At William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC, we believe that an HOA board should understand exactly who it is hiring, what services each professional will provide, and who is responsible for the engineering judgments required as part of an SB 326 inspection.
Recently, correspondence from the California Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists (BPELSG) gave us an opportunity to take a closer look at how we described our SB 326 services on our website and in our proposals.
We took that opportunity seriously.
The result is a clearer and more transparent description of our role, the role of the licensed structural engineering firm performing the engineering services, and how the different parts of an SB 326 project are coordinated for our clients.
Why We Made Changes
SB 326 projects can involve several different disciplines.
There is an important distinction between waterproofing and building-envelope consulting, project coordination, and the professional engineering services that California law reserves for appropriately licensed professionals.
Although we understood those distinctions in practice, the Board’s correspondence caused us to examine whether they were communicated clearly enough in our marketing and contractual documents.
We concluded that we could do better.
Rather than simply changing a few words, we reviewed our website and proposal language with the goal of making the relationship easier for an HOA board, community manager, or building owner to understand before retaining us.
Clearly Identifying Who Performs the Engineering Work
One of the most important changes is greater clarity about the licensed engineering firm’s role.
William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC is a waterproofing consulting and project-coordination company. We do not represent ourselves as a licensed engineering firm.
When professional engineering services are required for an SB 326 project, those services are performed by the licensed engineering firm identified for the project.
That distinction is now stated more clearly in our materials.
The engineer is responsible for the engineering observations, professional opinions, determinations, and engineering report within the engineer’s scope of services. The engineering report is prepared and signed or sealed as required by the licensed professional responsible for that work.
Our role is separately described so clients can understand the services William Leys Waterproofing Consultants provides.
What William Leys Waterproofing Consultants Brings to the Project
Our expertise is rooted in waterproofing.
We have been inspecting decks and evaluating waterproofing conditions since 2007. That field experience gives us a practical understanding of how exterior elevated elements are constructed, how waterproofing systems deteriorate, where water commonly enters assemblies, and how seemingly minor waterproofing defects can contribute to much larger problems.
On an SB 326 project, our work may include project coordination, documentation, communication with the client and engineering firm, waterproofing-related observations and consulting, and coordination of other services within our agreed scope.
But experience with waterproofing does not turn a waterproofing consultant into an engineer.
We believe clients deserve to understand that distinction.
Transparency Should Start Before the Contract Is Signed
An HOA board should not have to decipher a website or proposal to figure out who will actually perform the professional services being offered.
Our revised approach is intended to answer those questions upfront.
Before retaining us, a prospective client should be able to understand:
– who the client is contracting with;
– what William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC is responsible for;
– which services will be performed by a licensed engineering firm;
– who is responsible for professional engineering judgments and the engineering report;
– what services are included in the proposed scope; and
– what additional investigation or services may be recommended if conditions discovered during the project warrant them.
We believe this level of clarity is good for everyone involved.
Taking Regulatory Guidance Seriously
Businesses sometimes view questions from a regulatory agency as something to fight or minimize.
We chose a different approach.
The Board’s correspondence gave us a reason to review how we communicated our services and ask a straightforward question:
Could an HOA board reading our website or proposal misunderstand who is performing the engineering services?
Where we believed the answer could possibly be yes, we changed the language.
That process has resulted in materials that we believe more accurately describe the respective roles of William Leys Waterproofing Consultants and the licensed engineering professionals involved in an SB 326 project.
Experience and Professional Licensure Are Different Things
California’s SB 326 inspection requirements exist for an important reason: exterior elevated elements can present serious safety concerns when deterioration is allowed to progress unnoticed.
A successful inspection program therefore benefits from both professional engineering judgment and practical knowledge of waterproofing systems and the conditions that cause them to fail.
Those are complementary areas of expertise, but they are not interchangeable.
Our goal is not to blur that distinction. It is to make it clear.
A Better Process for Our Clients
We believe the changes prompted by the Board’s correspondence have made our company better.
Our website is clearer. Our proposals are clearer. The responsibilities of the participants are better defined. And prospective clients receive more information about the structure of the engagement before deciding whether to hire us.
For an HOA board making decisions involving building safety, association funds, and long-term maintenance obligations, transparency shouldn’t be an afterthought.
It should be part of the inspection process from the beginning.
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Questions About an SB 326 Project?
William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC provides waterproofing consulting and SB 326 project-coordination services for homeowners associations and building owners throughout California.
If your association is preparing for an SB 326 inspection or trying to understand the condition of its exterior elevated elements and waterproofing systems, contact us to discuss the project, our scope of services, and the role of the licensed engineering professionals involved.
