huangyhg

repeat fee
is there such thing as repeat fee for large community housing development where the developer will obtain a master permit.
and therefore, i will never hear from them when i sign and seal the plans only once for the entire development?
i appreciate your input on the subject.
v2

other than the fact that you may wish to place a caveat on the design to indicate that the actal site has to be inspected to verify design compliance during construction and soil bearing suitabilty for each unit, not really.
krs services
what about the fact that my firm will be pron to multiple exposure to liability?
the risk is much larger than just a single house construction.
thank you,
v2
that is why i suggested the caveat on the drawings you seal. to protect from liability, you or your representative would have to inspect each unit to verify compliance to your design and specifications. of course, those inspections and approvals would be chargable time. it is for reason of liability that i would not consider giving a "master design" without a caveat or liability waiver due to the fact that you will not be able to ensure compliance with your design. i am not sure if you have heard of the "leaky roofs" in vancouver due to poor regulations and lack of inspections, but for your reference it may be worth your while to investigate some of the background and the mess left behind. i hope this helps.
krs services
i suggest that you review the governing building codes (boca, ibc, ubc, etc. in usa). most of these codes have a chapter called "special inspections". you might be obligated to "inspect" construction each house to ensure it is in accordance with your design even if you did not contract to perform this service.
i would also suggest contacting your insurance carrier to review exactly what your coverage includes. multi-housing units carry a big red flag for many carriers (an of the buyers or tennant could name you in a lawsuit).
if for no other reason, like you stated, you should charge a nominal fee for review of each plan to make sure the gc did not make changes. also you have liability x the # of structures, so you should recieve a nominal fee for your increased insurance payments.
repeat fee is a term that contractors like to use to beat on engineers to lower their fees. it is granted that there is some time and money saving for identical structural units. my opinion is that the liability is still there every time they build a new unit.
residential developers are the worse type of clients. what is even worse are some engineers who have no sense of responsibility. i know some of these engineers sign and seal residential plans for $50 bucks!! they are embarrassment to the profession. in florid where i live and work, they are being flushed out by the board of engineers. many of them are being caught for plan stamping. the plans are drawn by drafters or the contractors.
by brief review, it becomes very clear that no real engineering has been done. i like to commend the state for going after these engineers. i think they should go after the contractors as well.
as a joke, i call on of these plan stamping professionals "seals on wheels".

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