As deck experts who concentrate on SB 326 inspections 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 engineering partners at Critical Structures Inc we 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.
We don’t like nails for 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 we check the railings by pushing on them and with a light kick at the bottom. To our horror, we 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
Hidden railing dangers found by Deck Expert Bill Leys!
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 inspections, ensuring with our checklist that we check every critical life safety items. 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.
We Will Be Investigating the Source of Water Intrusion on This Medical Center in Santa Maria
William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC is pleased to announce that we’ve been selected to investigate the source of water intrusion into a medical building in Santa Maria CA by a well respected local contractor.
The building has been subject to water intrusion over the last several years and is now ready to undergo repairs and upgrades to the facility. As a local consulting firm, William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC offers competitive pricing, building envelope expertise and 20 years of experience in the construction industry.
We’ll be performing visual inspections along with thermal imaging and moisture testing in our investigation to determine the causes of the water intrusion along with recommendations for remediation of the moisture intrusion. Medical buildings need to be free of potential sources of mold and mildew due to patients who may be adversely affected by spores and toxins associated with moisture intrusion on drywall and other building products that need to be dry and free of mold.
“We are grateful that our experience, expertise and being local have helped us rise to the top of the contractors choice of consultants to investigate the moisture intrusion issues.” said Bill Leys, president of William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC.
As building envelope consultants, William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC brings 20+ years of experience in leak investigations to the table, and with our experience in waterproofing technology will help solve the issues the building is having.
If your building is experiencing water intrusion, reach out today for a free conversation on how we can help you with solving the problems with our expertise in waterproofing. Call Bill Leys today at 805-801-2380.
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.
When decks fail structural inspections, they need to be closed from use until repairs are made.
“Two boston College students were injured when a deck railing collapsed at an off-campus party in brighton, officials confirmed Monday.
City inspectors told bc that the railing collapse was “caused by a structural failure involving deteriorated wood,” Dunn added.
Witnesses said the two people who were injured were holding drinks and talking when they leaned against the railing, near the point where it connected to the stairway. “Without warning, a section of the railing, estimated to be approximately six to eight feet in length, suddenly broke away,” causing them to fall onto the paved driveway below, police said.
Police said the railing and portions of the deck “appeared to be in poor condition.”
“The nails securing the railing to the deck structure were noticeably short and heavily corroded,” the report said. “Additionally, the wood appeared to be deteriorated and rotten in several areas, although it had been covered with paint, which may have concealed the extent of the damage. one person was apparently seriously injured as they were taken to the hospital with an advanced life support ambulance.
Get your balconies stairs and walkways in compliance with SB326/SB 721 now before an accident happens and lawsuits are filed.
Call the Deck Inspection Specialists at William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC and get started with a free quote for your inspection. Call Bill Leys the Deck Expert at 805-801-2380 today.
Bill Leys performing quality assurance inspections at Stanford Hospital
We’re pleased to announce that a landmark high rise in Century City (Los Angeles) has retained us to investigate leaks at several units that remodeled their decks into living space with storefront type windows enclosing the deck. The leaks occur during rain events accompanied by high winds.
Previous investigations identified what were thought to be several flaws in the window installation, however the repairs failed to remedy the problems as the leaks returned in the next storm.
Our experience and success in leak investigations helped convince the Board of Directors to retain us to investigate and recommend steps the Association can take make repairs after identifying the cause(s).
If your HOA is experiencing leaks from rain events and you need assistance to identify the cause reach out today for a free conversation about how we can help you! Call Bill Leys, the Deck Expert at 805-801-2380.
We aren’t quite superman as we can’t fly to the top of tall buildings, but our thermal imaging camera can “see” through walls and our moisture meter can detect moisture that ordinary mortals cannot!
We spoke with reporter Kevin Nguyen at the SF Standard regarding this property after he reached out to us asking about this property. We were the source that alerted Kevin to the fact that the picture below by Anna Nevskaya showed failed post tension cables poking out from the building.
