Foundation rebar shop drawings are the placing drawings and bar lists that turn the engineer's footing and wall design into bars the shop can cut and the crew can place. For a foundation they typically include a footing placing plan, wall elevations for each face, sections at corners, openings and dowels, and a bar list that groups every mark by pour. They are prepared by the rebar detailer, reviewed by the contractor and the engineer, then used to fabricate and place.
This post covers what is specific to foundations. For the general skills of reading any rebar shop drawing (title blocks, callouts and bar marks), see our step-by-step guide to reading rebar shop drawings.
Design drawings vs shop drawings for a foundation
The structural drawings show what the foundation needs: footing sizes, bar sizes and spacings, typical sections and notes. They are written for the design, not for counting bars. Our guide to footing rebar details explains how to read them.
The shop drawings answer the questions the design leaves open:
- How many bars of each size, length and shape?
- Where does each piece go, and what is its mark?
- Where are the laps, and how long?
- Which bars go in which pour?
The RSIC (Reinforcing Steel Institute of Canada) Manual of Standard Practice describes placing drawings as showing the quantity, length, mark, grade, location and spacing of the bars in each part of the structure. It also says they are for placing reinforcing steel only, not for coordinating other trades. Do not use the rebar drawings to set anchor bolts, sleeves or formwork.
What a footing placing plan shows
The footing plan on a shop drawing looks like the foundation plan, with the steel added:
- Grid lines and footing outlines drawn lightly, with bars in heavy lines so they stand out.
- Bar marks for each footing, often tagged with the footing mark from the schedule (F1, F2, SF1), so pad steel can be bundled per footing.
- Continuous bars in strip footings with lap locations and lap lengths shown.
- Corner and intersection bars at each corner, T and cross.
- Dowel marks at walls, piers and columns, with spacing and projection.
- Step footing details with the bent or lapped bars for each step and the elevations used to size them.
Bar lengths on Canadian bar lists are normally given to the nearest 20 mm, per RSIC practice, and stock bar lengths (12 m for 10M and 18 m for 15M and larger, by RSIC's listing of standard mill lengths) decide where long footing runs must be lapped. If a detailer shows laps somewhere you cannot place them, raise it at review.
Where founding elevations are not known when detailing starts, a good detailer flags the affected bars as "hold" rather than guessing. Step footing bars and pier verticals are the usual candidates.
How wall steel is shown
Foundation walls are usually drawn as elevations: a view looking at the face of the wall, laid out flat, with vertical bars and horizontal bars marked along it. Longer walls are broken at grid lines or shown as a developed elevation that unfolds the wall around corners.
What to look for in a wall elevation:
- Which face is shown. Double-mat walls have steel on each face (often noted EF for each face, or IF and OF for inside and outside). Some drawings show one elevation for both faces; others show each separately.
- Vertical bars, with spacing, lengths, and how they lap with the footing dowels.
- Horizontal bars, with spacing, lap locations and how they turn the corners.
- Openings for windows, doors and beam pockets, with the trim bars around them.
- Pilasters and beam pockets, with their own ties and verticals.
- Top of wall details, such as bars hooked at the top or dowels into a slab or bond beam.
At corners and intersections, the detailer follows the structural details. RSIC shows two common arrangements, continuous bars bent around the corner or separate corner splice bars lapped with the straight bars, and notes that where the continuous method is specified, the engineer's permission is needed before substituting splice bars. If the drawings show neither, either method is acceptable under RSIC practice. On walls with one mat, RSIC also recommends that hooks at intersecting walls alternate direction on alternate bars.
For the Part 9 rules on when house foundation walls need steel at all, and the spacing tables for block and ICF walls, see foundation wall rebar in Ontario. Reinforced block walls have their own detailing conventions for cells and bond beams.
Pour breaks, dowels and the bar list
Foundations are poured in stages: footings first, then walls, sometimes in several lifts or sections. The shop drawings need to match.
- Footing to wall dowels are shown on the footing drawing because they are placed with the footing steel, even though they belong to the wall. Their projection must match the lap the wall design requires. Our guide to footing to wall dowels covers sizing and embedment.
- Construction joints in walls are a common gap. Under RSIC standard practice, no construction joints or dowels are detailed in continuous horizontal wall steel unless the structural drawings show them. If your crew plans to pour a long wall in sections, agree the joint locations with the engineer and tell the detailer before the drawings are prepared, so the laps fall at the joints.
- The bar list groups marks by placing area or pour: footings, walls, then each pour release. That lets the shop bundle and tag by pour and lets deliveries follow the schedule.
What to check on foundation shop drawings
Shop drawing review is the last cheap chance to catch errors. On a foundation, check:
- Revision and issue. The shop drawings reference the current issued-for-construction structural set and any revisions since.
- Footing marks and counts. Every footing on the structural plan appears, with the right steel.
- Cover. The bar lengths and shapes leave the cover shown on the drawings, especially the bottom cover in footings cast against earth.
- Dowels. Size, spacing, position from grid lines and projection all match the wall, pier and column design.
- Elevations. Step locations and top of wall elevations match the architectural and structural drawings. A wall drawn 300 mm too short means every vertical bar is wrong.
- Openings. Window and door openings in the wall elevations match the current architectural plans, with trim bars shown.
- Corners and laps. Arrangements match the structural details, and lap lengths match the notes.
- Pour breaks. Construction joints are where you plan to put them.
- Specialty bars. Any epoxy-coated, galvanized or GFRP bars are clearly marked on both the drawings and the bar list.
RSIC practice puts the responsibility for errors on the contractor if material is shipped from drawings that have not been approved, so do not release unapproved drawings to beat a pour date. For a full checklist, see how to review rebar shop drawings.
The engineer of record reviews shop drawings for general conformance with the design. The foundation design itself, and any change to it, stays with the engineer or designer, and new foundations normally need a building permit.
Foundation shop drawings and fabrication from one shop
Procut prepares bar lists and placing drawings from your structural drawings, then cuts, bends, tags and bundles 10M to 55M bar to match, with phased deliveries so footing steel arrives before wall steel. We also supply fabricated dowels and GFRP rebar, and we install rebar.
Send your foundation drawings for a free take-off and quote, or see our services for detailing, fabrication, delivery and installation.
Frequently asked questions
What are foundation rebar shop drawings?
They are the placing drawings and bar lists a rebar detailer prepares from the structural drawings for footings, piers and foundation walls. They mark every bar with a size, quantity, length and shape so the shop can cut and bend it and the crew can place it.
Who prepares rebar shop drawings for a foundation?
Usually the rebar fabricator or its detailer, working from the issued-for-construction structural drawings. The contractor reviews them and they normally go to the engineer of record for review before fabrication.
How is wall rebar shown on shop drawings?
Walls are usually shown as elevations, looking at each face, with vertical and horizontal bars marked and dimensioned. Corners, openings, dowels and laps are shown in sections or details alongside.
Do foundation shop drawings show construction joints?
Only where the structural drawings show them or the contractor's pour breaks are agreed in advance. Under RSIC standard practice, no construction joints or dowels are detailed in continuous wall steel unless they are shown on the structural drawings.
