MEP Engineering Services
MEP engineer services for permits: mechanical, electrical and plumbing plans with load calculations, sealed by a licensed Professional Engineer. One fixed fee, typically 48 to 72 hours.
- Licensed PE in your state
- One fixed fee in writing
- Revisions until approved
- Quote usually within the hour
Prefer to talk?(737) 409-9610contact@residentialpe.com
- From $599
- One fixed fee, quoted before work starts
- 48 to 72 hours
- Typical turnaround for simple scopes
- Sealed for your state
- By an engineer licensed where you build
- Revisions included
- Until your permit is approved
Our MEP engineering services cover the mechanical, electrical and plumbing sheets a building department needs to issue your permit. A plan reviewer uses MEP drawings to confirm that each system is sized, routed and protected correctly. We prepare those sheets, back them with load calculations, and seal them for residential and light commercial projects, all online and for a fixed fee.
MEP engineering services we provide
Mechanical (HVAC)
- Room-by-room heating and cooling load calculations to ACCA Manual J for the climate zone at your address
- Equipment selection to Manual S, duct layouts and sizing to Manual D
- Equipment schedules for furnaces, heat pumps, mini-splits and air handlers
- Ventilation, exhaust and make-up air, including kitchen hood and bathroom requirements
- Energy code compliance documentation where the jurisdiction asks for it
Electrical
- Service and feeder sizing, dwelling load calculations and panel schedules
- Power, lighting and device plans, including circuit layouts and home runs
- Grounding, bonding and overcurrent protection details
- Service upgrades, subpanels, EV chargers, generators, batteries and solar interconnection
Plumbing and gas
- Water supply sizing by fixture units, and fixture layouts
- Drain, waste and vent design with isometric diagrams where required
- Gas pipe sizing and routing for appliances, generators and outdoor kitchens
- Water heating, recirculation and backflow protection details
What you receive
- Sealed and signed M, E and P sheets, separately or as one coordinated set
- Load calculations, panel schedules, equipment schedules and fixture counts
- Code notes citing the edition enforced in your jurisdiction
- Plan review responses and revisions until the permit is issued
Not sure what your permit needs?Send what you have. An engineer replies with scope and a fixed price, usually within the hour.
Get a free quoteChat with an engineerCodes we design to
MEP drawings are checked against the editions your state or city has adopted, which often lag the newest model codes by a cycle or two. Depending on the project that means the International Mechanical, Plumbing, Fuel Gas and Energy Conservation Codes from the ICC, or a state plumbing code where one applies, and the edition of NFPA 70, the National Electrical Code, that your jurisdiction enforces. We confirm the edition before design starts and print it on the sheets, so the reviewer can see exactly what the design follows.
When a permit needs MEP drawings
- A kitchen or bath remodel that moves plumbing, adds circuits or adds a range hood
- A whole-house HVAC replacement, system conversion or new heat pump
- An ADU, garage conversion, basement finish or addition that extends existing systems
- An electrical service upgrade, new subpanel, EV charger, generator or battery
- A tenant improvement or change of use in light commercial space
- Any project where the reviewer asks for load calculations or a sealed MEP sheet
Planning a kitchen? See kitchen remodel permit drawings. Adding chargers? Read our guide to EV charging station permits.
How our MEP engineering services work
- Send your floor plan and a short note on which systems are changing, plus the city or county.
- Get a fixed quote with scope, price and a delivery date in writing, usually within the hour.
- Calculations and design. We run the loads, size equipment, conductors and piping, and draw the sheets.
- Seal and deliver a PDF set ready for your permit portal or the counter.
- Permit support. We answer plan review comments and revise at no extra cost until the permit is issued.
Turnaround and price
Single-discipline residential MEP sheets typically return in 48 to 72 hours. Engineered plans with a PE stamp start at $599 and are quoted as one fixed fee up front. Coordinated full MEP packages are priced to scope with a firm delivery date. Compare tiers on the pricing page.
Coordinated with structural and civil
When MEP work touches framing or the site, the sheets have to agree. If we are also producing your structural drawings or civil site plans, penetrations, equipment loads, utility routes and service locations are coordinated before anything is sealed.
