Tag Archives: deck inspector

Horizon West Condominiums in Waukesha WI Proves Why Concrete Balcony Inspections Are Essential and Should Be Included Under “The Balcony Bill” aka SB 326 – Don’t Wait For That, Get Going On Getting Inspections Now

July 18, 2022 Bill Leys Leave a comment

Berkeley was the first warning with 7 dead and 6 seriously injured after a concrete topped wood frame balcony catastrophically failed, Surfside was the second warning, leaving 100+ people dead, now Horizon West Condominiums in Wisconsin is the third. All are poster children of management and BOD failures to inspect, maintain, repair & replace their buildings. Both Surfside and Horizon Wests associations knew for quite a while that there was deferred maintenance, refusal to pass special assessments to fix the deferred maintenance and then inevitable finger pointing when “it” hit the fan. On the positive side, at least Horizon didn’t collapse and no one died. On the negative side Horizon West HOA has to pull their building down as it has been condemned. That’s right the damage to steel reinforcing is so bad inside the building that it can’t be fixed.

“After inspections and the removal of unsafe balconies revealed rusted support beams, engineers sounded the alarm.” “They determined the six-story building had deteriorated to the point that it could collapse.”

Screen shot from Milwaukee Sentinel Journal shows workers removing balconies at Horizon West Condominiums

There are plenty of buildings in California that have concrete balconies. Many have some type of waterproofing applied to them, with varying degrees of success. Many builders don’t feel that concrete needs to be waterproofed. The bad news is it does. Concrete is porous, it allows water to soak into the deck and when that water is in the concrete it is now attacking the metal reinforcing holding the balcony together.

While the “balcony bill” doesn’t require that balconies made of concrete have to be inspected, It is my opinion that excluding these balconies was a grave mistake. Concrete gets attacked everyday by the elements.

Screen shot from a Reddit post. Concrete balcony hanging off a building after failing.

At William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC, we beseech our legislature to amend the balcony bill and include concrete balconies. While we are waiting for that to happen with bated breath, in the meantime we are encouraging condo boards and their management companies to get on board now with inspecting their concrete balconies.

Our structural engineer and our waterproofing experts at William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC will inspect your concrete balconies for signs of deterioration, spalling. cracking and rusting steel along with its waterproofing system to ensure that your balconies are safe. We think it’s extremely important to get ahead of the game rather than being behind. Trust me you don’t want to be that board of directors that has to announce to its membership that “due to past and present failure to inspect, maintain and repair, and prohibitive cost to fix it now, the building is condemned and everyone has to move out.”

Call me, Bill Leys, The Deck Expert, at 805-801-2380 for a fast response and quote on inspecting your concrete balconies and decks. While inspections aren’t cheap, they are certainly a lot less than paying to pull down a condemned building or defending a negligence lawsuit.

Destructive Testing Reveals The Reason Why The Stucco Soffit is Cracking

July 17, 2022 Bill Leys Leave a comment

A client of William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC has a problem with stucco under their balconies. The stucco is cracking on the outside edge of the soffit (the ceiling under the deck). Several residents were reporting that when it rained water would come out of the cracks.

The Board of Directors sought a waterproofing consultant to assist in finding out why their stucco was cracking and leaking water. They thought the source of the water intrusion was from the decks. After a search they found us and retained us to perform some destructive testing and investigate the source and reason for the cracking.

We started by making visual observations of the decks and surrounding building materials. We observed the cracked stucco under the soffits, we observed the decks and we observed the exterior walls of the balcony and the walls adjacent to the balcony.

Architectural styrofoam bullnose detail is cracking where it meets the wall. Note the efflorescence on the wall below.

Our observations found the soffits were indeed cracked and stained from water. We observed that the exterior walls surrounding the balconies also had cracks, and that a foam architectural bullnose detail was cracking where it joined the wall.

Firing up our grinder with a diamond blade to cut through the stucco, we found rusted stucco diamond lath. Stucco lath gives the stucco something to grip to.

Rusted lath under the stucco affirms water is leaking into the soffit, but from where?

We peeled back more stucco, exposing the structural beam at the outside edge. The beam had no damage to it at the two locations we opened.

Nice and dry and free of any signs of water intrusion.

Next we opened up the foam bullnose on the wall surrounding the deck. Here we found the apparent problem. The stucco behind the bullnose has large cracks in it. In the corner we found a large hole in the stucco with rotted wood behind it.

Behind the foam bullnose, a large crack exists.

Our 6″ long awl meets no resistance where wood framing should be.

Pending further destructive testing by a contractor, our initial conclusion is that the foam bullnose and cracked stucco behind it is the source of the water getting into the stucco soffits of the balconies. Now we just need to follow the waters path down the building and see if structural damage is occurring inside the walls.

If your stucco covered building has cracks in it, water coming out of soffits, if you suspect leaks, we encourage you to seek the help of the experts at William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC. We are uniquely qualified to investigate your building envelope problems and come up with solutions to fix them. As former contractors we understand waterproofing and building envelopes like few others do. As a former HOA manager you also get someone uniquely qualified and understanding of HOAs and their needs.

Call today for a discussion on how we might be able to help you. 805-801-2380 You won’t get just anyone answering the phone, you get me, Bill Leys, the owner of the firm.

