this job myself. Should I keep away if it has wooden stumps and needs to be restumped?

Price of house is ok and is for IP, but not sure if I have to restump all of house, plus another 5-8K to fix.

P.S Keeping anonymous to not offend those who do have low built houses.

Thanks all.

 

[GoAnna!]

Reply: 1
From: GoAnna !


Hi Anon

As some-one who has difficult-to-access stumps I feel most offended! Only joking : )

My house is solid brick down to bluestone foundations so the only way under the floor is to remove them.

My thoughts are it should be pretty obvious without going under house whether stumps need replacing or not. If some or all need replacing there is no need to remove all of the floorboards. We pulled up about 3 boards in each room.

I am unclear whether this is a timber house or brick as they are a little different in regards to stumps. Mine is brick and therefore the only stumps are those in the middle of the rooms - hence not many to replace and does not effect general structure of house just how springy floor is.

Another though it to check that there is sufficient air flow under house and that damp is not a problem.

Let us know what you eventually decide.

GoAnna !
(aka Anna before she got real)

 

[WebBoard]

Reply: 1.1
From: Anonymous


Thanks Anna,

Excuse my inexperience. House is brick and floor in kitchen seems very bouncy, if you know what I mean. Is that what you mean by saying it is fairly obvious? Generally how many stumps are there in a room? Is there one, two, three, etc for each room? Rest of house seems ok. There's also a noticeable bend in the roof outside. Roof is terecotta tiles. I don't think I'll get too far under the house. How do you tell if there is damp? Thanks. Is it expensive to replace stumps if you don't do it yourself?

 

[GoAnna!]

Reply: 1.1.1
From: GoAnna !


Hi Anon

Before i go any further i wish to make it clear that I am not a builder.

House is brick and floor in kitchen
>seems very bouncy, if you know
>what I mean. Is that what you
>mean by saying it is fairly
>obvious? Generally how many
>stumps are there in a room?
>Is there one, two, three, etc
>for each room?

It sounds as if the brick walls supply the support for the walls of the house. Yes?
If so there may only be a couple of stumps in each room of course depending upon size of room. Bouncy may mean a couple of things (that come to my mind anyway). A stump is not providing the support it should most likely because it has sunk a little. The cheap and nasty way to fix it might be to put a wedge on top or a better way is to replace stump. Not sure how old this house is but old houses used to have a pile of bricks as stumps.

Another and more expensive problem could be that the general support beams under the flooring are shot maybe becuase of being eaten away by borers etc. This of course would be more costly and more trouble to rectify.


Rest of house >seems ok.

Thats good sign.

There's also a
>noticeable bend in the roof
>outside. Roof is terecotta
>tiles. I don't think I'll get
>too far under the house.

I presume you mean that the roof section at the kitchen is out of alignment. This soundslike something a builder would need to advise you on. I would hesitate to guess over the internet!

How
>do you tell if there is damp?
>Thanks.

Damp signs in a house would be any mould near bottom of walls or general damp smell. It is more difficult to tell if they have recently repainted. Sometimes paint can disguise the problem for a while.

Is it expensive to
>replace stumps if you don't do
>it yourself?

Not too expensive. Depends on exact nature of work.

GoAnna !
(aka Anna before she got real)

 

[WebBoard]

Reply: 2
From: Des .


Greetings Anon

If you've got any doubts, it's probably
worth getting someone like Archicentre to
have a look. They should be able to give
you all the right answers, and give you an
idea of what repairs are needed and how
much they are likely to cost.

We've used them, and the report they
produce is comprehensive and excellent.
As we did, you can put in an offer and
make it subject to a satisfactory report by
Archicentre. If the report is less than
favourable, you can then walk away, or
use it to bargain a bit more.

All the best.

Regards,
Des

 

[WebBoard]

Reply: 2.1
From: Matthew 1130


There is less likely to be a damp problem if the house is built on a hill, or if there is no moss around the house.

Of course, you can still have moss with no damp problems. I'm not sure if it's possible to have a damp problem with no moss to show for it.

Matthew

 

[michaelg]

Reply: 2.1.1
From: Michael G


Hi,

Of course, if the house rolls down the hill its sure to gather no moss.

Michael