We’re pleased to announce that we have been retained to perform an investigation on a leaking tiled deck on an estate property in Santa Barbara CA.
A deck at the home has had a history of leaks, leading to damage to ceiling finishes and walls below.
An estate home in Santa Barbara is the subject of our next leak investigation.
The property owner found us after doing a search for a deck waterproofing expert online. We’ll be investigating the leak with visual observations, borescope camera and moisture meters to determine the path of the leak back to its source(s) and write a report after examining the plans, specifications and drawings and comparing the as-built deck to the design intent.
With a history of being able to solve problems and determine responsibility as to what trade may be responsible, our latest client is confident in our abilities to help him recover damages from the appropriate trades that created the defect.
If your building is leaking, call William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC, the leak investigation experts in California at 805-801-2380. Let’s discuss your situation and see how we can help you!
We diagnose the problem and then write a “prescription” to help make your leak problem go away!
Does your inspection company have 1099 contractors using Pogo sticks to perform your balcony inspection? This might be a little exaggerated, but the point is, a cheap inspection is a cheap inspection. Hiring the wrong inspectors could cost your HOA dearly. Read on…
Not actual footage of a deck inspection company doing SB326 inspections, but it seems that this method is used in many cases. Blurry photographs, unclear reports, inspections done by 1099 contractors, that low fee for a Stage 1 SB 326 inspection is a loss leader that turns into sky-high engineering and repair fees.
There are still quite a few HOAs out there that haven’t had a balcony inspection done yet. Many are smaller, self managed HOAs that haven’t heard of SB326. These smaller associations are easy prey for unsavory unethical inspection companies that need to feed their never ending high overhead.
By offering ridiculously low initial inspection fees, they Hoover up the unsuspecting HOAs into their pipeline. Once the HOA is in their grasp, they ratchet up the pressure on them; saying you have deck problems and the City is going to fine you $500 a day if you don’t immediately comply… And then they tell you that you need their engineering services, which might be true, although often times it’s not.
This is where the cheap bid the company gave you turns into a high cost engineering job, often costing thousands more than what ethical firms charge. Don’t fall for low fees; all it means is there won’t be an engineer present doing the inspection. That low fee, that’s hundreds or thousands less than legitimate engineers and waterproofing experts fees means there’s going to be a guy on a Pogo stick getting paid $280 a day (we have the help-wanted ads to prove it!) to bounce around your HOA going as fast as he can. He’s probably received very little training, has zero experience in actually building, waterproofing or inspecting decks, yet some people believe that the inspection is just as good as the experts inspections are.
At William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC, we coordinate the independent engineering company to perform are dedicated to providing the very best inspection possible. We know that inspections save lives, protect property and more importantly, reduce liability for the HOA, the HOAs insurance company and the management company.
Bill Leys has performed hundreds of SB 326 waterproofing observations since 2020, and with our independent structural engineer, provides peace of mind to our clients.
Call us today for a free conversation about how we inspect, why we’re better and why your HOA is in good hands with us! Call 805-801-2380 today!
As deck inspection experts who concentrate on SB 326 waterproofing observations for condos, we see a lot of defects in our line of work.
This week was no different, at an inspection we performed with our independent engineer our engineer found numerous railings that were structurally compromised. The wood railings on 16 decks were assembled using nails to fasten the stiles to the railing frame.
Engineers don’t like nails for fastening structural railings meant to prevent falls from the deck. In the past, nails were the method most often used, whereas today structural screws are required. At this property the engineer checks the railings by pushing on them and with a light kick at the bottom. To our horror, the engineer discovered numerous railing stiles were not able to withstand a light kick without pushing out with the nails.
Watch our 30 second video to understand the importance of checking railings for safety.
Hidden railing dangers found by our independent structural engineer.
Our biggest fear is that a child leaning against the railing stiles might fall if the nails fastening the stiles pull out of the wood rail bottom piece. With these decks over the concrete driveway and being 14′ high on the lower deck and 24′ tall on the upper deck, any fall from that height would probably have fatal consequences.
This discovery highlights why HOAs need to hire the best qualified inspection company instead of the least expensive company. Yeah the cheap company, if they missed these defective railings and an accident happened, would get sued. Small comfort for the victim if they were seriously injured or killed.
At William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC, we are very thorough in our waterproofing observations. Our independent structural engineer is an expert at finding structural issues.
Call us today for a free conversation on how we can help you with getting the most thorough inspection at a competitive cost. Call Bill Leys at 805-801-2380.
I started up our company vehicle the other day, and on the dash popped up this warning “Maintenance Required”. We have a Toyota Tacoma, a vehicle that’s legendary for going 300,000+ miles or more. However the taco still needs maintenance, repairs and replacement of parts to get to 300,000 miles. Oil changes, flush the transmission, rotate the tires, a new battery. Take care of your Toyota™ and it will take care of you for years and years.
Why don’t buildings have this?
So I checked and sure enough it’s time for the next oil change. So easy, I don’t have to think about when it is time to change the oil, the vehicle tells me it’s time. And I wondered, why can’t buildings have this built into them? Unfortunately no one has figured out a way to have maintenance required warning signs pop up on a building, at least not yet.
