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.
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.
William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC recently completed 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. 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 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!
A 9 year old child is lucky to be alive and only suffered some relatively minor injuries when the railing on a deck he was playing on gave way and he fell from the second story deck to the ground.
Our screen grabs from a TV news channel shows just how bad a shape the railing that still remains on the deck is in.
Stiles on the right side of the deck are obviously in poor condition. The whole front part of the railing is gone, indicating widespread dry-rot and likely improper fastening of the railing to the posts.The remains of the railing lay below the upper deck.
I’ve seen similar railings like this in the past where a carpenter uses a nail in the top of the railing and one on the bottom to attach the stile. This method is not a very good method to achieve a 200 pound resistance to someone leaning against it, and especially for small children who are probably leaning on the stile’s themselves. These cheap wood stiles will often rot out in a few years from being exposed to water.
On one inspection I did at a property for sale, I kicked the wood stiles with a bit of minor force and the stiles failed. The seller was furious that I “damaged” his property, but I pointed out that if his grandchild leaned on that railing he likely would have fallen 15 feet to a concrete sidewalk below. My answer was I probably saved someone’s life, so fix it properly.
A better method of protecting occupants is to use pre built railings that are made of metal welded together in the factory.
Falls through railings are unfortunately a common occurrence, and many result in death or severe injuries. Years ago a Board member of a condo I managed fell through a dry-rotted railing while on vacation, after a few days he passed away from grievous injuries.
This is another example of why we inspect folks.
When it comes to life safety, don’t fool around folks, the reason we inspect is to prevent accidents.
If you are buying a property with decks and railings, have it inspected by an expert like ourselves before closing.
If you are an HOA get your decks inspected by the experts at William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC. We guarantee that we have no conflicts of interest and that we only work for the associations best interests.
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.
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.
We are pleased to announce that Shoreline Condominiums in Santa Barbara has selected William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC to perform their SB 326 balcony inspections.
Shoreline Condominiums has over 60 decks, multiple walkways and bridges for pedestrians and numerous stairs supported by wood framing that requires inspection under the bill.
Clients understand how important choosing the right inspection company is to perform these vital inspections and appreciate that I guarantee in writing that I have no conflicts of interest. I don’t own a waterproofing company or have any interest in any company’s products that I might specify to repair your decks.
Call me today to schedule a free EEE evaluation of your property. 805-801-2380. Ask for Bill,bI answer the phone every time and you’ll be in good hands.
We are excited to announce that we were selected to perform the balcony inspections at Varsity Park HOA in Moorpark by the Board of Directors of the HOA under SB 326.
Balconies await inspection by Bill Leys, the Deck Inspector.
The property is managed by A Diamond Management located in Thousand Oaks.
Bill Leys, President of William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC said the award of the contract to the firm is another sign that the managers of associations recognize the experience of the company and that the firm’s competitive pricing allows HOAs to be able to afford the best deck inspectors in the industry. “A lot of other companies don’t have deck inspectors who have actually installed deck waterproofing systems like I have. Years of experience installing deck systems and tearing apart failed deck systems teaches one a lot more than what ” book learning”: ever can. Real experience makes a difference.”
Please contact us for your free no obligation EEE evaluation and proposal for an SB 326 inspection. We visit every job personally so we know your property, and what it will take to inspect it effectively. We don’t ask you to send us pictures and tell us how many decks you have… That’s not your job to do the deck inspectors job.
See why Bill Leys is The Deck Inspector. Call or email us now.
After much internal debate inside my head over whether I should publish a copy of our Waterproofing Report here, I’ve decided to. Much of that debate was should I protect our report from our peers and competitors? Part of me said yes, I should protect it, but the better part of me said, no publish it and let it be seen.
Another happy client
First, I want potential clients to be able to see it, how do I do that? By publishing the sample…Second reason to publish it is to share what I’m doing in an effort to bring transparency and education to the industry. With feedback and peer review, we can all get better at saving lives through better inspection techniques, methods of reporting and improving at every opportunity.
To potential clients, please take a look and read a sample supplemental waterproofing report to our Structural Engineers SB 326 structural report. (The SE’s report is not included in this download.) If you like what you see (and I am regularly updating the template to improve it even more) then get in touch for your free EEE evaluation on your HOA.
To my peers and friends, take a look and see what you think. Send me feedback if you care to. The common goal is to never let Berkeley happen again. Feel free to use anything you see. Adopt it into your reporting. If we can help each other our industry benefits and so do our clients.
