Tag Archives: Orange County SB 326 deck inspector

SB 326 Balcony Inspections

This Is How We Think Some of Our Competitors Do Their Balcony Inspections for The Price They Charge…

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 coding 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 and our engineering team 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 inspections since 2020, and with his engineering partners, provides peace of mind with our comprehensive detailed inspections.

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!

Our peers know who the best inspectors are!
SB 326 Balcony Inspections

HOAs Are Required to Have Final Inspection Reports Issued After Repairs are Done Under SB-410


Attention HOAs, SB 410 took effect on January 1st and imposes certain requirements on HOAs and on balcony inspection companies.

For HOA Boards of Directors, you are affected in several ways; the first being that SB326 reports are now considered to be HOA records, which means an owner can request and review them at any time. Secondly, reports cannot be withheld or redacted and third sellers of a common interest development property now must provide buyers with the most recent SB326 inspection report.

In regards to inspection companies, their reports must include as of January 1st, the date of the inspection, the total number of units in the community. How many exterior elevated elements there are? And I think it would be a good idea to break down how many of each type there are IE stairs versus balcones versus walkways. How many units have exterior elevated elements? How many exterior elevated elements were inspected and whether any safety concerns were identified.

Our engineering partner is already in compliance with these requirements and so we are ready to forge ahead and set the bar with our superior inspections and inspection reports.

Lastly But probably the most important part of sb410 is the requirement for HOAs to have an engineer issue a final report after repairs are made to life safety issues. This final report is needed to be able to enable buyers of property obtain mortgages and sellers of properties to be able to sell without undue delay. Personally, I expect that we will see legal claims brought against HOAs that fail to obtain final inspection reports and unnecessarily delay there homeowners to be able to close a sale.

As always, this is not legal advice. Please obtain the advice of your HOA attorney related to SB 410 sb326 and any other bills that may affect common interest developments related to balcony inspections.

Continue reading HOAs Are Required to Have Final Inspection Reports Issued After Repairs are Done Under SB-410 →
Deck Inspections, SB 326 Balcony Inspections, SB 721 Inspections

Railing Failure in Boston Sends Two People to The Hospital

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.

Our warning notice to not use the deck until it is fixed
When decks fail structural inspections, they need to be closed from use until repairs are made.
Continue reading Railing Failure in Boston Sends Two People to The Hospital →
SB 326 Balcony Inspections

A Client Asks Us “There Are So Many Deck Inspection Companies, Aren’t They All The Same?”

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.

Continue reading A Client Asks Us “There Are So Many Deck Inspection Companies, Aren’t They All The Same?” →
SB 326 Balcony Inspections

Watch Our Videos on TikTok, Insta & YouTube!

Did you know that we have a YouTube, Instagram and TikTok channel for you to keep up with us? Yep it’s true.

We post our latest videos first on TikTok. Follow us here  http://tiktok.com/@bill_leys_the_deckexpert

Then we generally post to YouTube a few days later. Follow us here https://youtube.com/@bill-leys-is-the-deck-expert?si=CkGOi5RC7ps4w_Z0

Soon after we post the videos to Instagram, follow us here https://www.instagram.com/wleyswaterproofingconsultants?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

We appreciate the outreach from so many people around the state who are appreciative of what we’re doing here at William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC!

If you don’t trust your balcony inspection report, if your balcony inspection company is pressuring you to take out special assessments, if your balcony inspection company also does repairs, you need to reach out to us today to help you defend against unethical immoral tactics designed to separate your HOA from its money. We perform second opinion inspections that can help an HOA determining if they got a good report or not.

Call today, I answer the phone personally! Bill Leys 805-801-2380

Personal service at affordable prices!
SB 326 Balcony Inspections

Instagram Featured Video Stair Rebuild by One Structural/Balcony 1 Shows Multiple Construction Defects Being Installed in Real Time!

“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.
Continue reading Instagram Featured Video Stair Rebuild by One Structural/Balcony 1 Shows Multiple Construction Defects Being Installed in Real Time! →
SB 326 Balcony Inspections, Uncategorized

Is Dr Balcony Competent to Discover Defects? We Have Doubts After Our Re-Inspection of EEEs Found Multiple Defects They Failed to Identify!

We were recently hired to do a follow-up inspection at a condo in the Los Angeles area. The client, an individual homeowner, had serious concerns about the report the association received from Dr Balcony. Their concerns began when the inspection was done, saying that a person showed up, said they weren’t licensed but that “someone” who was a licensed architect would review their photographs and information before signing the report.

We got a copy of the Dr Balcony report and reviewed it before we did our own inspection. (Please note our inspection was not an SB326 inspection.) Many of the photographs in the report were blurry and weren’t marked up to identify a defect that supposedly was in the photograph (we mark up all our photographs to show you exactly what defect we found) and the report was difficult to read. We completely agree with our client, I’ve read more than a few reports from other companies and Dr Balcony’s report is a tough read. Defect codes that are for their internal use confuse readers, information on an EEE are in different places and many photographs are of irrelevant subjects.

An example of that is Dr Balcony inspectors seem to obsess over code issues that SB 326 doesn’t require us to concern ourselves with. (We do check railing heights & railing stiles and note that they may not meet current code, same with stairs, but these aren’t noted as defects, rather we advise that the HOA may wish to address these in the future and that your insurance company may require upgrading in order to renew a policy).

Continue reading Is Dr Balcony Competent to Discover Defects? We Have Doubts After Our Re-Inspection of EEEs Found Multiple Defects They Failed to Identify! →
SB 326 Balcony Inspections

SB326’s Forgotten Requirement for Newer Condominiums

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 instead 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.

Continue reading SB326’s Forgotten Requirement for Newer Condominiums →
SB 326 Balcony Inspections

SB-410 Takes Affect January 1st 2026, Is Your Inspector Compliant With Its Requirements? We Are!

January 1st is almost upon us and every year in California we see new laws come into effect on the first of the year and this year is no different.

You can watch our video here if you prefer

Deck Expert Bill Leys Discusses SB 410 & How It Effects HOAs & Deck Inspection Firms Reports

Notably for HOAs and balcony inspection companies SB 410 will take effect on January 1st and impose certain requirements on HOAs and on balcony inspection companies.

For HOA Boards of Directors, you are affected in several ways; the first being that SB326 reports are now considered to be HOA records, which means an owner can request and review them at any time. Secondly, reports cannot be withheld or redacted and third sellers of a common interest development property now must provide buyers with the most recent SB326 inspection report.

Continue reading SB-410 Takes Affect January 1st 2026, Is Your Inspector Compliant With Its Requirements? We Are! →
SB 326 Balcony Inspections

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.

These walkways and stairs are EEEs as defined in SB 326 and will be inspected by the best inspection team in the industry.

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.

Continue reading Santa Monica Condo Board Selects William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC to Perform Their SB 326 Inspection →