Request for proposal, remodel all non load bearing wall 1

[DoubleStud]

Architects ask me to send proposal to them all of the time on small remodels where they remove and add several walls. Sometimes they even include the existing structural drawing and I am 100% sure none of the walls are structural. The building department usually wants them to submit something from a structural engineer to ensure it is ok to remove the wall. How do you deal with this? If you know they are not structural, do you let them know right of the bat and tell them it will be an X amount for me to write the letter? There has been a case where I feel like I tell them it is non load bearing and I never hear from them again. Probably because they just remove the wall and not pull a permit. But I do work with a certain contractor where they want me to write a letter even if they are not load bearing wall and a charge them a fee for the letter. So my question is, do I just tell them how much it is going to cost and not give them any information? I feel like I should at least get paid for the 0.5-1 hr of my time looking at the awful (hard to understand) old structural drawing?

 

[manstrom]

I'd create a task to "review existing drawings and identify bearing walls, if any. Write a report". If additional structural design is required, we can perform that work as hourly / TBD.

Don't discount your ability to review drawings and ID structural elements.

 

[TLHS]

You're getting paid for the fact that you have the experience to identify whether these are issues, as well as carrying the liability. That has value whether you're spending ten seconds or three hours. Don't give them the answer for free. Consider how much this work is worth for you, and charge relative to that. Remember that there's overhead time in reviewing things, answering questions, billing them, and dealing with the occasional problem, so build in money for that.

 

[Canuck65]

I would typically give the architect a fee estimate to A) review the background drawings/information, setup the project, etc... B) visit the site to confirm the existing structure matches the drawings and C) write a letter documenting the observations and confirming if the walls are indeed non-loadbearing. It all takes time to do your due diligence and be certain. If any of the walls do turn out to be load bearing then additional fees are required to design the modifications to the structure.