House raising across Brisbane
House Raising Brisbane
Add a Level, Gain Height or Lift Above a Flood Level
Brisbane raises houses for three reasons: to get a full-height level underneath, to lift the living floor above a flood level, or to deal with stumps and ground that have moved. Ace Restumping has done that work across the city for more than 30 years from our yard at Eagle Farm, with our own house-raising, restumping and structural-steel teams and QBCC Licence No. 1022115 behind every job. This page explains how a Brisbane raise is planned, approved and built, and points you to the suburb pages listed under "Areas we serve".
Raising a timber home is the one job that changes what the house can do. Lift it to full height and the space underneath becomes bedrooms, a garage or living areas; lift it above the flood level in your FloodWise report and the living floor is clear of the water; and because the whole footing system is exposed while the house is up, the stumps get replaced at the same time. Ace Restumping lifts, restumps and re-levels Brisbane houses from our Eagle Farm yard, and can organise the drawings, soil testing and certification the job needs before the jacks go in.
Why Brisbane Homeowners Choose Ace Restumping
A house raise is a structural job with a lot of moving parts: engineering, approvals, the lift itself, new footings and steel, then the re-level and the reconnection of services. We keep all of it in one company. Ace Restumping employs a house-raising team, a house-restumping team and a structural-steel-beam team, and the steel comes from Ace Posts and Beams, our own fabrication business at the same Eagle Farm address.
We are a family-owned local company with more than 30 years' experience in house raising, sliding and restumping in the Brisbane area, fully accredited under QBCC Licence No. 1022115 and carrying full insurance cover, including public liability, contract works, workers' compensation and personal accident.
Quotes are free. Because the price of a raise depends on the structure, the height and the new footings, we give an approximate figure until a set of structural plans exists and a written quote once it does. We can organise the architectural and engineering plans, soil testing and certification, and we have long-standing relationships with architects, designers and town planners who prepare the paperwork a raise needs.
- Family-owned and Brisbane-based, with more than 30 years in raising, sliding and restumping.
- Our own crews: house-raising, house-restumping and structural-steel-beam teams employed by Ace.
- Fully accredited and insured: QBCC Licence No. 1022115; public liability, contract works, workers' compensation and personal accident cover.
- Plans, soil tests and certification organised through the architects, designers, engineers and town planners we work with.
- Excavation under the house by our earthmoving specialists, so the new level gets the floor-to-ceiling clearance your plans call for.
- Steel from our own yard: posts and beams from Ace Posts and Beams, made to measure and super galvanised, hot-dipped or prime painted.
- Raise and restump as one project, which usually takes about two weeks.
House Raising
Lifting a timber home in stages on hydraulic jacks and temporary cribbing, then building new supports beneath it.
For a full-height level underneath, for floor height above a flood level, or both. We manage the approvals, the lift, the steel and the re-level as one job from Eagle Farm.
Book your free assessmentHouse Restumping
Replacing degraded timber, concrete or steel stumps with new supports on new footings, then re-levelling the floor.
Done while the house is up for a raise, or as a standalone job. On average we restump about 150 Brisbane houses a year, and general re-stumping is quoted in writing from the inspection without structural plans.
House re-stumping in BrisbaneHouse Reblocking
Re-levelling and re-supporting a home where individual footings have moved, without a full raise.
The practical option when one corner has dropped and the rest of the house is sound, and the check that tells you whether a full restump or a raise is the better spend.
House reblocking in BrisbaneHouse Lifting
The engineered lift itself: hydraulic jacks and temporary cribbing carrying the structure up in stages with the services disconnected.
The physical lift usually takes a few days; the plans, approvals and site preparation sit in front of it, and the new stumps, steel and re-level follow.
House lifting in BrisbaneHouse Sliding
Lifting a home and sliding it so that it sits in the correct position on its block.
Useful when you're dividing a block and moving the existing house to one side, or when the house is in the wrong place for the plans you have. Quoted like a raise: an approximate price first, a written quote once structural plans exist.
House sliding in BrisbaneSteel Posts and Beams
Structural steel posts, beams, plates and bracing fabricated at Ace Posts and Beams, our sister business at the same Eagle Farm address.
Rolled hollow section columns, universal beams and parallel flange channels, made to measure from the engineer's drawings, super galvanised, hot-dipped or prime painted, and pre-drilled.
Steel posts and beams in BrisbaneWhy House Raising Matters in Brisbane
Space is the usual reason. Brisbane's Queenslanders and post-war timber homes stand on stumps, and the space underneath is often too low to use. Raising the house to full height opens up that ground floor for living areas, bedrooms or car parking, and many owners would rather keep the character of the home they have and raise and renovate than demolish and build from scratch.
