Builder & Developer Magazine Article by Atty's Richard Glucksman & Grace Nguyen Discusses SB-800 and Recent Court Case That Affects Sub Contractors

A recently decided case heard by the California Supreme Court, Crawford v Weathershield Mfg. Inc. affirmed a Court of Appeal ruling in that based on the language in the subcontract, the subcontractor has an obligation to defend the indemnitee, under an express indemnity agreement.

This decision puts subs on notice to read and understand their often complex sub-contracting agreements with developers and their general contractors. That detail is the type of detail that would escape an average person's grasp of the seriousness of the issue, and signing that type of contract could put you into a lot of financial hell, with paying attorneys for defect litigation.

Maybe it's time to stand up to these developers who want the cheapest damn price they can get out of us, then they want our asses to suffer for their choices?

Read the rest of the article by clicking our headline...damn attorneys ;)

MER-KO PAREX BECOMES SPONSOR OF WATERPROOFDECKCOATINGADVICE.COM

Ending our week here at Deck Expert Central, we are pleased to announce the addition of our newest sponsor to our website and blog MER-KO PAREX, the manufacturer of Shurdeck and Weather Deck, along with urethane coatings, decorative finishes, sloping compounds, flooring for commercial and residential and waterproofing membranes.

Look for their ad here now under our sponsor list and an ad will be on our website next week.

We are pleased to have Mer-Ko aboard, they are a company that has it's customers best interests in mind and with their new management team, Buck Buchanan, Susan Foster, Tim Harris and Ken Rhodes in palce, the company is poised to grow and provide superior service, products and warranties.

Click the logo to go to Mer-Ko's website, tell them you found them here at the Deck Expert's sites.

Welcome Mer-Ko!

Roof Consultants Institute So Cal Announces Seminar on Roofing Issues

So Cal Chapter of RCI, Inc.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Leed and Title 24: Roofing Issues

Long Beach, CA

MARK YOU CALENDAR. MORE INFORMATION TO COME.

RCI
Continuing Educational Hours (CEHs) from RCI
5

AIA
Learning Units (LUs) from the American Institute of Architects
5
Registration and Location
Registration Time: 1:30 pm

Program: 2 pm to 7:30 pm

Registration Fees:
RCI / AIA / CREIA Member: $100 Non-Member: $125
Registration fee includes course handouts, beverages at registration and a light dinner.

Parking: FREE

Location:
The Grand Event Center
4101 East Willow Street, Long Beach, CA 90815
(562) 426-0555


To register, go to www.RCISoCalChapter.org

Questions call: 866/914-4RCI

CENTRAL COAST WATERPROOFING/HILL BROTHERS CHEMICAL COMPANY TEAM UP FOR HABITAT for HUMANITY

The Deck Expert's company CENTRAL COAST WATERPROOFING has donated it's labor and time to Habitat for Humanity's Atascadero project on Traffic Way, and will be applying the Desert Crete decking system from Hill Brothers Chemical Companies Desert Brand Division
that has been graciously donated by the company for this project. See www.DesertBrand.com for more information on their products.

Adam Hill of Hill Brothers said "We are happy to be a part of this worthy enterprise, and we will support our contractors who are willing to give back to the community."

Hill Brothers has been in business since 1923, manufacturing chemicals and flooring and decking products ever since. Desert Brand's Magnesite flooring has been in use since 1923 and is still popular today. Their new Desert Crete system is a cementious system that utilizes metal lath and polymer modified cements to achieve a high strength decking system that is used on buildings throughout the West.

"Central Coast Waterproofing is overjoyed at being able to volunteer our time to this project. As a good citizen of the world, we want to be a part of building family's dreams, and here was an opportunity. When Jon Wickstrom at Midland Homes asked us if we'd like to participate, there was no hesitation, we said YES immediately." said Bill Leys.

The base coat and flashing will be placed this coming week, and after most construction is completed, we'll come back and apply a finish coat.

Look for pictures of the install next week!
Click our headline to find out how you can be involved

West Coast Waterproofing Services Finishes $250k Job at Pine/6th in Long Beach

Having started this job way back in November of 2007, West Coast Waterproofing Services of Paramount has just completed the final phase of the job, completing the application of the finish to the public courtyard at 100 6th Street in Long Beach.

