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.
Tag Archives: lompoc deck inspection
Santa Monica Condo Board Selects William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC to Perform Their SB 326 Inspection
We’re pleased to announce that we were awarded the contract to perform a SB 326 inspection for a condominium complex on Pacific Street in Santa Monica. The three story building with decks stairs and walkways requiring inspection received several bids from competitors.
The Board after reviewing the bids and each firms credentials, selected our bid over the others, citing that our bid included a guarantee that our engineer will personally inspect the EEEs, that we don’t perform repairs and that our inspection team’s bonafides gave them the confidence in awarding the job to William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC.
Of course it might also have helped that the Associations Board has an engineer serving as president and recognized that qualifications matter. Our engineer is an award winning structural engineer with years of experience doing structural inspections.
Don’t leave your critical inspections to the lowest priced inspection company, there’s too much risk in thinking all inspectors are the same. They are not.
Our team has a waterproofing expert with over 20 years of experience in waterproofing and inspections. We guarantee in writing that an engineer will perform the inspection personally and that we don’t bid on any repairs as it’s a conflict of interest. Call today and ask for Bill Leys 805-801-2380.
We aren’t the biggest inspection company, but we are rated highly by our clients and peers as being one of the most diligent.
What Are the Biggest Red Flags Consumers Should Look For When Hiring an SB326 Deck Inspection Company?
Great question — SB326 inspections (balcony/deck inspections for multifamily housing in California) are a big deal, and unfortunately, not every company advertising them is legitimate. The biggest red flag consumers should watch for is:
🚩 If the company performing inspections also performs repairs.
Here’s why:
Conflict of interest – The law (SB326/SB721) was designed so that inspections are objective and not influenced by profit motives from repair work. If the same company inspects and repairs, they may be financially motivated to exaggerate problems or recommend unnecessary work.
At William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC we guarantee in writing that we do not have any conflicts of interest.
🚩 Compliance issues – The statute is clear: inspections must be done by a licensed architect, structural engineer, or a qualified building inspector who is not associated with a repair contractor. If someone is offering both, they may not be following the law.
Other red flags to watch for:
🚩No license disclosure (can’t prove they’re an architect, engineer, or building inspector). Who will be inspecting? An engineer or architect, or just some random people who may not be qualified in any way shape or form.
At William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC we guarantee that a structural engineer that we partner with will perform the physical inspection. Some companies flirt with danger by hiring subcontractors who do the inspection, and then those companies have an engineer robo sign your report.
🚩 Low-ball pricing far below market rates — often a sign they’re using inspections as a “loss leader” to sell repair work.
This is exactly right, and that’s what they are doing. We’ve done second inspections for clients and they were very happy to learn that the repairs the other company said had to be done in an emergency basis was exaggerated.
🚩Vague or incomplete reports — a proper SB326 inspection requires documented findings, photographs, and repair recommendations (if needed).
🚩 High pressure sales tactics — pushing you to sign a repair contract right after the inspection.
👉 Bottom line: Choose an independent, inspection-only professional who has no stake in whether repairs are needed. That independence is what protects you and your HOA from unnecessary costs.
At William Leys Waterproofing Consultants, as our client, we only work in your best interests.
Reach out today to get a quote and see the difference in our professionalism, due diligence and expertise. This is why we’re known as the deck experts.
Protect Your HOA With Our SB326 Inspection Certification
If you have been following our blog for any time now you know that we have been railing against the practice that is roiling the inspection industry where unethical inspection companies are using Engineers or Architects to robo sign reports that they have written after they have done the inspection. Sb326 clearly requires a licensed architect or engineer to perform the inspection however some companies are trying to deliberately circumvent that requirement and are using contracted labor to do the inspection instead of an architect or engineer.
We made up this form that you should ask your inspection company to fill out and certify/attest that their inspections follow the letter of the law and that a architect or engineer shall be performing the inspection.
The SB326 inspection certification form will give your HOA some legal protection (inquire with your attorney as to what limits there might be) from liability if a company tries to slip one by you. An example is a report that we saw from empire works where the report was clearly written by empire works and there was a letter attached to the report by the architect saying that empire works perform the inspection and that that architect concurred with their findings. Our discussions with attorneys has determined that the report does not meet the requirements of 326.
