The frame stage sits at the highest-leverage point of a new home build. The structure is fully visible — every stud, plate, brace, truss connection and tie-down is exposed and able to be checked — and almost every defect found at this stage can still be rectified for the cost of a few hours of carpenter time. Two weeks later, after the linings go up, the same defects become invisible. Six months later, when they start showing in the form of cracking, drafts, water ingress or roof noise, the rectification cost has multiplied by ten or more.
This is the eight defects we see most often at frame stage on Queensland new builds, what each one looks like in practice, why it matters, and which clause of AS 1684 — the Australian Standard for residential timber-framed construction — covers it.
Defect 1: Wall studs out of plumb
The most common frame-stage defect is wall studs that have drifted out of vertical alignment after the frame has been stood up. Plates settle, framing twists slightly during the day-night temperature swing on a Queensland site, and a stud that was plumb on the morning of frame stand-up can be 5–10 mm off vertical by the time the brace lines are checked.
AS 1684 (the Australian Standard for residential timber-framed construction) sets tolerances for plumb and straightness of structural members. Stud out-of-plumb beyond the Standard means: doors won't sit square in their jambs at fixout, plasterboard joints will telegraph the bow over the first 12 months, and cornice runs will refuse to sit flat.
The fix at frame stage is straightforward — pull, re-plumb, re-brace. The fix at lock-up requires opening up plasterboard. The fix at handover usually gets logged as a defect under the Defect Liability Period and may require multiple return visits.
A frame inspection catches every stud individually with a 1.8 m level against the face of each stud and a plumb laser cross-checking the run.
Defect 2: Tie-down detail missing or incorrect
Queensland's wind regions (N3, N4, C1, C2) require specific tie-down detail at every point where the roof connects to the wall frame and where the wall frame connects to the slab. This means: framing brackets, tie-down rods, washers, and the right number of nails at the right gauge through the right point in the timber. AS 1684 sets out tie-down requirements based on the home's wind region (determined by the QBCC under the Standards and Tolerances Guide and NCC Volume 2 part 3.10.1).
Common defects we see in this category:
- Missing tie-down rods at gable ends — the roof load path is supposed to transfer down through a rod into the slab; sometimes the rod is missed entirely or terminates before the slab. - Insufficient nails in framing brackets — AS 1684 specifies a minimum nail count and gauge per bracket; "she'll be right with four nails" is not the Standard. - Wrong bracket for the wind region — a coastal Moreton Bay home (often C1 region) needs heavier-gauge tie-down than an inland Logan home (often N3). Subbies on multi-region builders sometimes use the wrong bracket out of habit.
Tie-down catches at frame stage cost nothing to rectify. Caught after Form 16 (the structural compliance certificate) has been issued, the rectification involves opening up linings and revising the certifier's documentation.
Defect 3: Bracing under-specified or incorrectly positioned
Bracing keeps the frame square against horizontal loads — wind, earth movement, the small accumulated loads of a home settling over its first decade. AS 1684 sets out minimum bracing rates (kilonewtons of bracing capacity per metre of wall run) by wind region and home configuration.
We commonly find:
- Bracing strap that's been nailed off correctly at one end but loose at the other (no tension, no capacity). - Plywood bracing panels that have been positioned but not nailed off at the required nail spacing. - Bracing rate that meets the minimum on the plans but is actually under-positioned once the wall openings are taken into account. - External bracing correct, but internal bracing missing entirely (often happens when subbies focus on the perimeter and forget the partition walls).
Bracing is fully testable at frame stage with a tape measure (panel positions), a count (nail spacing) and a visual check (strap tension). Once linings cover the bracing, you're trusting paperwork. The frame inspection verifies each braced wall against the engineer's bracing plan, not just the plans-on-the-wall.
Ready to book your inspection? A VG Inspect QBCC-licensed inspector attends every job.
Book an InspectionDefect 4: Trusses incorrectly seated or anchored
Truss connections to the top plate are the load-transfer point for the entire roof — and they're surprisingly often wrong. We commonly find:
- Truss seats with insufficient bearing on the top plate (less than 35 mm of seat is below Standard). - Truss-to-plate brackets missing at perimeter trusses where uplift loads are highest. - Hangers at internal truss-to-truss junctions that have been nailed off the wrong way — long nails through hanger, instead of short nails into hanger faceplate. - Truss alignment out of square by enough that the ceiling battens won't sit flat — telegraphs through the plasterboard as a "rolling" ceiling.