The final value of the job approached $250,000.00 in waterproofing work, according to Bill Leys, the project manager for West Coast Waterproofing.

Desert Crete decking from Hill Brothers Desert Brand Decking & Flooring Division was installed on 139 decks, which were also rebuilt with new plywood and framing due to prior leaks. Sloping, crickets and scuppers will assure that rain water drains properly, and the Desert Crete system will provide the owners of the building, UDR (formerly United Dominion Realty Trust)with a low maintenance easy to care for surface that remains resilient to use and abuse from residents.

The biggest part of the project though, and the most prominent, is the 14,000 square foot Courtyard. The old concrete planters in the courtyard with overgrown landscaping were removed, then West Coast Waterproofing removed the old urethane coatings from the entire courtyard, scarifying, scraping and bead blasting the surface down to the original concrete substrate, then a Hill Brothers Desert Brand decking system, Desert Flex.

After prepping the surface, a leveling/bond coat was applied, and then the task of applying polymeric waterproofing was performed. Staffing levels were high, as the weather in February/March was fickle and protecting the parking garage and storage below was vital. The 14,000 square feet was successfully waterproofed in 2 days, with the screed coat placed on days 3, 4 & 5. Sloping in many areas was performed to improve drainage issues that the Courtyard suffered from.

A new raised deck system was built over the courtyard in the main area, with new modern planters and landscape plants. ADA compliant ramps and sets of stairs provide access to the new common area.

Hill Brothers Desert Brand division worked closely with us to ensure that the system tied into the drains and that the Bison Brand deck supports were compatible with our system.

Along with the decks and courtyard, West Coast Waterproofing provided all of the planter waterproofing, applying Tremco 250GC to apx 3000 square feet of planters on the exterior of the building.

With all new modernized apartments, a fresh look on the building and Desert Brand decking, the building is a place we are proud of working at with the General Contractor, Cal Building & Maintenance (CBMI) of Hawthorne.

Pine Avenue marks the 2nd major rehab job with CBMI, West Coast Waterproofing having redone the decks on a project of their last year in Marina Del Rey on Northstar.

For a bid on your HOA rehab project, call Bill Leys, the Deck Expert, at 805-801-2380.

Pictures of the Week-What's Wrong With This?

So I looked at a job yesterday here in SLO County; the contractor is taking over a job from another contractor, and the decks and stairs were already flashed and drains installed...
This is what I found...looking at the stairs, can you see what's wrong with the flashing/weep screed?

Yup, the weep on the down leg is not there, the stucco guy didn't install a weep, and just brought the paper and wire to the edge of the flashing. Now I have no way of bringing my waterproofing into the corner and out onto the flashing...this is a big leak possibility unless the stucco is opened and weep installed and terminated properly.

Then I looked at this drain set up...I have no idea what they were thinking of either...

How our Ancestors Waterproofed-Ancient History Tales

Trivia question-when did our ancestors start to waterproof things?
Answer-from a recent find in Mexico, around 3500 years ago!

Here's an article I got from my Google alerts...

Mexico City, August 18 (ANI): Archaeologists have gathered the earliest evidence of tar used as waterproofing material in Veracruz in Mexico, which is more than 3,500 years old.
Earliest remains of containers with tar are those recovered in the municipality of Hidalgotitlan, Veracruz, as part of El Manati archaeological project.
Olmeca cultures that inhabited the Gulf of Mexico vicinity used tar to protect soil, terracotta or wooden constructions, floor and wall covering, boat sealant, as well as glue.
According to University of Pennsylvania archaeologist Carl Wendt investigations, Olmeca people collected tar directly from deposits, many of them concentrated at Eastern Veracruz, between Coatzacoalcos and Choapa rivers.
Once collected, it was transported to the dwelling areas, where it was warmed up and combined with other materials like sand and vegetal elements to harden it.
Contemporary inhabitants of the Gulf coast vicinity still use tar to flatten the entrance of their houses, patios, floors and highways, but mainly to fix boats, as their ancestors did more than two thousand years ago.
In December 2007, in the right margin of Coatzacoalcos River, two Cayucos were found.
This finding represented archaeological confirmation regarding the use of tar, or chapopote, as waterproofing and sealant material, which is at least 2,500 years old. Although the wood has disappeared, the tar coating remains.
Alfredo Delgado, man in charge of INAH archaeological project, explained that the ships' vestiges confirm that the use of a waterproofing and sealing is a millenary technique.Cayucos' rests consist of several thin tar layers that vary among 1 and 7 mm depth. (ANI)

San Diego Union Tribune Has Article on the True Costs of Deferred Maintenance on HOA's

Postponed repair work catching up with condos
by Laurie Weisberg
Dilapidated stairways, rickety decks, leaky roofs, moldy walls and corroded sewer pipes. These are the sort of structural headaches confronting scores of homeowner associations as costly repairs to older complexes drain their communal treasuries.

