Balcony Inspection Cost In Los Angeles? Owner & HOAs Breakdown

How Much Does A Balcony Inspection Cost In Los Angeles?  A Breakdown For Owners And HOAs!

As an owner of a multi-unit residential apartment building in Los Angeles, or perhaps as a member of the home association of an LA condominium in charge of HOA budgeting, you are keenly interested in the topic of balcony inspection cost in Los Angeles.  You also likely know that such costs are driven by California Senate Bills 326 and 721, also known as the “Balcony Inspection Laws,” which require mandatory safety inspections and repair of damaged “Exterior Elevated Elements” (“EEE” or “3E”).

The 3Es include all of a building’s features that are exterior, typically exposed to the elements, are wood-framed, and are six feet or higher above ground or grade.  These would be your property’s balconies, decks, catwalks, walkways, stairs, and porches, among others.

What Factors Affect the Cost of Inspections?

If you are wondering what are some of the factors that affect the cost of inspections, you will get that information in this section!  The cost consideration factors that owners must take into account when planning for a 3E inspection in Los Angeles will depend on a number of factors, many of which are obvious and easy to understand, and some that are not as immediately observable.  These factors include, among others:

• The number of EEEs on the property that must be inspected, in order to attain the high confidence level required by the law. Such confidence level often requires a statistical analysis to get at the number of EEE that are “in scope” for the project!

• Whether or not the inspection can take place by the inspector visually assessing the EEE (for example, when a walkway’s wood framing is visible for all to see) or whether the inspection can only take place after certain additional steps are taken. Such additional steps may include, for example, drilling a hole into the EEE so that its insides are visible when using a borescope instrument (in the case of covered stairs) or removing a portion of an EEE’s stucco finish (for example where a balcony’s framing is covered by stucco).

• Whether or not the EEE has other features that must be removed prior to the inspection. For example, an EEE’s bolted-on extensions or a soffit (basically the eaves of a roof overhang) may need to be removed.

• The difficulty in reaching the inspected EEE. For example, very high EEEs may require additional time to access, additional safety steps, the rental of specialized lift equipment, etc.

What is the Average Cost of a Balcony Inspection in Los Angeles?

As we suggested above, all owners who must comply with the 3E laws typically want to know upfront, what is the average cost of a balcony inspection in Los Angeles?  What is the SB 721 cost breakdown per unit?  After all, that is what this blog seeks to cover!

Well, taking all the above factors into consideration, the balcony inspection cost in Los Angeles will average between $1,250 to $2,500, which includes inspection and reporting on up to four EEEs.  For each additional EEE (beyond four), a fee that averages between $200 to $300 may apply.  Moreover, generally speaking, one can obtain a cost breakdown per building unit either based upon the total number of EEE at each unit, or simply by calculating all inspected EEE, divided up by the number of the building’s units.

Interestingly, our readers who are involved in HOA balcony inspection budget planning will likely be pleased to learn that the SB 326 inspection cost in Los Angeles should generally be similar to the cost of an SB 721 inspection (although as you may already know, only a licensed architect or structural/civil engineer can inspect a condo building).

Finally, some building owners may also need to factor into their inspection costs the fines that local building departments may levy on their property!  This is because those properties that do not inspect their EEE by the compliance deadline may be subject to monetary penalties of up to $500 per day!

How Much Do Repairs Cost After a Failed Inspection?

Some of this blog’s readers are undoubtedly pondering the question of the cost of repairing dry rot found during balcony inspection.  Well, with respect to how much EEE repairs cost after a failed inspection, such considerations really do depend on the level of damage that is discovered in the inspected EEEs.  For example, the damage could be due to shoddy construction practices or deficiencies in the EEE’s building materials, and there could be pricing differences between the two.  Moreover, the damage may also vary depending on the following factors:

• The level of wear on the EEE (i.e., more wear means more of the element must be repaired or replaced)
• The extent of water damage done to the EEE (i.e., the amount of wood rot and cracking in the EEE’s framing)
• The degree to which waterproofing materials (e.g., coatings, sealants, and membranes) must be replaced
• How high the EEE is off the ground (a factor which informs the level of work difficulty).

Budgeting Tips for Property Owners and HOAs

If we could give commercial property owners and HOAs one advice regarding budgeting for an inspection, it would be:  choose your inspector wisely!  There are many “fly by night” outfits out there who say they can inspect an EEE, but who know nothing about how to do this work, much less how to repair an EEE.  Only qualified balcony repair contractors  like Weinstein Construction should be doing this work!

And as long as we’re at it, here’s additional advice on balcony inspection cost estimate for apartment buildings:  don’t delay!  As the inspection compliance deadline nears, the small numbers of inspectors in the Greater Los Angeles region will be struggling to service the many thousands of apartment and condo buildings that must be inspected!  The less availability exists in scheduling an inspection, and the higher the demand is for one, inspection and repair costs will soar!  Choosing to inspect earlier means getting your pick of available inspection slots, as well as preferential pricing!

Call Weinstein Construction today at(866) 623-5788 to schedule your free “California Balcony Law” consultation!  Get the help you need and deserve in planning for this mandatory inspection, and take advantage of lower prices too!