Turns out that post tension cables that support the podium deck slab have failed. I saw a review on Google by an owner at the property and knew instantly this building is F’d.
I’ll now predict that the slab can’t be fixed and the building will have to be demolished. What engineer in their right mind would believe that the other cables that aren’t broken are ok and just recommend repairs to the failed cables? No one in their right mind would in my opinion.
Post tension cables have broken in numerous places in one area as seen in this photo taken by Anna Nevskaya (and republished here for public knowledge.) The cause is unknown but is likely related to either damage caused by a massive fire that occurred during the construction, water damage or both.
Details are still light, however residents of a condo building in Santa Clara have been ordered to leave the building until temporary shoring has been installed to support portions of the building that engineers are concerned about.
NBC 10 is reporting that concrete has come loose from the building and city engineers determined that the building needs to be repaired.
Judging from reviews that I found on Google, Villa Bella Condominiums, located at 1850 El Camino Real has had persistent leak issues since it was built. Robert S said in part on his review “One of the most concerning problems is the persistent water leaks in the parking structure. The developer insists that repairs can only be made when it’s dry, yet even after supposed fixes, the leaks return with every rain. This raises serious concerns about the quality of construction and whether these issues are actually being resolved or just patched up temporarily.”
Screen shot from an NBC 10 News story
This is just speculation but I would think that structural issues are a result of water intrusion into the below grade garage and has likely eroded support for columns and walls. That’s typically what I see when I do inspections with my engineers.
All in all, this is another reason why quality assurance inspections should be required on all buildings while they are being built to ensure that they meet all requirements by manufacturers of waterproofing products as well as structural inspections being done especially when footings, columns and walls are being poured or erected.
If you are a developer, architect or contractor who would like more information on quality assurance, inspections of your waterproofing systems being installed, reach out to us for a conversation about how we bring great value to your project.
“Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am, stuck in the middle…”
A recent Insta video posted by One Structural/Balcony 1 reminded me of the lyrics from a 1972 song by Stealers Wheel… And after watching the video several times I wondered why I wasn’t having a stroke over the numerous defects in their work. The video purports to show their expertise in rebuilding a set of stairs and waterproofing them. (The video appears to have been removed from their profile located here https://www.instagram.com/onestructural?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)
In the video it showed a timeline of rebuilding a set of stairs. As I watched it play out I screenshot a few pics, see below.
Starting with the framing rebuild, we can see water/fungus damaged stair stringers that weren’t replaced, damaged sheathing on the wall that wasn’t replaced and new wood that looks like my 3 year old nephew installed. Next set of defects we see is that although One Structural installed weep screed to the wall, they didn’t install weep screed down the stairs. Weep screed is required for ALL stucco terminations! The stucco is installed down to the deck to wall termination over the flashing. Stucco should terminate 2″ above the transition using weep screed. Next set of defects we see are that One Structural has installed is that they are using FortiFlash Butyl on the stair treads. According to FortiFlash Butyl Instructions, any application to a horizontal surface should not have any mechanical fasteners attached through it! Secondly we’re not aware of any manufacturer of deck waterproofing that specifies using FortiFlash under their system! FortiFlash Butyl Instructions With all the defects covered, these stairs await their eventual failure from improper construction. It may take a decade or more, but eventually defects always show up in our experience.
All in all, this video simply highlights the incompetence of the contractor to correctly rebuild and waterproof these stairs. The video also highlights why hiring William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC as your quality assurance inspector would have protected this poor association from incompetence and wasting their money.
1.) At the framing stage we would have brought the damaged framing and sheathing left in to the Associations attention.
2.) At the stucco installation stage we would have brought the lack of weep screed and improper termination to the Associations attention.
3.) At the stair waterproofing stage we would have brought the incorrect installation of the FortiFlash Butyl to the Associations attention.
