I am writing a proposal for a project in Kuwait and I believe there is a 5% tax retainage that my client will have to subtract from our invoices. Apparently you can get your 5% back if you get a letter from the Kuwait government (aka the "DIT"), but I don't know how that works exactly. Does...
For the S corp owners out there: As you probably are aware, the owners' health insurance premiums pass through as taxable income on your personal 1040, which is a very expensive and unfair from a tax perspective. Is there a workaround for this? Going on a spouse's insurance would work, but I...
Does anyone have in their standard terms and conditions a time limit on questioning invoices? One of the unfortunate realities of our world is that clients are frequently slow to pay, but I do think its reasonable and (I think) legally enforceable to limit questions or disputes to invoices to 30...
I am shopping around our PL insurance right now and my old broker tells me there are some disadvantages to switching carriers from year to year. My insurance is regrettably quite expensive this year and I have a quote from another for about 10% cheaper than the quote from my old broker I have...
If you are an expert witness in a litigation matter, would it be considered to be unethical to switch sides and provide testimony on behalf of the opposing party? Let's say the following is true:
- You have completed a technical report for one side of the dispute, but do not have access to any...
For all you small S corp owners out there, does anyone have any tax minimization tips? The biggest deduction my accountant has been able to offer is the QBI (20% of profits are deductible from my W2). Have others been able to use R+D deductions? Maybe folks have a real estate strategy that works?
I need to hire a structural or mechanical engineer either junior or mid level - Which online platforms work best for you all these days? I think I prefer LinkedIn bc I am familiar with the interface but some folks like Indeed. Maybe there are others I don't know about?
Now that we are in a period of higher interest and inflation rates its not so great to have money sitting in my business checking account earning zero interest. Do all you small S corp owners as a matter of course transfer money a lot from your personal savings to your business accounts, or does...
Does anyone use Rhino to make actual formal 2D drawings in place of ACAD? I am just looking at optimizing my software cost, and Rhino seems to do everything ACAD can do and more. We basically never use Revit, but we use Rhino all the time for 3d studies and details. In the olden days Rhino was...
I want to tap an M12 Bumax fastener (fu = 145ksi, stainless) into a 4" thick piece of machined 6061-T6, and want to be able to develop the full strength of the bolt. The thread stripping calculation requires approx 0.75" of thread length, which is 1.5 diameters, that is to say a lot more than a...
We are designing another fancy architectural staircase in carbon which is deflection controlled - the stresses aren't remotely close to governing the design, so would like to use a stiffer carbon fiber, ideally high modulus or ultra high modulus. The fabricators we deal with use primarily...
How does everyone feel about the practice of developers setting up special purpose project corporations when they buy or develop a big building? It is to avoid liability, which has the effect of passing it onto everyone else, including engineers and contractors. I am about to sign a contract...
We are doing some work for an advertising agency for the first time, and one of their standard requirements for any designer is that they sign a work-for-hire agreement meaning that any intellectual property developed is the copyright of the agency.
While I have zero interest in doing anything...
We are moving into a new office shortly and need a new B+W laser printer for 11*17 and ideally a scanner too. Does anyone have any recommendations? We have had a Ricoh Aficio SP8300DN which has been pretty good. We are a small office (2 currently, 3 soon hopefully).
The received wisdom from the 2000's was that condo's were really high liability for designers bc condo boards were likely to sue for some reason. Over the last 10 years we have had a large number of condo projects around the country, but I personally have not heard about a lot of law suits. Has...
I need a weather station with an anemometer to shut down a bunch of automatic doors in high wind on a project. Can anybody recommend any HVAC weather stations? I will ultimately be plugging it into a security system which then controls the doors, but I feel like an HVAC rated system would be my...
I have noticed is that there is a large delta between average timber strength test values and those prescribed by NDS, presumably for statistical variability reasons. Red oak for example has a tested average bending strength of 15,000 psi vs a specified allowable of 1,150 psi, even though a...
I have to make an attachment to an HSS4x4x1/2 and noticed in the AISC manual that the workable flat has a "-" (meaning presumably no flat). Workable flat is normally calculated as though the radiused corners have a radius of 2.25t. What's up with the 0.5" material? Having seen a real one as part...
Is there a disadvantage of making carbon fiber in a heated mold with vacuum bag vs using an autoclave? We are working with a small fabricator who seems quite technical and competent but we are a bit new to composites.
The component we are making is a pier for a fancy architectural stair, approx...