After years of deferred maintenance, compounded by tightfisted members' unwillingness to pay higher monthly fees, condominium associations are facing a looming financial crisis, condo experts say.

“In order to maintain the assets, you have to have long-term thinking, but what we've seen is short-term people not planning for long-term futures,” said Karen Conlon, president of the California Association of Community Managers.

When repeated Band-Aid fixes no longer suffice, condominium owners find themselves on the hook for hefty special assessments, sometimes in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Increasingly, homeowner groups are having to take out loans to soften the blow of high levies.

“Deferred and unfunded maintenance is a ticking time bomb because so many homeowner associations are unprepared for it,” longtime condo attorney Erik Basil said. “What sometimes happens is association members don't want to contemplate having to write a $1,000 or $5,000 check, so they pretend there's nothing wrong, and that's what has occurred for the last 10 years.”

The problems associated with stalled repairs have worried Conlon's association for some time and are being complicated by the slide in home values and the credit meltdown.

Read the rest of the Story by Clicking Here

Here's my comments/opinion...
As if we didn't already know this...condo's suffer from a lack of funding for their reserve accounts for replacement and repairs to the common area's-roofs, painting, wood replacement, DECKS, asphalt etc. Wow what a surprise! Boards refuse to fund their reserve accounts, because they don't want to raise dues...and that's why they ran, so that dues won't go up! Well guess what...costs rise over time, and Boards refuse to maintain properly, allowing components to degrade so that they now need to be replaced.

Replacement of components is not cheaper than simply maintaining them to achieve their maximum life span. Consider...a typical 10' x 8' deck, all of 80 square feet, when properly built and waterproofed, with normal maintenance every 3 years, would cost around $3.00 per square foot to power wash, maybe make a few small repairs, and then apply a new top coat of pigmented sealer to continue protecting the waterproofing from UV degradation. That's $240.00 total for maintenance. Over a 36 month period, that comes out to about $6.67 per month that should be saved in reserves for the future maintenance that the Board/Manager/Association knows needs to be done to that deck and every other deck in the complex.
So $240.00 every 3 years (we're not adjusting for inflation in this example, but a reserve study provider would) means the deck would be resealed 10 times over the 30 year lifespan. That's $2,400.00 in today's dollars for maintenance.

Now take a deck the same size, leave it out in the sun exposed to UV for 5-10 years, don't maintain it, don't inspect it, just keep your head in the sand...and when you pull your head out of the sand, voila, one degraded, rotted deck is ready for replacement!

What does that cost? Well in my experience it comes out like this...demo old deck and framing, rebuild deck framing as required, apply new plywood to deck, re-stucco or install new siding, about $5,000. Then add the deck guy's work-new flashing,new deck coatings, whatever else might be needed-drains/scuppers etc. Add around $1200 or so for this work... TOTAL REPLACEMENT COSTS each deck-$6,200.00. Giving the benefit of doubt, we'll take the deck out to 10 years before it's being replaced...that's a total of $51.67 per month pro-rated over 120 months.

Seems it's cheaper to maintain...but that's just my opinion...

Pli-Dek to Raise Prices September 1st

Pli-Dek became the third manufacturer in the last week to announce a price increase recently in their wholesale prices to distributors.

Pressure from increasing costs of materials, delivery and raw goods is the cause...

Buy now and save!

Deferred Maintenance on HOA Draws a $27,500 Special Assessment

A Nevada HOA has passed an Special Assessment for $27,500.00 per unit...defrred maintenance dontcha know... View the TV report on video at Channel 4's website by clicking our headine to go to TV 4's site.

Residents of a Reno housing complex are upset over being hit with $27,500 assessment bills from their Home Owner's Association with little help from the courts.