We wanted to share a few comments we’ve received this month from several clients and peers that we are working with on various projects…
We don’t ask or solicit anyone to complement us, feeling that’s a little pretentious. We simply work as hard as we can for our clients and with our peers, believing that having a good team in place with clients who appreciate what we do is the key to their projects success.
We specialize in working with HOA’s and building owners who have water intrusion issues and want to get them fixed.
Send us an inquiry using the form on the left side of your screen or call us at 805-801-2380. We look forward to helping you solve your waterproofing issues.
I was going to write an article on SB 326 and discuss the bill and it’s intricacies, although not as a lawyer, because I’m not one and I can’t give legal advice-except to advise you to get legal advice…and so while I’m researching and of course reading other experts articles, opinions etc, I came across one article that stood out from the rest. It was written by David Swedelson.
David Swedelson of Swedleson & Gottlieb LLC is located in Los Angeles CA. David and the firm he is a partner in do a lot of HOA related law work and I’ve known him for nearly 18 years as member/vendors of CAI Channel Islands Chapter. David is passionate about the HOA industry and laws governing the industry. He wrote what I’d basically write-an unvarnished opinion that hits all the issues in the bill and addresses the problems a Board/Association could face if they don’t get their inspections done.
Lets look at some points David makes; On pages 2-3 of the article, David points out the fact that some balconies/walkways may be exempt from needing to be inspected. This is absolutely true; however, as David points out, just because a deck is over living space doesn’t mean it and the railing assembly shouldn’t be inspected. We agree, inspect even if it’s not “required” to be inspected. Decks over living spaces are roofs first, and therefore generally the HOA’s responsibility to maintain, repair and replace. Inspections form the basis for maintenance to ensure building components reach their maximum life expectancy. And inspections cost far less than defending lawsuits if something was to happen.
Under “Who Can Make The Required EEE Inspections” on page 3, David is again totally correct saying that inspections MUST BE MADE BY A LICENSED STRUCTURAL ENGINEER OR ARCHITECT and while a contractor may be involved in the inspection process opening up areas for inspection, a licensed contractor is NOT qualified to make these inspections. Further David cites an example that we see happening all the time, contractors telling associations that they will do the inspections and have their inspections signed off by a licensed architect or structural engineer. YES, YES and YES. I have heard of a civil engineer who has been caught signing an SB 326 report. So Associations need to be very careful with whom they have do their inspections with. We as professional SB 326 inspectors work with, and our reports are appended to the Structural Engineers stamped report. We guarantee in writing that we have no conflicts of interest.
On page 4 David addresses an important point under “What Happens If The Expert Finds Dry Rot Or Other Conditions Affecting The Structural Integrity Of The EEE?” Again, David is correct in saying that the inspector must send a copy of the report to the local code enforcement agency within 15 days of completion of the report. If there are structural defects that presents a hazardous condition, or even a hint of a hazardous condition, the structural engineer isn’t going to say well maybe it won’t collapse; no they are going to default to it’s hazardous and needs immediate attention. Why? Surfside. If you don’t know look it up.
David is correct on the dollar figures and as the deadline looms, experts will get booked up. What he doesn’t mention though is that this will be the time when grifters take full advantage of desperate Associations who are trying to meet the deadline for inspections.
On page 5 of David’s FAQ’s “What If A Board Fails To Comply With The New Balcony Inspection Law?”, David’s points are pointed. There could be a lack of coverage for the Board if an inspection didn’t get done, someone gets injured and sues.
David cites several relevant cases where that happened, and so the judicial deference rule will not protect Boards under all circumstances. Probably not something you as an Association want to be the example on…
All in all, the issues David brings up, the examples etc, all show how important it is for HOA’s to get started sooner rather than later-2025 is 2 years away; far but not that far. It’s going to get busier and busier for balcony inspection companies, and that’s not something that can be changed quickly. There’s only so many us professional and ethical balcony inspection companies and we can only do so many inspections. They take time and so do reports.
Call us today for a free EEE evaluation at your HOA, and take David Swedelson’s words with you as you seek to get your inspections done. We’re at 805-801-2380 or email us through the contact box on the left side of the screen.
SB 326 Deck Inspections & Building Envelope & Waterproofing Experts
SB 326 Deck Inspections * Waterproofing Consultants * Construction Defect Investigations By Bill Leys The Deck Expert 