Tuesday, June 30, 2009

MAY 2009 is a Record Breaker for Visitors to Deckexpert.com

From 54 countries, 44 of the 50 states, over 5400 visitors came to our deckexpert.com site last month! Over 500 visitors came to our Blog last month too.

Our followers are up on Twitter, subscribers who get our Blogs through a feed are up...

everything is going up!

Thanks to you, our readers. Support our sponsors!

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Defects in Fire Resistant Construction Cause Hotel/Casino to Close

Fire resistant construction...so important that this Casino made a decision to close the building rather than risk exposure to liability.


JACKSON - Newly discovered construction defects are putting a stop to the music at Jackson Rancheria Casino.

Casino management announced Thursday that it is had closed 45 of the casino's 67 hotel rooms, a restaurant and a conference center. A ballroom in the same building will close after a July 9 performance by Robin Trower.

"deficiencies in the construction mean some walls in the hotel don't meet fire resistance standards"

This week's announcement is the latest construction-defect trouble for the casino. The Jackson Rancheria Band of Mi-Wuk Indians has been waging a legal battle since 2007 with a number of contractors on the project. The tribe's lawsuit alleges a long list of construction defects that allowed water to penetrate various buildings and mold to grow inside the structure.

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE BY CLICKING HERE



Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Nevada Builders/Developer's Lobby vs. Trial Lawyers-Construction Defects Law is Challenged

It's like the wild wild west out in Nevada, with the trial lawyers lobby vs the builders and developers lobby over "Chapter 40" the construction defects law that lets the prevailing party collect attorney's fees.

Sun, Jun 21, 2009 (2 a.m.)


The construction industry had just captured a huge victory, pushing legislation through the state Senate that would limit the ability of homeowners to win settlements against developers for construction defects.

Builders needed only a victory in the Assembly to save themselves millions in settlements and legal fees.

Their lobbyists, gathered in the hallway of the state’s 1970s-era concrete slab of a Legislative Building on April 16, were ecstatic over the 19-1 Senate vote.

James Wadhams, a lobbyist for the Southern Nevada Homebuilders, turned to his cohorts, according to two people present, and readied them for the not-always-pleasant task of dealing with Assembly Democrats, who he knew would drive a hard bargain.

“I’m gonna savor this victory awhile, but now we put our hand in the garbage disposal.”

•••

Sitting 450 miles from Las Vegas, cut off from average Nevadans, Carson City is special interest heaven.

While the public watches from afar the every-other-year 120-day legislative session, special interest lobbyists — for gaming, energy and development companies, trial lawyers and labor unions — make the rules and fight among themselves over the booty. They fly the Southwest shuttle Monday mornings and return to Las Vegas on Fridays. They spend their days shuffling between legislative offices and committee hearings, and their evenings in Carson City’s restaurants and bars, swapping gossip and toasting or ridiculing the legislators they are paid well to lobby.

No issue this session better exemplified how they do their work in the state capital than construction defect legislation, which pitted two powerful interest groups — construction companies and trial lawyers — in a battle they knew would determine the economic fate of both groups for years to come.

On one side was the Coalition for Fairness in Construction, big homebuilder and contracting companies and small subcontractors, who knew they had a sympathetic ear among conservative Democrats in the Senate.

On the other was the Nevada Justice Association, a fancy name for trial lawyers. Many Assembly Democrats, particularly in leadership, are their close allies.


Read the rest of this article by clicking here to go the Las Vegas Sun website.

Friday, June 19, 2009

PCBC Show at San Francisco Is "Pretty Busy"



Deck Expert stopped in to walk around yesterday at PCBC; there is activity and while the show is much smaller (one hall, as oppsed to 2+ in past years) there were plenty of builders walking around.

Several of our sponsors were displaying there products and busily scanning badges for product literature to be mailed out to prospects and future followup.

Partners Jan Bagnall & Jeff Zember
of Pli-Dek were at their 10th
PCBC show.

