The other home inspector missed this “little” issue
A recent inspection we performed for a prospective buyer of a condominium in San Luis Obispo demonstrates perfectly, why you as a buyer need to have your own inspections done at your own cost. This particular inspection found many issues that were glossed over as simply needing patching and painting rather than complete replacement of major components such as windows, doors, decks and subflooring under a shower.
The seller had a pre sale inspection done at their expense and provided that report to the prospective buyer. He had questions and doubts about the report and reached out to us after searching for a waterproofing and building consultant.
Our inspection found that many items the other inspector glossed over in his report as needing “patching and painting” or minor repairs were far from the real situation which was that all the doors and windows were past their useable lifespan and needed to be completely replaced. We found dry-rotted framing on decks, open and exposed framing on columns, dry-rot in the substrate below a shower floor which requires the substrate to be replaced due to fungus infestations.
Major issues that will require tens of thousands of dollars in repairs are now known issues that will need to be disclosed by the seller if the client who hired us doesn’t complete the purchase. This example illustrates perfectly why inspections don’t cost money, they save you money.
If the prospective buyer does move ahead with the purchase they can negotiate concessions, a lower price or credits to account for the costs necessary to fix the problems we found.
Take a look at the photos below to see what we found, and then give us a call at 805-801-2380 to get a quote on your building envelope inspection on the home or building you are considering purchasing.
When you hire William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC, you are hiring an ethical, experienced company who puts our clients interests ahead of our own.
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!
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.
We are pleased to announce that we have been retained to investigate leaks on a new addition on an Avila Beach residence by the owners of the property.
The owners of the property had hired a local contractor, who with a team of subcontractors built a dining room with a deck above to expand the living space and take advantage of the views that they have. The contractor completed the project shortly before last winter’s rains started up and the owners quickly realized that there were leak problems in several areas of the new construction.
We have performed visual inspections as well as rudimentary water testing that has found several areas of concern that will need to be further investigated via destructive testing.
Water testing a window in the search for leaks
If you’re building is leaking reach out to us today for assistance in investigating the cause and devising a solution to repair the problem. The longer you wait the worse the damage can become with water intrusion issues into structural elements.
Watch out for monsters that are disguised as “Deck Inspectors” but are really contractors out to steal your HOAs money.
It’s almost Halloween and soon children will be out ringing doorbells for candy by saying trick or treat… And we’ll smile and admire their costumes and fill their bags with some treats and send them on their way.
HOAs are at risk every day of the year however from “trick or treaters” that are disguised as deck inspectors but are really contractors looking to empty your bank account. We’ve seen an uptick in complaints from several HOA managers and HOAs that the deck inspector they retained is now giving them a contract to repair the decks and it seems very high in price and has clauses in it that are onerous and very one sided.
How can you weed out these characters from your bid list and protect your HOAs from being fleeced? While nothing is guaranteed, there are ways to stop these hoodlums in their tracks. To start with, ask your bidders if they have any ownership or other interest in a construction or waterproofing company (we don’t). Ask that they sign a no conflicts of interest guarantee ( we do) and if they do have an ownership or other interest in a contracting company, decline to accept their bid.
Bidding on work after doing an inspection is a gross conflict of interest in our opinion and managers agree with us. Tell your CLAC representative that SB326 needs to be amended to eliminate the loopholes in the current bill. Tell them to ban inspectors from providing bids.
If we find work is needed at your Association, we assist you with writing scopes of work, qualifying 3 contractors to bid and ensure that you are receiving apples to apples bids.
We are open and upfront, if your deck inspector sends to be cagey or avoids answering your questions, you may be getting set up by a contractor.
Have questions? Send us an email with the contact box to the left and we’ll get started on giving you a free EEE evaluation and proposal for your deck inspections. Don’t wait, the deadline is fast approaching.
By now many people have read the story of a deck collapse in a vacation rental in Georgia…9 people were injured, including several senior citizens. Fortunately no one died.
The pictures of the “accident” show a typical deck collapse scene, the rotted wood at the house to deck connection, the furniture and deck spilled all over the ground, rescue crews giving first aid and transporting victims to the hospital.
A typical deck collapse with multiple victims caused likely by a poor connection to the house with rotted wood failing and sending the deck crashing to the ground.
As a professional performing deck inspections I can say that I see this typical scene over and over, particularly on single family homes and it seems, very often that they are on rental properties. After viewing this picture above I tweeted out to Airbnb and VRBO that they could help lead the drive to deck safety by requiring owners to have professional inspections signed off before they can rent the property and let people use the deck. Very often on rental properties there are a number of people visiting having a party on the deck and then they go over to the edge of the railing where the view is to have a picture taken of the group and that’s when the decks framing becomes overloaded and the deck crashes to the ground.
Influential and powerful companies like VRBO and Airbnb have the ability to drive owners to have inspections performed on the deck. Insurance companies can also start requiring inspections of decks before they insure a property.
As a professional inspector whenever I am at a party or someone’s house with a deck on it I will walk underneath the deck and take a look at the connections between the house and the deck, the framing the posts etc., to make sure that I am not going to be the victim if the deck comes down. That may make me sound like a Debbie Downer but I’ve seen the results of too many deck collapses hospitalizations, death, long-term injury. The Berkeley deck collapse should have been a wake-up call Nationwide but we just ended up going back to the usual and typical shrugging and saying not much we can do…
Well there are things we can do, we can require inspections on vacation rentals where it’s likely that large groups of people will gather in the deck. We can stop or severely reduce deck collapses by requiring owners to have their decks inspected yearly. A typical deck inspection might run $250 to $350…
To paraphrase Rage Against the Machine, “It has to start somewhere, it has to start sometime What better place than here, what better time than now?” It’s time to start fixing this preventable problem.
