Yes. We will provide a soft copy of plans or reports in an electronic PDF format for your review and use in submitting to a jurisdiction or for your contractors use. If you desire hard copies of the plans, we can provide these at a minimal charge similar to what you would pay if you took plans to a print shop. Fee structure is based on paper size.
T&M stands for Time and Materials. This type of billing is used when there are activities that are not fully defined either in terms of the scope to be completed or the amount of time that things will take. If there is a task that is open ended in any way we will include this task with no fixed cost associated. This is avoided in most cases since the lack of clarity is not the most beneficial, but where required it is included in contracts. By definition these types of tasks do not allow for an estimate of the cost because the estimate would vary so much.
We function as a team with team members contributing their areas of expertise to your project. You will see multiple people charging time to the tasks on your project because each person is adding something of value within their specialty within our organization. This specialization allows for the most efficient and accurate product.
When preparing a proposal for a project there is often a large amount of research that takes place in order to develop a clear and accurate scope of the project and fee structure. This research often includes research with the local permitting agency, online review of the site, utility locations, layout of the land, and discussion with you/client on your goals and vision for the project. The length of time it takes from your request for a proposal/estimate to receiving from one of our Project Managers (PMs) will vary depending on the size and complexity of the project. Typically, we can provide a proposal within 2-5 days, but it can take longer if the project is larger or more detailed/complex. If you have not heard from them in several days, you can call and speak with the Project Manager reviewing your request at any time. We try our best to respond within 24 hours of requests.
A licensed/registered professional, whether that is an engineer, a surveyor, a septic designer or an architect can and will only stamp drawings that they have created or overseen the creation of. Stamping of plans that were created by another individual without the involvement of the professional is an ethics violation.
We always strive to turn proposals around within the shortest time possible while ensuring that we accurately understand the scope of your project and accurately estimate what will be needed to complete it. For single family residence projects, the typical turnaround time is two business days. For commercial projects we have an expected turnaround time of a week or less.
The retainer is a guarantee of payment for us to start the project. This initial payment funds the starting of the project and is applied to the final invoice to expedite the release of documents and remove the need for a final billing cycle after project completion.
Think of this as a pre-application lite meeting. This meeting will include us discussing your project, the obvious issues, the major requirements and the services that you will need from us to submit for permits.
A change order in the construction field is a change to the permitted and stamped design. There are various reasons that this may occur, but some of the most common are differing conditions on the site to those assumed/recorded for the design, additional items desired by the client that modify the design and contractor induced changes either from incorrect construction or incorrect design.
An ASA is an Additional Services Agreement. This is a document that extends your contract by adding additional tasks. These can come from additional scope items desired by the client, from a pre-planned phasing of the site or from other causes.
Yes. Most of our contracts have two payment options. One option is to pay a retainer and as work is completed make progress payments monthly. Another option is to pay for 100% of the fixed fee portion of the contract upfront. We provide a discount in our fixed fee services for this option. This option also helps us to process the end product quicker for faster delivery of product when completed as we are not having to wait to invoice you and receive payment before releasing the plans.
In the interest of getting your project finalized as soon as possible we will initiate billing in conjunction with finalizing your project. We typically bill on a monthly cycle based on progress complete of your project.