Mer-Ko Parex displayed as well with a large corner that brought in traffic.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

From a Vendor With a Booth at PCBC " There are lots of people here today"

One of my advertisers and I were conversing a little while ago while he is on the floor displaying at PCBC, which opened today at Moscone Center in San Francisco.

He told me that he is quite pleased with the traffic on the show floor today...

Maybe there is some new life coming back into the "mostly dead" body of new construction. (With credit to Billy Crystal from his role in Princess Bride).

Anyway, head on over to see what is happening and meet your peers on the floor.

I'll be there tomorrow, wearing a T shirt with the DeckExpert.com logo...stop me and say hello!

CENTRAL COAST WATERPROOFING Teams With All Seasons Restoration to Apply Desert Crete at Carpenteria HOA



Central Coast Waterproofing has signed a contract with All-Seasons Restoration of Oxnard to provide and install Desert Crete decking to decks at an HOA in Carpenteria.

"ASR recognizes the superior durability and quality that Desert Crete offers; and appreciates that Central Coast Waterproofing is a team player and a superior contractor,

dedicated to proper installation, support and warranties of the product." said Bill Leys, owner of Central Coast Waterproofing.

The HOA in Carpenteria is an older complex with deteriorating decks that recognized they needed to be repaired and waterproofed with a high quality product. Located off the 101, the second floor entry decks are apx 100 square feet each, and are the only entry into the second floors. The fast drying Desert Crete materials allow resident access at the end of each day, and save money by not forcing residents relocations while the work progresses.

For your HOA decking needs, consider Desert Crete, the superior alternative to other decking systems. Call Bill Leys for your free estimate at 805-801-2380.

Monday, June 15, 2009

YouTube Video of Door/Deck Leaks in Taipei

Here's a video I found on YouTube; it shows that it's not only in America that there are door to deck flashing and leak problems...this apartment in Taipei has major problems!

Maybe a lack of door pans and head flashings? Without destructive testing we won't know...

Watch and pity this poor bugger who has these leak problems!

PCBC Opens on Wednesday!

PCBC opens on Wednesday at Moscone Center!

San Francisco will be the host city yet again for the largest homebuilder show.

Stop on in, the industry is regenerating for the next wave of building...the realy players will be there. Will you be there?

Click here for more info on the show.

Deck Expert will be walking the show on Thursday, look for me in our new logo t Shirt!

Friday, June 12, 2009

From Lawn & Landscape Comes This Interesting Article On "Relationship Selling"

"I think lowballers are not getting the big picture," Begley says. "They are in it for the short-term – six months, a year. We are building relationships with our customers, which in turn will lead to loyalty." from the article THE RELATIONSHIP SELL in this months Lawn & Landscape Magazine

I've been saying that hungry for work lowball contractors are hurting the deck coating industry and their clients ultimately, case in point, a bid a competitor gave to an HOA I'm bidding on is about 30k less than I.

The manager asked me WTF? So we sat and compared bids...and sure for 30k less they would have gotten something for their money, but after our meeting was over, I walked out with a contract for 40k on the job, having sold the job on a "relationship, knowledge and as the expert" rather than price. I could have dropped everything out of my bid to bring down the price, but that wasn't what the HOA really wanted...they were just getting their purse strings tugged at by a scammer who talked the talk...and after we discussed what they were after, the HOA relized that the other bidder wasn't thinking of them, he was thinking of himself.

It also came out in this meeting that we (Central Coast Waterproofing) carried full auto, workers comp and liability insurance. The other guy...he had no employees so he was going to "sub-contract" to get around that. Liability Insurance was minimal coverage at 100k/200k unlike our policy with 1 million/2 million in coverage. Auto? Hah, the competitor didn't have it.

The manger knew me from 3 jobs that we did in the past for her. She knew that we would do a better job, the "right job" that would address and solve the HOA's problems, rather than apply a pretty field dresssing like my competitor was proposing.

But it was the personal relationship and comfort level that ultimately sold the job for us.

Read this article on "Relationship Selling" by clicking the link. Maybe you'll figure out how to beat your low ball uninsured/unlicensed competitors...

