huangyhg

structural fee as percentage of total arch. fee
what is a good budget number to use as a percentage of a typical architectural fee for the structural portion of the job? for example, a shopping center, school, office building, etc., where the total architectural fee is around 6 to 10% of the construction budget. i have found that in the past about 10% of the total fee is about right, but with the ibc 2000 requiring a more stringent design for seismic, has the structural fee gone up accordingly?

mikee55,
our firm typically bases our fee on the total construction cost which is normally between .75% and 1% depending on the size and complexity of the structure. we also increase our fee by 10% if the seismic design catagory is d or worse.
regards,
auce98
auce98,
you seem to be low. this link has some guidelines based on rs means:
i've seen lots of variations through the years but here are a few common ones:
1. structural fee = 3.0% to 3.5% of the structural portion of the project. thus, the contract is written with the architect to have the contractor provide a breakdown of the portions of the project and the fee is then calculated from that. normally, the structural portion of the construction cost for most buildings varies between 20% and 35% of the total - but this varies a lot depending on site costs, finishes, etc.
2. structural fee = 0.75% to 1.0% of the total construction cost. the exterior site costs are usually excluded from this calculation. means uses 1% to 2.5% for projects - i think the high end 2.5% is for more pure structural projects where there is less finish work, etc.
3. structural fee = 17%-20% of the total a/e fee. this is from a group called zweig-white who do studies on fee breakdowns throughout the usa.
i agree with auce98 and jae, i think all structural engineering fees depend on where the job is located. here in the midwest the fees might be a little less because we are not dealing with coastal winds and siesmic loads.
i would be a rich man if i could get more that 1.0%!!!
lutfi,
just to explain a little further, the majority of our work is in the laboratory and research facility field, which causes the construction cost of these buildings to inflate due to the amount mep equipment in the structures which works out well. i would also agree with joemarch that fees are fairly regional.
regards,
auce98
i agree with the all what have been stated. i am fully aware of the cost of mep equipment which can be substantial with minimum relation to design effort, structurally speaking.
regards,
lutfi

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