What is the fixing stage in a new build?

The fixing stage is the progress-claim stage in a standard Queensland building contract where the internal fit-out is fixed in place after the home is at lock-up. It covers internal wall and ceiling linings (plasterboard), cornices, skirtings, architraves, internal doors, built-in cabinetry to the kitchen, bathrooms and wardrobes, and usually the wall and floor tiling. It comes after lock-up and before practical completion.

Why inspect at fixing stage rather than just at PCI?

Many fixing-stage items are still adjustable when the trade is on site — a bowed lining, a hollow tile, a cabinet gap — but far more disruptive to fix once the home is finished, decorated and cleaned for handover. A fixing-stage inspection catches workmanship issues in the linings, joinery and tiling while the relevant trades are still mobilised, so rectification is quicker and cleaner.

What standards does a fixing-stage inspection reference?

The main references are AS 2589 (gypsum linings — fixing and finishing), AS 4386 (cabinetry in the built-in environment), AS 3958 (installation of ceramic tiles), AS 3740 (waterproofing of domestic wet areas, applied before tiling), AS 1684.2 for any framing that receives linings, and the QBCC Standards and Tolerances Guide, which sets the measured limits for finish quality.

How much does a fixing-stage inspection cost?

A fixing-stage inspection is $550 including GST, the same as our other construction stage inspections, and includes a same-day photographic report with the Australian Standard or QBCC tolerance referenced against each item.

Fixing Stage Inspection: The Complete Checklist for Queensland New Builds

In a standard Queensland building contract, your home is built and paid for in stages — base, frame, enclosed (lock-up), fixing, and practical completion. The fixing stage is the one most owners understand least, and it is where a large share of the finish quality of your home is decided.

Fixing stage is when the internal fit-out is fixed in place: plasterboard linings set and finished, cornices, skirtings and architraves installed, internal doors hung, built-in cabinetry fitted to the kitchen, bathrooms and wardrobes, and — in most modern contracts — the wall and floor tiling laid. It happens after the home reaches lock-up and before the builder calls practical completion.

Because so much of it is workmanship rather than structure, fixing-stage work is easy to sign off on a walk-through and hard to fault later without measurement. That is exactly why an independent, measured inspection earns its place here. A construction stage inspection at fixing checks each item against the Australian Standard or the QBCC tolerance that governs it, so what you hand your builder is objective, not a matter of taste.

When the fixing stage happens

The fixing stage sits between lock-up and practical completion. By this point the home is watertight, the wet-area waterproofing membrane has been applied and — if you booked one — verified at your waterproofing inspection before tiling started. Internal linings are up, the trades doing skirting, architraves, doors, cabinetry and tiling are on site or have just finished, and the home is starting to look complete.

That window matters. A lining that bows beyond tolerance, a hollow-sounding tile or a cabinet door that sits proud is straightforward to rework while the trade is still mobilised, and disruptive once the home is painted, cleaned and staged for handover. Booking the inspection while the fixing trades are still reachable is what keeps rectification quick.

The fixing-stage checklist

Internal linings — plasterboard (AS 2589)

Plasterboard is the single biggest surface area in your home, so it drives the perceived quality of every room. We check:

Fastener spacing and placement — screw and nail centres in the field of the board and around the perimeter, fixed within the spacings AS 2589 requires so sheets are held flat and joints don't move.
Back-blocking and control joints — recessed and butt joints back-blocked where required, and control joints provided and located correctly (including the minimum clearance from door and window openings) so the sheets can move without cracking.
Jointing and finishing — joints, internal angles, fastener heads and accessories set with the required coats of compound, finished clear of tool marks and ridges.
No cracking, peaking, ridging or nail-popping visible from a normal viewing position, at sheet joints, cornice mitres or wall-to-ceiling junctions.
Substrate flatness — framing that receives the lining within the QBCC flatness tolerance (no more than 4 mm under a 1.8 m straightedge over the bulk of the wall), so the finished surface is true.

Cornices, skirtings and architraves

The trim is where careless carpentry shows. We check mitres and joins at corners, gaps between trim and the wall or floor against the QBCC tolerances, fixing and adhesion, and consistent margins around doors and windows. Small gaps and lifted joints here are assessable items under the QBCC Standards and Tolerances Guide, not just cosmetic preferences.

Internal doors and hardware

Each internal door is checked for even margins in the frame, correct swing and latching, no binding or dropping, and hardware — handles, hinges, stops and privacy sets — fitted, aligned and operating. Doors that bind or won't latch cleanly at fixing tend only to get worse as the frame settles.

Cabinetry — kitchen, vanity and wardrobe joinery (AS 4386)

Built-in cabinetry is a high-value, high-visibility part of the fit-out. We check that cabinets are level, plumb and securely fixed; that doors and drawers align, sit flush and operate smoothly on their hardware; that panel and mitre gaps are within tolerance; that benchtops are level with sealed, supported joints; and that cut-outs for sinks, cooktops and taps are neat and sealed. AS 4386 governs how built-in cabinetry should be constructed and installed, and the QBCC guide sets the gap and alignment limits.

Wet-area and floor tiling (AS 3958)

Tiling is checked for lippage between adjacent tiles, hollow or drummy tiles that sound unsupported when tapped, falls to the floor waste in showers and wet areas so water runs to the drain, consistent grout and expansion joints, and sealed junctions. Because tiling seals the waterproofing membrane in for the life of the home, tiling problems found now are worth resolving before the home is handed over — a point we cover in more depth in the pre-plaster inspection and waterproofing guides.

Where fixing sits in your inspection sequence

Fixing is the last of the internal stages before your home is presented for handover. Owners who inspect at each stage — pre-pour, frame, lock-up/waterproofing, fixing and then PCI — catch problems at the point they are cheapest to fix. If you can only book one, the PCI inspection is the essential final check; but a fixing-stage inspection is the one that pins down the quality of the linings, joinery and tiling while the fit-out trades are still on site.

Every VG Inspect fixing-stage inspection is $550 including GST, carried out by a QBCC-licensed builder-inspector (QBCC Licence 1318443), with a same-day photographic report that references the Australian Standard or QBCC tolerance against each item. Book an inspection or call 07 3180 8041 to fit one into your builder's fixing-stage window.