Yes it is a very common problem.
The inteks seem to be heavily influenced by the Vanguard design except the Japanese seem to make better castings .
It is not a difficult job.
Once you have slipped the hood off everything you need to get at is right there in front of your face.
I leave the muffler in place but remove the manifold complete with carby and let it sit to one side, no need to disconnect it.
When the head is off lap it on a sheet of 600 ( or finer ) wet & dry paper on a sheet of glass.
If the rocker cover has silicone on it, clean all of the silicone off and replace it with a gasket, this will make removing it a little latter on a lot easier & quicker.
Both Danny boy 87 & Taryl Fixes All have very good You tube videos of replacing intek head gaskets if you want to see one done .
Briggs manuals are easy to come by, Intek one is still in print you can order it direct from Briggs & Stratton when you go there to download the free parts book for your engine.
You can try this link, it is from another similar forum.
The links might be good or they may be broken
http://www.mytractorforum.com/280-small-engines-repair-stickies/242387-briggs-statton-repair-manuals.html