Category Archives: deck leaks

balcony inspection, Berkeley deck collapse, construction defects, deck expert, deck inspection, deck leaks, deck maintenance

Signs Your Deck Needs To Be Inspected

July 16, 2015 Bill Leys

We have had a lot of traffic recently to our site from people who are concerned about their decks. We want to assure you that your waterproofed deck probably isn’t going to collapse, but many wood decks do collapse on a near everyday basis in the US. How can you check your waterproof solid surface deck to see if it has any warning signs of danger?

Do use our photograph’s to check your deck for signs of problems and dangerous conditions. If you find these conditions, you’ll want to have a deck inspector review your deck and give you a report with a basic scope of work to use to obtain bids with. Don’t let a deck waterproofing contractor write his scope of work, they may be complete and truthful or they may be adding extra work and profits on.

Even if your deck is in no danger of collapse, water getting under the surface of a waterproof deck can cause damage to framing and the plywood substrate.

1.) Therefore, cracks on a deck are a warning sign. Look at your deck carefully in the field of the deck. Many times plywood moving will cause a deck to crack.

Urethane deck with seam tape showing through coating.
We recommend a professional inspection and evaluation.

Long cracks in the field of the deck
should be inspected and repaired.

Some decks crack because of moving plywood. This deck’s
coating cracked because of plywood not being level.

Cracks at the edge of a deck may indicate a more serious issue underneath.
Further evaluation is recommended.

2.) Rusted metal flashings on deck edges or at deck to wall areas. Rusted areas in field of deck. Rusted railing bases.

Rusted railing bases have lost their strength and now may present a hazard
as they won’t be able to retrain you from falling. An inspection and fast repairs
need to be done in many cases to maintain safety.

Any type of plant growth around a railing bases indicates moisture
conditions underneath.

Rust on the metal flashing like this is a sign that further inspection
should be done and a scope of work written.

3.) Ponding Water. After a rain storm, your waterproof deck should be dry within 24 hours to at most 48 hours. Water should not ever pond longer than that. An inspection of the problem areas can help you determine what work can and needs to be done to correct a ponding water issue.

Ponds in the middle of a walkway always create problems.

Water sitting at the wall can attack exposed sheet metal causing rust and leaks.

Water sitting on an edge indicates a high edge.

Watch for future articles discussing drains and scuppers.

deck leaks, tile decks

Blogger Details The Building of Their New Home, Shortly After, Their Tile Decks Leak-See the Pics

January 16, 2011 Bill Leys

I was doing a Google on tile decks…and found this Blog on a homeowners building their house and their tile deck leak issues.

The first set of pics show the house being framed/flashed. Problems are already apparent, such as the floor of the deck being almost the same height as the floor of the house…then tile is going on. The result will be tile higher than the floor, water trapped in thresholds…click here to see the start of the job

Here is an actual statement by the owner on the cause of their deck problems…
“The 3rd wettest January on record helped to underscore the ongoing problems we had with water leaking into the great room. The roof over this area is actually the roof deck. The roof deck is surrounded by a stucco parapet and the theory for the cause of our water problems is that when the tile was grouted, the weep screed in the J-metal at the lower edge of the stucco got plugged. This caused water to back up into the stucco and seep through the wooden parapet structure (natural stucco is not waterproof). Any way, to fix it involved tearing out stucco and tile and re-flashing, re-sealing and putting everything back. 3/1/2005 – ”

“One wouldn’t think that in the desert, leaking water would be a big problem–and most of the time it isn’t. On those infrequent occasions, though, it can really be a mess. Our major leaking problems come from two areas. The first, and most serious, is water leaking from the roof deck. Current theory is that water is not exiting the stucco on the parapet through its normal path out of the bottom of J-metal that defines the lower limits of the stucco. This area has been blocked by tile grout. The other leaking is coming from the door thresholds. These were originally installed below the level of the exterior tile. Not a good idea. They were replaced with a higher version, but the adjoining deck tile was not replaced. This left a gap, and again, more water.”