Thursday, June 11, 2009

New Blog "So Cal Building Insider" is Up on the Web

This is what they say about themselves so check it out and see if they are something you want to follow...

" Our mission with the So Cal Building Insider is to provide you with some of the dirt on how to play the game, what's going on in the industry, and some of the gossip going around. It is always our intention to post accurate and verified information. But as mentioned, there will be some gossip. However, we will make it clear in the posts what is gossip, what is fact and what is conjecture. If we can not verify the validity of something, or feel that even the gossip does not seem to hold water, we will refrain from posting it."

So there ya go...click here to read their Blog

Long Time Orange County Contractor DeckMasters, Inc. Appears to Have Closed?

The address to their website, www.deckmastersinc.com is dead, and at the CSLB, the license says suspended for workers comp...

Reliable sources tell DeckExpert that Deck Masters Inc. of Lake Forest/Irvine has closed it's doors.

Deck Masters, Inc was the first company that I worked for years ago, when I first came into the business. Mark Sigman was the owner.

Sources say that Prestige Decking has taken over Deck Masters accounts. They are a newly licensed entity in Orange County whose owner worked for Deck Masters.

Good luck to Mark Sigman and Prestige Decking

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Mehmet Gundogdu v. King Mai Establishes Case Law

In lawzilla.com's California Court Opinions comes this published decision on contractor liability for defects...

Plaintiffs Mehmet and Aynar Gundogdu (the Gundogdus) appeal a summary judgment in favor of defendant King Mai, Inc., a California corporation doing business as Hyde Park Estates (King Mai), on their complaint for negligence and breach of implied warranty. Plaintiffs contend that the court erred in holding their action for damages arising out of defects in the construction of their home to be barred by the 10-year statute of limitations in Code of Civil Procedure section 337.15. We affirm.

Discussion

On November 2, 1995, King Mai filed a notice of completion for a home it constructed on its own account at 199 Kings Court in San Carlos, California. On March 13, 1997, plaintiffs purchased the home from King Mai. The purchase contract identified 26 categories of repairs that King Mai agreed to complete. Between March and August 1997, King Mai attempted but failed to complete the repairs to plaintiffs’ satisfaction. In August, King Mai confirmed that certain repairs had not been completed but pledged to continue working on them. In October 1997, plaintiffs, still unhappy with the repair work, had an independent inspection performed. The inspection report identified numerous deficiencies, including defects in the retaining wall, improper installation of windows and doors in the master bedroom and living room, and cracked trim. It is unclear from the record when this report was delivered to King Mai and no further repairs were performed in response to the report.

In December 2002, plaintiffs contacted King Mai about water damage caused by leakage following a winter storm. King Mai acknowledged potential responsibility for the leak and confirmed that it would repair the damage. In January 2003, plaintiff wrote to King Mai complaining that there had been structural water damage in the home for five years. Plaintiffs warned that they would take legal action if repairs were not completed immediately. Within days, King Mai informed plaintiffs in writing that it was not responsible for the leak or any resulting water damage.

Read the rest of the decision and opinion by clicking here.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Construction Defect Suits in El Dorado County, CA Show Why Wind Load Calculations are Sooo Important

Wind ratings for building components are often forgotten about or not considered when building. I always discuss my products wind ratings compared to other products with lower ratings that the builder may be considering.

Often these lower wind rated products are CHEAPER too compared Desert Crete decking.

So here's a story from the Sacramento Business Journal about an increase in construction defect suits surrounding new homes...homes that apparently weren't built/designed with the Central Valleys high winds that funnel through...winds that are moving houses on their foundations, cracking stucco, windows etc.

Questions linger over the wind load needed for homes in the region

Sacramento Business Journal - by Michael Shaw Staff writer


Teresa Gallad knew there was something wrong with her newly built home in Cameron Park the first time she walked through.

Soon, there were cracks in the walls and leaky windows and her kids were getting respiratory infections.

Dave Crozier hasn’t been able to live in his water-logged and moldy El Dorado Hills home in more than two years.