The Housing Association hit 32 property owners at the Riverside Terrace condominiums with a $27,500 a piece assessment bill even though records show a majority of the home owners voted against the assessment.

"The lady next door, she's single," Elmer Morgan said, Riverside Terrace resident. He says it's a hardship on everyone he has spoken to in the community.

Morgan says the association has refused to do basic preventative maintenance, such as roof repair, for years and that's why he says the complex is in its current bad shape.

The property assessment reports that "maintenance has either been inadequate, deferred or both."

After years of seeming neglect, now the association wants to perform a million dollar upgrade at the residents' expense.

Another one bites the dust...another one bits the dust...and another one gone and another one gone...

No it's not Queen and Freddie Mercury rising again, it's the sound of falling developers...and their developments going up for auction.

In an areas less than a mile apart, are 4 very different developments-3 of which are in trouble or closed down. Dove Creek, currently owned by Centex, still has breath left in it, but Southside Condo's on El Camino Real is closed down and now Las Lomas, with RW Hertel and Tri-Mark Pacific owning various lots are kicking off. Hertel apparently is in big financial trouble on this project, with some houses and lots set to be auctioned next month. Tri-Mark has problems, but has sold all their homes except for 4, which are worth less than what they owe on to the bank.

In retrospect, I am glad some of these jobs, which I had bid on a couple years ago, were jobs I didn't get. Hopefully the subs have got paid...

Read the article below from the Tribune


From the Tribune's Biz Buzz section...
Las Lomas, a large housing subdivision started in 2003 in south Atascadero, has come to a stop and is in financial trouble. Only 60 or so of the 279 projected homes have been built and occupied, and part of the 100-acre-plus tract is in foreclosure.

Part of the tract is owned by developer Ronald W. Hertel, operating under Atascadero Ventures LLC, and the rest is owned by Trimark Pacific Homes of Westlake Village near Los Angeles.

County records show that Hertel’s firm owes more than $21 million to two real estate lenders: Point Center Financial of Orange County and De Witte Mortgage Investors Fund of Santa Barbara.

Currently 21 lots on Via Cielo, Azor Lane and Monte Verde are scheduled for public auction next month. About half of the to-be-auctioned lots have newly-built, high-end, 3,000-square-foot homes that were on the market—but did not sell — for between $800,000 to $1 million. The rest are vacant.

Hertel and other company representatives could not be reached for comment.

Trimark Pacific bought a portion of Las Lomas from Hertel in 2005. That portion of the project has also stopped, said Kirk Chittick, Trimark Pacific’s vice president of sales and marketing.

Of the 19 homes that his firm has already built, he said four remain to be sold at asking prices around $700,000.

Trimark has stopped building because it “owes the bank more than the houses are worth,” Chittick said.

READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE BY CLICKING ON OUR HEADLINE...(note, this link will only be good for a few days, then the Trib will want $ to read their article.

CSLB Revokes License's, Including Deck Master of La Jolla, + see the Updated "Most Wanted List"

Don't know if this company does deck coatings or builds decks, but in any case, Carl Lewis Becker's contractors license, dba "Deck Master" was revoked for several causes under a case/complaint (#2 2007 001183)

Business & Professions Code
7107
Abandonment without legal excuse of any construction project

Business & Professions Code
7083
Failed to report license changes.

CSLB lists all suspended/revoked licenses, be sure to check your contractor out first.

Maybe you can help CSLB track down these violators...

See CSLB's "MOST WANTED" List by clicking the link...

by clicking the link...pictures and information on the top violaters in California, protect yourself from unscrupulous contractors, due diligence is the word!

Pli-Dek Joins Waterproofdeckcoatingadvice.com as a Paid Sponsor

Pli-Dek Inc of Murrieta CA has joined us as a sponsor of our Blog and website, becoming the first major manufacturer to step into the pool as it were...

We are glad to have Pli-Dek on board, they are a reputable company that has proven systems for waterproofing decks over plywood and concrete substrates, as well as a line of epoxy for coating concrete floors.

Be sure to visit their new website and make sure you tell them you found them here at Waterproofdeckcoatingadvice.com's Blog!

Welcome aboard!

Deck Expert Goes on a Field Trip

Just like in high school, I loved going on "field trips" to see competitors jobs after they are completed. See the job, check what they've done, how they did it, details, and of course, to see if any problems exist or evidence of problems.

