Collapse Reinforces Need for Inspections : Housing: Owners are urged to check homes regularly after fatal accident in Malibu. Responsibility rests with the homeowners, not building officials.
As California’s housing stock ages, building inspectors, industry officials and realtors say property owners must become more aware that maintenance problems from rusting steel beneath decks to aging electrical wiring can pose increased hazards.
That point was driven home early last Sunday when a rusted steel beam beneath the balcony of a Malibu townhouse gave way, dumping party-goers onto the rocks and into the surf. Two people died and 29 others were injured.
“It takes a tragedy for people to become aware that the things they take for granted shouldn’t be taken for granted,” said Richard Wirth, executive director of the governmental affairs council for the Building Industry Assn. of Southern California. “Property ages and things break. They deteriorate.
“You don’t take your house for granted any more than your automobile,” Wirth said.
Twice a year, he said, smoke detectors should be checked to be sure that they are operating properly. Foundations should be inspected for structural cracks. Heating and air-conditioning equipment should be tested when seasons change. Electrical cords should be examined for frayed insulation. Fireplaces and chimneys need to be cleaned.
In coastal areas, homeowners have to be alert for corrosion that weakens metal. And in hillside areas they must watch for fire danger and erosion.
Along the coast, sea air and saltwater are enemies.
“When you live in a coastal environment you do need to be very aware that the saltwater environment is going to be extremely corrosive and that can significantly weaken the strength of your building,” said Laguna Beach building official John Gustafson. “Metallic surfaces need to be maintained or else they are going to be lost in a short time.”
Metal must have a protective coating to prevent rust.
“Corrosion is a major factor along the ocean,” Malibu real estate agent Brian Panella said. “That’s no secret to anyone.”
It was rust that weakened the cantilevered steel beam beneath the deck of the Malibu townhouse so badly that it buckled under the weight of party-goers and barbecue equipment, Malibu building official James Guerra said.
As long ago as January, 1974, the manufacturer of the steel beams warned county officials of a potential safety hazard if the metal was not properly maintained with a protective paint to prevent rust. A warning letter was sent to owners of nearly three dozen townhouses along Pacific Coast Highway near Big Rock Beach in Malibu.
After inspecting the property 10 years later, county officials ordered the owner of the townhouse at 20446 Pacific Coast Highway, where the deck collapsed, to take immediate action to repair corroding steel beams or risk having the building declared unsafe.
County records do not indicate whether a requested engineering report was submitted, if the repair work was performed, or a follow-up inspection was conducted.
Malibu building officials, who took over jurisdiction from the county when the beachfront community became a city last year, are urging those who own homes with exposed, cantilevered, steel beam construction to inspect their property for corrosion problems or have an inspection performed by a licensed civil or structural engineer.
Building officials say it is homeowners, not government agencies, that must assume responsibility for maintaining the safety of their property.
Financially strapped cities and counties cannot afford the added burden of inspecting homes from the coast to the canyons in search of maintenance problems, officials say. And local building codes do not assign them that task.
Building departments review plans, issue permits and conduct inspections while homes are under construction, but once an occupancy permit is issued, their role generally ends.
“The code is well designed for how you build a building,” Guerra said. “There is virtually no standard or code for maintenance of a building. . . . The maintenance of a building falls to the owner.”
Guerra said he is not aware of any community that routinely reinspects homes for maintenance troubles. “They rely on the individual owner,” he said.
Newport Beach building director Ray Schuller said he does not have the staff to consistently go out and make sure homes are maintained properly.
Instead, Schuller and other building officials say they respond to complaints about unsafe or dangerous conditions. “If I get a complaint, I’m going to look into it,” he said.
If an inspection reveals a problem, the city will force homeowners to perform maintenance or repairs. But Schuller added: “I don’t go out and seek this stuff.”
“The building officials really are not policemen who go out on an active basis looking for problems,” Santa Ana structural engineer John Coil said. “The homeowner needs to be concerned about maintenance. There’s not a structure that’s been built that doesn’t need periodic maintenance.”
When considering the purchase of a home, Steve Sokol, associate general counsel for the California Assn. of Realtors, urged home buyers to consider having a private inspection. “Personally, I would want an inspection if I were buying a house,” Sokol said. “There is no other way to reasonably know what the condition of a property is.”
Sokol said most home buyers in the Los Angeles area have home inspections performed. “It’s like buying a used car and taking it to a mechanic to get an evaluation,” he said.
