Project Overview
- Service Type
- Balcony Inspection · SB 721 Inspection · Waterproofing
- Location
- San Jose, CA (Berryessa)
- Property Type
- Apartment building — 27 units, 3 storeys (built 2003)
- Timeline
- 1-day inspection · 5 working days repair
- Completed
- March 2026
Project at a Glance
The Problem
The owner's request was narrow and reasonable: look at the balconies, tell me what condition they are in, do not sell me a programme. That is what a balcony inspection is — a structural and waterproofing assessment of the elevated elements, priced per element, with no obligation attached to what it finds.
The building is three storeys, nine units per floor, with balconies on the upper two: eighteen balconies and two stairways, twenty elements. Built in 2003, the assembly was sound and the coating had years left. The damage was all post-construction and all from above — four balconies carried tenant-installed fixtures bolted straight through the membrane. Two satellite dish mounts, a row of planter hooks, and a privacy screen fixed with eleven anchors into the deck surface.
Two of the four were already wet to the substrate. Nothing was structural yet, which is the entire point of finding it in year twenty-three rather than year twenty-eight. With twenty-seven dwelling units the building falls under SB 721 — Health & Safety Code §17973 — so the same survey produced the statutory written report, and our SB 721 inspection service carried it to filing.
The Solution
Every fixture came off. On the two dry balconies the penetrations were routed out, filled and the membrane made continuous again with a patch that laps into the existing coating. On the two wet ones the coating and substrate were cut back until the readings came down, new plywood went in, and the full build-up was reinstated across the whole balcony rather than patched.
The practical outcome was not the repair. It was the wall-mounted attachment points we fitted on all eighteen balconies, into the framing above the membrane line, and the notice the owner issued afterwards giving tenants somewhere legitimate to hang things. Our balcony inspection services end at a written report; what stopped this recurring was a fifty-dollar bracket and a letter.
- Balcony inspection of all 20 elevated elements
- Moisture readings at every membrane penetration found
- Removal of tenant-installed dishes, hooks and screens
- Penetration repair & membrane continuity on 2 balconies
- Substrate replacement & full recoat on 2 balconies
- Wall-mounted attachment points fitted on all 18 balconies
- Written SB 721 report starting the six-year cycle
How the Project Ran
-
Inspection (Day 1)
All eighteen balconies and both stairways assessed and photographed; every fixture penetration located and moisture-metered.
-
Report & tenant notice (Week 2)
Written report issued with per-element condition ratings, and access notices sent to the four affected units ahead of the work.
-
Repairs (Days 1–4 on site)
Fixtures removed, penetrations closed and the membrane made continuous on two balconies; coating and substrate cut back, replaced and fully recoated on the two wet ones.
-
Attachment points & closeout (Day 5)
Wall-mounted attachment points fitted on all eighteen balconies above the membrane line, and the SB 721 report placed on file for the six-year cycle.
Materials Used
- Westcoat ALX system membrane repair and full recoat on the two wet balconies
- CDX plywood sheathing substrate replacement where readings stayed high
- Stainless wall-mounted attachment points a legitimate fixing point above the membrane line
- Polyurethane sealant closure of routed-out penetrations before recoating
Before & After
Four membranes repaired and eighteen balconies given a legitimate fixing point — no recurrence at the next visit.
I asked for the balconies to be looked at and that is what I got — no package, no upsell. The bit I did not expect was being told how to stop it happening again.
Questions About This Project
Can I have just the balconies inspected, without a compliance package?
Yes. A balcony inspection is priced per elevated element and produces a written report with condition ratings and repair priorities. If the building happens to be a rental with three or more units, that same survey can be written up to satisfy SB 721 — but nothing in the report obliges you to buy the repairs from us.
Are tenant-installed fixtures really a structural problem?
Not on day one. Every unsealed penetration through a waterproofing membrane is a direct path into the framing, and the damage accumulates quietly for years. By the time a ceiling stains below, the repair has moved from a patch to a substrate replacement.
How do we stop tenants drilling into balconies?
Give them somewhere else to fix things and tell them about it. Wall-mounted attachment points above the membrane line cost very little and remove the reason people drill into the deck. A clause nobody reads does not work nearly as well as a bracket that is already there.
