Tag Archives: San Luis Obispo Waterproofing Consultant

SB 326 Balcony Inspections

Santa Barbara HOA Selects William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC For Their SB 326 Balcony Inspections

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.

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

Shoreline Condominiums Retains William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC For Their SB 326 Inspections

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.

SB 326 Balcony Inspections

Carhill Condominiums in San Luis Obispo Contracts with William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC For Stage 2 Balcony Inspections

We are pleased to announce that we’ve signed a contract with Carhill Condominiums in San Luis Obispo to perform Stage 2 inspections of the Associations EEEs.

Stage 2 inspections include destructive testing and borescope camera inspections after our Structural Engineer determined after a Stage 1 inspection that water was getting past the building envelope into structural members of the EEEs.

Bill Leys, president of William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC said ” We are fast becoming the choice of HOA managers and Associations to perform SB 326 inspections because of our commitment to being free of conflicts of interest by guaranteeing in writing that we do not own any contacting firm, bid on any work or have any interest in any products we may specify for repairs and restoration of an Associations EEEs. Managers recognize that low ball bids for balcony inspections come from firms that own waterproofing companies that want to do the repair work. These companies know they can pad the cost of inspections into the cost of repairs and the Association is hoodwinked into thinking they got a deal. William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC always seeks 3 bids for Stage 2 inspections and 3 bids for repairs to structural elements.”

Stage 2 Inspiring results- This deck has severe water intrusion issues after a Stage 1 inspection determined that water likely leaked into structural members.

The experts at William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC invite your Association to come experience our professionalism, expertise and no conflicts of interest guarantee and see why we are becoming the choice of HOA professionals to perform EEE inspections.

SB 326 Balcony Inspections

The SB 326 Balcony Inspection Industry is Awash With Clowns

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“Don’t you love farce?
My fault, I fear
I thought that you’d want what I want
Sorry, my dear!
But where are the clowns
Send in the clowns
Don’t bother, they’re here…” (lyrics by Stephen Sondheim)

I have noticed more and more deck waterproofing and general contracting companies that are suddenly becoming SB 326 balcony inspectors. They try to disguise themselves as balcony inspectors, but the giveaway as to what their true intentions are obvious when you start looking at their websites and offerings…

I see one company in Los Angeles that advertises 50% off balcony inspections; “savings” are applied to repairs…

I see a deck inspection company in Palm Springs that is owned by the same person who owns a waterproofing company out there…

I see a company in Los Angeles that is named after an African animal that looks like a horse saying that they will start demoing your decks and then have the structural engineer come inspect…

Watch out for clowns!

Currently the industry is under assault by less than ethical contractors who mislead their clients, use illegal contracts, have attorneys on their payroll that enforce illegal contracts and are just seeking to separate you from your reserve accounts.

They hide behind their reports which are written to suit their needs to try to force you to replace perfectly good balconies by saying that their useful life is a year or less. They use scare tactics, high pressure and lawyers that have the ethics of cockroaches.

When sorting the wheat from the chafe in finding a balcony inspector one must be diligent. Do background checks on the company You can use the secretary of state’s business portal to find who owns what, check Yelp and Google reviews, ask for references, check with other HOA managers about their experience. Insist that your balcony inspector sign a no conflict of interest statement. Insist that your balcony inspector has no ownership interest in any waterproofing or contracting company.

We here at William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC guarantee that we have no conflicts of interest in owning a waterproofing company, any material manufacturer or have any conflicts of interest that would interfere with putting the HOA’s best interest ahead of ours. Reach out today, we don’t have any clowns here.

Deck Inspections

Destructive Testing Reveals The Reason Why The Stucco Soffit is Cracking

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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.

Cracked stucco soffit and water stains.
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.

Deck Inspections, SB 326 Balcony Inspections

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

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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.

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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.