Charge for engineer review of storm window replacement
This question is about a not very large sum of money, so please forgive me for being so annoyed about it and thank you in advance for thoughts and advice. I am co-owner (with family members) of a very small studio apt in a brownstone. Daughter lives there. It's a parlor level apt with 2 very large windows which consist of original windows that do not close completely and old defective storm windows, which are on the inside. I stayed there for a week this past the winter and it was extremely cold (literally cold wind blowing in) so we decided to replace the inner storm windows. The coop said we had to pay for them, plus pay all fees, but they did not tell us what the engineer's fees would be. (Yes, I should have inquired.) The total cost for the windows and installation will be approximately $4,200. There were lots of emails with the management company. We had to pay a $500 fee to submit the proposal. The engineer was cc'd on several of the many emails, to see if we needed "any permits including LPC Landmarks Preservation Commission approval." I emailed him a floor plan, showing that the windows were interior. At first the engineer did not respond. Then, 2 months after I sent the floor plan, an hour and a half after he was reminded by the management company guy, he responded that we did not need any permits if the windows were on the inside. This week we were billed $1,500 for the engineer's work. I called the engineer and he told me it was a flat fee. Management company told me I had to work it out with the engineer and his company. This feels wrong to me because he seems to have spent 5 minutes (if that) looking at the floor plan. I plan to write and politely point out that the fee is disproportionate to the project and that once he saw that the windows were inside, it must have been obvious that the outer landmarked windows were not being altered. Am I crazy, is this just how it works?