SB 326 Balcony Inspections

Our Promise To Our Clients-No Conflicts of Interest When it Comes To SB-326 Balcony Inspections Under Civil Code 5551

July 15, 2022 Bill Leys Leave a comment

**We Find the Leaks Because Our Experience Tells Us Where the Leaks Are**

We know that there are companies out there, owned by a waterproofing company or a general contractor, that suddenly opened up a “deck inspection company” after the balcony bill became law, in order to feed their real business-contracting. I won’t name names, however I invite you to copy and paste the following into a word document, print it out and ask any competing bidders to sign this No Conflicts of Interest pledge.

if you are my customer, you get this pledge from me. Ethical inspectors should only be working for their client and not have any hidden agenda’s. To that end, all of our proposals will have this signed certification and promise from us.

AFFIDAVIT OF NO CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

On the HOA/Apartment Community property being inspected at: ____________________________________________________________

I, _______William Leys__________ affirm and attest that I and others associated with my firm:

Shall not provide a bid to repair any adverse conditions noted in our report
Have no direct or indirect financial interest in the building materials that may be specified
Do not receive financial benefits from contractors that may perform any work specified by us; and
Will not accept compensation or benefits from any party except you my client for services pertaining to this inspection.

As an ethical professional I certify in writing that:

Our Only Obligation Is to You, the Client

Inspectors shall conduct themselves in a fashion which brings credit to themselves, their employers and their profession. In addition to upholding the behavioral standards described above, an inspector/consultant

Shall preserve the confidence of his/her client or employer and serve each in a professional and competent manner.

Shall exercise unprejudiced and unbiased judgment and conduct when performing all professional services and inspections;

Shall practice only in his/her area of competence;

IV. Shall decline any activity or employment, avoid any significant financial or other interest, and decline any contribution if it would reasonably appear that such activity, employment, interest, or contribution could compromise his or her professional judgment or conduct, or prevent him/her from serving the best interest of his/her client or employer, without making full disclosure to the client and obtaining the client’s consent thereto;

Shall neither offer nor make any payment or gift to any public official, private client or industry representative with the intent of influencing that person’s judgment or decision in connection with an existing or prospective inspection/consultation I am interested in; and

By submission of this Affidavit, I affirm the above are true and accurate statements.

William Leys

Signature

Does your SB 326 deck inspector measure up? If they won’t sign this Declaration of No Conflicts of Interest, that might be a warning sign. Other warning signs are their contract has a clause that has a $10,000 penalty if anyone in the HOA writes a negative review, or if you see an ad that says “free with mail in rebate”.

I invite you to experience William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC’s personal service, expertise and guarantee of no conflicts of interest. I’m Bill Leys and I put my name on the company and it’s my reputation. I’ve partnered with a top rated structural engineer and can provide you with a balcony inspection report that is better than my worthy competitors and far far better than the wanna be inspectors.

Remember, there’s no such thing as a “free inspection if you contract with us to fix your decks”. It’s called a ruse. They lure you in with BS that is designed to make you feel like you are getting a deal and pack on the costs on the other side.

With William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC, your SB 326 balcony inspection under Civil Code 5551 is guaranteed to be free of conflicts of interest-you as the HOA are our only client. Call me now at 805-801-2380.

Thank you, Bill Leys

Deck Inspections, SB 326 Balcony Inspections

How Does an SB-326 Balcony Inspection Report Benefit Your Association?

July 13, 2022 Bill Leys Leave a comment

THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS DECK, SOMEONE HAS “SISTERED” NEW JOISTS ONTO THE CANTILEVERED JOISTS THAT WERE CUT BACK.

There are many benefits for your Association by performing a balcony inspection under SB-326, Civil Code 5551. In this post I’ll list a few of the most important benefits.

1.) Our SB-326 reports can help you in showing that your Association is Fannie Mae compliant which assure banks they aren’t making risky loans where deferred maintenance is a problem. Fannie Mae is looking at halting funding on high risk buildings with significant deferred maintenance.

2.) Our reports are preferred by Reserve Study companies as they contain detailed information on the decks and contiguous building materials condition. This allows your reserve study provider to be far more accurate in predicting remaining useable life and replacement costs. We are recommended regularly by Reserve Advisors Inc and other well known reserve study companies.

3.) Your insurance carrier is going to be happier knowing that your Associations decks, balconies, stairs and walkways are safe, waterproof and performing as expected. We’re seeing carriers doing their own inspections, and sometimes refusing to write a policy or the new premium is significantly higher because of increased risk. Our report can help you assure your carrier that the EEE’s are structurally sound.

4.) Your residents will be happier knowing that their balconies are safe and ready for enjoying.

When it comes to selecting a company that performs SB-326 balcony inspections under Civil Code 5551, there are a lot of choices. I hope that you’ll consider William Leys Waterproofing Consultants, as your SB-326 balcony inspection experts to perform your inspection. You can start by giving me a call at 805-801-2380 and asking me to do a free no obligation EEE evaluation of your HOA. (EEE stands for Exterior Elevated Elements. ) Or fill in the contact box to the left and fill in your info and hit send.

With William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC as your balcony inspection expert, you’ll be in good hands, I promise. I have 20 years experience as a contractor, inspector and technical rep in the waterproofing industry. My structural engineer has 20+ years experience performing inspections and designing structural elements on multi-family housing. Together we make the best team working for your Association.

California's SB 326 Balcony Inspection Experts