How the system works
One engineered system. Many homes.
How a Fornidos plan goes from your choice to a building permit: what is engineered once, what your address decides, and what your city still checks.
The short version
Fornidos engineers each house type once, at its largest size. Every plan of that type is built from the same panels and the same connections, so it carries the same engineering. Two independent ICC-ES reports recognize the panels and the houses built from them. Your address sets the wind and seismic loads. Your local building department still reviews the plan, issues the permit and inspects the house like any other new home.
What ESR-5284 and EER-5284 mean
Two reports from the ICC Evaluation Service, because they recognize two different things.
| ESR-5284 the panels | An Evaluation Report on the Fornidos wall, floor and roof panels. It shows compliance with the 2024, 2021 and 2018 International Building Code and International Residential Code, and publishes what each panel can carry. The parts are engineered and code-recognized. |
|---|---|
| EER-5284 the house | An Equivalency Evaluation Report under the International Residential Code for one- and two-story houses built from those panels. It recognizes houses that fit inside its engineered envelopes, with a published limit on the openings in each wall line. The house built from the parts is engineered and code-recognized, as a system. |
Envelope engineering: one system, many plans
For each house type, Fornidos engineers the envelope: the largest version of that type, engineered for the worst case. Every smaller plan of that type is built down from it, with the same panels and connections and some walls and rooms removed. Because each plan is a subset of the engineered envelope, it inherits that engineering. We don't re-engineer every house from scratch.
A plan stays inside its envelope when it stays within:
- Footprint: the envelope's outline and grid.
- Panel spans: floor and roof panels are fixed products. You build within their lengths.
- Wall heights: 8 ft or 9 ft wall panels.
- Stories: the engineered number of stories for that house type.
- Openings: catalog windows and doors, within what each wall line can carry.
- Design loads: the wind and seismic parameters the reports cover.
Every plan is checked against its envelope before it is released. A change that stays inside it, like removing a wall or choosing a catalog window, stays covered. A change outside it, like a longer span or a taller wall, is flagged and goes to engineering instead.
Your address, your loads
Your building site sets the design loads: wind speed, seismic category and snow, from ASCE 7 hazard data for that location. Those loads decide which framing and options go into your panel package, so the same plan ships sized for its address.
| Wind | Basic design wind speed up to 160 mph (3-second gust), Risk Category II, Exposure C |
|---|---|
| Seismic | Site Class D, Ss = 2.25, Seismic Design Categories A through D |
| Beyond that | A site whose ASCE 7 values exceed these, or in Seismic Design Category E or F, gets project-specific analysis by a registered design professional. |
Design envelope as published in ICC-ES ESR-5284 and EER-5284. Snow and other loads come from ASCE 7 at your address.
From plan to permit
- Choose your housePick a Fornidos plan and get its Plan Package: floor plan, elevations, rendering, specifications and panel pricing.
- Add your addressYour site sets the wind, seismic and snow loads, and the panel package is sized to them.
- Get the plan setThe full construction set your builder and building official work from. It names the envelope the house was checked against and shows the wall-line check.
- Design what's localA local engineer designs the foundation for your soil. Your builder's licensed trades handle mechanical, electrical and plumbing.
- Submit and permitSubmit the plan set with ESR-5284 and EER-5284 referenced. Your building official reviews it and issues the permit.
- Build and inspectPanels arrive flat and set with a local crew. Inspections follow the same process as any other new home.
What the reports cover, and what stays local
| Covered by the reports | The panels' structural capacity (ESR-5284) and the house's structural configuration inside its envelope (EER-5284). |
|---|---|
| Foundation | Local. Designed by a local engineer for your site's soil. Outside the scope of the reports. |
| Mechanical, electrical, plumbing | Local. Permitted and inspected locally. |
| Energy | Local. The energy code (IECC) adopted for your climate zone. See Energy. |
| Engineer's stamp | Follows your state's licensing law. |
| The permit | Issued by your local building official. The reports are evaluations the official may rely on, not a permit. |
For building officials
The ICC-ES reports ESR-5284 and EER-5284 are held by Component Construction Systems LLC, the manufacturer of the Fornidos building system. Read them on the ICC-ES directory:
ESR-5284 on ICC-ES EER-5284 on ICC-ES
Each Fornidos plan set identifies the EER-5284 envelope figure it was checked against and includes the wall-line opening check (EER Condition of Use 10). Questions about a specific project: info@fornidos.com or 309-281-9226.
Questions we hear most
Is it engineered?
Yes. The panels carry ICC-ES ESR-5284 under the IBC and IRC, and the house carries EER-5284 under the IRC. The plan set shows the check against the envelope it was evaluated to.
Does it work for my wind and seismic?
If your site is inside the reports' full envelope — up to 160 mph basic design wind speed, Exposure C, Site Class D, Risk Category II, Seismic Design Categories A through D — it's covered. Beyond any one of these, a registered design professional does a project-specific analysis.
Who stamps the plans?
That follows your state's licensing law. Fornidos provides the plan set and its envelope check.
What about the foundation, MEP and energy?
All local. A local engineer designs the foundation. Mechanical, electrical, plumbing and the energy code for your climate zone are permitted and inspected locally.
Is the house pre-approved because it has ICC-ES reports?
No. The reports are independent evaluations your building official may rely on. The official still reviews the plans and issues the permit.