PEMB Foundation Fees

[Struct1206]

What is the going rate for engineering fees on a pre-engineered metal building foundation? I have a decent grasp on fees for other things but I have a hard time with these. Do you guys quote these on a percent construction cost basis or dollars per square foot?

 

[phamENG]

There have been a few threads on this topic recently. Do some searching and you'll find a good bit of information. For me, I charge about the same as I would charge for designing the whole thing. The reason being:

1) The way these should work (as recommended by the MBMA) is that the SEOR should be involved from the beginning and specify the building performance requirements. Absent that, they pick the least stringent requirements their software lets them get away with. Maybe okay if it's a barn. Not okay if it's a church or office building.

2) The way these usually work is that they call the SEOR at the last minute, inform me that the building is ordered and can't be changed, and they expect me to take responsibility for the whole project even though service level wind deflection is measured in multiple inches and they expect to have drywall inside. Yay...

3) The foundation design and detailing is generally more complex with these than with a typical steel framed building design. It almost takes as long to design one of these foundations as it would take to size the frame, spec the connections, and show a simple foundation.

4) My liability and risk is no less than if I'd designed the whole thing, so my profits had better be the same.

 

[Brad805]

AS much as you can in your market area. There is no standard response to this, but some of the previous threads suggest ridiculously low.

 

[JedClampett]

As phamENG said, this has been beat to death. Note that you're likely to be reviewing shop drawings, hard to decipher PEMB calculations, creating load combinations from raw loads, and answering RFIs. If there needs to be a change to the PEMB framing, like for a HVAC duct, you're probably going to have to OK it, if not design it. Anchorage to your foundation belongs to you, and the PEMB design is not going to do you any favors (minimum edge distance and spacing). We've had to thicken edge beams just to fit in anchor bolts.

 

[Struct1206]

I apologize guys. I posted this and then promptly turned around and searched and found several older posts on the exact subject. I obviously should've done it the other way around. I appreciate the replies though. I'm happy to see other's justifying higher fees on these jobs.

 

[phamENG]

Be warned - taking our advice doesn't mean you'll actually get the jobs. I lose them all the time. Somebody in my area is willing to do them for next to nothing. So I provide a quote rather than a formal proposal. If they say yes, then I write up the proposal. I usually don't get them, so it saves me a lot of wasted time.

But, if the client doesn't want to follow best practices and take the time (and spend the money) on a proper design, I don't think I'm really "losing" in the end.