Simply put, with a quality assurance inspector on your job, none of these defects would have slipped by. The work would be halted at the framing stage, the association would be able to demand corrections and at each step of the installation of the waterproofing the save thing would happen. Work would be halted, the association could demand corrections and with us as their advocate, they would have gotten the work done correctly.
We don’t like picking on others’ work, but when their work is just one defect after another, our duty to point this out overrules.
The lesson associations should take from this is quality assurance inspections can save headaches, heartaches and stop the built-in defects from continuing. Hiring the right contractor is paramount!
The best contractors aren’t afraid of having quality assurance inspections being done on their jobs, but the worst contractors are.
Give us a call (805-801-2380) or email us (LeysWaterproofingConsultants@gmail.com) to talk to us about quality assurance inspections for your HOA EEE repairs today!
Put William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC on your team today!
Even before William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC was formed, President Bill Leys has been assisting clients throughout California recover financial damages from contractors who caused construction defects that led to water intrusion and property damage. As an expert waterproofing consultant serving San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Kern and Los Angeles counties, we’ve helped clients recoup hundreds of thousands of dollars in the past few years.
Our expertise in building technology and waterproofing methods, investigative skills and ability to document and report on the problems, the causes and suggested repairs needed have allowed our clients to convince the Contractors State License Board, the contractors at fault and their Bond companies to act. We’ve seen great success with the CSLB investigating complaints, contractors agreeing to repair defective work and have bond and insurance carriers pay on claims made by our clients.
Some recent success stories include helping a client in San Bernardino recover 5k+ in damages caused by faulty deck waterproofing work by a contractor from Palm Springs. Our investigation found that the contractors “expert witness” actually had business ventures with his client, leading to the Judge concluding the contractors witness had implicit bias in favor of his client. In other words, his testimony was rejected by the Court. Our client got a court order that the contractor had to remove a lien on their home and could not collect $5,000 they claimed our client owed.
No blocking between the old and new plywood is a defect that will cause any waterproofing to eventually fail.
Another success story found us assisting a client in Avila Beach whose recent kitchen addition was apparently leaking. Our investigation found windows were leaking from faulty installation, deck flashing that leaked from faulty installation and as a result of our testing and report, the client was able to successfully initiate a claim against the contractors general liability insurance and recover funds to repair their damages. The client made a confidential settlement with the insurance company for well over 6 figures.
Water found inside the wall of a kitchen addition from defective installation of weather resistant barriers.
One of our greatest success stories is helping a senior couple in Morro Bay CA when their deck project went south on them. We did preliminary investigative work, finding that the waterproofing product a local Grover Beach construction company who calls themselves “San Luis Obispo’s Expert Deck Contractors” was improperly applied. The client, using our report, filed a claim with the CSLB and after the CSLB investigated, was able to recover over $30,000 in financial damages.
Destructive Testing Reveals That the Waterproofing Materials Specified Were Not Installed to the Minimum Specified Thickness
We were able to help a local non profit recover for damages caused by the improper installation of a low slope roof system last year; the entity was concerned after the roof was replaced and there were still leaks occurring. Our inspection and report found numerous defects in the installation of the single ply roof and with that in hand, our client was able to convince their contractor to repair and replace defective portions of the roof.
Improper termination of roofing system under a skylight.
If your building is suffering from water intrusion, if you suspect your home has defects, if your not getting a response from your contractor and keep getting brushed off, don’t delay any longer. Put the experts at William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC to work for you.
We can perform visual inspections, destructive testing (up to $1,000 in value) document the results, write reports that are easy to read, explain the problems and why we believe the defects are caused by a contractor or from defective materials and help you recover damages. Don’t let contractors ghost you, gaslight you or try and evade responsibility. Cslb laws are strict regarding time frames for when you can attempt to recover for damages. The sooner you act, the less damage will occur and the sooner you can start recovering.
SB 326 Deck Inspection Specialists * Building Waterproofing Consultants * Construction Defect Investigations By Bill Leys The Deck Expert 