Archive for category: Blog

Do you often envision the deck you are planning to build for special outdoor activities and celebrations of the family? Well, you must ensure that the deck is safe and up to the latest regulatory codes. This can be done by performing routine deck inspection.

Deck Safety

Since your deck is located outside of the house, it is often subject for the harshest elements the entire year. This means that the deck is often exposed to heat and cold weather conditions taking a tool even on the most well-maintained outdoor structures.

What You Need to Look Out For

Insect damage

• •  Modern day decks are mostly made of wood or a composite of such often treated with chemicals to keep bugs away. You can check for any deterioration if you notice some movement or sound when you first step onto it.

Rusted fasteners or connectors

• • Sometimes the safety of the deck is not visible from the outside. So, you have to look under the deck to ensure that connectors, fasteners, and joists are all in good shape.

Cracks and rotting

• • Wood tends to crack after some time specially between the joints and around the fasteners. This can exploit the weaknesses in your deck leading to serious problems.

Mold and mildew exposure

• • Almost all decks develop a green tint from mildew within its lifespan. In fact, steps are prone to mildew growth making them slippery and unsafe.

Deck Inspection

Deck framing

• • Inspectors for framing would usually require decks to be built low to the ground. This makes the job of inspectors easy without having to crawl down the structure. During deck inspection, inspectors will have to look at the specific connections assembled across the frame.

• Among the areas to be inspected are the joist and beam spacing, as well as the hardware connections. Before the permit can be closed, you must pass a final inspection when all the work is done.

Deck footing inspection

• • Contractors can save ample amount of time on a project if they coordinate promptly about the footing inspections after the excavations. You can pass the footing inspection by using an inspector measure so that you can verify the base sizes and depths of the holes meet the specifications of the approved plans.

Professional Deck Inspection Cost

Perhaps the most important areas have been discussed and the remaining item to talk about is the cost. Typically, professional deck inspection cost ranges from $25 for a 30-minute inspection to as high as $199 for an hour.

What to Do If You Fail

It is possible to make mistakes as even experienced tradesmen can overlook details. Therefore a deck inspection is necessary because an inspector can look for details that others can’t.

If you fail, it is guaranteed that the next time your deck is inspected, it will become much safer and ready for use. So, it is not that bad to fail at your inspection after all.

Deck Inspectors for Southern California is happy to offer our services in Los Angeles, Orange County as well as San Diego and all Southern California surrounding areas like: Glendale, Pasadena, Burbank, Santa Monica, Anaheim, Temecula, Vista, Escondido, Carlsbad, and El Cajon

You can protect your wooden deck from any potential damage with the right deck waterproofing and sealer techniques. Take note that decks serve as living rooms of outdoor spaces where you can spend quality time with family to barbecue or enjoy a quiet evening with a glass of wine.

Wooden decks are subject to deterioration from exposure from the rain, snow, sun, or wind. This will wear away the wood, leading to cracks, fading, rot, and splinters. That is the main reason why it is very important to consider deck waterproofing with regular applications of deck sealers.

Seal-Once Marine Penetrating Wood Sealer

This is the best type of deck waterproofing. It is a clear water-based sealer that penetrates right down into the wood fibers to provide long-lasting protection against mold growth and moisture damage.

Eco Advance Exterior Wood Water Repellent

There is a reason why this product is the easiest to apply. Simply mix the concentrate with 1 gallon of water and use a sprayer to cover your deck with a light coat of the formula. This will not even harm your lawn or outdoor plants.

Olympic Stain Smartguard Concentrated Sealant

When it comes to the best value for money, this concentrated sealant is a well-priced that comes in concentrate form. Moreover, this sealer prevents water damage, rotting, splitting, and warping.

Olympic Stain Maximum Waterproofing Sealant

Wooden deck sealants typically last a year, but the Olympic Stain sealant lasts up to 3 years. It protects decks from cupping, rotting, and staining caused by humidity and water.

Deck Inspectors for Southern California is happy to offer our services in Los Angeles, Orange County as well as San Diego and all Southern California surrounding areas like: Glendale, Pasadena, Burbank, Santa Monica, Anaheim, Temecula, Vista, Escondido, Carlsbad, and El Cajon

Aside from enjoying the perks of turning your apartment deck or patio into an oasis, creating a cozy, stylish spot for tenants can also be beneficial during the pandemic.

Decorating a balcony can be a bit tricky, but sprucing up your rental house or apartment can be even harder. Nowadays, since the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the apartment rental industry, it is good to have a better option for tenants.

Adapting To the New Normal

An apartment without a balcony is obviously not a popular choice. In fact, many people living with at least one person are becoming more desperate for an escape, particularly from the rising tensions indoors.

Thus, having personal space is now a precious commodity. As a matter of fact, there are lots of benefits to getting from balconies in terms of livability, lovability, mental health, and pleasure of living in urban settings, even before the coronavirus pandemic.

Staying indoors can be the only option for tenants now that 95% of the population in the U.S. is under lockdown. However, it can also take a toll on mental health. Leaving home can be quite a scary option nonetheless.

Why Build Balconies

This makes sidewalk widths and balcony depth more significant for people living in the city. If you are going to build bigger balconies, however, it only means that lesser internal space will be left available.

Top offerings that property owners have added or upgraded to their apartment spaces include common outdoor spaces big enough for residents to gather. Thus, you can maximize balcony spaces by hiring apartment deck inspection services.

In some localities, regulations regarding the renovation of balconies have been modified in order to serve other goals. So developers are able to expand the amount of exempted balcony spaces if they can show three improvements, including the livability of the home, architectural interest, and green performance of the property.