Mechanical design: sizing heating and cooling the right way
An HVAC system that is too big costs more, short-cycles, leaves humidity in the air and wears out early. One that is too small cannot keep up on the hottest and coldest days. That is why most jurisdictions now ask for a room-by-room load calculation instead of a rule of thumb such as one ton per five hundred square feet. The calculation uses the climate data for your location, the orientation of the house, window sizes and types, insulation levels, air leakage and the number of occupants.
From the loads the engineer selects equipment with the right capacity, then designs the duct system so each room actually receives the air it needs. Duct sizing balances air speed, noise and static pressure, and the drawings show supply and return locations, duct sizes and the equipment schedule. Heat pumps and mini-split systems are sized the same way, with attention to the low outdoor temperatures they must still handle.
- Ventilation and exhaust: bathroom fans, kitchen hoods and whole-house ventilation where the energy code requires it
- Make-up air for large kitchen hoods, which many owners do not know is required
- Combustion air and venting for gas furnaces, boilers and water heaters
- Equipment clearances, condensate drainage and access for service
Electrical design: service size, panels and new loads
Electrical plans for a permit start with a question: can the existing service carry the new load? The dwelling load calculation adds up general lighting and receptacles, appliances, heating and cooling, and any large new loads such as an EV charger, a hot tub, a heat pump water heater or a home addition. If the total exceeds the service rating, the drawings show a service upgrade, a load management device or a different way to share the capacity.
The engineer then lays out circuits, panel schedules, feeder sizes, grounding and bonding, and the protection the code requires, such as arc-fault and ground-fault devices. For generators, batteries and solar, the drawings show how the system connects to the house wiring and how it disconnects from the utility for safety. Commercial projects add lighting power calculations, emergency lighting and exit signs.
Plumbing and gas design
Plumbing drawings show how water comes in, how waste and vent piping leaves, and how gas reaches each appliance. Water supply piping is sized from fixture units and the available pressure, so the shower on the second floor still works when the dishwasher runs. Drain, waste and vent piping is sized and sloped so it drains without siphoning traps, and the vent system keeps sewer gas out of the house.
Gas piping is sized from the total appliance demand and the length of each run. Adding a gas range, an outdoor kitchen, a pool heater or a generator to an existing system often requires a larger meter or new piping, and the calculation shows whether the existing pipe can carry the added load. Backflow protection, water heater sizing, expansion tanks and recirculation are covered where the code or the project needs them.
Energy code compliance
Most states enforce an edition of the International Energy Conservation Code or their own energy standard. For additions, remodels and new homes, the building department often wants proof that insulation, windows, air sealing, duct leakage and equipment efficiency meet the code. Depending on the jurisdiction that proof is a prescriptive checklist, a performance calculation, or forms specific to the state. We include the energy documentation that your department asks for, so the MEP sheets and the energy forms tell the same story.
Why coordinated MEP drawings save money in the field
The most expensive MEP problems are found on site: a duct that hits a beam, a drain that cannot get the slope it needs, a panel with no space for the new circuits. Coordinated drawings catch those conflicts on paper. When we also prepare the structural or architectural sheets, duct routes, penetrations, equipment loads and chases are checked against the framing before anything is sealed. That means fewer change orders, fewer failed inspections and a faster job.
Each discipline can also be ordered on its own. If your project only adds a subpanel and an EV charger, you only pay for the electrical sheet and the load calculation. The quote lists exactly which sheets are included before any work starts.
Commercial MEP: tenant improvements, restaurants and offices
Commercial permits ask more of the MEP sheets. A tenant improvement typically shows new lighting with the lighting power density the energy code allows, exit signs and emergency lighting, new circuits and panel schedules, revised HVAC zoning and diffuser layouts, and any new plumbing fixtures with their connections to the existing building systems. Restaurants add hood and make-up air design, grease interceptor sizing, gas piping for cooking equipment and dedicated circuits for refrigeration.
The engineer also checks the base building: whether the existing rooftop unit can serve the new layout, whether the electrical service has spare capacity, and whether the sanitary line can take the added fixtures. Those checks are where commercial projects lose the most time when they are missed, because the landlord, the contractor and the city all wait while the question is answered.
