AMRON, Author at AMRON

October 22, 2015

Is it Time for Your Balcony Maintenance?

By AMRON | Structural Repair

Is it Time for Your Balcony Maintenance?

So you want to live in California, which is what most people in the United States think and / or desire. Our California homes are constructed with a great deal of open spaces, and in particular most homes in Los Angeles are constructed with large open balconies and decks. For years, most residents who live in Los Angele’s homes and condominiums have enjoyed these open balconies for barbeque, sunning, exercising and storage, but have thought very little about construction maintenance. Yes, balconies and decks require construction maintenance.

1 Old Deck and RailsRecently, there has been a rash of media coverage about homes, condominiums and even apartments whose balconies have experienced structural fatigue and sometimes failure. Most, if not all broadcasted events concerning balcony collapse and / or being on the verge of collapse could have been prevented.

Most individuals who live in LA and enjoy the amenities of balconies and decks have little or no concern for balcony and deck construction maintenance. Yes, if one resides in a residence that has a balcony, it’s time to take heed. Most balcony decks built in Los Angeles were constructed with materials such as 1”x 6” wood sheeting over 2x floor joist, with an oil base felt membrane beneath a product called magnasite. Most of the balcony decks in this city were built over thirty or forty years ago, and the construction products being used then were the state of the art for construction at that time.

But, the same construction product used back then is not considered a viable product today. Today, the old 1X6 sheeting materials would be considered too flexible and produce too much of a trampoline effect for safe and durable construction. In its place, we now use ¾” CDX plywood.

Years ago, the felt underlay product that was used for the balcony deck was an oil base construction product that has a tendency to dry out and crack. In all cases where this product was exposed during demolition of an older balcony deck, the product always exhibits deterioration from the years of the sun’s heat and the winter’s cold. Over the years, the felt materials could not withstand the constant extremes and would always dry out, and breakdown. We now apply a seven-layer construction product that can withstand the extreme differences of the heat / cold and still produce a greater life span. 10 Layers of Desertcrete18 Waterproof and color coat sealer

The breakdown of the aforementioned older products that were used for balcony / deck construction greatly contributed to balcony fatigue and failure mainly due to not controlling the penetration of moisture.

Our bodies are close to ninety percent water and we require the liquid to survive; but once our buildings are constructed and completed, each drop of water that penetrates the building outer coverage, invites doom.

AMRON is here to help you protect the structural integrity of your balconies and patio decks. For more information or to request a balcony deck inspection, please call us at 310-384-2042.

“The pictures are very representative of the quality work AMRON does. Every owner in our condominium was extremely pleased with the results. It is indeed a rarity that all owners agree about anything. My research for the very best company was well worth the effort.” T. Lehn

For an expert approach to your construction needs, AMRON has the skill, experience, and creative touch to build your project from the ground up.

AMRON: (310) 384-2042 AMRONconstruction.com

July 15, 2015

Water, Water Everywhere: Where You Don’t Want It

By AMRON | water intrusion

It’s a fact that hillside homes stand a greater risk of environmental damage. Natural elements find their way into the seams between walls and foundation, often causing an array of problems. Water is one element that poses particular risk, especially to the foundation of homes. It can spell disaster for many older structures, whose foundations were built without consideration of the way rain cascades freely past gutters towards sublevels. Instead of letting nature have its way, it’s essential to create an irrigation system that redirects water collected at sublevel out into the earth and away from the home. And with meteorologists predicting the next big El Niño, there’s no better time to ensure the safety of your home than now.

Located on the Laurel Canyon hillside, Lookout Mountain is a residential community. AMRON was contacted by a homeowner experiencing water damage and mold; the home’s interiors had been soaked due to the rain and other natural conditions, and hydrostatic water was traveling to the lowest spot in the house, seeping into the basement and collecting year round: a ticking time bomb. The homeowner had more or less given up on the basement room, having spent years applying different things to the walls; this actually created more problems than remedying the original one.

