Before you start, here’s the most important thing to understand:
Pricing is only guaranteed when you receive your engineered plans, secure your permits, and are ready to pay your final balance to start production. Until then, steel pricing remains volatile — moving daily — and guesses at price aren’t reliable.
So the entire process below is designed to help you reduce uncertainty, minimize risk, and position yourself to lock your price at the right time.
1
Get Preliminary Approvals From Your Local Planning Department
Contact your local planning department early to confirm:
- You can build a Custom Home Framed with Termite, Mold and Fire Resistant Steel instead of Wood
- Snow load requirements
- Frost depth requirements
- Wind speed requirements
This gives you clarity on what your building must meet before engineering starts.
✔ Knowing this upfront helps your plans and permits go smoothly — and protects you from surprises later.
2
Start With a Free Project Consult
Begin planning your project design by clicking the Free Project Consult button on our homepage.
During this call, we’ll help you outline:
- Placement of doors and windows
- Your initial layout vision
Within 24 hours, you’ll receive a preliminary quote based on your design details.
⚠️ This quote is an estimate — not a guaranteed price.
The only guaranteed prices come after engineered plans + permits — explained below.
3
Order Preliminary PLANS(Non-RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS)
To move from an estimate to real pricing, you need plans:
🔹 Non-Residential Buildings
If you are not doing a custom residential build and are planning a standard shop or warehouse building, a full set of architectural plans is typically not required.
We can provide an accurate building cost as long as we have the following project details:
- Roof or ground snow load
- Required wind speed
- Frost depth for the foundation
- Current IBC code adopted by your local planning department
If you have already received quotes from other companies and are looking to improve on pricing and/or timelines, we encourage you to be upfront and share that information with us. This helps us clearly understand what it will take to earn your business and determine the best possible solution for your project.
4
ORDER ARCHITECTURAL PLANS(PRE-DESIGNED BARNDOMINIUMS, CABINS, ADU’s)
$997 Architectural Plan Fee
If you are selecting one of our pre-designed Barndominiums, Cabins, or ADUs, the next step is to order your architectural plan set.
This $997 fee includes:
- A complete architectural plan set based on the selected pre-designed model
- Floor plans, elevations, and basic layout details
- Plans prepared specifically to move your project forward toward permitting and engineering
Note: This fee is required before final kit pricing and engineering can be completed.
5
ORDER ARCHITECTURAL PLANS(CUSTOM DESIGNED BARNDOMINIUMS, CABINS, ADU’s)
🔹 Custom Residential Buildings (Barndominiums, Cabins, ADUs)
When designing a custom residential building, we work hand-in-hand with both our architectural team and engineering team to ensure the layout you envision flows correctly within the cold-formed steel framing our factory manufactures for your project.
This collaborative process integrates your input with real-world structural requirements and often involves multiple revisions, with all teams aligned to get it right.
Because this is the most critical phase of the entire project, an upfront design fee of $2997 is required to initiate the architectural coordination and layout development.
Once the design phase is finalized and approved, we then move forward into the engineering stage, where the project is structurally engineered and prepared for permitting.
Note: This fee is required before final kit pricing and engineering can be completed.
6
Order Your Engineered Plans — This Is Your Protection Move
Once your architectural layout is defined, the next step is ordering your engineered plans.
💡 Why this matters:
Engineered plans are what move your project from an idea into a code-compliant, permit-ready structure.
They are also the only way to shorten your exposure to steel price changes by accelerating you toward permit approval and production readiness.
What’s included:
- Stamped & Signed Engineered Plans for both your building and your foundation
- Designed specifically for your local wind, snow, and seismic loads
- Digital delivery in approximately 5–7 business days
- Hard copies mailed to you
Engineering Deposit, Design Credit & NUEco FastTrack (Important)
Engineered plans normally require a 30% deposit to begin.
To reduce out-of-pocket costs for customers who are serious about moving forward, we offer two paths:
Standard Path – Design Fee Credit
- You invest in your design as usual.
- We apply $2,000 of your $2,997 Design Fee toward your engineered plans, effectively saving you $2,000 on your architectural planning costs.
- This ensures your design investment isn’t lost—it’s credited back to your project and reduces your 30% engineering deposit, helping move your build forward faster.
For those interested in fast-tracking your project, we offer the NuEco FastTrack Program:
- Pay a flat $5,997 up front.
- We design your custom building, provide a full set of architectural plans, and provide your engineered plans that would normally require you to pay 30%($10000-$15000 on average) just for the engineered plans alone.
There is no one in the industry that will give you all of this for $5,997 at this level of service and speed.
So, if you are done shopping and want engineered plans in your hands within the next 2–3 weeks, we have a solution at an unbeatable, unmatched value not found elsewhere in the industry.
🔒 What Engineered Plans Actually Do (And Don’t Do)
- ✅ They give you real, production-ready pricing
- ✅ They allow you to submit for permits
- ✅ They position you to lock pricing when you’re ready
- ❌ They do not lock your price by themselves
Pricing is locked only after:
- Engineered plans are complete
- Permits are approved
- You are ready to pay the building balance and start production
That’s exactly why starting engineering sooner matters — it shrinks the time between today and price protection.
🔑 The Bottom Line
Engineering doesn’t lock your price — it locks your ability to act when the timing is right.
7
Submit Your Plans for Permits
Take your engineered set and architectural plans to your planning department to obtain your building permit.
Permits vary by location, but getting this approval means your project is officially buildable.
✔ Permits + engineered plans = readiness to lock pricing.
8
Lock Your Price & Order Your Steel Eco-Kit
Once your permit is approved and you’re ready to move forward:
- We calculate your current final pricing
- You pay the balance to lock your price
- Your production slot is secured
- Your steel eco-kit enters manufacturing
After payment, your kit goes into production (usually within ~3 business days) and should arrive in ~4–8 weeks.
⚡Quick Summary: Steps Based on Building Type and Needs
| Purpose | Type of Building | Upfront Cost for Custom Design Fees | Fee to Acquire Engineered Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Residential | Standard Shop or Warehouse | None – Free Preliminary Plans | 30% |
| Residential | Standard Building Using Existing Plans (No Modifications) | $997 Architectural Plans ($2000 Discount) | 30% |
| Residential | Custom Designed Building | $2997 ($2000 Credited Back at Purchase) | 30% |
NuEco FastTrack Program – For Those Wanting to Move Quickly | |||
| Residential | Custom Designed Building | $5997 | Save $3003 Up Front On a $30k Building Save $6003 Up Front On a $40k Building Save $9003 Up Front On a $50k Building |