DIY steel frame kit: quick facts
- What's included: the complete steel structural system, including wall panels, trusses, beams, and floor joists
- Steel: cold-formed steel (CFS), 18-gauge exterior walls and 20-gauge interior walls
- Pre-punched: electrical and plumbing service holes
- Engineering: engineered to International Building Code (IBC) standards and modeled in BIM; IBC stamp included with every Frame + Plan purchase
- Free with every kit: a Materials Shopping List generated from your home's BIM model
- Support: assembly videos, framer training sessions, and phone support during assembly
- Plans available: 4,500+ build-ready plans, including ADUs, tiny homes, barndominiums, ranch and farmhouse, craftsman, garages and shops
- Headquarters: Tucson, AZ. Call 888-864-0184, Monday to Friday, 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM MST
What comes in a FrameUpNow house frame kit?
Every kit is manufactured from steel coils to tight tolerances to match your engineered plan, so the parts arrive ready to install.
- Wall panels: 18-gauge exterior and 20-gauge interior, labeled to match your drawings
- Roof trusses, beams, and floor joists: the complete structural system
- Pre-punched service holes for electrical and plumbing runs
- IBC-engineered drawings and stamp with Frame + Plan purchases
- Materials Shopping List: everything you'll need after the frame, generated from your BIM model
Not included: foundation, sheathing and shear wall, siding, roofing, windows and doors, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing, insulation, and finishes. Your permit package may also need locally stamped drawings for the site plan, foundation, MEP, and energy compliance.
Want a price for your plan? Use our free Cost Estimator.
How to build a steel frame house: 8 steps
- Gather tools and equipment. Our assembly videos show what you'll need.
- Prepare the site. Pour a level foundation to the plan's anchor layout.
- Lay out snaplines. Chalk the wall locations on the foundation using your drawings.
- Receive the skeleton. Your labeled steel panels, trusses, beams, and joists are delivered to the site.
- Invite friends to help. A small crew makes standing the walls faster.
- Install wall panels. Anchor them to the foundation and fasten adjacent panels together.
- Install cross bracing. Square and plumb the walls, then fasten the bracing.
- Install trusses. Set and fasten the roof trusses. The frame is ready for shear wall, siding, and roofing.
Watch our assembly videos. Questions while you build? Call 888-864-0184.
Steel vs. wood framing for your home
- Material waste: FrameUpNow kits produce no framing waste on site; wood framing waste can exceed 25%.
- Termites and rot: cold-formed steel is 100% termite-proof and won't rot; wood is vulnerable to both.
- Fire: steel is non-combustible; wood is combustible.
- Shrinking and warping: steel won't shrink, twist, or warp; wood can.
- Straightness: straight steel lines speed up shear wall, siding, and stucco installation.
- Insurance: some insurers offer discounts for steel-framed homes.
- Wiring and plumbing: service holes come pre-punched instead of drilled on site.
- Track record: steel framing has been used in commercial buildings since the 1950s.
Who is a DIY steel frame kit right for?
- Owner-builders who want to manage their own build and schedule
- ADU builders adding a backyard unit. Use our Plan Fit Visualizer to check your lot.
- Barndominium, cabin, and tiny home builders, especially where termites, wildfire, or rot are a concern
- Framers and contractors who work in wood and want a precise steel package. We offer framer training.
Do I need experience? Framing goes fastest with a crew that has framed before in wood or steel. FrameUpNow supports first-time steel framers with training sessions, step-by-step videos, and phone support during assembly.
Built by a team with deep framing experience
FrameUpNow's team previously led the AutoCAD design team for a Bay Area group that supported 60 subdivisions and 2,900 framers. Today we apply International Building Code engineering and Building Information Modeling (BIM) to every frame, so material quantities and costs are known before you build.
DIY steel frame home FAQs
What is included in a FrameUpNow steel frame kit?
The complete steel structural system for your home: wall panels, trusses, beams, and floor joists, with electrical and plumbing holes pre-punched. Every kit also includes a free Materials Shopping List generated from your home's BIM model. Finishing materials are not included.
What gauge steel is used?
Exterior walls use 18-gauge cold-formed steel and interior walls use 20-gauge. All components are engineered to meet International Building Code (IBC) structural requirements.
Can I build a steel frame house myself?
Yes. Kits are manufactured to your engineered plan and arrive labeled, so assembly is standing and fastening panels and setting trusses. A crew with framing experience works fastest, and FrameUpNow provides training, videos, and phone support during assembly.
Do steel frame homes pass code and get permits?
Yes. FrameUpNow frames are engineered to International Building Code (IBC) standards, and an IBC stamp is included with every Frame + Plan purchase. Depending on your state, you may also need locally stamped drawings for the site plan, foundation, MEP, and energy compliance, which a local draftsman can provide.
Is steel framing better than wood?
Cold-formed steel is 100% termite-proof, non-combustible, and won't rot, shrink, twist, or warp. It also avoids the 25%+ material waste common with wood framing, and some insurers offer discounts for steel-framed homes.
Can I use my own house plan?
Yes. Send us your plan and we'll engineer and manufacture the steel frame to match it, or choose from 4,500+ build-ready plans.
How do I attach windows, doors, and siding to a steel frame?
Much like wood. Window flashing follows the window and cladding manufacturer's guidance, door jambs are fixed with screws rated for steel, and siding screws onto the frame over the shear wall, which also acts as a thermal break.
Ready to build your own home?
Get a free itemized estimate with our Cost Estimator, book a consultation, or call 888-864-0184.
The 1923 Do-It-Yourself Homes Back in the Day
The awaited moment had arrived. Dad gathered Mom and Sis and hopped in the wagon with his brothers to the railroad station. They welcomed the first shipment of their family’s brand-new DIY home. All the lumber was precut and arrived with instructions for dad and uncles to assemble and build their new home. Mom and Dad picked out the Do-It-Yourself home: the Osborne Model from Sears, Roebuck, and Company’s catalog. It had three bedrooms plus a front porch and an interior bath; no outhouse. In just a few days, the home was erected, and soon after, the whole family slept under the roof of their DIY custom-made Sears Modern Home.
The Sears Catalog provided choices for all the other elements that make a house a home: windows, doors, cabinets, mirrors, siding, roofing material, wiring, plumbing supplies, and more. The 1600-page Sears Catalog, the home improvement retailers of 100 years ago, shipped their orders to the front door of their new home.
More than 72,000 DIY custom homes were erected during the first half of the 1900s. Over 350 Do-It-Yourself home models and many more still stand proud today.
Hear It From Our Owners
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Severe Climate Forces
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