1. PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
SASQUA ASSOCIATES, LLC. offers a source for original building design service. We specialise in restoration and renovation work, structural changes, built-in cabinet work and decorative features as well as the visual presentations required to communicate the desired results of the project. Our work for the food service and retail industry includes the design of a number of area restaurants, liquor stores and markets including commercial food preparation areas. We have a long standing relationship with the local building officials in the Fairfield County area and perform an unusually large percentage of code compliance and FEMA related work. Our office can perform any of the following functions:
1.01 ORIGINAL DESIGN & SPACE PLANNING: interior alterations, residential and commercial new construction and additions and modifications, especially those requiring hands on attention to detail and finish.
1.02 CONTRACT DOCUMENTS: from design sketches, to finished construction drawings including specifications and AIA contracts.
1.03 CONSTRUCTION OBSERVATION:
project observation for any project for which we are the design firm. This includes verification of contractor compliance and change order generation as the owners agent among other items.
1.04. FURNITURE FLOOR PLANS: for use by interior decorators and homeowners.
1.05 AS BUILT MEASURED DRAWINGS: for use: by architects and developers. Also square footage computation for Real Estate and bureaucratic compliance purposes.
1.06 LEGAL SERVICES:
Fact and or expert witness services. Documentation analysis and interpretation.
We are not an architectural firm but rather a building design firm with architectural and engineering services available for projects where they are required. Currently this is applies to most commercial projects and all work over 5,000 sq. ft. or at the discretion of the building officials. We have found it advisable to engineer any project with structural conditions that are in any way out of the ordinary and currently assume that engineering review and sealed and signed drawings will be the norm.
We are members in good standing of the American Institute of Building Design (AIBD). Sasqua associates, llc has received awards for its work from the AIBD, and architectural improvement awards from the towns of Fairfield and Ridgefield. Our work has been published in most of the area papers, Design Line Magazine, Better Homes and Gardens and the Fairfield Historical Society News Letter. Company signage, if used, is discrete and only put up during the actual construction phase.
Frankly projects which focus on the restoration of antique structures or the adaptation of dysfunctional space to the physical and aesthetic needs of the client are of much more interest to us than cold monuments to raw square footage. These, therefore, are where we are at our best.
IN ORDER TO ANSWER FREQUENT QUESTIONS WHICH ARISE ABOUT OUR SERVICES AND FEE STRUCTURE, WE HAVE ADDED THE FOLLOWING SECTION TO THIS AGREEMENT:
2. COMPENSATION AND REIMBURSEMENTS
2.01 An initial non-refundable start up fee of Twelve Hundred dollars is charged upon signing this agreement. This fee is not a retainer but is used to offset the expense of opening the file, and covers a multitude of in-house, start up and ongoing housekeeping costs, which otherwise seem to go un-compensated. It also goes toward covering those secretarial and management expenses for which we do not bill directly. It also seems to have the additional benefit of keeping our Attorney happier.
2.02 The billing rate for principal time including on-site, home and telephone consultation as well as any job related leg work is $120.00 per hour. Any time we spend on your behalf is chargeable to you. Associate time is billed at $75.00 per hour. Among other things this approach allows us to tailor our services to the needs of the individual project. Owner involvement is encouraged and can actually be quite useful in reducing the overall design costs.
2.03 Consultation time for short duration isolated projects, principally the work of others, is billed at $250.00 per hour with a minimum charge of one hour. The assessment of a potential purchase for development, review of outside work or the analysis of expansion possibilities are examples of this type of service.
2.04 Bank closing projects where the goal is to provide working drawings suitable for a signed construction contract on extremely short order will be considered on a case by case basis. It is our experience that this unrealistic approach on behalf of the banking fraternity is at best extremely high stress and at worst totally unrealistic. The chances of having to redraft the hurriedly created approval drawings is very high and only adds to the expense of the job. These projects will be taken ONLY with a advance of 3% OF THE ESTIMATED CONSTRUCTION COST in addition to our usual start up fee and the understanding that this approach is fraught with pitfalls and inefficiencies.
2.05 Subcontract work, including engineering review, as well as photography, reproductive services (including blue printing, and Express Mail or UPS ) - are invoiced to the client.
2.06 Correction time that is the result of our error will not be charged. Changes in the direction, concept or scope that are part of the evolution of the project, however, are obviously chargeable as part of the design process as are alterations to accommodate unforeseen circumstances and structural issues. We try conscientiously not to invoice for the almost inevitable "social" time that accompanies any design project. We are not responsible for changes or correction to work where the account is not up to date.
2.07 All time spent on work-order or client-generated changes is chargeable, including telephone calls. All time spent on your behalf dealing with public officials or at hearings or meetings is also chargeable at the principal rate.
2.08 We are not responsible for co-ordination or timing of fixture, appliance or accessory delivery or for the co-ordination of any subcontractors; this is the responsibility of the contractor.
2.09 We assume that both the contractor and his subs are familiar with the current building code requirements. We are not responsible for extra time or funds expended in accommodating a lack of familiarity with standard practice.
2.10 Disbursement policy (see 2.04)
2.11 Travel to and from the job site and other project related travel time will be billed at the standard billing rate plus any extraordinary travel expenses starting from our point of departure. Associate travel time is billed similarly. ( See also 2.12 below)
2.12 Our regular day in the Fairfield area is Thursday, this may alternate with Tuesday if our schedule demands. On these days there is no travel charge for our trip down. If we are required to be in the area at any other time travel will be charged at the full rate from my home in Lyme (approx. one to one and one half hour each way.) Conversely meetings in the Fairfield area will have precedence over any projects or meetings we might have in the Lyme area on those days I am scheduled to be in Fairfield County. Projects outside the Fairfield or Lyme areas will have their travel times calculated from those "hubs". The applicable travel time to your project will be cited below and on the signature page for our records.