Truss issues caught at frame stage are a single morning's work for a carpenter and a hanger box from the supplier. Caught at lock-up, you're cutting in plasterboard around the fix. Caught at handover, you're often re-doing a ceiling.
Defect 5: Member sizing under specification
Every load-bearing timber member — bearers, joists, lintels, ridge beams, valley beams, wall studs in high-load areas — has a minimum size specified by AS 1684 and the engineer's truss layout. Substitutions on site are common: a 90×45 instead of a 90×35 (usually fine, oversized), or a 90×35 instead of a 90×45 (a problem).
We check member sizes against the engineering plans on every frame inspection. The most common substitution we see is lintels over wide openings (sliding stacker doors, large windows) where the engineer specified an LVL beam but a hand-stacked timber beam has been used instead. LVL substitutions are usually a structural compromise that the certifier shouldn't sign off — and AS 1684 doesn't allow.
Defect 6: Frame openings out of square
Door and window openings that aren't square at frame stage become door and window openings that don't operate at fixout. The opening should be plumb on both sides, level top and bottom, and diagonally square (measured corner-to-corner). The standard timber-frame allows a small tolerance (typically ±3 mm over 2,400 mm of opening height) under AS 1684 and the QBCC Standards and Tolerances Guide.
Out-of-square openings at frame stage are 15 minutes of work. Out-of-square openings caught at fixout require the door to be planed and shimmed, the door jamb to be re-set, and often the architraves to be cut to fit — and the door still doesn't close evenly through the seasons.
Ready to book your inspection? A VG Inspect QBCC-licensed inspector attends every job.
Book an InspectionDefect 7: Floor or wall framing damaged
Site damage to framing during the build is common — a forklift catches the corner of a stud, a tradie cuts a notch in a load-bearing member to run a service, a heavy load on the slab drops onto a joist and splits it.
AS 1684 sets limits on permissible notching, drilling and damage to structural members. A notch in the bottom third of a joist is usually fine. A notch in the top third over a load is usually not. A split running with the grain through a stud is often acceptable. A split running across the grain is not.
The frame inspection logs damaged members against the Standard and recommends either rectification (sister a new member) or — when the damage is below tolerance — clearance for the builder to proceed.
Defect 8: Termite barrier compromised at frame stage
The termite management system was specified and installed at slab stage under AS 3660.1. The frame should not compromise it. Common compromises we see at frame stage:
- Skirting boards or service penetrations cutting through the termite collar around plumbing risers. - Frame fixings through the slab perimeter that breach the chemical or physical barrier. - Bracing straps nailed through the slab edge into the termite zone. - Cladding battens running below the termite inspection zone height (the zone has to remain visually inspectable post-handover — usually 75 mm minimum above finished ground level).
Termite barrier breaches at frame stage are rectifiable with the original installer's warranty intact. Termite barrier breaches discovered post-handover often void the 25- or 50-year warranty entirely.
Why this matters
Frame stage is the last point in a Queensland build where the entire structure is visible and inexpensive to fix. After linings, every defect is twice the cost. After handover, every defect is five to ten times the cost. After the 12-month Defect Liability Period closes, every defect is on you.
The right frame inspection is one inspector, two hours, against the engineering plans + AS 1684 + the QBCC Standards and Tolerances Guide + NCC Volume 2 part 3.4. The wrong frame inspection — or no inspection at all — is a 10-year insurance bet against your own builder.
Ready to book your inspection? A VG Inspect QBCC-licensed inspector attends every job.
Book an InspectionBook a frame inspection
A frame inspection with VG Inspect is $550 and includes a same-day digital report with AS 1684, NCC and QBCC clause references on every item. Adam Gates personally attends every inspection (QBCC Licence 1318443), with same-week availability across South East Queensland. Rated 5.0 from 65 reviews. Call 07 3180 8041 or book a frame inspection online.