Frame exposed to weather for 6 months

Hi, our builder brought timber to site in April and has slowly done the frame. It’s October and brickwork is nearly completed now but roof is still not booked in. So the frame timber has been exposed to the elements for 6 months and we are worried it has deteriorated. When we asked the supervisor, he is saying that he inspects it visually when he visits but he has not seen any degradation. Not very convinced with this answer.

What is the usual procedure to verify that the frame has not degraded and is suitable to build on? Is there some testing or certification that needs to be carried out before continuing construction?

Building in NSW, first time building. Would really appreciate any ideas.

You should have your own independent inspector advising you after inspection however from my experience a frame exposed for six months will have discoloured timber but should not be structurally compromised.

Thanks v much. Is there any specific tests or certifications I should seek to confirm that the frame is sound? Can a normal building inspector do this, or should I engage an engineer or another professional?

Sorry I have to ask as I have no idea about this.

The frame will need to be checked and straightened if necessary before plaster fixing. This should be done with all new frames as part of the build process.

most houses ive seen get the roof put on shortly after frame for this very reason. strange.

Yes this is what we have see too. We feel our builder doesn’t have this build under control and we are now struggling to make sure we don’t face disasters down the track. So stressful!

Hi Kipper01, is this checking done by the building certifier during pre lining inspection? Or do we need to engage an engineer or other professional for checking exposed timber frame?

Normally your private consultant would check the frame in a pre lining inspection as part of their inspections 'package' or you could DIY check evey wall and ceiling with a ladder and straight edge level etc. The tolerances are detailed in NSWDFT's guide to standards and tolerances'. I doubt any volume builder would do this check, but ask your supervisor.

Hi, I'm in the same situation, my builder put my frame without the rood and its been sitting in the rain and other elements for the last 3 months, the frames have now discolored...i don't know if the structure will have change this. My builder don't give the number of my supervisor which is really frustrating me ..can someone advise me please...this is my first home

Bottom 4 photo's.
Your bottom plate is drawing up water this is referred as wicking, you can also see it wicking up the studs (vertical timber) not ideal, but will mostly only discolour the timber. MAKE SURE you have the super moisture test the frame before fixing the plaster to the frame, <10% (around 8% moisture is ok) if they throw the plaster up and there is still moisture in the wood, the moisture will migrate into the plaster, (1) it will develop mould in the wall cavity 'healthy building issue' and (2) you will find your paint finish has "these strange lines running up the wall from the bottom".

The person asking about the roof. If your roof frame came to site as a pack of triangles (Prefab) then you will have nail plates at every joint where each part/piece of the trusses connects to another piece of timber. The nail plate is machine pressed into the timber at the joints, again like above it's not ideal to have them exposed for any length of time. If your timber is being weathered, it will be expanding (wet) and shrinking (dry) - moving around. If your nail plates are still pressed hard against the timber at the joints, they are fine, if they seem to be starting to sit proud of the timber surface, then this MAY! be a problem. if concerned, ask your super to have the frame supplier inspect the trusses and confirm "IN WRITING, email is fine" that the frame is still structurally sound. You may be asked to pay for the inspection, $250-$500 but then you are protected if something happens down the track. If you have already been given your frame claim, then the likelihood is the frame has been inspected by certifier or engineer and they wont be coming back.

Thank you very much to your reply. Construction has stopped after I have paid frame stage, so my question is, can I still do the inspection before plaster? and will the builder rectify any findings in the inspection eventhough I already paid them the frame stage. My scheduled inspection is after plaster so any issues in the timber frame will no longer accessible.
Any comments will be greatly appreciated

The first thing you need to get your head around is the following terms, or you are just going to alienate your supervisor & builder.
"Non-Compliant" work, this is any work that does not meet the Australian Building Code / Australian Standards / Manufactures Specification. Meaning when inspected by council/engineer/building certifier/authority, it doesn't pass! Your frame has already passed.
"Defective" work, should generally be used to describe an element of the work that doesn't comply, or is wrong. An example is the frames are built as per code with the correct timber, spacing, nails, bracing etc. But when the plumber does the rough-in (puts his pipes in the wall) the size hole he drills and where it is located in the stud or top plate is to big. The frame is still compliant, but defective, however not all the holes are defective due to size position etc. So this would be referred to the super as "some of the rough-in is defective work"
The other important thing to understand, the Certifier/Building Surveyor is NOT there to assess the quality of the work, he/she is there for compliance ONLY. You can build compliant C rappy work!
Now in general, I have only seen 4 images of one very small section!
The Frame passed, and therefore it's logical to assume Compliant, There is nothing that I can see in the images that I would call defective work.
But there are ISSUES that may cause Defective work! You don't want to offside your super/builder saying "you're doing a c rap job and it's non-compliant or defective when its not!
I would suggest approaching the super/builder, saying you're not happy about the delays but to an extent you sort of understand the problems in construction currently. That you are concerned over the amount of time the frames have been exposed and this would be causing some degradation, along with the amount of moisture in the frames. You have seen the bottom plates are wet and moisture is wicking up the studs! That when the plaster goes on it could cause mould in the wall cavity, plus the potential issues with the application of paint over mouldy sections of plaster. That before the sheeting is thrown on the wall you require the opportunity to have it inspected and any potential issues addressed then rather than becoming a quality issue assessed against the "Standards & Tolerence Guide" at the end, especially when in can be resolved now, before it becomes a bigger problem. That as advised before you're not happy with the delays but the quality of the build is unrelated to the delays and non negotiable. That it would be better to work together now than against each other at the end!

