Concrete stump
A concrete stump is the post carrying a raised subfloor's bearers down to a pad footing, common in older VIC/QLD homes; replacing failed stumps is restumping.
Ask Chalkline about this →A concrete stump is a concrete (or sometimes timber or steel) post that carries the bearers of a raised subfloor down to a pad footing. Concrete stumps are common in older Victorian and Queensland housing and in new sloping-site builds. Replacing failed stumps is called restumping.
In a raised (suspended) timber floor, the floor framing, joists on bearers, is held above the ground on stumps that sit on pad footings. Traditionally these were timber; today they are usually pre-cast steel-reinforced concrete or galvanised steel, because timber stumps rot and are attacked by termites. The stump height sets the subfloor clearance, which matters for ventilation and access.
Stumps fail a few ways: timber by rot or termite, any stump by movement on an inadequate footing or reactive soil, and concrete by “concrete cancer” where the reinforcement corrodes and spalls the concrete. The remedy is restumping: jacking the floor and replacing the stumps, often upgrading timber to concrete or steel.
For a builder the practical points are to check stump condition, footing adequacy, and subfloor clearance on any stumped floor, and to use concrete or steel stumps on pad footings sized for the soil. On reactive clay, stump movement is a frequent cause of uneven floors, so design the footings for the site class rather than reusing a one-size pad. Keep the subfloor ventilated and the clearance adequate so timber bearers stay dry and out of reach of ground moisture.
Also known as: Stump, subfloor stump.
Category: Subfloor / Footings.
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References
- Pad footings (Chalkline) (verified 2026-06-01)
Last updated: 2026-06-01. Verified: 2026-06-01. Quarterly review for currency.