Both are fighting their homebuilders in court, two of at least 29 homeowners in El Dorado County who have active lawsuits over alleged construction defects.

There have been a surprising number of construction-defect lawsuits, considering the county’s small size, laws that generally limit the ability for homeowners to sue their builders, and a near stop to new construction over the past few years. Some of the pricey homes built during the housing boom have started to show common problems: Leaky windows, gaps in doorways and cracked walls are among some of the more common complaints.

Click here to read the rest of the story. Just goes to show ya, do it right the first time elimnates problems. Design, construction materials, methods...don't shortcut and you'll save money in the long run...but that's just my opinion.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Dirty Decks Done Dirt Clean...

Yes it's a parody of an AC/DC song...here's the latest video of Central Coast Waterproofing power washing a Desert Crete deck clean. I did this complex about 6 years ago, and now they are cleaning and painting/sealing them again.

While it's well past when they should have been done, surprisingly the decks have done very well and have little damage after 6 years.

Desert Crete is the answer to HOA's and Apartment Residences; easy to care for, hard to damage, inexpensive to reseal.

Call us today-available to HOA's in California at 805-801-2380 for a free estimate on your job.

Job of the Week...or What 23k Worth of Materials Looks Like...


Central Coast Waterproofing is doing a big job in Monterey County. We took delivery of the Mer-Ko materials today; 33 thousand pounds worth... plus all the copper flashing-1400 lineal feet, 58 door and window pans, post collars, counter flashing....

Here's a picture of all it stacked up-15 pallets worth-waiting for us to put it down. It's a tile ready waterproofing system, with an inch of underlayment that we are putting on, reinforced with Structalath. 3500 square feet of decks worth of work...we've spent 2 weeks doing the copper flashings and door pans plus all the window sidelite pans and now we are ready to waterproof it all with Mer-Ko ARC membrane. All the copper was sanded with 100 grit to achive a rough finish to bond to, then encapsulated the copper to isolate it from air with Mer-ko waterproofing primer and a membrane.

Central Coast Waterproofing is the only authorized factory approved installer of Mer-Kote in San Luis Obispo and nearby Monterey County. For any Mer-Ko/Mer-Kote decking call Bill Leys direct at 805-801-2380.

We can repair and reseal your deck(s) and your warranty, despite what it might say as far as applicator goes, will be intact. You do not have to use the original applicator who installed your deck if you don't want to. Contact Mer-Ko directly for further information- tel 310-320-1880.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

QUEST BUILDING PRODUCTS OFFERS LIFE DECK "How To" Clinic



Put down on your calendar to attend the Life Deck sponsored "How To" clinic at Quest Building Products on Wednesday July 1st at their store on N Patt Street in Anaheim. Quest is the newest distributor of Life Deck products and is carrying a full line of products.

You'll see demonstrations on the Life Deck Marble Life Epoxy system, Concrete Overlays and more...

Starting at 10 am, for a $50.00 registration fee, you'll get a free T shirt, lunch and with a $50.00 store credit to use the next time you shop at Quest, the seminar is "free". You'll be done for the day at 2pm to shop all you like.

If you want to go, call Erica Vargas at Quest at 714-738-6640 or email her at questbuilding@yahoo.com.

Visit Quest on the web at www.questbuilding.com

See all their training classes online at this link http://questbuilding.com/blog/?page_id=137

Friday, June 5, 2009

PCBC IS COMING UP SOON!

PCBC is coming up quick! June 17 to June 19, 2009 at Moscone Center San Francisco is where you'll find the latest building information, tools and materials.

Deck Expert will be there visiting all his favorite manufacturer's and seeing what's up in waterproofing and deck coatings.

Pli-Dek and Mer-Ko, sponsors of DeckExpert.com will be there, as will AVM Industries and Multicoat.

Notably absent are Crossfield/Dex-O-Tex, Hill Brothers, Westcoat and others who have been at the show before...sign of the times perhaps with shrinking show budgets? PCBC is an expensive one to exhibit at.

