City of Berkeley Changes Building Codes After Fatal Balcony Collapse
The city of Berkeley, CA, voted on Tuesday, July 14, 2015 (one month after the fatal balcony collapse that killed six students) to change building codes to ensure safer deck construction. According to the updated codes, decks must be ventilated to prevent water buildup, and must be constructed out of corrosion-resistent materials. The […]
WICR Waterproofing & Decking Joins Members of CAI to Volunteer at Feeding America San Diego
San Diego, CA, July 11, 2015. WICR Waterproofing & Decking’s founder and CEO, Fred Wanke, was honored to join other members of the Community Associations Institute (CAI) San Diego Chapter to work a full shift at Feeding America San Diego. The Feeding America network is the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization. The San Diego […]
North Carolina Deck Collapse: Owners Would Not Comment On When Deck Was Last Inspected
by Androniki Bossonis While the internet is still buzzing about the Berkeley, CA, deck collapse two weeks ago, another deck collapse today injured 24 people in Emerald Isle, North Carolina. Preliminary findings indicate that rusted metal, such as nails, led to water intrusion. Some of the injuries sustained include critical spinal injuries, as a […]
Engineers Examine The Cause of the Tragic Berkeley Balcony Collapse
by Androniki Bossonis While global outpourings of sympathy resonate for the victims of Monday’s balcony collapse in Berkeley, CA, the overriding questions are, how did this happen, and could it have been prevented? Gene St. Onge, a veteran civil structural engineer, spoke out on Tuesday that clearly, the deck failure was caused by dry […]
Waterproofing the South Bay Equinox’s Rooftop Pool
When the South Bay Equinox contacted WICR Waterproofing to resurface their stunning rooftop pool deck, their intention was only to upgrade the aesthetics from the old, worn tile, to a textured waterproof surface. However, when we pulled up the old tile, we found that tile and the concrete beneath were failing in terms of waterproofing. […]
Request For Perfection
Need another bid for waterproofing after the recent rains? At WICR, we prefer to think of RFPs as Requests for Perfection. How many times has your final invoice far exceeded your original estimate? We feel your frustration. As waterproofing specialists and industry leaders, we make sure that our bids are thorough, complete and on-time, […]
Why You Should Never Tile Over A Waterproof Deck
Many homeowners make the false assumption that tiling over their waterproof deck will add to it’s durability and waterproof capability, but they are seriously mistaken. Some homeowners have told us their reason for tiling over the deck was because they believed it would ensure waterproofing, when in fact they were destroying their waterproofing system. Tiling […]
Early Detection of Exposed Metal
Parts of a stucco deck waterproofing system are metal, which provide support and drainage. However, if this metal is exposed or does not drain properly, it will rust and fail, allowing water to penetrate the waterproofing systems and go into the underlying deck or building structure. Repairs costs can be high once water has seeped […]
Doggie Deck Disaster
An HOA client called us to inspect a deck repair issue when a community member reported damage to the edge of his neighbor’s deck. The neighbor was certain that the damage compromised the deck waterproofing systems; he reported some leaking whenever it rained, and a foul smell which prompted him to complain to the HOA. […]
What’s Up With Your Warranty
Let’ take a moment to come to grips with a sad truth: Not everyone is thinking about warranty inspection dates for your balcony decks and walkways. Sometimes, we call to let HOAs and property managers know that your community is due for regular deck inspection, and they don’t believe it is necessary. That’s understandable, since […]
