Incompetent Tufflex Installer Costs Homeowner Thousands of Dollars in Damage

In the world of waterproofing a deck for the application of tile, there are a few things one should or should not do...
1.)-Do not Cheap out on the installation costs of your waterproofing.
2.) Do not Install unapproved or unevaluated coatings.
3.) Do check the applicators status and ensure their competency to correctly install waterproofing for tile.
4.) Do call Central Coast Waterproofing at 805-801-2380 for a proper and thorough job...

I was down in Santa Barbara at an expensive home up in the hills last week, having received a call from an owner who found our DeckExpert.com website.

They said to me that they had a guy a couple years ago, a Tufflex applicator, install waterproofing for their new tile deck. Now they are suffering from water intrusion into their garage ...the deck had been partly dismantled to inspect and would I be interested in giving a bid?

I was on my way...here's the pictures of the deck...with their nice tile torn off.
Turns out that the applicator is out of business, what a surprise, but he wanted to "help" and offered a local applicator/contractor that did Tufflex to redo the job. The Tufflex was installed over OSB (tsk tsk) and then metal lath was stapled down and the tufflex laid into the lath. Only the applicator must of been (Pick one or all)

1) Cheap, because he didn't put enough Tufflex down to properly bury the lath entirely. Or
2) Incompetent, because he didn't put enough Tufflex down to properly bury the lath entirely. Or
3) Stupid, because he didn't put enough Tufflex down to properly bury the lath entirely.

Whichever you pick, you'd be correct. Failure to bury the lath caused this huge problem that will cost the owner 8-12k in repair costs, not including the tile work. The water on the deck seeped by the grout of the tile, down to the waterproofing, where it had no place to go...so it sat on the Tufflex and exposed metal lath. While sitting, there was this marvelous little chemical reaction going on between the metal lath and the water...RUST action.

Eventually the water made it's way into the garage ceiling below, exposing finally the sins of it's installer.

Moral of the story, you can buy cheap waterproofing, but you can't buy great waterproofing cheap!

ELITE CRETE So Cal Offers Training Classes in May

May Training Class

We will gather again on May 8th & 9th, 2009 for our next Advanced Training Session. Put on your work clothes and boots for two days of hands on learning. We will be mixing product, learning new thin stamped overlay techniques, hand troweled finishes, spray-down finishes, custom colorizaiton and antiquing using our unmatched coloring systems. We're going to get out the REFLECTOR Enhancer and create some one of a kind artwork. Don't miss this chance to be a part of the action, get your training application in today. Once again our training will be hosted by Johnny Rodriguez at Elite Crete Systems So. Cal. in Simi Valley. The cost is $250 per attendee, we will make sure that you are fed and watered and have plenty of samples boards to take on your sales calls or display in your showroom. Attendance is limited so get your application in today. Call or Email to receive more information and a registration form. When: May 8th & 9th Where: 67 W. Easy St. # 132 Simi Valley Ca. 93065. Time: 8:00am-4:00pm Office: (805) 581-2497 email: johnny.rodriguez@elitecrete.com

New Issue of WATERPROOF! Magazine is out...

The Spring 2009 edition of Waterproof! Magazine, by Summit Publishing is now available in print and online.

Waterproofers and tradespeople would be wise to subsrcibe and get the latest news and information on subjects such as

OPTIONS IN SPRAY EQUIPMENT-an article that reviews various spray equipment options for waterproofing...

ABOVE GRADE WATERPROOFING-an article on coatings for parking garages, plaza decks and balconies...

and the feature article is about TUNNEL VISION...no not that tunnel vision, waterproofing a tunnel, miles and miles of tunnels!

an oh BTW, who in the trade knows about a pesky little bacteria that thrives on...iron? I had heard about this phenomenon, but hadn't paid much attention until I read this article...a very interesting read!

Visit Waterproof! Magazine's website by clicking here to read more. Tell them we sent ya!