We are pleased to announce that we have been selected to perform inspections under SB 326 for a property in Palm Springs CA. With over 70 EEEs to inspect, the association sought inspection quotes from some of the best inspection companies in California. We are honored to be thought of as highly as Sigler & Associates, A7 and Focused Inspection Group and asked to bid this job.
The Board of Directors interviewed each company after reviewing their proposals. I specifically told the Board during my interview that if our company lost the job, that I knew they had competent bidders that had no conflicts of interest and that I could sleep soundly knowing that they would be in good hands if they selected another company. I continually warn my managers that there are unsavory deck inspectors that are only seeking to take advantage of unsuspecting HOAs that are easy marks. We guarantee that we have no conflicts of interest. Some deck inspectors own waterproofing companies that want to do the repairs without you getting three competitive bids…
People say I’m crazy to talk up my competitors, but I don’t look at these companies as competitors, I look at them as peers worthy of respect and that they represent our industry well. I’m happy that we were awarded the job… And look forward to bringing your Association competitive bids against my worthy peers. May your association win the best inspection it deserves.
Your association deserves the best inspector who has zero conflicts of interest.
Call me, Bill Leys the Deck Inspector at 805-801-2380 for a fast free quote on your SB 326 inspection. We’ll be happy to bid against our peers and so will they.
A client of William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC has a problem with stucco under their balconies. The stucco is cracking on the outside edge of the soffit (the ceiling under the deck). Several residents were reporting that when it rained water would come out of the cracks.
The Board of Directors sought a waterproofing consultant to assist in finding out why their stucco was cracking and leaking water. They thought the source of the water intrusion was from the decks. After a search they found us and retained us to perform some destructive testing and investigate the source and reason for the cracking.
We started by making visual observations of the decks and surrounding building materials. We observed the cracked stucco under the soffits, we observed the decks and we observed the exterior walls of the balcony and the walls adjacent to the balcony.
Cracked stucco soffit and water stains.Architectural styrofoam bullnose detail is cracking where it meets the wall. Note the efflorescence on the wall below.
Our observations found the soffits were indeed cracked and stained from water. We observed that the exterior walls surrounding the balconies also had cracks, and that a foam architectural bullnose detail was cracking where it joined the wall.
Firing up our grinder with a diamond blade to cut through the stucco, we found rusted stucco diamond lath. Stucco lath gives the stucco something to grip to.
Rusted lath under the stucco affirms water is leaking into the soffit, but from where?
We peeled back more stucco, exposing the structural beam at the outside edge. The beam had no damage to it at the two locations we opened.
Nice and dry and free of any signs of water intrusion.
Next we opened up the foam bullnose on the wall surrounding the deck. Here we found the apparent problem. The stucco behind the bullnose has large cracks in it. In the corner we found a large hole in the stucco with rotted wood behind it.
Behind the foam bullnose, a large crack exists.Our 6″ long awl meets no resistance where wood framing should be.
Pending further destructive testing by a contractor, our initial conclusion is that the foam bullnose and cracked stucco behind it is the source of the water getting into the stucco soffits of the balconies. Now we just need to follow the waters path down the building and see if structural damage is occurring inside the walls.
If your stucco covered building has cracks in it, water coming out of soffits, if you suspect leaks, we encourage you to seek the help of the experts at William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC. We are uniquely qualified to investigate your building envelope problems and come up with solutions to fix them. As former contractors we understand waterproofing and building envelopes like few others do. As a former HOA manager you also get someone uniquely qualified and understanding of HOAs and their needs.
Call today for a discussion on how we might be able to help you. 805-801-2380 You won’t get just anyone answering the phone, you get me, Bill Leys, the owner of the firm.
SLO & Santa Barbara Realtors-Do you know William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC inspects wood and waterproof decks for buyers (and sellers)? We are the only company that does deck inspections where our duty and interest is only to the client, we do not bid for repairs! Why is this important? Because it’s the law. Contractors performing inspections for real estate transactions may not bid on work found to be needed. “Free” inspections predicated on doing the repair work is included. B&P Code section 7195 imposes certain duties and constraints, including prohibitions on repairing properties on which an inspection was performed in the last 12 months, accepting kickbacks and payments of referral fees to agents. Beyond that, it’s simply not ethical. We work for your client; that’s it. If your client, after getting our inspection, wishes to verify that the repairs to the deck or buildings weather resistant barriers are being installed correctly, they have the option of retaining us to perform quality assurance visits to observe and record a contractors repair procedures, materials used and following the plans and manufacturer’s specifications. Learn more about our services here in our website.
Careful checking if the integrity of the woods found this problem at a post connection.
I’m happy to say we are opening our doors to San Luis Obispo area clients who are in need of building envelope consulting services. Leaking buildings cost millions annually in repairs and construction defects suits are costly and time consuming. Monitoring and documenting the waterproofing work can minimize exposure to risk.
Let me help you in your building envelope waterproofing needs. I have experience installing waterproofing systems and construction monitoring of waterproofing systems being installed, investigations of leaks in existing buildings and deck inspections for buyers of real properties.
I’ve worked on some of the largest waterproofing projects in California that required construction monitoring services, including Alphabet Inc’s project in Mountain View, Stanford Hospital, Louise Packard Childrens Hospital, 1680 Broadway in Oakland and many more during my tenure with Allana Buick & Bers in Palo Alto.
I look forward to hearing from you and explore how I can help you on your project!
STANFORD HOSPITAL MONITORING THE WATERPROOFING OVER OPERATING ROOMS
SB 326 Deck Inspections & Building Envelope & Waterproofing Experts
SB 326 Deck Inspections * Waterproofing Consultants * Construction Defect Investigations By Bill Leys The Deck Expert 