To read a rebar shop drawing, work from the outside in: title block and revision first, then the general notes, then the plan, then each callout and its bar mark in the bar list. A callout tells you how many bars, what size, which mark and at what spacing. The bar list tells you how long each mark is and what shape it is bent to. Once you can connect those two, the drawing reads like a parts list with a map.
This guide follows the Canadian conventions in the Reinforcing Steel Institute of Canada (RSIC) Manual of Standard Practice, which most shops in Ontario use as their reference. Every detailer has small habits of their own, so always check the legend and notes on your set.
Shop drawings, placing drawings and bar lists
A quick word on terms, because they get mixed up:
- Structural drawings are the engineer's design. They show what reinforcement is required, not how each bar is cut.
- Placing drawings are prepared by the rebar detailer from the structural drawings. They show where every bar goes, by mark, so the ironworkers can install it. RSIC calls them placing drawings; most contractors call them rebar shop drawings.
- Bar lists (bar schedules) list every mark with its quantity, size, length and bend shape. The shop fabricates from the bar list, and it can be a separate sheet or a table printed on the placing drawing.
Placing drawings are for placing the rebar only. They are not a substitute for the structural or architectural drawings, and they are not meant for coordinating other trades.
Step 1: Read the title block and revision
The title block, usually bottom right, tells you:
- Project, drawing number and sheet number
- What part of the structure the sheet covers (for example, "Footings and Piers, Grids 1 to 6")
- The structural drawings and revisions the detailer worked from
- Scale (if more than one scale is used, each view should be labelled)
- Status and revision history: issued for approval, re-issued with corrections, approved, issued for fabrication
Check the referenced structural revision first. A perfectly drawn placing drawing based on last month's structural set is still wrong.
Step 2: Read the general notes
Notes carry the information that applies everywhere on the sheet:
- Grade, usually 400W, and any locations using a different grade
- Concrete cover for each element, and whether it is measured to the ties or the main bars
- Lap lengths or splice types, often as a small table by bar size
- Specialty bar. Epoxy-coated, galvanized, stainless and GFRP bars carry a prefix letter (C, G, S or F), such as C15M @ 300
- Assumptions the detailer made where the structural drawings were silent, and open questions waiting on answers
Those assumptions matter. If a note says "dowel length assumed, to be confirmed by engineer", that item is not settled yet.
Step 3: Find your way around the plan
RSIC layout practice puts the plan view in the upper left of the sheet with north at the top where possible, sections and details below or to the right, and a key plan at the top right with a north arrow. Reinforcing bars are drawn in heavy lines and the concrete outlines and grid lines in lighter lines, so the steel stands out.
Use the grid lines to match the placing drawing to the structural plan. Every footing, wall, beam or slab area on the structural drawing should appear on a placing drawing somewhere.
Step 4: Decode the callouts
A typical callout reads something like this:
14-15M-F07 @ 300 BOT
Broken down:
| Part | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 14 | Number of bars |
| 15M | Bar size |
| F07 | Bar mark (here, mark 07 in the footing series) |
| @ 300 | Spacing, 300 mm centre to centre |
| BOT | Bottom layer |
On a footing that is reinforced in both directions you will often see EW (each way) instead, meaning the same size and spacing runs both ways. Mark schemes differ between detailers. Some use the bar size plus a number, some use the element plus a number. What matters is that every mark on the drawing has exactly one line in the bar list.
Common abbreviations you will see:
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| T, B (or TOP, BOT) | Top layer, bottom layer |
| EW | Each way |
| EF | Each face (walls) |
| IF, OF | Inside face, outside face |
| NF, FF | Near face, far face |
| CONT | Continuous |
| TYP | Typical, applies to all similar locations |
| SIM | Similar, check for differences |
| c/c | Centre to centre |
| DWL | Dowel |
Spacing is centre to centre of the bars. Where bars of two lengths alternate, the spacing shown is between adjacent bars, not between bars of the same mark.
Step 5: Read the sections and details
Plans show where bars run. Sections show the vertical picture: which layer is on top, where hooks point, how dowels project out of a footing, and how stirrups wrap around the main bars. When two layers cross, the section shows which goes first. In a slab with bars each way, the outer layer (often labelled B1 or T1) is closest to the concrete surface.
Look for hooks and bends at the ends of bars in sections, then confirm the bar list shows the same shape. A hook drawn on the section but missing from the list is a classic error.
Step 6: Match marks to the bar list
The bar list has a line for every mark: quantity, size, total length, bend type and the leg dimensions A, B, C and so on. Bend types come from the RSIC typical bar bends table, which numbers the common shapes, uses S-numbers for stirrups and T-numbers for ties, and labels anything not in the table as type X with a sketch.
Reading the dimensions correctly:
- Leg dimensions are out-to-out of the bar, measured to the outside of the bend.
- The exception is the hook extension (A or G) on standard 135° and 180° hooks, which follows the hook table rather than out-to-out.
- The total length is the straight length the shop shears before bending. It is usually a little less than the out-to-out legs added together, because the bar cuts the corner around each bend.
If you are used to UK or US drawings, note that Canadian shops work from RSIC bend types. The UK uses two-digit shape codes from BS 8666, which are a different system, so do not assume the numbers line up.
Our article on Canadian rebar detailing standards covers where these conventions come from and the defaults detailers use when the structural drawings are silent.
Step 7: Check before you approve
Before the drawings go back with your comments, run through this list with the structural set beside you:
- Revision matches the latest issued-for-construction structural drawings.
- Every element on the structural plan is detailed somewhere.
- Bar sizes and spacings match the structural drawings, including at openings and steps.
- Hooks, dowels and corner bars shown on typical details are included.
- Lap lengths and splice locations follow the engineer's notes.
- Cover and the "to ties or to main bars" note make sense for your formwork.
- Specialty bar is flagged with its prefix everywhere it appears.
- Quantities look reasonable against the bar sizes and weights you expected.
Mark up anything that does not fit site conditions you know about, such as a changed footing elevation or a sleeve through a wall. The engineer reviews the drawings for design intent; you are the one who knows the site. For what happens after you return comments, see what contractors need from placing drawings.
Need drawings detailed or explained?
We prepare bar lists and placing drawings from your structural drawings. If anything on a set we detailed is unclear, ask us before the bars go in, not after.
Send us your drawings for a take-off and quote, or see our services for detailing, cut and bend, and installation.
Frequently asked questions
How do you read rebar shop drawings?
Start with the title block and revision, read the general notes, then use the plan and key plan to find each element. Each callout gives quantity, bar size, mark and spacing, and the bar list beside it gives the length and bend shape for every mark.
What is the difference between rebar shop drawings and placing drawings?
In the rebar trade they usually mean the same thing. Placing drawings (the term the Reinforcing Steel Institute of Canada uses) show where every bar goes, and the bar lists that come with them tell the shop how to cut and bend each mark. Together they are what most people call rebar shop drawings.
What does EW mean on a rebar drawing?
EW means each way: the same bar size and spacing runs in both directions, forming a grid. Always check the drawing's legend, because abbreviations can vary between detailers.
What should be included in a rebar shop drawing?
Element locations, the type of reinforcing (black, epoxy, galvanized, stainless or GFRP), bar quantities, sizes and grades, bar marks or lengths, spacing, splice type and location, the dimensions needed for placing, and a title block with contract information.
Who approves rebar shop drawings?
The structural engineer of record reviews them and approves, approves with corrections, or rejects them. The rebar fabricator or detailer does not stamp placing drawings, so the engineer's review is what confirms they match the design.
