Free Services

• Estimates for engineering/design/permitting/as-built services.
• 20 min phone consultation.

Primary Services

• Residential engineering for projects in San Francisco and Marin counties
• New construction, seismic retrofits, remodels, additions, foundations, retaining walls etc. Typically wood-framed buildings with some steel framing and concrete foundations.
• Architectural plans for small interior remodels including lighting plans, mechanical plans and energy report.

Hourly Rates

• $200/hr for Principal
• $150/hr for on-site inspections
• $80/hr for drafting

Services We Do Not Do

• Architectural plans for projects that involve expanding the envelope of a building (this includes decks) or involve a change of use. We do the engineering but an Architect is required to do the architectural plans. Issue is that the SF Planning Department does not have a written Code and they covet ambiguity.
• No condominiums. Issue is lawsuits. Exceptions are 2 unit condos.
• No phased projects. This can work if the entire design remains unchanged and identical from the start; if the Code doesn’t change (it changes every 3 years); and we are lucky enough to get assigned a rational plan checker at every counter.  Explaining why this sometimes doesn’t occur no longer brings me joy.  We can always fix it – it’s just about cost.

Permitting, As-Builts and Energy Report Services

These services are often better served by third party specialists. I recommend that we coordinate all or at least most of these services as a package for simplicity but it is at our Client’s discretion.

• Permitting in San Francisco: We only use one company because they get permits quickly for a reasonable fee. We do not give their name out. Some Architects and Clients opt to take this on themselves. This may save some money (~$500) but I have rarely seen this save time. My team is exceptional at getting permits in San Francisco quickly.

• Permitting in Marin: By contractor or Client. This service does not require a specialist.

• As-built drawings:  Barringer Design’s sub-contractor completes plans in 2D CAD format which is sufficient for nearly all of our San Francisco projects. He is experienced, accurate, quick and reasonable. We do not give his name out.  We can also coordinate with other firms for additional services such as 3D photos or 3D CAD as needed. Client may hire any of a number of local companies that specialize in this such as Fog City As-Builts or As-Built Services.  For Marin Clients Barringer would simply hire a third party such as stated above at cost plus 10% or Client can hire a firm of their choosing. Every company that specializes in this service Barringer Design has found to be accurate. If Client requests that Barringer Design use the plans that they provide and those plans are later found to be useless garbage then Barringer Design will immediately cancel the Contract and refund all unspent money. Accurate as-built drawings is a non-negotiable requirement! DO NOT hire people from message boards or anyone that does not do this exclusively as their full-time profession.

• Energy reports:  We use NRG Compliance – like most designers in the Bay Area. Client may coordinate this themselves or we can do it for you. Due to the low costs involved there simply is no money to be saved by Client’s doing this themselves.

Common Project Practices

• Whenever possible we will provide a fixed fee for your project from start until you have an approved permit. The primary exceptions are when the scope-of-work is unknown at the outset or if the scope-of-work significantly changes during design.

• Engineering/Design/Consulting work will start after we have received the signed contract and first payment.

• Permit expediting will be handled by a third party. We recommend that you use our expediter for projects in San Francisco. Because the cost of permitting in San Francisco is impossible to accurately predict a fixed fee is rarely given.

• Construction Administration services are always billed hourly. Special Inspections/Construction Administration are fixed fees per Contract.

Printing/Scanning

I recommend these companies.

SAN FRANCISCO
BayPrint Solutions
415-619-3960
sf@bayprint.com
380 10th St Unit C
San Francisco, CA 94103
(At the Corner of Harrison & 10th)

MARIN
Ram Print and Communications
415-383-9000
copy@ramprint.com
800 Redwood Highway Frontage Road Suite 601
Mill Valley, CA 94941-2363