See the horror show pics of water leaking in everywhere. Click here

See the horror show pics of the house being torn apart to remove wet insulation, drywall etc. Click here

See the horror show pics of the deck being torn apart to fix the stucco and deck. Click here

Moral of the Story-Do it right once or pay the consequences…

deck leaks

Euphemisms for leaks-From Architect Jody Brown’s Blog

December 10, 2010 Bill Leys

Please feel free to contribute to this post…
This is kind of the You Might Be a Redneck If…lists. Read on through, click to read the rest and fill in your own leak scenario…

I’ve been drawing waterproofing details all week, and it might be affecting me. So, I’ll let you in on a secret. There are certain things that Architects may say or do that are clear warning signs of future water infiltration problems. I think the kids are calling them “leaks” these days. If you happen to be reviewing the drawings with your Architect and you’re drifting off to sleep as he waxes and wanes and waves his arms around, try to perk up a little if you hear him say one of these things. These are just euphemisms for leaks. So, beware, and, begin the process of lining up expert witnesses.

If your Architect has endeavored to dissolve the barrier between inside and out – you might have a leak

If your Architect has flooded the interior spaces with natural light – you might have a leak (yes, they will actually use the word “flooded”)

If your Architect has written a specification – you might have a leak. If your Architect has not written a specification – you might have a leak. If you Architect does not know what a specification is – you might have a leak.

If your Architect uses the term “innovative” – you might have a leak.

If your Architect drives a Porsche Cayman – you might have a leak (seriously, they might as well where a sandwich board sign that says “the end is near” on one side and “I can’t afford a 911” on the other.)

If your Architect has “streamlined the process” – you might have a leak.

If your Architect has designed the building to be “one with nature” – you might have a leak.

If your Architect has developed custom software to facilitate the design and fabrication of the elaborate titanium undulating forms representing the unrest of our current economic climate – you might have a leak (that’s right, I’m looking at you Frank Gehry)

If your Architect misspells the word “Bituminous” on his drawings – you might have a leak (actually, that’s not fair, no one can spell that)

READ ALL OF THE LEAK EUPHEMISMS BY CLICKING HERE

construction defects, deck leaks

Poor Basement Waterproofing Work Leads to Lawsuit in VA

November 23, 2010 Bill Leys

Lawsuit Over Townhome’s Construction

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Reporter: Mark Kelly l Videographer: Sally Delta Goin

Lynchburg, VA – The owner of a Lynchburg townhome says part of his home was designed poorly – rain has flooded the basement 16 times in three years. Now, he’s suing the developers, the builders, and the homeowners association at Sterling Park.

Monday, a judge allowed the case to move forward.

Michael Bowers says the outside of the house just wasn’t built right. He’s an engineer and he collected a binder of evidence he says proves it.

Bowers’ basement looks beautiful now. But, Bowers says what is now meticulous was once moldy.

“I had to rip up the carpet up to here and this entire room was moldy,” said Bowers.

He redid the basement with water durable materials, making the moldy new again. But the transformation wasn’t cheap. He sank another $7,000 into a $12,000 finished off basement. He says someone built his townhome wrong.

“When all the water around here drains, it floods right to my back door, goes in right through the brick or under the house, so it causes this whole drainage or flooding problem,” said Bowers.

But he says the players – developers, builders, the homeowners’ association– are all passing the buck.

“You contact one and they go, ‘Well, you really need to contact the developer,’ said Bowers. READ THE REST BY CLICKING THIS LINK

deck leaks

Five Days Of Rain = The Ultimate Water Testing!

January 22, 2010 Bill Leys

Well California is drying out a bit after 5 days of rain…I’d call that the ultimate water test for decks, walls, windows and doors…

How did your decks do?

Call Bill at Central Coast Waterproofing if your decks aren’t performing up to par! 805-545-8300

deck leaks

Rain Will Determine if That "Cheaper" Bid Was the Right Bid to Take

October 14, 2009 Bill Leys

With all this rain here in California, we’ll soon find out whose work is performing as it should be, and whose work is leaking like a sieve.

So often the deciding factor in selecting a waterproofing contractor is price; customers can’t decipher the trade jargon on a bid and don’t do their due diligence in researching companies before spending their hard earned money…

Someone once said, “You can’t spend a little and get a lot.” With waterproofing, that’s double true…good luck to those unfortunate enough to be watching water pour in their home from a leaky deck that got waterproofed by the cheapest guy; it’s about to cost you 10x more than you thought!

Call the Deck Expert, Bill Leys at 805-801-2380 to get your deck problems under control!