HOA's; YOU CAN SAVE A LOT OF MONEY BY HIRING UNLICENSED/ UNINSURED CONTRACTORS! Then you too can be liable for a workers injuries!

I saw this article at Community Associations Network (CAN). If you are an HOA, and don't make sure your independent contractors are licensed and insured, you'll deserve the same fate as these folks got...

Heimen et al. v Worker's Compensation Appeals Board

HOA Should Be Sure Workers are Insured California homeowner associations (HOAs) and HOA management companies will want to pay attention to a recent ruling coming out of the state's Second Appellate District. The case, Heimen et al. v Worker's Compensation Appeals Board, involved the claim of a worker injured on association property for worker's compensation benefits. Read more by clicking here.

So the lessons are that any contractor who will be working on your property must have;
workers comp
licensed
liabilty policy naming HOA as add'l insured
Auto Insurance.

You can get extra protection by buying a add on workers comp policy for around $500-1000 per year. Then if someones coverage was lapsed and something happened, you would still be covered. Your choice, pay a little or pay a lot...

A "NEW" Manufacturer, NEVADA COATING SYSTEMS, Makes It's Online Debut

, Da
Browsing the web this weekend, I saw a WICR, a competitor had finally put up their website...looking through, I saw they were a "Nevada Coating Systems" applicator...so I clicked the link to see what was there.

Nevada Coating Systems is an entity using an address down in Rancho Mirage, so I googled the phone/address and found that it is linked to Dave Krubinksi, a former Mer-Ko salesman and current Roof Consultant Institute member.

NCS is advertising their coatings for decks, liners, pools and many other areas that don't really interest me as I'm not in that line of work...they appear to have a Polyurea system, a 2 component system that is in heated tanks and is sprayed on using a gun that mixes the 2 parts as it's sprayed.

Polyureas have their place in many applications and their fast drying/curing makes a tough competitor for some other coating sytems for various applications...I'm just not convinced of it's use on decks as a long term solution...but that's just my opinion.

Despite an impressive array of testing done, the 2 most important tests for deck coatings at least, appear to be missing-Class A and One Hour Fire Testing. There is no that I can find at ICC-ES in Div 7 Traffic Coatings and so I would say that in my opinion, this product would not be a suitable candidate for decking where residential codes must be met. Ask about E109 and E119 testing when inquiring...

The stuck in my craw thing about NCS is their "sample warranty" which is more of a service contract, and the way it's written might be a Sherman Act or Magnuson Moss issue...at least in my opinion from reading through the FTC's website. Click here to read some interesting info on warranties and service contracts at the FTC website. I dunno, it's just a really stacked in the installers/mfg's favor warranty...the odds are far better for you to put it all on black in Vegas...

Attached is a picture of their warranty with my notes on it. We are publishing this under the Fair Use doctrine and have the right to publish, criticize, comment on and satirize it if we want, all protected by the doctrine of Fair Use. So despite the terms of use at their website...it's aconstitionaly protected use.

As of now, with the way this warranty is written, it's a bad deal for consumers in my opinion. It ties you to the original applicator for 10 years, giving them residual income for resealing your decks every 3 years...you get no choice as a consumer to have who you want service the decking. Imagine buying a Ford and you got the best deal at one dealer, but don't really like their service dept., but your warranty said you have to use that dealer, and that dealer only... pretty crappy terms.

This warranty is similar to the old Mer-Ko "warranty", whose terms were changed as soon as new Mer-Ko management could.

My opinion is to search elsewhere for other coating options due to the warranty restrictions.

Concrete Network to Feature Project Managed by Bill Leys

Coming soon to Concrete Network's California pages will be a pictorial/short story on a major renovation project recently completed in Long Beach.
The job was a 14,000 square foot courtyard over a parking garage that needed extensive renovations and then waterproofed.

Watch for it in the next couple weeks, we'll post the link from here!