How to Review Rebar Shop Drawings: A Checklist

To review rebar shop drawings, check them in layers against the current structural set: references and revision first, then the general notes, then each element (footings, walls, columns, beams, slabs), then the bar list against the drawing. You are confirming that the detailer interpreted the design correctly and that the bars will fit the site, not redesigning the reinforcement. A structured pass catches far more than a quick flip through the sheets.

This checklist is for the people doing the review: general contractors, concrete contractors and engineering reviewers. If you are still getting used to the notation, start with our guide on how to read rebar shop drawings, then come back here.

Before you start: the spec section and the right documents

On Canadian projects, reinforcing steel is normally specified in Division 03, Section 03 20 00, Concrete Reinforcing, and the submittal process in Section 01 33 00, Submittal Procedures. Read the reinforcing section before you review, because it often asks for more than the bare minimum. Typical requirements include:

• Placing drawings and bar lists prepared to the RSIC Manual of Standard Practice
• Bar marks clear enough to place the steel without going back to the structural drawings
• Bar supports (chairs, bolsters, spacers) shown by size, spacing and location
• Mechanical splices only where the engineer has accepted them
• Lap splices of a stated class where the drawings are silent

Then gather what you need beside the shop drawings:

• The latest issued-for-construction structural drawings, plus any addenda, bulletins and site instructions
• The architectural drawings for slab edges, steps, depressions and openings
• Your actual site information: footing elevations as dug, sleeve and embed locations, any changes not yet on paper

Checklist 1: title block, references and general notes

• The drawing lists the structural sheets and revisions it was detailed from, and they are the current ones.
• The sheet covers a clearly defined area or pour, and the key plan shows where it is.
• Bar grade matches the structural notes (Grade 400 is the RSIC default when drawings are silent), including any areas with a different grade.
• Concrete cover is stated for each element, and it says whether cover is measured to ties or to main bars.
• Lap lengths are stated by bar size and match the engineer's notes or lap table, including the concrete strength they assume.
• Specialty bar carries its prefix everywhere it appears: C for epoxy-coated, G for galvanized, S for stainless, F for GFRP.
• Every assumption the detailer made is listed, and every open question is either answered or flagged for the engineer.

Pay attention to the assumptions. A note such as "dowel projection assumed" is the detailer telling you that item is not settled. Leave it unanswered and it gets built as assumed.

Checklist 2: footings and foundation walls

• Every footing on the structural plan appears on a placing drawing, including pads, strip footings, grade beams and pile caps.
• Bottom mat bar size and spacing match, each way, with the correct bar on the bottom layer where the design says so.
• Top bars are included where the design calls for them (pile caps, thick footings, grade beams).
• Footing steps have their own bars and details, not just a straight bar drawn through.
• Corner bars and laps at wall footing intersections are shown. Our post on footing rebar laps and corner bars covers the usual details.
• Dowels to walls, piers and columns match the size and spacing of the bars above, with the hook and projection shown.
• Wall verticals and horizontals are shown on each face where the design is two-layer.
• Trim bars at openings and extra bars at wall ends and corners are included.
• Bars sit where they will actually fit with the cover required for concrete cast against earth.

Checklist 3: columns and beams

Columns

• Number, size and arrangement of verticals match the schedule for every column, at every level.
• Offset bends at lap splices are shown where column bars lap with the bars above.
• Tie size, shape and spacing match, including closer spacing zones where the design has them.
• Ties at the top and bottom start where the drawings or standard practice put them, with extra ties at offset bends.

Beams

• Top and bottom bars match in size, number and length, including cut-off points and extra top bars over supports.
• Hooks into supporting columns or walls are shown and have room to fit.
• Stirrup size, shape and spacing match, including the spacing zones near supports. See stirrup spacing in beams and columns for what those zones usually look like.
• Where two beams cross, the layers are resolved: the engineer should say which bars go on top at the intersection.
• Side bars on deep beams are included where the design calls for them.

Checklist 4: slabs

• Bottom bars each way, with the correct layer order (the outer layer is usually the main direction).
• Top bars over supports and at slab edges extend the distance the design requires.
• Additional bars around openings, at re-entrant corners and at slab edges are included.
• Slab depressions, drops and thickened areas have their own bars.
• Bar supports are shown at heights that give the required cover and keep top bars at the right depth.
• Construction joints and pour breaks match your pour plan, with dowels or laps across them.

Checklist 5: the bar list against the drawing

The bar list is what the shop fabricates. A perfect drawing with a wrong bar list still delivers wrong steel.

• Every mark on the drawing appears once in the bar list, and every line in the bar list is used on a drawing.
• Quantities on the drawing callouts add up to the quantity on the bar list for each mark.
• Bend types match what the sections show. A hook drawn in a section but missing from the list is a classic error.
• Leg dimensions make sense against the concrete dimensions minus cover.
• Bar lengths are practical to ship and handle, with splices where bars would otherwise be too long.
• The weight summary for the release looks reasonable against your estimate and the bar weights you would expect.

The shapes and letters on the list follow the RSIC bend types. Our guide to rebar bending shape codes explains them.

How to mark up and return the drawings

Good review comments get the drawings back to the shop faster:

• Cloud and number every comment, and write it on the drawing, not only in an email.
• Be specific. "Add 15M dowels at 400 to match wall verticals, see S-3 detail 4" is actionable. "Check dowels" starts another round of questions.
• Answer the detailer's questions directly beside each question.
• Do not redesign. If something needs to change in the design, the engineer issues a revised drawing or site instruction. Changes made only on a shop drawing do not reach the inspector or the structural record.
• Use the right status. Reviewed, reviewed as noted, or revise and resubmit. If the comments are minor and clear, reviewed as noted lets fabrication start while corrections are picked up.
• Return releases in pour order. Footings first; a slab drawing for next month can wait a day, a footing drawing for next week cannot.

Keep a simple log of which drawings are out for review and when they are due back. Placing drawings that sit in an inbox delay the steel just as surely as a late truck. Our post on rebar placement drawings covers the approval loop and releases from the contractor's side.

Get placing drawings that are easy to review

We prepare bar lists and placing drawings from your structural drawings, then cut, bend, tag and deliver to match, so the detailer and the shop that bends the bars are in the same place. Take-offs and quotes are free.

Send your drawings to get started, or see our services for detailing, cut and bend, and installation.