Start with the edit the issued Section 05 40 00 made: whether the designer of record designed the framing or the contractor’s registered engineer will, since that decides which paragraphs remain. Then check that the drawings show what the drawing note asks for, the extent of each framing type with its member properties, the connections and installation details, and the concentrated loads, and that the criteria a framing engineer needs, wind and component pressures, deflection limits for each finish, and the list of what the framing engineer designs, appear on the structural or architectural sheets. Then follow studs, tracks, clips, bridging, headers, and the slide connections at the steel frame through the wall sections and details, and confirm the cladding, curtain wall, storefront, and louver interfaces agree with the section.
Assemble the review package
Gather the structural general notes with the cold-formed framing design criteria, wind speed, exposure, and component and cladding pressures by zone, the deflection limits for each wall finish, and the delegated design or deferred submittal list, the framing plans, wall and partition types, and roof and floor truss or joist layouts, the exterior wall sections with parapet, soffit, and roof edge details, the head, jamb, and sill details at windows, storefronts, curtain wall, and louvers, any header and jamb schedule, the slide clip, deflection track, and bypass details at the steel frame and slab edges, the anchor and fastener details at concrete and steel, any shear wall or strap brace elevations, the door and window schedules, the rated wall types, the cladding sections for brick veneer, metal panels, EIFS, or stucco, the statement of special inspections, and the issued Section 05 40 00 with Sections 09 22 00, 05 12 00, 05 05 20, 01 45 35, and the cladding sections. Follow one exterior wall from its bottom track to its connection at the floor or roof above before assuming the others match.
WBDG publishes UFGS 05 40 00: Cold-Formed Metal Framing as a public guide-specification reference (accessed November 9, 2026). Use your project’s issued specification and amendments for the actual comparison; the guide specification does not automatically govern your project. The checklist below is an original suggested review workflow, not a reproduction of the UFGS requirements.
Eight checks to run against the issued set
Use one record per location or system. The CSV contains the same eight prompts plus fields for source revisions, observed evidence, the review owner, the decision, and closure references.
| Check | Sources to compare | Question to resolve |
|---|---|---|
| Design responsibility and the edit chosen | Opening note (designer of record describes the components, or all design prescribed to the contractor) + Load-Bearing Cold-Formed Metal Framing article (properties indicated, or as necessary for all imposed loads; bracketed AISI S100 design sentence) + Quality Assurance note and Engineering Responsibility item + bracketed sealed fabrication drawings + bracketed SD-05 Metal Framing Calculations and Design Data Required + structural general notes + delegated design or deferred submittal list | Has the specifier made one choice and carried it through: where the designer of record designed the framing, do the framing plans and wall types give every member its size, thickness, and properties, and were the engineering responsibility, sealed drawing, and calculation paragraphs deleted, and where the contractor designs it, are those paragraphs kept, does the delegated design list in the structural notes name cold-formed framing and say which walls, joists, trusses, and connections it covers, and is the sentence letting properties not indicated be “as necessary to withstand all imposed loads” backed by loads stated somewhere in the set? |
| Design criteria on the drawings: pressures, deflection, and concentrated loads | Maximum Deflection article and note (delete if the designer of record designed; limits of the IBC and UFC 3-301-01; bracketed scissor truss horizontal deflection) + PART 2 materials note (points to a special option for a brick veneer deflection limit) + drawing note on concentrated loads + Design Data Required (design criteria and structural loading) + structural general notes + wall types and cladding sections | Do the drawings give the framing engineer what the section does not: wind and component and cladding pressures by zone, including corners and parapets, a deflection limit for each backup condition, brick veneer, stucco, EIFS, tile, and gypsum board, any scissor truss horizontal deflection at supports, and the concentrated loads from pipe supports, equipment, signs, or canopies the drawing note asks to be indicated, since the Maximum Deflection paragraph refers only to the IBC and UFC 3-301-01 besides its scissor truss bracket, and the materials note points to a brick veneer deflection option that appears nowhere in the section? |
| Scope boundary: load-bearing, curtain wall, and non-load-bearing framing | Opening note (load-bearing framing and trusses) + Load-Bearing Cold-Formed Metal Framing note (partition heights and lateral loads beyond the Section 09 22 00 range need special consideration) + bracketed sentences sending non-load-bearing framing, furring, and ceiling suspension to 09 22 00 and acoustical suspension to 09 51 00 + Studs article (vertical movement for curtain wall studs) + Section 09 22 00 opening note + Section 07 24 00 sheathing note + wall and partition types | Does every wall type say which section governs its framing: load-bearing walls, exterior curtain wall studs that carry wind to the structure, which this section’s Studs article and the EIFS section’s sheathing note both place here, and interior partitions within the height and lateral load range of Section 09 22 00, and where the issued 05 40 00 keeps the bracketed sentence sending all non-load-bearing framing to 09 22 00, has the specifier made sure exterior non-load-bearing studs, tall partitions, parapets, and soffit framing beyond that range have not fallen between the two sections? |
