Review of Adjustable stump tops
Review of Pro's and Con's of Adjusting house Stump tops
There is lots of house jacks and adjustable stumps on in the market place and they use all kinds of different methods. Of course we recommend our stump top adjustors or screws but it is worth knowing why we think they are better and so this is our review of some common floor levelling solutions that we have seen over the years.
But first some things that they all have in common
Avalable with a range of different tops - "tees", Straights, corners
All these tops use a 30mm OD Galvanised tread
They all have similar holes in the tops to put Coach screws or bolts into your floor joists accept for the weld on top of course.
It looks like from their web sites that you can but these in either Hot Dipped Gal or Zinc platted - I have been told that the hot dipped gal can get a bit fuzzy (White oxide formations) on the inside of the posts over time. I am also told that the zinc electro plating generally holds up better and it is normally easier to spin the nuts on and off when you need to.
These adjustable stumps have a retail price between $50 and $100 dollars in Australian but I have included the links to there web sites so that you can ask them yourself if you would like a quote.
My review of these stumps is as a manufacturer and not a installer but that is why I wanted to put all these common stump top adjustors on one page and give a forum for people to comment on there experience with the different tops (see comments section below, everyone welcome). If you have some interesting information I will incorporate it into this page to be shared with everyone.
Again I am not a Re-Stumper and so any advice here should be confirmed with a trained professional and against your local laws and regulations. Saying that I would be interested to know why these house adjustors have such a big market in Australia but they do not seam to have much market penetration in other countries like America, England or Europe (Put it in the comments for me if you know why)
Screw on type adjustor - very similar to Level Master in Australia but this one is from a Chinese factory
Ezipeir Stump adjustor - this adjustor is a single nut design
Scott Metals Makes both the single nut and double nut version of house stump adjustor
Adjust A Stump from Dolby - Single nut design
Ezipeir Stump adjustor - this adjustor is a single nut design
EziPeir adjustable house stumps
Easy Peir (Ezi Peir, every one wants to spell words uniquely now days) looks like a good design with its Cast body design. Still a single nut but the way they have designed it to either pull up or down with the one nut is Unique.
I like the way this works because you do not need a locking nut as you are normally only pulling in one direction, either up or down. So with this design the nut will always be tight.
I am not sure how you line up the tek screws to go in the side but maybe they have a template or after doing a few thousand stumps, I guess the installer would be able to find the middle point easy enough. There web site certainly contains lots of information and it is the only one I found that mentions the standards for design and construction.
From an installation point of view, it might be inconvenient to not be able to swing a ring spanner all the way around the stump in a big arc. Also it may be inconvenient if you want to weld it on for extra security at some later time when it is made of cast iron. The other fact is that the whole weight is literally sitting on the end of your steel post and maybe 2 or 4 tek screws ? I am sure it is strong enough but ... ...
30 mm pin - Galvanised steel attach with tek screws
LOADS TO BE ASSESSED BY OTHERS TO AS1170.1-2002 & AS4055-2012
Screw on type adjustor - very similar to Level Master in Australia but this one is from a Chinese factory
Adjustable House stump (looks similar to Level Master)
This type of screw on adjustor is convenient and simple to use with just one nut. The single nut has a patented design that allows the one nut to both pull the house up and down. This is not a unique feature but the way they have designed it is unique. The screw on skirt lets you just the stump to size without being to concerned about the final level being right. Then when the stumps are set in the ground you can make final adjustments to the house, deck or patio floor level.
The tops can be screwed out of this design and changed for all kids of tops to suit steel frame and timber frame houses. The screw holes are pre drilled for convenience and it has a 30mm threaded pin. These are considered to be a permanent solution and not something that ever needs to be removed. For that reason they need to be strong.
The only comment I have about these is that the single nut design can have some play in the nut and so the house can move up and down slightly on them. It may only be a millimetre or so but it can cause a unfortunate result in some houses where you can here the metal washer tapping back down on the steel posts as the floor moves up and down.
That TING TING noise can be very hard to identify and it sometimes will be caused as people walk though the house.
I Found this one on alibaba and I do not know if the factory stole the Level Master design or maybe Level Master manufactures the stumps in china, at the same factory. I don't know but if anyone can shed light on this please put it in the comments below. It does look very similar
Scott Metals Makes both the single nut and double nut version of house stump adjustor
Adjust A Stump from Dolby - Single nut design
Scott Metals Stump adjustor
Scott Metals Makes two types of adjustor and their web site has lots of information. Both are weld on tops and as such do require greater skill and care to install.
I like that with his single nut design he has thought to include a locking nut as that will make a difference to some customers. Both are very competitively priced and the price is listed on his website as being $65 There is something not very eligent about the "type2" design. It really looks like a cheap solution with the cut SHS box section.
Adjust A Stump
This is a single nut weld on design and it looks simple to use in all respects. Adjust A Stumps web site did not have much information but it did suggest they are the manufacturer of this design. I would suggest putting a locking nut on the threaded bar before you put it though just in case but again maybe get some advice from a Re-stumper about that.
For your benefit if you click on the images above you will be directed to their website
The strongest House stump Adjustable Top
After Testing we changed the design to have stronger lateral strength and be easier to install with just four bolts and about 2 min per top.
Designed for flexibility and strength, these tops have a extra heavy duty 33mm thread and the body construction is 8mm plate steel.
The small locating tabs on the sides help to locate the top in position and the you can screw a tek screw in about the middle from either side.
Benefits of our Level Pro Stump Adjustors
Made tough these adjusters weight more than 7kg each
They have 150mm of travel from top to bottom
Predrilled and threaded holes for four 20mm bolts allows this top to be installed in seconds
Flexibility to be able to be screwed on or welded on if need be and because this design is a "U" shape it allows for the weld to be put on the corner of the stump in a vertical line as well as two horizontal welds on the top edge. Most other tops can only be welded on the very thin top edge of a post and this is a difficult weld to get right.
Predrilled 13mm holes in the top 10mm plate to install a 12mm coach bolts for when you need extra strength.
These stump adjustors are so strong you can even use them to weld onto the bottom of a shipping container to provide a quick and easy way to level your mobile home or site office.
Can be ordered in Hot dip Gal or Zinc plated but we recommend the zinc electroplating
We can also OEM brand the product if required - Either with a sticker or laser etching
Quality control done before shipping.
Our Factory is in Vietnam and not china with the supervision of a joint venture between Australian and Vietnamese business partners. Vietnam in now a world leader in industrial steel and it has a well educated and youthful labour force. It has a stable government and rule of law, which makes it ideal for any supply chain production.
Shipped world Wide
Minimum order Quantity of 1000 units, Samples can be sent for inspection at customers cost.