Woodland Hills has two deck problems, and they fail in different places. On the hillside streets it is post-supported and cantilevered decks hung off the back of the house, where water runs toward the house, the ledger takes the damage, and the access is a stair, a slope and a wheelbarrow.
On the flatter streets, across Walnut Acres, Vista de Oro, the Warner Center edge and the hills south of Ventura toward Mulholland, the houses are larger 1950s–70s ranch and traditional homes on generous lots, estate parcels in Walnut Acres, condos and townhomes around Warner Center, and their decks and balconies are flat: water sits in the low corner, the coating gives up at a seam, and the plywood beneath goes soft over a few winters.
Then there are the apartment and condominium buildings along Ventura Boulevard and Warner Center: shared walkways, open stairs and stacked balconies that stay in use while we repair them, and the elements SB 721 and SB 326 now require inspected. Those are the jobs that most often come to us with a report attached.
Either way we open it up before we price it. A re-coat over sound, dry framing is a small job. A re-coat over wet framing is the same job done twice, and the second time costs more.