Engineering Costs for a small Residence- Foundation and Liability?

[ebesan]

We are asking an Engineer for a foundation plan. Elevated open concrete columns, no wood piles. 800-1100 sf. 1.5 story. Wood-Frame construction. A coastal site i.e. must meet FEMA/NYC regs for elevation (10.8 ft. to 1st level floor. Survey and Elevation Certificate done) Soil Report done. Couple of site visits. Will need helical foundations. Simple, but well-built home using FEMA P-499 Coastal Construction Guide.
We are a small firm and cannot meet the $1 M liability required. So we are asking him to cover us in that.
Need feedback on generating a fee proposal-and Contract. Any ideas? This guy is a No-nonsense type. I want him to be comfortable w/ the Project and us. Thx.

 

[BUGGAR]

I'm not clear. You are a construction firm asking an engineer to carry your liability insurance?

 

[ebesan]

(I Missed a line) Architects; and we do not carry enough insurance for this project. He is interested in working w/ us on this, and reviewing the details. I am curious what additional fees an engineer might expect. How it might be contractually set-up?

 

[allgoodnamestaken]

So you want him to carry liability for architectural design he has no part of?

 

[IRstuff]

I think the OP wants the engineer to take full liability on the foundation plan that the engineer should have full responsibility for.

TTFN
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!
homework forum: //

http://www.engineering.com/AskForum/aff/32.aspx

faq731-376 forum1529

 

[JAE]

We are a small firm and cannot meet the $1 M liability required. So we are asking him to cover us in that.

I'm not sure any insurance carrier will "cover you". The policies are usually written specifically for the firm doing the work in their respective discipline.

If you are a home designer or architect, you cannot buy an engineer's insurance. If the owner sues you, then you are sued. The engineer's insurance carrier won't come to your rescue, even if the engineer gets extra fee or tries to hold you harmless under his policy. His insurance carrier will defend the engineer and the work that the engineer did and nothing else.



Check out Eng-Tips Forum's Policies here:
faq731-376

 

[Ron]

What is the cost of the house construction? A $1MM liability policy seems a bit stringent for a single family residence that likely costs less than that to build.

Have you considered a formal joint venture with a project specific policy to cover the both of you? JAE's right about the engineer's coverage.

Next issue is why are you not carrying this level of insurance? It is not that expensive and unless you are giving away your services, it is a cost of doing business that should be covered in your fee.