San Diego Custom Iron Works handles SB 721 repair and post-inspection metal remediation for apartment owners, condominium HOAs, and multi-family communities across San Diego County. If your engineer, architect, or qualified inspector has finished the exterior elevated element (EEE) evaluation and the railing findings now need to become finished metalwork, that is the part we do. Luis Lazalde Sr. and Luis Lazalde Jr. measure on site, custom-fabricate replacement railings and attachments to the findings and specifications you provide, and install them. As a licensed C-23 railing contractor, we fabricate and install to the findings and specifications your project requires.
An inspection report protects residents only once its findings are corrected. We take the railing line items you already have and turn them into an itemized proposal and installed metalwork, with direct contact with the two people doing the work.
If you already have an inspection report, we help make the metalwork easy to scope, price, schedule, and complete. Here is how it works.
Luis Sr. or Luis Jr. reviews the metal scope in your findings and can often give a preliminary estimate from the documents and photos.
We visit your property to laser-measure spans, photograph the accessible metal mounting conditions, and note access constraints. Structural assessment of framing and substrates stays with your engineer or responsible professional. If we see something in the field that needs their attention, we tell you.
You typically receive a comprehensive itemized proposal within 24-48 hours of the on-site visit. It lists metal scope, finish, mounting hardware, installation, and removal and disposal of the old railings, and it is organized to match your findings.
We custom-fabricate railings to your property's dimensions and applicable project requirements at our El Cajon shop. Finishing, including galvanizing and powder coating, is completed by our finishing partners.
Work can be sequenced building by building or breezeway by breezeway, coordinated with property management.
On occupied properties, we coordinate work phases, resident access, and any necessary temporary closures with property management. That includes advance notice to residents (at least 24 hours), marked work zones, cord ramps across walkways, and a dedicated safety spotter on larger multi-family jobs. Luis calls with an end-of-day progress update, including when the crew will return, and before-and-after photographs document the project.
Permit applications, plan review, and final approvals run through your property team, your design professional, and the local building department. We fabricate and install to the plans and findings provided. Approval is decided by the building department, not by us.
When a report flags railing deficiencies, this is the metalwork we handle. Specific heights, spacing, and attachment details come from your plans, specifications, and the governing code. We build to them.
Not every flagged railing has to come out. Where the findings allow and the metal is sound, targeted repair can be the right answer. On one Pacific Beach multi-family property, Luis added intermediate bars to a well-maintained 50-year-old railing to close wide openings. Where corrosion or damage goes deeper, replacement is the responsible call. We tell you which we see, and your inspector or engineer has the final word on what the findings require.
You do not need a legal brief to hire a railing contractor, but it helps to know where your project sits. This is a general overview. Confirm the details for your property with your inspector, building department, or attorney.
Applies to apartments and other multi-family rental buildings with three or more units. Covers exterior elevated elements, such as balconies, walkways, and stairs, with walking surfaces more than 6 feet above ground and wood-based support. The initial inspection deadline was extended to January 1, 2026. Re-inspection is required every 6 years.
Covers exterior elevated elements in qualifying condominium buildings with three or more units, where the association has maintenance or repair responsibility for them and the walking surfaces are more than 6 feet above ground with wood-based support. Not every HOA or property is covered. Inspections are performed by licensed structural engineers, civil engineers, or architects, and recur every 9 years.
Under SB 721, once a report identifies deficiencies that are not immediate hazards, owners generally have 120 days to apply for the required permits and 120 days after permit issuance to complete repairs, subject to the statute's qualifications and extensions. If an inspector finds an immediate hazard, the inspector must notify the local enforcement agency within 15 days of completing the inspection report, and the owner must take immediate steps, including restricting resident access, until the required follow-up inspection or approval, as applicable. SB 326 has its own provisions, including an express requirement that repairs be inspected and approved by local enforcement, so do not assume the SB 721 schedule applies to a condominium association.
Salt air and moisture are hard on exterior steel, particularly near the coast in communities such as Pacific Beach, Point Loma, Imperial Beach, and Coronado. Whether corroded metal can be repaired or must be replaced depends on its condition and on your inspector's findings. For the new steel we fabricate, here is our coastal finishing practice.
These Google reviews reflect our workmanship, reliability, and communication on multi-family and commercial properties. They are not limited to SB 721 projects.
Clear answers about post-inspection metalwork, proposals, deadlines, and coastal protection.
No. We do not conduct inspections, write engineering reports, or provide statutory certifications. San Diego Custom Iron Works is a licensed C-23 ornamental metal contractor. We perform the physical repair, replacement, and installation of railings and guardrails after your inspector, engineer, architect, or city official provides the findings.
Send the metal railing findings from your report, any plans or engineering details provided, and clear photos of the affected balconies, walkways, or stairs. Luis can review the scope and often provide a preliminary estimate. For a firm proposal, Luis Sr. or Luis Jr. visits the property to take laser measurements.
After the on-site visit and laser walk, you typically receive a comprehensive itemized written proposal within 24-48 hours. It details the metal scope, finishes, hardware, installation, and removal and disposal.
Under SB 721, for deficiencies that are not immediate hazards, owners generally have 120 days from receiving the report to apply for the required permits and 120 days after permit issuance to complete repairs, subject to the statute's qualifications and extensions. If an inspector identifies an immediate hazard, the inspector must notify the local enforcement agency within 15 days of completing the inspection report, and the owner must take immediate steps, including restricting access, until the required follow-up inspection or approval, as applicable. SB 326 has its own provisions, including an express requirement that repairs be inspected and approved by local enforcement. Confirm the details for your property with your inspector, building department, or attorney.
Yes. Many owners replace worn wood railings with custom-fabricated steel guardrails. Steel does not rot the way wood does, and galvanizing followed by powder coating helps protect it from corrosion. Whether the wood framing around the railing needs repair is a question for your inspector or engineer and a framing contractor. We handle the metalwork.
We coordinate work phases, resident access, and any necessary temporary closures with property management. We give residents advance notice of at least 24 hours, mark work zones, run cord ramps across walkways, and post a dedicated safety spotter on larger multi-family jobs. Luis calls with an end-of-day progress update, including when the crew will return. Before-and-after photographs document the project.
For coastal projects, we send fabricated steel for ASTM A123 hot-dip galvanizing followed by powder coating, and we select compatible, corrosion-resistant hardware for each project. How long a finish lasts depends on exposure, the coating system, and maintenance.
Yes. Removal and off-site disposal of existing metal or wood railings is itemized in every proposal.
Our shop is in El Cajon, and our crews serve apartment and HOA properties throughout the county. That includes coastal communities such as Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach, La Jolla, and Coronado, along with multi-family properties in Mission Valley, North Park, Chula Vista, and El Cajon. If you have a findings list and a property in San Diego County, we can review it.
Luis Lazalde Sr. learned the craft in his father's shop at age 13, continuing five documented generations of Herrera metalworking. Today he works alongside his son, Luis Lazalde Jr. For property managers, HOA boards, and general contractors working through inspection findings, that means one accountable family team you can reach throughout the project.