| Studs, tracks, steel sheet, coatings, and markings | Steel Studs, Joists, Tracks, Bracing, Bridging and Accessories article (ASTM C955; ASTM A1003 steel sheet grade and coating brackets; stud, track, roof truss, and floor truss thickness and flange brackets) + the paragraphs for heavier and lighter members + Sizes, Thickness, Section Modulus paragraph + Markings article + PART 2 materials note on exposed, wet, or corrosive conditions + framing plans, wall types, and member schedules | Do the stud and track sizes, thicknesses, and spacing on the wall types and schedules agree with the bracket choices kept, has the specifier reconciled the Steel Sheet item, which brackets grade and coating choices including “as required by structural performance”, with the two thickness paragraphs that follow and fix a grade and coating, the lighter-member one without brackets, naming ASTM A653 beside A1003, and carrying an extra metric grade that belongs to a stronger grade than its inch-pound grade, does every wall exposed to weather, moisture, or a corrosive coastal atmosphere get the heavier coating the materials note asks for, and do the schedules use the designations the product markings will show? |
| Bracing, bridging, and in-line framing | Studs article (horizontal bracing by the design calculations and AISI S100, and a minimum bracing table by load type and wall height) + Joists and Trusses article (a stud directly under each joist or truss; truss bracing and bridging under AISI S200, S214, and the Code of Standard Practice; temporary bracing kept until permanent connections are made) + article title naming bracing and bridging with no product described + wall sections, framing plans, and truss layouts | Do the wall sections show bridging or bracing rows that at least meet the Studs article’s minimum table for the load type and wall height, or does the framing engineer’s design say what replaces it, does the bridging product, channel, strap, or proprietary clip, appear on the details, since the section names bracing and bridging in a title but describes no product, do the framing plans put a stud under each joist or truss, as the Joists and Trusses article requires, or show a load distribution member where they do not line up, and are permanent truss bracing and bridging shown or assigned to the truss designer? |
| Openings, headers, jambs, and corners | Studs article (no spliced studs; multiple jamb studs at openings above a stated width; jack studs; tripled corner studs; headers and supporting components as shown; headers at every opening wider than the stud spacing) + drawing note (connections and installation details) + header and jamb details or schedule + door, window, storefront, and louver schedules + structural framing elevations | Does every opening wider than the stud spacing on the door, window, storefront, and louver schedules have a header and jamb condition on the details or a header schedule, are the jambs at the wider openings built from the multiple studs the Studs article requires or from a heavier member the framing engineer designs, are the loads that heavy doors, overhead coiling doors, storefront mullions, and louvers anchor into the jambs and head given to the framing engineer, and do the corner details show the stud arrangement for the interior and exterior finishes? |
| Connections at the steel frame, slab edge, and foundation | Studs article (vertical movement where curtain wall studs connect to the structural frame) + Tracks article (sealer gasket, anchors as in the design calculations, butt welded or stud-insert splices, edge distance at slabs) + Steel-To-Concrete Connections (anchor rods; adhesive or expansion anchors under ICC-ES AC193 and ACI 318; power-actuated fasteners under ICC-ES AC70 and ASTM E1190) and power-actuated fastener note + Steel-To-Steel Connections + Anchors and Powder-Actuated Fasteners articles + slide clip, deflection track, and bypass details + steel frame and slab edge details + Section 05 05 20 | Do the details at each floor and roof line show how the studs connect to the steel frame or slab edge and how much vertical movement the slide clip or deflection track allows, since the section has no product article for clips or deflection track and only one sentence on movement, is the frame deflection the framing must absorb stated, are anchor types and edge distances shown or left to calculations that a designer-of-record edit deletes, does the post-installed anchor item, which allows adhesive anchors but names only AC193, the ICC-ES criteria for mechanical anchors, agree with Section 05 05 20 where the project issues it, and where work sits next to occupied space, has the specifier acted on the note advising against power-actuated fasteners there because of their noise? |
