R Brothers Waterproofing Has POS Victim Blaming Lawyers

When I read %&@! like this I want to hit something! From the Irish Times  article found here http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/berkeley-victims-may-have-contributed-to-balcony-collapse-1.2597039

“The plaintiffs and/or cross-complainants’ own carelessness and negligence may have proximately contributed to the events and damages complained of..."   

Those are the words in a filing from R Brothers Waterproofing attorneys on why the balcony in Berkeley collapsed last year, killing 6 people and leaving seven more with serious injuries and a lifetime of horror. 

It gets worse, R Brothers lawyers is trying to blame everyone else too - here they throw the architect under the bus. They may have a point but you don't follow shitty plans either...

 "R Brothers Waterproofing also claims the “designs of others” that it had no responsibility for were to blame for the injuries complained of.

“This answering defendant did not select, design or approve the allegedly defective components,” it says under the heading of “causation”.

It also said it had no notice of any alleged defects and that the injuries alleged “were caused by third parties’ deficient work or products”.

So in California when one is looking at plans and one knows, as the licensed expert waterproofing contractor that they are, that the design is wrong, you don't bid it. Secondly if it did slip by that the design was wrong and you did bid it, when you got to the job and saw what you were doing, you stop and don't do the work until an RFI is made and a decision is issued by the architect and the general contractor. R Brothers apparently covered wet substrate with moisture trapping membranes and wants to say they aren't responsible? 

So if R Brothers is saying this detail is wrong, why did
they apparently follow it? Inquiring minds want to know. 

Even worse, they say in their filing if we are found negligent, it's secondary to others negligence...excuse me but WTF? 

I see it fairly simply-you check the moisture content of your plywood with a simple moisture meter. If it's higher than 14-16% then you say can't do it...and the problem is especially compounded when/if it was a double layer of OSB that's soaking wet. It would take weeks of dry weather if ever to get that moisture content down to acceptable levels. 

Simple moisture meter gives a general reading of the moisture content
of the plywood I have the probes pushed into. The moisture content
is to high for applying a coating to right now so this wood needs
to dry more. 

Bottom line, the attorneys are POS scumbags IMO for even suggesting the victims had anything to do with their deaths and injuries. 

BREAKING NEWS-No Criminal Charges in Berkeley Deck Tragedy Case

Just saw in several tweets from @mgafni that the Alameda DA's office announced after nine months of investigation that no charges will be filed for criminal actions by the parties involved in building the deck that fell last summer.

If you recall, six died and seven Irish summer worker college students were injured after they fell 40+ feet to a concrete sidewalk in Berkeley last summer when a rotted balcony gave way. The images of that scene were horrible and left lasting wounds on the rescuers and survivors.

The DA's office seized the fallen balcony and made it evidence from a crime scene. After investigating the case, no criminal charges will be filed, leaving civil action as the only real recourse. Although criminal intent was not found, it's probably going to be easier to show negligence and construction defects for the plaintiff's attorneys. Civil suits have been filed by attorney's against the builder and the subs as well as the management company and others.

Watch for further news on the Berkeley case in the future as the civil cases move ahead.

JLC LIVE RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION SHOW IS COMING NEXT MONTH-Get My Speakers Discount or Free Admission to the Hall

See you in Portland Oregon next month for the JLC Live! Residential Construction Show. There will be tons of great speakers and educators on all subjects of construction. There's tons of great brew pubs around, great food, great city so take a few days off first week of December and join me and the JLC Live crew!

GET MY SPECIAL DISCOUNT OFFER BY USING MY CODE SK15!

We Contributed our Experiences on Exterior Building Maintenance for New England Condominium Magazine

Our latest contribution to maintenance of condo's appears in the March issue of New England Condominium. 

Staying Ahead of Trouble

Building Exteriors Need Regular Checkups, Too

By Lisa Iannucci

Remember the old jingle, ‘it takes a licking and keeps on ticking’? It was the famous tagline from the Timex watch advertisements. The gist of the ad is that no matter what you threw at it, a Timex watch kept working.

If you think about it, a building’s exterior is almost like a Timex watch. Each year, Mother Nature throws its best curveballs – intense sun, high winds, fierce rains, heavy loads of snow and ice, and frigid temperatures – at the outside of your condo buildings. Don’t forget the pollution, dirt from such animals as pigeons and, of course, any items that accidentally hit the exterior. The exterior continues to stand and takes it all in. Well, almost. A building’s exterior can take a lot of abuse, but after time, it does begin to show wear and tear and needs some TLC.

Read the whole article by clicking here. 

http://newenglandcondo.com/articles/718/1/Staying-Ahead-of-Trouble/Page1.html

New Article "Building Waterproof Roof Decks" in Professional Deck Builder Magazine

July/August 2014 PDB

Professional Deck Builder July/August 2014 magazine issue is out with a story by Bill Leys on best practices to building and waterproofing decks. 

Building Waterproof Roof Decks is a 6 page article that discusses the best practices builders should utilize in building construction when the deck is being framed and built. Click the link to download your free copy courtesy of Deck Builder magazine.  

The article is an offshoot of our seminar we present to builders and architects on building and waterproofing decks. I've presented this seminar at JLC LIVE in Portland in 2013, Providence in 2014 and I'll be back again presenting in Portland in December 2014.

 

See the details of my seminars at this years event here https://nw.jlclive.com/Attendee/Conference/SpeakerDetails?id=135995