The rest of us will crowd into hall and make our way around to visit.

Notable speakers include Fareed Zakaria, the host of CNN's Sunday morning show a a reporter for Newsweek and Adam Werbach, Sierra Club president.

Come celebrate PCBC's 50th birthday with your peers!

Thursday, June 4, 2009

How to Cheat your Customers and They Probably Won't Ever Know...until it's too late!

I was down in LA earlier this week. I stopped by a sheet metal shop where I buy my flashings from. As I was waiting for my order, I saw a big forklift truck hauling in galvanized expanded metal lath, a part of many decking systems base. I asked the owner how much he was selling lath for, around here in SLO town, it's selling for around $7.58 at Home Depot and the local ACE store sells it for around $6.99 a sheet.

So when he said $5.75, I was like wow, I want some...and then he said "That's a 1.75# lath. I went wait a minute, I want 2.5, that's what is required by the manufacturer's! It doesn't sell said my metal merchant. In fact, most of the decking guys are now buying 28 guage flashing instead of 26 gauge. The higher the number, the thinner the metal. 26 gauge is the minimum required in the code and by manufacturer's.

So genius that he is, the Deck Expert began thinking about this...I keep hearing some really low bids for metal lath systems-$4.00 per square foot on one job that had a 100k square feet.

And it hit me...this is the ultimate cheat; first save material costs by buying cheaper flashing. Save 25 cents per lineal foot, multiply by 8000 lineal feet, save $2,000 in costs over 26 gauage.
Save more in materials by buying 1.75# lath instead of 2.5# lath. Save $1.25 per sheet, multiply by 5,555 sheets to cover 100k in area. That equals $6,944.00 less in costs over the required lath.

So far I've saved 9k in material costs by cheating, and I'm not done yet...now, factor in how far a bag of cement goes into lath. A 50# bag goes apx 25-30 square feet into 2.5# metal lath. But I'm using 1.75# lath cause I'm cheating you...now how far does a bag go into a thinner material? Maybe 45 square feet of 50 square feet? I'm getting 25% more coverage out of a bag. Now before I pay $13.00-18.00 per bag at Mer-Kote or Pli-Dek or any legit manufacturer, I head down to Jet Coatings in LA, where I buy a bag for $10.00. Savings = $3.00 to $8.00 per bag, plus I get 25% further coverage. On a 100k square feet, what's that add up to? $25,000 in savings? Maybe even $40,000 in savings.

But I'm not done cheating you yet. Most systems require fiberglass and resin over the base coat. So I pay basically full costs for that, fiberglass is about the same everywhere...but resin is another story. Some resins out there are crap and sell cheap. Save $ by buying crap resin at $8.00 per gallon rather than good stuff at $13.00. What do I need for a 100k square feet? 700 gallons? So I saved $3500 by buying crap resin. But I'm not done cheating you yet!

We are supposed to put a screed coat over the glass/resin to protect it. But instead I skip this step, opting instead to just spray texture over the glass and paint it with one coat of sealer. You are supposed to get 2 coats but, remember I'm cheating you...
So skipping the screed coat just saved me probably $8,000 in materials plus labor savings, and by giving you one coat instead of 2 I save more. By buying sealer from Jet Coatings instead of a manufacturer like Hill Brothers or Enduro-Kote, I save $30.00 per five gallon bucket. At 500 buckets to cover this job, I saved $15,000 off my materials bill.

By cheating, I just saved $60,000 in materials. But I'm not done cheating you yet! All the labor I saved by skipping steps, what does that add up to? Another $50 or 100K?

The plans called out for a one hour/class a coating probably. Well I cheated you out of that too! I put down a system that is not evaluated or recognized by any entity such as ICC-ES or the LA County Fire Department.

Now is this happening? Probably...and you won't detect it unless you are very dilgent.

Its a big bad world out there and despereate people do desperate things. The construction industry is very hungry right now and we need jobs to keep the business afloat...and some of us might do whatever it takes, including cheating...

Readers, any comments?

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

ECHO's Annual Seminar is June 13th!

