Planning concrete footings for a house, deck, shed or extension in Melbourne or regional Victoria? Here's what they involve — the types, the costs, the curing times and the soil rules — and why a growing number of Victorian builders are switching to engineer-certified footings that need no concrete at all.
Most Victorian homes and outbuildings sit on one of four traditional concrete footing types, each designed to AS 2870 for the site's soil classification.
Holes augered into the ground and filled with concrete, often with steel reinforcement. Common for decks, pergolas and stumped homes. Each pier needs excavation, a concrete pour and 7–28 days of curing before loading.
Continuous reinforced concrete strips under load-bearing walls, typical for brick homes. Deep trenches, significant spoil removal and large pours make them slow and weather-dependent on reactive Victorian clay.
Isolated concrete pads under posts and columns — carports, verandahs and shed columns. Simple in stable soil, but prone to movement where surface clay swells and shrinks seasonally.
Precast concrete stumps set into concrete-filled holes, long used for weatherboard homes across Melbourne. Fixed height — so re-levelling after soil movement means jacking the house and digging them out.
Every footing in Victoria — concrete or not — must be designed for the site's AS 2870 soil classification, from Class A (stable sand and rock) through Class H and E (highly and extremely reactive clay). Much of Melbourne's west and north, and large parts of regional Victoria, sit on Class H reactive clay that swells and shrinks dramatically with seasonal moisture. That movement is the leading cause of cracked slabs, sticking doors and sloping floors in Victorian homes.
Reactive sites push concrete footing costs up fast: piers must be bored deeper, strips reinforced more heavily, and pours scheduled around Melbourne's unpredictable weather. As a guide, bored concrete piers typically run $150–$500+ each installed, and you then wait 7 days minimum — up to 28 for full design strength — before the footing can carry load. Our complete guide to concrete footings in Australia covers the standards, sizes and costs in detail, and our Victorian footing regulations guide explains the permit side.
Concrete footings remain a sound choice for some projects — large slab-on-ground homes, for instance. But for stumped homes, decks, sheds, granny flats and extensions, the excavation, spoil, concrete trucks and curing downtime are increasingly hard to justify when a mechanically installed footing does the same certified job in hours.
How traditional concrete footings compare with the RapidStump, StumpRite and SurePile systems we install across Victoria.
| Concrete Footings | Concrete-Free Footings | |
|---|---|---|
| Time before building | 7–28 days curing | Immediate — build same day |
| Weather | No pours in rain or extreme heat | Installs in any weather |
| Excavation & spoil | Augering or trenching, spoil removal | None — driven or screwed in |
| Re-levelling later | Excavate and replace | Adjustable head — minutes with hand tools |
| Reactive clay performance | Moves with surface layer | Anchors below reactive zone |
| Certification | Engineered to AS 2870 | Engineered to AS 2870 — same standard |
Want the full breakdown? Read concrete-free footings vs traditional concrete, or explore our adjustable stumps for projects that need precise, re-levellable floor heights.
Bored concrete pier footings in Victoria typically cost $150 to $500+ per pier once excavation, concrete supply, steel reinforcement and labour are included, with strip footings for full homes running into the tens of thousands. Costs rise sharply on reactive clay sites, sloping blocks and sites with poor access. Concrete-free steel footings are often comparable or cheaper once you account for excavation, spoil removal, concrete trucks and lost time waiting for curing.
Concrete footings typically need at least 7 days to reach sufficient strength for light loading, and up to 28 days for full design strength. Cold, wet Victorian winters can extend this. Concrete-free footing systems such as RapidStump, StumpRite and SurePile carry load immediately, so framing can start the same day.
Residential footings in Victoria are designed to AS 2870 (Residential Slabs and Footings), which classifies sites from Class A (stable sand/rock) through Class E (extremely reactive clay), alongside the National Construction Code and Victorian Building Regulations 2018. Both concrete and concrete-free footings must be engineered to suit your site classification.
They can, but reactive clay across Melbourne's west and north swells and shrinks with seasonal moisture, which is a leading cause of cracked slabs and moving concrete stumps. Footings that anchor below the reactive layer — such as screw piles and driven steel footings — are less affected by surface movement and can be re-levelled without excavation.
Yes. Engineer-certified concrete-free footing systems like RapidStump, StumpRite and SurePile are mechanically installed in hours, in any weather, with zero curing time. Easy Footings supplies and installs these systems across Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, the Mornington Peninsula and Gippsland.
Send us your plans or soil report and we'll tell you honestly whether concrete footings or a concrete-free system is the better fit for your Victorian project — with a free, no-obligation quote.
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