Thank you very much for taking the time and very helpful advise. I will take this to my super/builder.

Hi Kingpin, I saw this post as I am in a similar situation currently with my frames exposed in Sydney rain for the last 5 months and the house being covered soon.. How did you go with your concerns? Did you get some to check the structural integrity of the frame and or how was it rectified?

And here is another one with the frame issues. With extreme wet weather in the south east regions this year, many homes built up to frame and trusses stage are left out in the weather for various reasons, frequent rain leaving frames stud ends/bottom plate being soaked in trapped rain water for weeks on end. Timber manufacturers would void the product warranty if the frame is left wet for too long (even 2 months according to one article by mitek and one from HIA) some builders reassure this is normal, but there are signs of splitting in the timbers, and discoloration, the H3 treatment washed away for termites to nest later, so a case of wait and see what the certifier/private inspector will approve and what needs repairing or replacing. Then hope for the best. Tried to get builder to cover frame and trusses with tarp but he nailed the tarp to particle board floors trapping puddles of water instead so wasted the tarps and is speeding up the rotting process. The frames is already weak with lots of knots and cracks in each stud, be surprised if it will hold up the weight of plaster for more than 10 years.
The builder has been paid for frame and truss stage and got the brick layers in may be to put the roof on asap so next progress payment can be claimed, then private inspector will come before plaster pre-sheet to look for defects.
Seems like this thread has gone to idle so may need to start a new conversation and see who else is affected or resolved.

Another issue is toxic mould, you can check Dr. James Cameron on Tik Tok

Completely understand where you are coming from. This year had been extra-oridinary (in bad ways). Delays like never before, rains like never before. So, unsure if a private inspector can really detect any strength deterioration on the timber except for what looks obvious visually as this not something they would do normally.

I know someone who had the inspection done after 5 months of timber being exposed in Sydney weather - not a thing mentioned in their report about the discolouring or the strength compromise.

As for the mould, my builder got mould sprayed to the whole subfloor and the bottom of stud walls.

I guess, the only option you have is to get the manufacturer out i.e. if you have the energy to fight with your builder, and have the manufacturer advice. I know someone else building in my neighbourhood did that, it was deemed the floorboards need replaced.
He lost 2 months just in that process. So, again, its upto you if you want to add that 2 months to your already delayed project.

I, personally did not want to pick that battle with the builder because I felt the floorboards should be alright as they have used steel joist in my house and as long as the mould spray is done properly and they get to dry before the next stage. I hope I did not take the wrong decision.

I wonder if this is going to become a group of houses left exposed to rain with structural defects emerging after building warranty expires and home owners find themselves having to rebuild with no compensation and hard to sell the house.

More rain ahead, was tempting to buy a big house tarp 25m x 25m to put over whole house like they use on renovations but it could be difficult to do without scaffold for 2 story home, may be mitigate the damage by painting over base plates with creosote or other preservatives that are commonly used on pine timber any way so as not to void timber warranty.

Hope this strictest private inspector in town will insist on mold treatment and may be reinforce rotted studs with new timber or we just pay for the remedy now rather than fix after move in. We did contact frame and truss manufacturer who recommended the tarp or get roof sheets on but builder wasted the tarp and says roof will get in the way of brick layers and has to do things according to contract stages etc.

The timber supplier refused to comment and referred us back to builder who does not respond. We have been fighting with the builder a bit so have to try to put things in perspective to him. There are other builders who are willing to take over the job but may cost a bit more to finish which may be worth it if we can get out of this contract without years delay.
May be we can delay process once the roof is on so not impact on the weak frame and get those particle boards replaced, builder was going to paint them with water proofing but did not.

Sounds like you got real timber floor boards and not particle board so may not rot through and your frames were saved with roof in time. We have been watching other building sites in town, some are exposed and there is one sister home nearby who had frames in the rain for similar length of time but they did not have such deep pools of water on slab after the rain.

any news on this?

still waiting for the roof and found some mold developing on some studs that are mostly soaked and too much to scoop out, also just commented on Structaflor