Many companies are offering deals that have hidden motives behind them. Before buying, you need to know what it’s really going to end up costing your HOA.
William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC was recently contacted by a member of an HOA in Ventura County where that member had learned that his association’s Board of Directors were considering passing a special assessment in the range of 2 million dollars for repairs to balconies and stairs.
Information we got from the owner was that a large nationwide HOA reconstruction firm told the HOA that they had 13 emergency repairs and 300+ non emergency repairs to do and the budget was apx 2 million dollars for this work.
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.
Fiduciary duty is defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary as a “duty obligating a fiduciary as an agent or trustee to act with loyalty and honesty in a manner consistent with the best interest of the beneficiary of the fiduciary relationship as a principal or trust beneficiary.”
CAI’ magazine “Common Ground” has a very good article in their March April issue on fiduciary duty. Quoting from the article Bob Diamond, senior council at Reed Smith in McLean Virginia says”the essence of fiduciary duty is to act in the best interests of those who you serve. A director must put aside personal considerations when making decisions on behalf of the owners.”
Rotting wood on a deck.
When it comes to SB326 and fiduciary duty the duty of the board is to carry out the inspections as required by law regardless of cost or a lack of money in the associations accounts to pay for it. A lack of knowledge or understanding about SB326 will not be a legal defense or at least won’t be a strong defense to not carry out an inspection of the common area Exterior Elevated Elements in my non legal opinion.
Balcony collapses in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles CA. Fortunately only minor injuries.
I have questions. Was this a condo or an apartment? Was an SB326 or SB721 inspection done and what were the findings? Who did the inspection if it was inspected? If it wasn’t inspected, why not? SB326 required inspections to be done by January 1, 2025 and SB721 was extended a year until January 1, 2026. Did a landlord/property manager delay the inspection if it was an apartment? Did a board of directors delay an inspection despite the deadline?
All these questions need to be asked by ABC7 Los Angeles who reported this incident. ABC 7 please reach out to me and I will meet you on site today, Sunday Feb 16th to review the accident scene from the street. 805-801-2380 Bill Leys
Is humor the best way to market our SB326 inspection coordination services? Viral memes seem to resonate with people these days so it’s worth a shot.
If you need a SB326 inspection you need to vet your inspector thoroughly. Are they independent and free of conflicts of interest? Any inspection company that owns a waterproofing or contracting company is not free of conflicts of interest.
We’ve seen multiple clients coming to us with SB326 reports in hand that were written by contractors, signed off on by an engineer who didn’t actually inspect the EEEs and the report is written to favor the contractor who now uses that report to extort HOAs reserve funds.
At William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC we guarantee in writing that we have no conflicts of interest. We don’t own a waterproofing or contracting company, we hire an independent licensed structural engineer who writes the report and we write a supplemental waterproofing report that is appended to the engineers report.
Call today, time is running out for getting your inspection done before the deadline. 805-801-2380 ask for Bill.
Watch this video where Bill Leys discusses some if the problems SB326 has and how Associations can protect themselves from the loopholes in the bill.
One of the first things to do when qualifying your balcony inspector is to ask if they own or are employed by any contractor, Waterproofing or general contractor… And if they answer yes… Well Bill has some advice for you and you’ll just have to watch to see what to do.
Yes it’s true, we have a YouTube channel that we will be bringing educational content too.
Our first video discusses who can inspect EEEs under SB326, what warning signs to watch for when considering inspectors and why William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC is a great choice for your inspections.
Be sure to subscribe to our channel and comments are always welcome!
We compete against Dr Balcony around central and southern California. They are members of multiple CAI Chapters. Despte their low price offer, I know of at least 2x we won a job against them even though my company submitted a bid that was more than theirs.
Why? When I was able to give a presentation to a board of directors and explain how we operated, that we had a licensed structural engineer performing the inspections, that I did a supplemental waterproofing report that was attended to the engineers stamped and sealed report, that we inspected 100% of all the EEEs to ensure that nothing was overlooked, we were awarded the job. They saw my years of experience as a waterproofing contractor, that an engineer was personally on site doing the inspection, that our no conflicts of interest guarantee that we don’t bid on repairs, that we get competitive bids without obstructing the free market, that the 20% discount is a fraudulent attempt to subvert the market, where competitive bidding and a companies experience matter.
I have it on good authority from a client who had this company on site & when they saw who was inspecting the deck complained to their HOA, lo and behold an architect appeared and inspected their deck at that time. They did not know if the architect continued to inspect other decks or just theirs.
I am making inquiries to the Architectural Board & the Board of Engineers as to whether the engineer or architect has to actually be on site & perform the inspections or if they can allow an individual without any engineering or architectural qualifications to perform the inspection basically write the report & then they will put a cover letter on that says the report is accurate.