ECHO, The Executive Council of Homeowners, is having their annual seminar next week in Santa Clara. Northern Cal HOA's should plan on sending their Board of Directors for educational seminars, meet new vendors and service providers and use this to open their HOA's to new and good things.

Click here to go to ECHO's website to register and learn more!

Help Wanted-Roofing Company Has Newly Created Position for a VP of Sales and Marketing

Hey if your out looking for a job, this lead just came in to me today...tell them you heard about it at Deckexpert.com!

OVERVIEW

In response to changes in the marketplace and an increasingly competitive business environment, August Roofing, Inc. recognizes the need to take purposeful steps to strengthen its position. The Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing is a newly created role to grow sales in all markets and to introduce new, non-traditional channels of distribution. This role will develop innovative strategies for future growth, maximize a synergistic relationship between the company’s sales and marketing departments and formulate ways to utilize sales channels to the fullest advantage.


Interested? Click here to go to the recruiters page at Ardent Search. Read all the requirements and quaulifications, apply etc.

APRA Publishes it's Newsletter for June

APRA, the Association of Professional Reserve Analysts, is a group of professional reserve study providers serving the HOA industry.
They publish a great newsletter for HOA's and their reserve study providers...take a look and read up from this source of good information.

The latest edition of APRA Advisor is available at www.apra-usa.com

IN THIS EDITION
Minimizing Financial Liability. The reasons why no HOA should be without a reserve study.
Ask the Professional Reserve Analyst. Advice worth heeding.
Neighbor Knowledge. Love your neighbor as yourself
Navigating Hard Times. Tips for stretching your HOA dollars.

Association of Professional Reserve Analysts (APRA) is the national trade association for those that carry the Professional Reserve Analyst (PRA) credential. APRA provides a common base of knowledge, standards of care and professionalism. Membership to APRA is open to reserve study providers and affiliate service providers. For membership information, go to www.apra-usa.com

Richard Thompson PRA
President - Association of Professional Reserve Advisors

Regenesis Report June 2009 Edition is Now Available....

Rich Thompson, a colleague of mine, has a great column at Regenesis.net, a website for HOA's...
each month a series of articles are published. Here's the selections this month that will help your HOA.

The Regenesis Report (National Edition) June 2009 is now available for viewing at www.Regenesis.net


IN THIS EDITION

The Role of the Board. Who does what and when?

Ask the HOA Expert. Another set of intriguing Q&As.
HOA eVoting. Use the web to vote to cure quorums and save money.
Proxies with Moxie. Properly done proxies are essential for HOA meetings.
Pool Kick Off. Pool season is just weeks away.

Musical Meetings. Make yours sound like a symphony.
Choose Hope. Despair and hope are both choices.
Keeping Perspective. Focus on the good in your life.
Laws of Life – Sundry. First Law of Decision Making: Any decision is better than no decision.

Why not share The Regenesis Report with some one you love?
Rich Thompson
The HOA Expert
www.Regenesis.net

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

HELP WANTED-Waterproofing Estimator, So Cal area

Please note, we are notr receiving any compensation for this post...although now that I think about it, maybe I should. Hmmm.

Well paying it forward then...the Deck Expert got a call today from Greg, who said he was told to call me for help.

Greg has a client who is looking for an estimator for waterproofing. Now before you get too excited, it has some requirements, see below...then send Greg your resume if you meet those requirements. Good luck!

Commercial Estimator with a strong knowledge of the waterproofing industry, 2-5 years would be great.

Ability to read blue prints.

Computer experience needed

75-90K plus bonus and great benefits

Location: Riverside, CA

Thanks, Please contact

Gregory Johnson

CSAM, National Accounts Manager

MANAGEMENT RECRUITERS OF FRESNO

5715 North West Ave, Fresno, CA, 93711

Tel 1: (800)881-4139 ext 116

Tel 2: (559)432-3700 ext.116

Fax: (559)432-9937

Email: gregj@mri-fresno.com

Web: www.mri-fresno.com/gregjohnson.htm