Electrification projects: heat pumps, EV chargers and batteries
Many homeowners are replacing gas appliances with heat pumps, adding EV chargers or installing batteries and solar. Each one adds electrical load, and together they can push a house past its service rating. A load calculation shows the real number. Often a smart panel, a load management device or a circuit sharing arrangement lets the house add the new equipment without a costly service upgrade, and the drawings document the solution for the inspector.
- Heat pumps are sized for the coldest design day, with backup heat sized and controlled to code
- EV chargers get a dedicated circuit, the right breaker and conductor size and a location that meets clearance rules
- Battery systems are placed and protected according to the fire and electrical codes for energy storage
- Solar interconnection is shown with disconnects, labels and the busbar calculation for the main panel
What to send for an MEP quote
A floor plan with room names and dimensions, the project address, and a short note on what is changing is enough to start. Photos of the electrical panel label, the furnace or air handler nameplate and the water heater help the engineer confirm existing capacities. If the building department has already asked for something specific, such as a Manual J or a load calculation, include their note so the quote covers exactly that.
MEP drawings for additions and ADUs
Additions and ADUs extend the existing systems, and the MEP sheets show how. The mechanical sheet confirms whether the existing furnace or heat pump can serve the new space or whether a separate system, often a ductless mini-split, is needed. The electrical sheet shows new circuits, panel capacity and, for ADUs, whether the unit gets its own panel or meter. The plumbing sheet shows how new fixtures connect to the existing drain and water lines, or to a separate sewer lateral where the city requires one. Getting these decisions on paper early keeps the construction budget realistic.
For ADUs and additions that add bedrooms, also check whether the water heater and water service are still large enough. A tankless unit or a larger tank may be needed, and the plumbing sheet documents the change for the inspector.
Not sure which disciplines your project needs? Send the floor plan and the building department’s checklist, and the engineer will tell you exactly which MEP sheets are required before you pay.
Sample sheets from recent permit sets
References: ICC building codes · NCEES state licensing boards
MEP engineer services: common questions
Can you do just one discipline?
Yes. Many permits only need electrical, or only mechanical. You pay for the sheets you need.
Do you provide Manual J load calculations?
Yes. Where the jurisdiction asks for a room-by-room load calculation, it is included in the mechanical scope.
Do MEP engineering services include an electrical load calculation?
Yes. Any service upgrade, new subpanel or large new load comes with a dwelling load calculation and an updated panel schedule.
Will you coordinate with my structural set?
Yes. Penetrations, rooftop equipment and routing are checked against the framing so the trades do not hit conflicts on site.
Can you trust an online engineering service? Here is how to check us.
Everything below can be verified before you pay anything. Ask us about any of it on chat.
Check the engineer’s license yourself
Every set is sealed by a Professional Engineer licensed in the state where you build. The name and license number on the seal can be looked up on your state licensing board’s website.
Know the price before anything starts
You get the scope, one fixed fee and the delivery date in writing. No hourly billing and no surprise invoices.
Covered until your permit is approved
If plan review sends comments, the engineer answers them and revises the drawings at no extra charge.
Talk to the team directly
Live chat, phone or email, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You reach the people working on your project, not a call center.
Your plans and payments stay private
Your files are used only for your project. Payments go through PCI-DSS compliant processors, so card details never reach our servers.
A registered US company
Residential PE is operated by Site Planers LLC, a US-registered company. Our terms and privacy policy are published in full.
Or reach us directly:(737) 409-9610contact@residentialpe.com
Get a fixed price for your MEP plans.
Send plans, photos, a survey or a sketch. A licensed engineer replies with scope, price and a delivery date, usually within the hour, seven days a week.
Request your free quote
- Free quote, no obligation
- One fixed fee in writing before any work starts
- Your drawings stay confidential
Other engineering we handle for permits
Structural engineering
Beams, framing, foundations and lateral design, calculated and sealed.
Review and PE stamp
Already have drawings? An engineer checks them to code and seals them.
Civil and site engineering
Grading, drainage, stormwater and site plans to local standards.
Load bearing wall removal
Beam, post and footing design with the letter your inspector wants.
Site plans for permits
Scaled plot plans with setbacks, coverage and easements.
Retaining wall engineering
Wall design with stability calculations and drainage details.