This offer of taking 20% off the lowest bid that the association received is just a bad sales tactic because they want to do the repairs, & that 20% off will be easily added back into the cost of the repairs because who is keeping them honest once they get the work?
My email to CAI-CLAC asking them to modify SB 326 to ban inspectors from bidding on repairs.
If you’ve experienced high pressure tactics, feel taken advantage of, that unnecessary work was done it you are being told needs to be done, let CLAC know by emailing them at lsrc@caiclac.com
Please see below
Good afternoon,
Here’s some documents from EMPIREWORKS, a vendor member of CAI who isliterally using SB 326 to steal from HOAs. They are considered among the the worst of the worst by my fellow inspectors and I who do not bid on repairs.
We’re being asked for second opinions by HOAs who are being told all their decks need to be replaced ( they don’t) at hugely inflated costs. These companies use pressure tactics, to threatening to report the HOA and that there’s huge penalties if they don’t comply.
Please call some of the inspection companies listed at Davis Stirling. These companies will tell you the same thing I’m telling you.
Please read some of the contracts; are they a company that you as counsel to an HOA client would advise the contract is ok to sign? Seeing these egregious clauses , which I’ve been told are unethical at best and illegal and unenforceable at worst, would you even advise a client to continue negotiating with or would you advise them to run?
This is what’s out here and what we’re dealing with on a near daily basis.
I’m sick to death of the people who will literally walk through the blood on that sidewalk in Berkeley to steal a dollar. The anniversary of Berkeley is coming up in June, and those victims must be remembered and their deaths not be in vain. That is why I am so vocal. Appreciate you listening.
Thank you,
Bill Leys President William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC Follow me on Twitter BlueSky Threads Insta and Tik Tok, search @deckinspector
All the contractors preying on HOAs by pretending to be Deck Inspectors have voluntarily agreed to stop offering repairs to HOAs they inspected.
They also agreed to stop using out of state architects and civil engineers to robo sign their reports that they wrote that benefit themselves.
Further more, they voluntarily agreed to have transparency, ethics and honesty in their dealings with their clients.
This of course is an April Fools day joke, unethical contractors who prey on HOAs and take advantage of them by exploiting the loophole CAI-CLAC left in SB326 will continue to F over clients every chance they get!
Sign the petition demanding CLAC to insert language in the bill to ban inspectors from bidding on repairs to HOAs they inspect! CAI-Orange County CAI BAYCEN CAI GRIE CAI-Greater Los Angeles Chapter CAI BayCen
At William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC we guarantee in writing that we have no conflicts of interest!
We are pleased to announce that we have been selected by a large HOA in Santa Ana to coordinate their balcony inspections under SB326 requirements.
With over 100 EEEs to inspect the visual instruction will take apx 3 days of time to do, with 50+ 2nd & 3rd floor decks, numerous walkways and stair cases, the association knew it needed to select an independent unbiased inspector with the qualifications they required- no contractors allowed to bid, years of experience and a guaranteed structural engineer who actually is on site doing the structural inspections.
Numerous 2nd & 3rd floor decks will be accessed by ladder, minimizing disruption to the residents. Numerous stairs with wood stringers are required to be inspected under SB326.
We are transparent and open to being questioned about our means and methods, our experience performing waterproofing observations and our ethics. We don’t bid on repairs that an HOA may need, we assist HOAs in getting specifications written and three bids from independent contractors who don’t do balcony inspections.
Contact us today for your free EEE evaluation and proposal for balcony inspections. Call 805-801-2380 ask for Bill.
A high wind event that hit Grover Beach in San Luis Obispo county on Wednesday shows us why inspections of decks are so important.
Improper connections of wood panels with glazing in them to the framing & Extensive Dry-rot at posts.
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The apartment building on Grand Ave has a walkway on the second floor, and at some point someone added large panes of acrylic sheets or glass in wood frames to help block the near constant wind that comes through.
The high winds exposed the significant dry-rot that was present in the framing and posts, along with exposing the weak connections. Unfortunately due to the structural damage several residents are not able to access their homes and are living in a motel temporarily.
Because of the damage residents could not return to their homes.
Landlords and HOAs can avoid the liability and potential injuries to residents and guests by having their EEEs inspected by the experts at William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC.
We can do your SB721 and SB326 balcony inspections for you and get you into compliance. Do not expose yourself to unnecessary liability by failing to get inspected.
Reach out today for a free EEE evaluation and proposal.
As a waterproofing expert coordinating #SB326 inspections on condos in California, I often hear the complaints about costs of these inspections. Stage 1 visual inspections are costly, and if the Structural Engineer determines that further Stage 2 destructive testing is necessary, it can get very expensive very quickly.
