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[PRSE(--nospam--at)aol.com]

Our office does a wide variety of commercial and residential projects, many
of which are very custom, meaning that the plan check corrections are rarely
standard.  Despite this it is our policy is to include PC corrections in our
base fee.  We do this because we sell our services as a "full service" design
firm, and I don't see how we can possibly charge extra before the client has
even received a building permit.  The cost for the plan check time is
included in the base fee based on our experience with the different cities or
government agency.  As someone else mentioned, we definitely charge more if
DSA or OSHPD is involved.  All that being said, sometimes we still just have
to eat it when the checker is particularly ornery.  Personally, I have found
that your best bet with a "problem checker" is to go an meet with him/her
face to face to resolve your issues and refuse to finish the meeting until
you AND the checker have a very clear idea of what specific things are
required for a permit to be issued.

Lastly, on the subject of full service, we also include in our fee some time
for "normal" architectural changes during the design process, and we include
a defined number of site visits for structural observation.  We have found
that clients in general hate extra services and you always have to get on the
phone to defend them.  In general, just charge more up front and hope for the
best.

Bruce Resnick