Tag Archives: waterproofing Expert

Deck Inspections, SB 326 Balcony Inspections

Railing Failure Illustrates the Importance of Doing Balcony Inspections

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.

SB 326 Balcony Inspections

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.

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.

SB 326 Balcony Inspections

There’s No Such Thing As A Licensed Balcony Inspector

There’s a lot of false information being spread by grifters in the balcony inspection industry.

First let me say that I have a lot of respect for my peers in the waterproofing consulting industry. Many of them are members of trade association groups, have designations as roof and waterproofing consultants and have the highest ethical standards. I salute them and place myself amongst them as a person who puts their client first, above all other interests.

Then there are the people in the balcony inspection industry who are spreading false information, sowing fear and generally lack any moral compass at all. They typically own a contracting business and are in the balcony inspection business to take advantage of unsuspecting managers and Boards of Directors of HOAs.

Case in point, the screen shot above from a deck inspectors website… Saying the inspection must be done by a licensed and certified inspector. There are no requirements set down in SB 326 that an inspector must be licensed or certified. What SB 326 says is the report must be signed by a licensed structural engineer or a licensed architect. There is no licensing entity, such as CSLB or The Board of Professional Engineers that issues licenses or administers tests for EEE inspections under SB326. This competing inspectors website is full of false information designed to frighten you.

Secondly, Associations are not required to file their balcony inspection report with the city or country building department. If, and only if the Structural Engineer or the Architect determines that an EEE is structurally unsound, and is a threat to life/ safety, then that person is responsible to notify the local building department, within 15 days after the inspection about the unsafe structure.

Third, we already caught this “deck inspector” having a balcony inspection report signed by a civil engineer and have reported that to the Board of Professional Engineers for investigation.

When you know the facts you’ll see why we and our fellow peers uphold the highest standards and are your best choice to perform your balcony inspections. Don’t get bamboozled, get educated, ask questions and above all always get 3 bids. Call us today for your free EEE evaluation of your HOA and rest easy knowing we are working in your best interests.

Go to the Board of Professional Engineers website and look up this license number. It doesn’t belong to the civil engineer who signed it. Now look up the name of this engineer and you’ll see that he is a civil engineer. https://search.dca.ca.gov/?BD=31. And just out of curiosity, isn’t it strange that this guy used the wrong license number?
SB 326 Balcony Inspections

William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC Signs Varsity Park HOA for An SB 326 Inspection

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.

Uncategorized

Leaky Windows Plague a Recently Built Home – Our Thermal Camera Reveals Interesting Results

We recently acquired a FLIR Thermal Camera/Moisture meter for our toolbox, and it didn’t take long to put it to work. A client suffered from water leaks in 3 sets of casement windows and at a sliding door on his 1 1/2 year old home during the storms in January.

Our FLIR Thermal Camera in action. Cooler temps show up as blue, warmer temps show up as white/grey. There is either no insulation in the wall or it is wet.

We took this unfortunate problem as an opportunity to use our Thermal Camera to “see” what the problems might be. It appears, pending further testing, that the window areas and walls where the 6 leaky windows were reported, have moisture in the walls. To confirm the results, we took the image below of a window/wall without any reported leakage.

Thermal image shows white/grey walls which in thermal language is a warmer temp, indicating that the wall is dry.

Using a thermal camera can quickly find and pinpoint where leaks may be hiding; and verifying it with destructive testing on the exterior will be the next step.

When it comes to leak detection and investigation, the experts at William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC can help you find the leak, identify the source and write a report for use in getting repairs made by your builder.

Don’t go it alone, the builder wants to spend as little as possible on “go-backs” and repairs, and your home and your family’s health may be at risk-mold, mildew, fungus infestations happen quickly.

Call us today if you are experiencing leaks, moldy odors and bad faith builders who seem to be brushing you off. We have experience investigating leaks and testifying in depositions and acting as expert waterproofing experts.

SB 326 Balcony Inspections

There’s No Word More Dangerous To Your Reserve Account Than “Free”

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Accurate?

For an HOA’s reserve accounts there is no word that could be possibly any more dangerous than the word free. Board members hear that word and everything else becomes a dull roar.

“Well they said they were going to do a free inspection if we contracted for the work and we know we have work to do anyway so we may as well kill two birds with one stone.” Well not an actual quote but close enough to what I’ve been told a couple times. My response has been simply there is no such thing as free.

First question is are they inspecting with a structural engineer or an architect on stage 1? If not then the report is not valid if it’s robo stamped.

Second question Is aren’t you supposed to get three bids for the repairs? Why are you not following the CC&Rs that require three bids on any capital expenditures?

Last question is do you really think that you were getting the best price on the repair work? Reality is is they have found an easy mark and are ready to separate your HOA from its money.