Balconies Help Lower Energy Use

You can benefit from an apartment balcony as it can provide a passive shade to naturally cool down homes. Thus, it can help lower the use of energy because you don’t have to turn the air-conditioning more often than usual.

Help Neighborhoods Engage In Social Connection

Neighborhoods with balconies facing the streets can also be a great way to engage in community resilience and social connection. In some popular cities around the world, many residents engage in nightly cheering for health workers from the balconies. This can also enable them to build connections with their neighbors from their own home without going outside.

Offer Pleasant Living Spaces

If you want to have a pleasant living space, it is best to consult an apartment deck inspection service. That is because balconies have become pleasant living spaces with the absence of air pollution due to the reduction in car traffic.

Escape From Quarantine Stress

You can actually appreciate stepping into a netted balcony seeing the empty road with deafening silence and hearing the chirping sound of birds in the open. This serves as a quick escape from the stressful experience of the quarantine.

If you want to maximize the benefits of your apartment space, make it a point to seek help from apartment deck inspection professionals. During the coronavirus pandemic, balconies play an important role to provide fresh air without anxiety.

Deck Inspectors for Southern California is happy to offer our services in Los Angeles, Orange County as well as San Diego and all Southern California surrounding areas like: Glendale, Pasadena, Burbank, Santa Monica, Anaheim, Temecula, Vista, Escondido, Carlsbad, and El Cajon

Elevated balconies add more aesthetic appeal to the overall design of your buildings, apartments, cafes, or restaurants. Balconies provide condo residents, and owners, extra room to relax, enjoy the view and entertain.

Modern constructions and high-rise buildings in urban communities often have balconies that add to the selling value of the property; extra square footage to enjoy the great outdoors, or storage to maximize your living space.

It is no secret that several deaths and fatal injuries have occurred due to falls from balconies or as a result of collapsed balconies.

Just like any other structure, decks and balconies need extra care and maintenance to preserve its beauty, and at the same time ensures safety. A new installation of patios, verandas, or decks, must meet safety standards.

Inspectors carry out balcony inspections to check the safety of these structures; if these are built according to the professional and technical standards set by the industry.

Below are the things to look for in inspecting high-rise balconies to see if these are building compliant or potentially unsafe.

• Loose connections – inspectors will look for connections that may have degraded over time. Elevated balconies with wobbly railings, stairs that may seem to be pulling away from the main structure can compromise safety. Improper use of connections may cause railings or stairs to collapse. Balcony connections that meet building codes must be used with fasteners for overall safety and durability.
• Corrosion – metal connectors and fasteners will corrode over time due to exposure to elements. Regularly check the connectors and fasteners or better have a professional assess the condition of your balcony. High-rise buildings located near the moisture-prone areas must use stainless steel connectors and fasteners.
• Cracks – as the building ages, it is common to develop cracks and other signs of wear and tear. Balconies, railings, stairs, or decks with cracks must be repaired immediately. Regardless if it is just a small crack, eventually it will expand which can weaken the balcony.
• Railings – railings are made of different materials and come in different shapes which are required to be 36 inches high for homes and 42 to 48 inches high for business or commercial establishments. Basically, railings are added for safety especially for balconies 18 inches from the ground.

The industry standards set a maximum opening for the gaps between balusters; enough where a 4 diameter ball will not fit through the railings. Building inspectors will run tests on the railings of your elevated balconies to determine industry codes are met and if railings are properly installed.

• Flashing – for new installation of balcony or routine check-up, flashing needs to be considered. The water leak under the flashing can cause cracks or connectors to corrode. Your balcony may look OK until a major issue may occur due to an untreated problem.

Elevated balconies that are inadequately constructed or illegally built with inappropriate materials can cause tragic accidents. Engineers, contractors, and building inspectors must exercise absolute judgment when constructing, designing, and inspecting balconies.

The National Institute of Clinical Research is an SMO/CRO with offices and labs in the following cities and states: New Jersey, North Carolina, Austin, San Diego, San Francisco, Bakersfield 93309, Fountain Valley 92708, Garden Grove 92840, Hacienda Heights 91745, Huntington Beach 92648, Las Vegas 89106, Long Beach 90806, Los Angeles 90048, Ontario 91762, Rosemead 91770, San Antonio 78207, Santa Ana 92704, Upland 91786, and Westminster 92683.

Elevated decks are always exposed to the elements making them more prone to wear, tear, and damage. So if your deck has been around for a while, here are some simple repair steps to get it back to its pristine condition:

Clean your deck

Sometimes elevated decks just need some deep cleaning to get them back to their former glory.

Depending on the material of your deck, you can choose from cleaners containing oxalic acid for removing tannins and iron stains on redwood and cedar decks, sodium hypochlorite that removes tough mildew, and sodium percarbonate that’s perfect for removing weathered wood, dirt, and mildew.

Replace damaged boards

Damaged boards can easily make your deck unsafe. Replace rather than repair is the best option here. Pull them out by removing the fasteners and lifting them straight up to avoid damaging other boards. You can then replace them with newer boards of the same color and type as the ones used in your deck.

Finally, you should check screws and bolts for rust and loosening so you can replace them right away. Any rusting or loose screws and bolts could mean disaster if not addressed immediately because they can make your deck weak, especially when they have too much weight on it.

Deck Inspectors for Southern California is happy to offer our services in Los Angeles, Orange County as well as San Diego and all Southern California surrounding areas like: Glendale, Pasadena, Burbank, Santa Monica, Anaheim, Temecula, Vista, Escondido, Carlsbad, and El Cajon