So last week on Friday, Deck Expert went off with a buddy to trip down to Rancho Bernardo to the 4S Ranch, where apartment homes were recently built by Saris-Regis Homes...

Rumor has it that it's a job with Westcoat on it, so we're looking for evidence of any failures over wp-40 in particular.

Most of the walkways are well covered with overhangs, protecting them from the heat of the sun, which out here, can easily reach 105 degrees I'm told on many days. There's also private decks and entry decks too so we check them all out, or at least what we can get on... many of these have some sun exposure so maybe we'll find something.

Our field trip revealed some interesting observations and strange details, many of which I personally would never have covered over. We found hot water heater closet doors without any thresholds, that are actually lower than the decks, meaning when it rains, water could run under the doors into the closets. Hope they called that out before waterproofing the closets and decks...

We also found the trim on the doors down onto the decks, which can allow water to wick up into the trim and cause rot, edge details where the material is pulling away or never adhered to begin with. We also saw details like the post bases being covered over, the bolts and bases covered with materials, just barely.

Then as it was looking like there was nothing of significance failing, I spotted a big deck at the leasing center on the second floor, looking out over the pool. Totally exposed to the sun, during the hottest parts of the day.

So into the leasing center we went, up the stairs and out onto the deck. JACKPOT!

So here are the pictures of the cracked deck, multiple cracks everywhere. We found areas where the deck sounded hollow, like it wasn't attached to anything...it moved too, with my weight on the areas...

So is this a Westcoat product job with ALX and WP-40? We're going to find out for sure, we're sending the pictures to Sares-Regis and I'm going to ask them who did it and with

Picture of the Weak (Week)

A few weeks ago I got a call from a client in Cambria; their deck up on the roof had "funny looking lines" and "cracks with rust coming out"

So of course I gotta see this. I drive up and find a urethane coated deck on the roof, ap 11 years old, original owner, never maintained or resealed.

The urethane has burned up, dried out and has split over the plywood seams, which were covered in metal strips first to cover over with the urethane. The metal strips have of course rusted, Cambria is on the ocean after all, and the deck now needs to be redone.

Resealing the urethane could have prevented the early demise of this deck...another lesson for the owners of urethane to maintain or pay...

PLI-DEK Launches Their New Website

Pli-Dek, Inc of Murrieta CA, a manufacturer of waterproof decking as well as epoxies and decorative concrete coatings, has recently updated their website.

The new website features updated pictures of sample jobs, technical drawings/details in CAD and PDF formats, as well as a distributor list and a fantastic photo gallery of finished jobs.

Click the headline or logo to go to their new website.

ELITE CRETE ANNOUNCES Advanced Training Class This Weekend Aug 9th & 10th (9a-3p)

ELITE CRETE ANNOUNCED they will be holding their advanced 2-day, hands-on training seminar at our Signal Hill training and distribution center located near the Long Beach Airport.

Address: 2700 Rose Ave Unit D Signal Hill, CA 90755
Times: Doors open at 8:30 with coffee and donuts and we go until around 3 each day
Price: $250 per person includes manual, sample boards, brochures, food and drink
We will do 10 different sample boards that will cover all of the potential overlay application you will run into: 1/4" stamped, Faux Slate (Tuscan Trowel), Microfinish (Interior), Splatter/knockdowns, acid staining, concrete dyes, sealers, epoxy, polyaspartic, garage flake systems, marketing, pricing, starting up a business from scratch, and probably a lot more...

If you are already in the overlay business and are tired of the delamination and installation issues you are having with someone else's product, then you owe it to yourself to see how Elite Crete does it. Check out www.concretelocator.com and you can read for yourself why half of the elite crete installers around the country used to use someone else's stuff. Don't let a salesguy in the office that has probably never installed a day in his life pitch you on a bunch hocus pocus. Bring a product receipt from any other overlay product and I will deduct that from your registration fee all the way to $0 (FREE!).

If you are another type of contractor (GC, Concrete, Pool Builder, Landscaper, Painter) or an entreprenuer and want to take advantage of this profitable trade then click on this link to download the registration form and fax it in to reserve your seat in next weekend's class.

CLICK ON OUR HEADLINE FOR A REGISTRATION FORM!