Character rules shape how it's done. Council classes character properties as primarily buildings built before the end of 1946, with special considerations for those built before 1911, and a large share of the homes that get raised fall into that group. Building approval is required before any raise; in Brisbane a private building certifier issues it and Council acts as a referral agency. Planning approval and any heritage or character approval are separate questions that depend on your zone and overlays, which is why we confirm your property's status before you spend money on design.
Flood is the other reason. On flood-affected land, Council's free FloodWise Property Report gives the flood levels for the address and the minimum habitable floor level for a dwelling house, which is the 1 per cent annual-chance flood level of the highest flood type plus 0.5 metres. That figure sets the lift. Raising does not make a property flood-proof and we don't give insurance advice, but it puts the living floor where City Plan requires it.
Underneath all of it is the ground. Brisbane's reactive clay swells in the wet and shrinks in the dry, and timber stumps rot at the base, so a house lifted onto its old stumps is a level problem postponed. The raise is the one time the whole footing system is exposed, and we replace the stumps with steel or concrete on new footings as part of the same job.
House Raising Across Brisbane
House Raising in Neighbouring Suburbs
Every suburb below has its own page. Choose yours for the local detail, or book straight from this page.
What is house raising, and why do Brisbane owners do it?
House raising lifts an existing house off its stumps, on hydraulic jacks and temporary cribbing, to a new height, then builds new supports beneath it. Owners do it to unlock the ground floor for bedrooms, car parking or living areas without extending the footprint, to keep a character home rather than demolish it, and, on flood-affected land, to put the living floor at the level Council's FloodWise Property Report requires.
Do I need council approval to raise my house in Brisbane?
You need building approval before any raising work starts, and in Brisbane a private building certifier issues it, with Council acting as a referral agency. Planning approval is a separate question that depends on your zone, any neighbourhood plan or overlay, and whether the design meets the relevant code; heritage or character approvals are separate again, and character properties, primarily homes built before the end of 1946, can carry extra conditions. We put you with the town planners and certifiers who confirm which applies to your block before the design is drawn.
How high can I raise my house?
If your land is flood-affected, the FloodWise Property Report gives the minimum habitable floor level for a dwelling house, the 1 per cent annual-chance flood level of the highest flood type plus 0.5 metres, and the lift has to clear it. Otherwise the height is set by what you want underneath and by the planning controls for your site, and it is confirmed with your engineer and certifier before we quote. Raising does not make a property flood-proof and we don't give insurance advice.
How long does it take, and do we have to move out?
The physical lift usually takes a few days. The complete raise and restump usually takes about two weeks, with site preparation, plans and approvals in front of it, and the approvals can take several weeks on their own. You will need to be out for the lift: water, gas, electricity and sewerage are disconnected, and while the house sits on jacks and cribbing it is not a place to live. Most owners stay away until the house is fixed to its new stumps and the services are reconnected, and we confirm that window before we start.
Is my house suitable for raising?
Timber-framed homes on stumps are the usual candidates: high-set and low-set Queenslanders and post-war timber homes. Character homes usually can be raised within the height and character rules, and raising is an accepted way to keep the house and gain a level. Every job starts with an on-site assessment of the structure, the stumps, the ground and the access before we commit to a method or a price.
Can you quote before I have plans?
We give an approximate price on house lifting or sliding until a set of structural plans is available, and a written quote once it is, because the price depends on the structure, the site, the height, the new footings and what is being built underneath. General restumping and related works don't need structural plans and are quoted in writing from the inspection. Quotes are free either way.
Which page should I read, and where do you work?
We work across the whole of Brisbane from the Eagle Farm yard. Eleven suburbs have their own pages under "Areas we serve", each written around the reason people raise there: Albion and Nundah for flood height, Ascot and Clayfield for a level under a character home, Hendra, Hamilton, Pinkenba and Eagle Farm close to our yard on the low ground and hills of the inner north-east, and East Brisbane, Kangaroo Point and Woolloongabba across the river, where small lots and tight streets shape the job. If your suburb isn't listed, this page is yours, and the enquiry form takes any Brisbane address.
Book Your Free On-Site Assessment
Whether your street needs height above a flood level, a full level underneath, or a house that is simply level again, the first step is the same: an on-site assessment and a free quote. If your suburb is listed under "Areas we serve", it has its own page there; from anywhere else in Brisbane, call 0411 596 245 or email admin@acerestumping.com.au.