However, Stage 2 inspections are very important. When I’m doing my observations of the waterproofing elements, I often find signs of water intrusion into the framing. My engineer and I confer and I explain what I’m seeing, what I think is the cause and they generally agree that a Stage 2 inspection ( destructive testing inspection) is necessary.
Recently we coordinated Stage 1 inspections of a condo building near Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. We determined that there was evidence of water intrusion into the framing post the waterproofing systems and the independent structural engineer called for a Stage 2 inspection. Coordinating with a team from Whitestone Construction, Whitestone removed stucco and masonite siding on 5 decks that are on the 3rd floor of the building. These decks are covered with 1″+ of concrete on them, and after the crew from Whitestone removed stucco and masonite siding, we discovered significant structural damage that was so alarming we forwarded the photos to the engineer who immediately ordered the decks off limits to use.
The concrete decking and stucco siding hid serious damage that presented immediate life safety concerns to us. This meant the decks were unsafe to be occupied until repairs are made.
While looking at the damage, the Berkeley balcony tragedy came to mind. Here, as in Berkeley, students used the decks to hang out on, perhaps leaning on the railings to talk to friends below. A person in these balconies could have fallen from a railing giving way because the framing it was secured to was so rotted out wouldn’t hold.
The horrors of Berkeley can never happen again. Thirteen students in Berkeley fell 40′ to a concrete sidewalk. Seven died and six are left with serious life long debilitating injuries and the mental pain of that terrible evening.
Berkeley is why we coordinate balcony inspections, and Berkeley is why I have become a warrior in the battle against bad contractors doing bad work that gets people killed. SB 326 needs some fine tuning, but overall it is saving lives. My peers in the industry and I stand up for keeping buildings and decks safe.
Independent inspectors, free from conflicts of interest, are your Associations best defense against another Berkeley tragedy from happening again. Yes inspections aren’t cheap, but a lifetime of being haunted by nightmares of people dying in a fall from a balcony and the costs of a lawsuit for negligence will quickly outrun the costs of doing inspections.
Reach out today to get started on having WLWC coordinate your balcony inspections and get your association compliant now. Don’t delay thinking the deadline will be extended ( it might be) and even if it is, dry-rot is working on weakening your decks, putting people’s lives at risk.
Don’t delay your balcony inspection! The life you save could be your own.
We are pleased to announce that we have been selected by a 40 unit HOA in Cayucos on the Central Coast of California to coordinate their SB 326 inspections of balconies stairs and landings to bring them into compliance with Civil Code 5551 aka SB326.
If your Associations decks need to be inspected under SB 326, reach out for a free quote on our coordination servicestoday. We visit your property, r independent licensed structural engineer determines how many EEEs need to be inspected and we determine the best method of access to the EEEs. Then we can give you a fixed quote for coordinating your Stage 1 inspection.
This Association sits near the ocean and enjoys great views down the coast. While residents enjoy the views from their decks, we want to be sure they can do so safely. With over 40 SB326 inspections under our belt and the fact that we’ve been inspecting decks since 2007, the Association found our experience to be just what they were looking for.
Find out why managers trust us to be their authoritative source for coordinating balcony inspections and get started now! Call us direct at 805-801-2380 or use the contact us box on the left side of the page.
William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC recently coordinated an SB326 inspection in Simi Valley at an older condo complex. The association has numerous styles of decks and stairs and landings serving the upper units.
As experts in waterproofing and investigating decks we had our suspicions about the integrity of the decks and stair landings waterproofing system. Using our trusty moisture meter, our instincts proved to be correct in our inspection.
Unfortunately (or fortunately) we discovered many stair landings have hidden dry-rot issues that we uncovered. We also found numerous decks with dry-rot around the deck drains where water had intruded into the plywood substrate and framing. While these problems won’t be inexpensive to fix, the association is fortunate we discovered them early, before a landing rotted out and collapsed or someone’s foot went through a dry rotted deck.
Hidden dry-rot at stair landing. More hidden dry-rot High moisture reading in a stucco covered support column Deteriorated steel stairs. Dangerous railing is loose and unable to prevent someone from falling off if they leaned on it.
Experience matters when it comes to coordinating & performing deck inspections. We’ve been doing inspections of decks and stairs since 2005, and have investigated and fixed thousands of decks as a waterproofing contractor since 2003. As balcony inspectors, we partner with an award winning structural engineer to provide the highest quality inspections that we can.
Contact us today to get started on your deck inspection project. The deadline isn’t that far away. Call Bill Leys direct at 805-801-2380 or use the contact us box on the left side of the page today!
Call 805-801-2380 * SB 326 Inspection Coordination * Waterproofing Consultants * Leak Investigations * Expert Witness 