Gold-rush workings
We dug into one house's cracking and found a mine shaft.
House inspections in Ballarat
Cracks, sloping floors or a restumping quote? Find out why before you fix it.
We inspect houses with cracking, movement and damage across Ballarat and central Victoria. We find the cause, tell you how serious it is and give you the options, from doing nothing to a full restump.
What are you seeing?
Choose what you have noticed. Each answer covers what it might mean, what we check and whether restumping is likely to be the fix.
What it might mean
Seasonal clay movement, footings too shallow for the soil, a leaking pipe or poor drainage softening the ground, a tree drying the clay, a failed lintel over a window, or old movement that has since stopped.
What we check
Crack pattern, width and age. Floor levels. Footing type and depth with a probe. The soil with a borehole. Drainage and plumbing.
Does it need restumping?
Not necessarily. In many cases it does not.
What moves a house
TopsoilBasalt clayOrdovician clay and rock
Lots of things move a house. Stumps are only one of them.
- 1Cracked plaster and sticking doors
- 2Sloping or bouncy floors
- 3A downpipe draining beside the footings
- 4Tree roots drying out the clay
- 5A decayed or sunken stump
- 6An old mine shaft or deep fill
Ballarat houses.
Many Ballarat homes are well over a century old and have moved for decades. Under them is reactive basalt clay in some suburbs and Ordovician clay and rock in others, and in places gold-rush mine shafts, mullock and deep fill. We look for the part that is failing and design a repair for that part.
Deep fill
We have found fill four metres deep under one house.
How a house inspection works
You get an engineer on site, a clear finding and a recommendation you can act on.
We do our homework
Before we visit we review what you send us, old drawings and reports, historical aerial photos, the local geology and the services in the ground. Where it helps we search the building permit history.
We listen
On site we ask what you have noticed, when it started, what work has been done and what others have told you.
We investigate
Depending on the problem: crack recording, a floor level survey, footing probes, a borehole, a sub-floor inspection, drone video of the roof, and plumbing camera checks by qualified plumbers.
We work out the cause
We test our explanation with calculations, research and our most experienced engineers before we commit to it.
We recommend
You get the likely cause, how serious it is and the options, from doing nothing to repair. Choose simple advice, a detailed report, an expert evidence report or full repair design.
Choose the report you need
We match the report to your budget and to what you need it for.
Simple advice
Our findings and recommendation in brief.
[fee]Detailed report
Findings, likely causes, severity with photographs, and the options.
[fee]Expert evidence report
A report prepared for a dispute, tribunal or court.
[fee]Repair design and documentation
Engineered repair drawings and certification for a building permit.
[fee]Every recommendation weighs cost, benefit, your tolerance, buildability, ongoing risk and performance.
Other reasons people call us
Been quoted for restumping?
Find out what your house needs before anyone lifts it.
Before you restumpWork done without a permit
Council notice or a buyer's report? We inspect, list what complies and what does not, and certify the structure.
Retrospective permitsFire, storm or impact damage
Some damage may be claimable on building insurance. We report on the cause and the extent, and advise on make-safe works.
Defects in new and recent builds
Civil and structural defects during construction or after handover, through the defects liability period.
Dilapidation reports
A photographic record of a building's condition before work starts on it or next door, often for a Protection Works Notice.
Before you renovate or extend
We check how removing a wall, adding an opening, converting a roof space or adding solar panels affects the building.
Structural designFrom our files
House inspection questions
Tell us what you are seeing.
Call during business hours, or send the details and a few photos and we will be in touch to talk it through.
Mon to Fri, 9am to 5pm
mail@mcclellands.com.au
201 Armstrong St North, Soldiers Hill, Ballarat VIC 3350