Travel time ______________
2.13 Clients are billed monthly, closing the last day of the month, and/or upon completion of a project phase. Bills outstanding after 30 days are subject to a monthly service charge of 1.5% on the overdue balance. Projects with invoices outstanding over 30 days will be allocated time after we have addressed the projects that are current. At our option any work in progress may cease with or without notice after a bill has remained unpaid for over 60 days. Perennially late clients will be placed on C.O.D. status. No material will be delivered in these cases unless paid for at the time of delivery. In the event we are required to take action to collect for services rendered in accordance with this Agreement, Sasqua Associates, LLC shall be entitled to collect all reasonable costs and expenses of collection or suit including but not limited to reasonable collection agency and/or attorneys' fees.
2.14 We must insist that all balances be paid to date prior to the release of final permit or construction drawings. All material issued for client review and approval prior to the final submission sets will be stamped as approval or bid drawings "not for construction".
2.15 Client instigated changes, particularly late in the process can take a good deal of time to integrate into the documents. We are not responsible for inconsistencies or errors in the final drawings that stem from rushed work during the latter stages of document preparation or from not being given adequate time to check document continuity.
2.16 We strongly recommend the use of an AIA contract (Usually A-107) for the construction phase. We are not responsible for errors or misunderstandings resulting from the use of a non-authorized contract or failure to follow proper bid and contract procedure.
3. GENERAL CONDITIONS
3.1 Sasqua Associates, LLC shall perform or assure such periodic project observation as we consider appropriate, but, constant on-site supervision of work in progress is not included in the foregoing unless specifically contracted for. Observation time and travel are chargeable at the regular rates. Observation is not an automatic part of the design process but is certainly advisable particularly during the foundation and framing period.
3.2 Work held for over 10 days will be assumed to be approved.
3.3 Unless otherwise agreed in writing, all drawings, specifications, models, art work and other instruments of service remain the property of Sasqua Associates, LLC and are not to be copied, distributed or released to others without the prior written consent of Sasqua Associates, LLC. Any violation of this covenant may constitute fraud.
3.4 Sasqua Associates, LLC reserves the right to photograph and reproduce, with suitable discretion, examples of all contracted projects, both before and after construction.
NOTE: We are not responsible for unauthorised or un-reviewed changes to approved plans, models or prototypes or any corrections which are necessitated by any such alterations or changes.
4. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Remember that this process can be both expensive and time consuming. The current regulatory environment and the number of individual trades and items which need to be addressed can sometimes seem overwhelming. A submittable set of drawings for a house or addition will include, at a minimum:
Site Plan
Foundation Plan
Floor Plans (As required.)
Roof Plan
Drawings of all affected Elevations
Cross Sections including the chimney if any.
Footing and Foundation details
Framing Plans for each floor
Calculations and possibly engineering review for the above
Electrical Fixture Plan for each floor
The new building code adopted September 1st of 2004 imposes strenuous new regulations on the building process in the area of wind and seismic related standards. The application of these standards has proved to vary considerably from town to town but the overall effect has been to increase the amount and detail and documentation that the authorities are looking for. Costs as stated above can run up to roughly 10% of the total job budget for a fully designed, specified and observed project. A smaller fully designed project with regular observation tends to run closer to this percentage design fee than a larger one. Fully executed drawings to be put out to general bid with all the accompanying documentation followed by full observation will tend to be the most costly. A certain economy of scale seems come in to effect with the larger projects.
We like to think that we pay for ourselves in the savings afforded over an unplanned project and the ability we offer you to gain control over the house you are designing or remodelling. In our experience costs generally run considerably less than the full 10% - more in the 5 to 7% range, particularly if you are dealing with a pre selected contractor or one with whom we have worked in the past and where "on-call" or spot observation is acceptable.
For budgeting purposes, however, and in order to allow a contingency, in case you run into the unexpected, we recommend you allow the full 10% as a set aside number. It should also be remembered that owner "sweat equity " does not necessarily reduce the amount of planning or drafting work required, and often actually increases it. This is not to discourage this approach but rather to point out that often additional planning is sometimes required up front in order to effect a savings later on.
If you have read the above ( four pages including this ) and are agreed to the terms as stated, please sign and return the acceptance page, following, as confirmation of your approval.
We must have the signed acceptance sheet and the start up fee on hand before we can commence work.
Thank you,
Sasqua Associates, LLC
by G. Roger Clements, AIBD
I (We) certify that I (we) have read and agree to the contents of all four previous pages of the Sasqua Associates LLC Letter of Agreement.
CLIENT'S SIGNATURE(S) ________________________________________/______________________________________________
PLEASE PRINT YOUR NAME(S) ON THIS LINE ________________________________________/______________________________________________
CLIENTS MAILING ADDRESS ______________________________________________________________________________________
PROJECT ADDRESS ( IF DIFFERENT ) ______________________________________________________________________________________
DATE _____/______/_______
TELEPHONE NUMBER(S)____________________________________________
FAX NUMBER _____________________________________________________
E-MAIL ___________________________________@______________________
DEPOSIT ATTACHED $__1200.00_
STANDARD TRAVEL TIME _____________
NOTES: ______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
O- JOB FILE
O- JOB SHEET
O- BOARD HEADER
O- ADDRESS ENT.
O- ESTIMATE ON FILE
O- ACCOUNTING
O- BINDER SET-UP
O- CLEAR PROSPECT FILE
RETURN TO:
SASQUA ASSOCIATES LLC
168 HAMBURG ROAD
LYME, CONNECTICUT
06371 - 3418