Download it here for free! The first doc is in word form. For the PDF version click the second that says Inspection Certificate PDF
William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC Signs A Simi Valley HOA For a Stage 1 SB 326 Inspection
We are pleased to announce that we’ve just signed a contract with an HOA in Simi Valley for a Stage 1 balcony inspection.
The inspection will include 44 balconies and 32 stairs that are required to be inspected under the bill.
Citing our experience and having the best price of the 3 bidding firms, the HOA has placed it’s confidence in us by voting to hire us
See the difference when you hire William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC! Get in touch today!
An EEE Evaluation May Have Helped Stop a Stair Collapse
On Monday we were in Pasadena looking at an association for the purpose of counting how many decks stairs walkways they have so we could bid to perform a SB 326 inspection job. The property is in an older established area that has Magnesite decking in the stairs and decks.
One stairway caught my eye with the long large crack in the Magnesite rubbing down the stair stringer. This critical piece of framing behind the Magnesite has, in my opinion, been infiltrated with water, has swollen and caused the Magnesite to crack and is likely dry-rotted as well, creating a life safety concern should it fail with people in the stairs.
We alerted the Board of Directors and their HOA manager to have the stairs shored up until repairs can be made. We would be remiss if we did not.
An EEE evaluation is not an inspection of the decks and stairs, but it is important to do in person to see the actual site conditions… And who knows, maybe we’ll catch a potential life safety issue at your association while we’re at it.
This is why we inspect, to protect life/safety and preserve your Associations property. Feel free to reach out to us for your free proposal for an SB 326 Inspection.
Another Day, Another Preventable Deck Collapse…
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.
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.
Santa Barbara HOA Selects William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC For Their SB 326 Balcony Inspections
We are pleased to announce that we have been selected by an HOA in Santa Barbara to perform their SB 326 Balcony Inspections. The 29 + EEEs, including decks stairs and walkways will be inspected by our licensed structural engineer and Bill Leys, a qualified waterproofing consultant who has been inspecting decks since 2007.
This job marks the 6th contract we’ve signed with the management companies HOA clients. They know when their clients contract with William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC that they are getting a company that has great references, no conflicts of interest and a commitment to our industry and HOA clients to do what’s right.
Contact us today for your free EEE evaluation and proposal. I walk every job before we bid, we know your property and we know how to do your job efficiently. There’s a reason we are becoming the deck inspection company to rely on. Contact Bill Leys today and get started on working with a company that has your interests first.
Palm Springs HOA Selects William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC To Perform SB 326 Inspections on Their EEEs
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.
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.
Condos That Are Less Than 10 Years Old Should Do An EEE Inspection Before You Pay For a Full SB 326 Balcony Inspection
SB 800 allows for condos to file claims for construction defects within 10 years of completion of the buildings. SB 326 adds additional language that strengthens some of that Bill and improves upon it. While condos may want to pursue construction defect claims, they may want to postpone their Balcony inspection if they suspect they have defects. Why?
Simply because the balcony inspection report becomes part of the association’s records for a minimum of 9 years and is part of the reserve study. A report showing numerous deficiencies may be a red flag to buyers, your insurance company and could cause unintended problems.
One attorney I know recommends pre-inspections of the EEEs and inspections of the building envelope in general. “I strongly recommend a pre-inspection. Open 2 or 3 locations and if there are issues,do repairs first. That way the report isn’t a surprise (and protects property values) and if the project is under 10 years old, the builder pays for inspections and repairs.” We concur and so we offer our clients pre SB326 inspections of EEE’s that are suspected of having damage/ defects.
We will open up several decks/ balconies for inspection of the structural elements. If there are damages and repairs are necessary then the beginning of an SB 800 claim can be started with the developer/builder. At the time of opening the decks and balconies we will document all conditions prior to destructive testing starting and then document while removing materials and exposing structural elements. Items removed will be documented, logged in and retained for evidence in our secure storage location. We will then issue a report to the Board on our findings.
As a structural engineer is not involved at this point and the number of elements that are being opened are limited, the cost to do this is much lower than a SB 326 stage 2 inspection would be.
If you would like a proposal for a Pre-SB326 Inspection, contact us today for a quote.
SB 326 Deck Inspections * Waterproofing Consultants * Construction Defect Investigations By Bill Leys The Deck Expert 