Don’t fall for free. You get exactly what you pay for. The experts at William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC Do not give away their services for free but we also don’t contract for any work. We work in the association’s best interests and ensure that your money is spent well on repairs that are necessary. With our no conflict of interest guarantee you know that we are working for you and will advise you to the best of our ability with the knowledge that we have so that you can make the best decisions for your association.

Call us today at 805-801-2380 or go to the contact box to the left and send us a message.

Uncategorized

Why You Need Quality Assurance Observers on Site During Waterproofing & WRB Installations

What is the total cost of having to fix construction defects that you found after the building is completed? When tenants are ready to do their tenant improvements, move in and start paying rent, but can’t because of water leaks, how much does unnecessary delays cost? How much does it cost to put up scaffold around a building, remove the brick facade, redo all the windows flashings and then put it all back together? How much in lost rents did this cost? $250,000? $1,000,000? We don’t know the answer to this question but we can take a wild assed guess…a lot!

This building is in downtown San Luis Obispo, and was ready at the end of November for tenant improvements to begin in the interior-a restaurant on the first floor, Amazon offices on upper floors; and then it rained. That’s when the owner of the new building discovered he had a major problem. Many windows leaked in the storm. So they hired a consultant (not us) who performed spray water testing in conformance with ASTM standards for leak testing.

Of the approximate 60 windows in the building, 45 or so leaked. After destructive testing was done, it was discovered that molded corner flashings that are installed into the rough opening of the window frames had a critical piece cut off by someone, and no one noticed or knew…and then the windows were installed, the facade installed and no one did any water testing or quality assurance construction monitoring during the window/WRB installation. ..if they had, the work could have been halted, the issue rectified and the costs and damages could have been greatly mitigated.

Daily costs for Quality Assurance Construction Monitoring run $1,200 a day. On a job like this building, maybe 30 days of construction monitoring may be necessary, or about $36,000.00. Which sounds like a lot until you go back to the costs of lost rents, building repairs and the headache of months of delays in getting your building back.

Quality Assurance Observations don’t cost, they pay with long term dividends on a properly dried in building. That’s what we do-help make buildings perform better, one building at a time.

Call us today for a discussion on how William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC can help you with quality assurance construction monitoring, where we observe, inspect, document and report to you, the building owner or general contractor, what we have observed, materials used, whether the work was done according to plans, specifications and the drawings.

Deck Inspections, Quality Assurance Observations

Shell Beach Home Destroyed By Water Intrusion, What Happened?

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  • No evidence of what lies beneath…
  • Happy fungi living La Vida Loca inside the wall next to the drain.
  • After stucco and WRB is removed, problems appear….
  • It gets worse! After stucco is removed, we see severe degradation of the home’s exterior sheathing and framing.
  • Peel n stick membrane with a hole in it destroys the notion that the membrane is “self-healing”. This was under a tile and mortar cap on top of the parapet wall.
  • Balloon framing on ocean facing wall.

Although this posts origins come from a job I did as a waterproofing contractor in 2013, it serves as an important lesson and example of why construction monitoring of the WRB and waterproofing is critical to ensure your building is waterproofed right.

This job started as a basic repair job; a new owner had purchased this Shell Beach home after having a home inspection. There was no specialized inspections done of the roof deck and roofing, which serves as an example of why you should have an inspection done by a specialist.

I was called because the home inspector did call out a problem with a roof deck drain. The area around the drain had soft spots in the plywood. My firm contracted with the new owner to replace the damaged plywood at the drain area only, install a new drain and waterproof it back. The owner liked the price and our plan because it was less than the credit back he got from the seller for doing the work. Note to buyers-have all repairs done before closing! The seller would have had to pay for what is coming next in this story.

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Deck Inspections, Uncategorized

Finally, Architects, Builders and Owners Have Local Waterproofing Consulting, Deck Inspections & Construction Monitoring Services in San Luis Obispo CA

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I’m happy to say we are opening our doors to San Luis Obispo area clients who are in need of building envelope consulting services. Leaking buildings cost millions annually in repairs and construction defects suits are costly and time consuming. Monitoring and documenting the waterproofing work can minimize exposure to risk.

Let me help you in your building envelope waterproofing needs. I have experience installing waterproofing systems and construction monitoring of waterproofing systems being installed, investigations of leaks in existing buildings and deck inspections for buyers of real properties. 

I’ve worked on some of the largest waterproofing projects in California that required construction monitoring services, including Alphabet Inc’s project in Mountain View, Stanford Hospital, Louise Packard Childrens Hospital, 1680 Broadway in Oakland and many more during my tenure with Allana Buick & Bers in Palo Alto.

I look forward to hearing from you and explore how I can help you on your project!

STANFORD HOSPITAL MONITORING THE WATERPROOFING OVER OPERATING ROOMS