After inspecting the property, AMRON decided that it was necessary to install a waterproofing system with a leech line system to remedy the home’s water damage. This would allow the rainwater to drain into pipes and travel into the ground away from the home, thus alleviating the root of the problem. We also saw that it was necessary to repair the damage already done.

To begin the project, AMRON first dug out a perimeter around the house—8 feet by 30 inches wide. This acted as the road map for the irrigation system; pipes were then set into place. Wherever these pipes daylighted, they were directed towards a sub-pump, collecting the water and carrying it out into the street.

Material was then placed along the walls of the basement to collect any water that had come down from ground level. At the base of the sub level’s exterior, three-quarter inch gravel was placed to create a void between the outside and inside of the home, further securing the home from water damage.

In the final stages of the project, AMRON repaired damages to the concrete. By applying a high quality sealant that absorbs into concrete and seals water off from the interior, we were able to aerate the entire sublevel with a heating system to dry the walls. Finally, insulation and drywall was applied to the finished product.

The project was a five week job that included two weeks of digging—totaling to a full seven weeks on site. AMRON was pleased to hear that the homeowner experienced no further leaks or water damage after the job was done. The room is now in use and its future looks bright.

If you haven’t had your sublevel inspected and are noticing evidence of mold, salts, and/or water, don’t wait any longer. Call AMRON (310-384-2042) to schedule a complementary inspection of your residence or building.

March 25, 2015

Concrete Foundation Issues – What You Need to Know

By AMRON | Concrete & Retrofitting | One Comment

AMRON does a significant amount of cast in place concrete for commercial and residential structures and has gained a tremendous respect and understanding of concrete products.

Most recently the market for concrete foundation retrofitting has gained a foothold in the housing repair market mainly because affordable housing is now generally houses ranging in ages of 50 to 70 years old. This well-constructed period house is built with materials of full measurement lumber, where a two-by-four wall stud is really measured as a two-by-four inch wood member. In today’s construction, a two-by-four wall stud really only measures one-and-five eights by three-and-five eight inches. This significant difference in the size of material can impact the integrity of the structure. Yes, some of these old darlings are well built and have stood through many of the past monumental earthquakes and exhibit little structural damage. The older building premise was to build a solid house that would stand the test of time and some have accomplished this feat with one exception: concrete foundations.

Most structures in this age group have some type of concrete foundation issues, mainly caused by the intrusion of moisture and/or the blatant disregard of not protecting the buildings substructure from water. Water is the staff of life, but to a buildings foundation, water is its certain doom. For instance, the collected water that cascades from the structure’s roof through the gutters and downspouts strategically positioned around the building and is allowed to drain uncontrolled on the property. One would think that the concern is only water that eventually dries up and disappears. But remember: just as water erodes mountains over time, so water intrusion erodes foundations over time.

This aforementioned downspout rainwater positioning is one of the most common disastrous conditions one could allow to be enacted on one’s property. From the very first time this condition is allowed to occur–this might have been twenty to thirty years ago–the beginning of the end had doomed the building’s foundation. The farther back in time the occurrence had been allowed to exist, the greater degree of damage has taken place to the structures concrete foundation.

A client contacted our office and requested that we assess their structure’s concrete foundation because he started to notice white powder on areas of the foundations steam wall. Sure enough, the effervescence was leeching from the concrete materials itself and the integrity of the building was impaired.

This owner was fortunate, the adverse water/concrete footing problem was eradicated before any major damage was done and the water problem that caused the matter was corralled by installing a collecting system of below grade piping that was attached to each rain downspout and channeled to the street gutters.

Installing the collecting system ended the water problem on this property and insured extending the life of the concrete foundation for years to come.

If you haven’t had your foundation inspected recently and are noticing evidence of wear and tear such as discoloration, warped flooring, wood rot, cracking, or white effervescence on the concrete, don’t wait for it to be too late. Call AMRON (310-384-2042) to schedule a complimentary inspection of your residence or building.