Common questions
Is raising cheaper than adding a second storey?
Usually, and by a meaningful margin. Building in under a raised house runs roughly $2,400–$3,200 per m², against $3,800–$5,000 for a new upper floor — because the roof and the existing structure stay put, and you’re not re-engineering the whole house to carry a storey above. It’s also quicker and far less disruptive.
How high can a house be raised?
Structurally we can go higher than the rules allow. The practical limit is planning: Brisbane City Council generally caps the underneath at a legal habitable height, and character overlays restrict it further to keep the streetscape intact. Most raises land between 2.7m and 3.3m of new floor-to-ceiling height. We check your site’s specific limit at the inspection.
Will my house crack when it's lifted?
Expect some minor cracking in old plaster, and we’ll tell you where it’s most likely beforehand. A house that has been sitting slightly crooked for decades has settled around that shape, so bringing it back true moves things. Done slowly and evenly the damage is cosmetic — VJ boards and timber linings handle it very well, which is part of why Queenslanders are so suited to this.
Do I need council approval?
Always. Every raise and every restump needs building approval, which we get through a private certifier in three to five weeks. If your property sits in a character, heritage or flood overlay — and most pre-Brisbane houses across Brisbane sit in at least one — you also need a town planning approval, which adds eight to sixteen weeks. We lodge and manage all of it.
How much does restumping cost?
From $310 per stump for galvanised steel on a new concrete footing. A typical three-bedroom Queenslander has 35 to 50 stumps, so $12,000 to $18,000 all up including engineering, approval and re-levelling. Three to five days on site, and you can generally stay in the house.
Can you raise a brick house?
Not in the usual sense. Brick and blockwork can’t be lifted as a structure. What we can do on brick and slab homes is underpinning — screw piles to stable ground to arrest subsidence and re-level the footing. Part-brick Queenslanders with a timber upper floor can often have the timber portion raised with the masonry rebuilt underneath.
My floors slope. Does that mean restumping?
Not necessarily. It might be a single failed bearer or joist rather than the stumps, and on a slab home sloping floors point to subsidence, which is a different fix entirely. Get under there with a torch and press a screwdriver into the stumps at ground level — or let us do the inspection free and give you a written finding either way.
Is it worth raising for flood insurance?
Often, yes — for flood-affected Brisbane properties, getting habitable floor level above the defined flood level can change premiums substantially, and in some cases changes insurability altogether. Get a written quote from your insurer for the post-raise height before you commit; we can supply the proposed levels for them to assess.