However it’s important to remember that buildings do need required maintenance. Maintenance like roof inspections, cleaning out gutters, repainting, cleaning and repainting the decks,… Stuff like that plus more.
That’s why we here at William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC are here; to tell you that your building needs maintenance. We offer various services such as roof inspections, deck inspections and building inspections. We do inspections so that you can schedule maintenance when it’s required.
Don’t let your valuable asset deteriorate, keep up on maintenance and inspections and your building will last and last. Call us today at 805-801-2380 for a free conversation about your buildings inspection needs and how we can help your building be the Toyota™ of the construction industry!
Bill Leys on the job inspecting the building for needed maintenance and repairs!
This is another reason why EEE inspections are necessary!
At William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC, we take balcony inspections very seriously as life safety is paramount! Don’t wait until an accident happens, even though no one died in this accident, we’ll bet good money that one or both victims of this railing failure will bring a lawsuit against the building owner. A good inspector likely would have flagged the railing as being unsafe.
Here at William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC we have found many structural deficiencies over the years on EEEs we have inspected. We have had to post notices informing residents that the balconies were off limits until repairs were made.
The answer in short is no, all inspection companies are not the same. Here is an explanation on why inspection companies are not at all equal in experience, ethics and in following the balcony bill requirements.
The SB 326 balcony inspection bill failed to ban inspectors from owning construction companies and failed to ban inspectors who own waterproofing and construction companies from bidding on jobs they inspected, so unscrupulous individuals are popping up to take advantage of unsuspecting and unknowledgeable consumers.
Without a doubt, during your Google search you are bound to come across deck inspection companies advertising on the world wide web which are run by individuals who opened a deck inspection company to take unfair advantage of HOAs despite their contractors licenses having complaint disclosures listed on their license for such offenses such as failing to complete work for the price quoted in their contract, taking a deposit in excess of $1,000, hiring unlicensed sub contractors and departing from trade standards.
We personally know of one deck inspector/deck inspection company who is under active investigation by the Board of Engineers for practicing engineering without an engineering license. That investigation was opened in July 2025 and remains active today.
Recently one of our clients who we have a proposal out with to perform their deck inspections under SB326 reached out with some follow-up questions. They wanted to know if we were going to use a boroscope camera and if we were “certified deck inspectors”. Our answer is no, we are not “certified”. Allow me to explain.
A quick search on Google showed us that there are several companies that advertise they are “certified deck inspectors”. Diving deeper, it seems all these unscrupulous inspection companies claiming they are certified inspectors are directly affiliated or owned by contractors. By claiming they are “certified inspectors” they seek to elevate their bonafides by saying they’re something that doesn’t exist in the SB326/SB721 inspection field. Continuing our search, the legitimate companies that we compete with make no such claim that they are certified. They make statements that they are architects or engineers, which is readily confirmed via the Board of Engineers and Board of Architects.
Condominiums with EEEs and are turning 6 years old will need to do inspections.
In all of the rush to get older condominiums in compliance with SB 326, what’s been forgotten is the section in SB 326 that requires condominiums that are turning 6 years old to do an inspection.
Watch our video here-
Closed caption for your convenience
That’s right, when your condominium turns 6 years old from the date of issuance of the certificate of occupancy, the board of directors will need to commission a SB326 inspection. We’ve found that many management companies aren’t paying attention to this requirement or don’t know about it.
I keep seeing some firms offering 20% off a competitors lower price to steal the deck inspection job away.
That should not inspire confidence in their capabilities as inspectors, in fact it should cause your board concern.
We allow ample time to perform the on-site balcony waterproofing observations,p giving ourselves the ability to really stop and review EEEs that raise our suspicions that something “maybe ain’t right” as we say in these parts lol. This method has proven to us over and over that careful Inspections take time and by taking our time, we often find hidden problems that a cursory inspection would miss.
Your balcony inspection is not something you should take lightly; there’s a lot of liability and if something goes awry, selecting the wrong deck inspection company with a contract that heavily favors them with clauses that excludes them for their errors and omissions will cause your HOA to assume liability.
I’ve heard of one company that has a forty page contract; ours is twelve pages for comparison. A forty page contract sounds like a nightmare that no average consumer can reasonably understand in my opinion. Without an attorney to review this kind of contract, you are probably signing something that is not beneficial to your Association. We recommend that all contracts be reviewed by an attorney prior to executing them, including ours.
Don’t rush to the conclusion that all balcony inspection companies are the same; they aren’t. Let us show you why we are setting the bar in performing #SB326 waterproofing observations for independent structural engineers in Southern California. Reach out for a free proposal and a conversation on how we coordinate this critical inspection with you.
Watch this quick video about using fire pits, turkey fryers and grills on combustible decks… To ruin the plot line, do not use turkey, fryers, fire pits or grills on any decks.
Please be safe this Thanksgiving holiday and don’t grill, use a fire pit or fry the turkey on your deck!
Setting the Bar in Coordinating SB 326 Inspections With Independent Structural Engineering Experts & Waterproofing Experts With No Conflicts of Interest
Call 805-801-2380 Coordinating SB 326 EEE Inspections Since 2020 * Waterproofing Consultants * Leak Investigations 