| Welding, fastening methods, sealed submittals, and references | Quality Assurance (engineering responsibility, testing agency, product tests, welding qualifications under AWS D1.1 and D1.3, fire-test-response, AISI standards list) + Welds article and note (AWS D1.3 as modified by AISI S100; welds coated with rust-inhibitive galvanizing paint; no field welding of the lightest members) + Fastening article (welds or self-drilling screws) + Truss Fabrication (welding, screws, clinching, pneumatic pins, or rivets) + SD-02 Framing Components, SD-05 Metal Framing Calculations, and SD-07 Certificates + References article + rated wall types + statement of special inspections | Are the shop drawings and calculations signed and sealed where the contractor designs, with the delegated items listed on the drawings, has the specifier reconciled the Welding Qualifications item, which names AWS D1.1 and D1.3, with the Welds article, which sends all welding to D1.3, and the Truss Fabrication allowance of clinch, pneumatic pin, and rivet fastening with the Fastening article, which allows only welds and screws, does any welded detail fall on members too light for the field welding the Welds article allows, is a product named for the galvanizing paint the Welds article requires, since the Paint article was removed in 2012, are rated load-bearing walls tied to the tested designs the fire-test-response item requires where indicated, and has the References article been updated, since it cites the 2007 AISI framing standards and AISI S110, which AISI’s current list no longer carries, and omits ASTM B695, ASTM E1190, and ICC-ES AC70 and AC193, which the text cites? |
Worked example: delegated exterior studs with no pressures, a veneer limit that is not there, and no clear section
Illustrative example: a two-story battalion headquarters has a structural steel frame with cold-formed steel exterior studs behind brick veneer on the first floor and metal wall panels above, an aluminum storefront at the entrance, and louvers at the mechanical room. The issued Section 05 40 00 keeps the contractor-design paragraphs and the sealed calculations, but the structural general notes give the wind speed and exposure without component and cladding pressures or corner zones, and no deflection limit for the brick veneer backup appears anywhere, while the materials note the specifier left in still points to a brick veneer deflection option the section does not contain. The issued 05 40 00 also keeps the bracketed sentence sending non-load-bearing framing to Section 09 22 00, whose opening note excludes walls above its lateral load range, so the exterior studs have no clear home. The wall section shows a fixed top track tight to the underside of the spandrel beam with no slide clip, and the storefront head has no header detail although the opening is wider than the stud spacing.
Ask the structural engineer to add component and cladding pressures by zone, a deflection limit for each backup condition, the spandrel beam deflection the head of wall must absorb, and a delegated design list naming the exterior studs, headers, and their connections to the frame. Ask the specifier to edit Section 05 40 00 so it plainly covers the exterior non-load-bearing studs, to delete the materials note reference to a brick veneer option or write the limit into the Maximum Deflection paragraph, and to add products for the slide clips and deflection track. Ask the architect to detail the head of wall at the beam with a slide connection that suits the brick ties and the panel girts, and to show the storefront header and jambs, with the anchorage loads from the storefront and louver suppliers passed to the framing engineer.
See the published railing design criteria finding. The illustrative scenario above is separate from that published finding.
Avoid a false conflict
Section 05 40 00 covers load-bearing cold-formed steel studs, joists, and trusses and, through its Studs article, the exterior curtain wall studs that carry wind to the frame. Its bracketed sentences send non-load-bearing framing, furring, and ceiling suspension to Section 09 22 00 Supports for Plaster and Gypsum Board and acoustical ceiling suspension to Section 09 51 00; the steel frame follows Section 05 12 00, post-installed anchors Section 05 05 20, and special inspection Section 01 45 35, and the cladding that hangs on the studs follows Sections 04 20 00 for veneer anchors, 07 42 13 metal wall panels, 07 24 00 EIFS, 09 24 23 stucco, 08 44 00 curtain wall, 08 41 13 storefronts, and 08 91 00 louvers, all Active on WBDG; check those before calling a requirement missing. The section has not been revised since May 2015, and its References article cites the 2007 AISI framing standards S200, S201, S211, S212, and S213, the 2012 truss standard S214, S110 for special bolted moment frames, and S202 in its 2011 edition, while AISI’s current standards list carries S240-20 for structural framing, S220-20 for nonstructural framing, S202-20, and S400-20 for seismic systems; the editions that govern are the ones the adopted building code references, and the AISI S240 guide covers that standard. Member sizes, spacing, connections, bracing, and deflection limits are design decisions for the structural engineer of record or the contractor’s framing engineer. The section lists UFC 3-301-01 as the digital version, while WBDG shows the 2023 edition with Change 6 of January 2026; confirm the version your task order invokes. The current guide section cites ACI 318, AISI S100, S110, S200, S201, S202, S211, S212, S213, and S214, AWS D1.1 and D1.3, ASTM A123, A153, A307, A370, A653, A1003, C955, C1007, C1513, E119, E329, E488, F1554, F1941, and F2329, the IBC, and UFC 3-301-01 in its References article, and ASTM B695 and E1190 and ICC-ES AC70 and AC193 in its text only; confirm the editions your project invokes.
When requirements disagree, follow the project’s document-control and clarification process. Do not assume that drawings always override specifications, or the reverse. Identify the exact sources and request an authorized decision.
Close the issue across the affected documents
Record the location or tag, drawing and specification references, issue dates, observed difference, and the decision needed. Assign an owner and keep the item open until the response identifies the governing requirement. Check the revised drawings and specification references together; a response email alone may leave the issued package inconsistent.
For the overall process, use the guide to drawing and specification conflicts. Mark an inapplicable checklist row with a reason, and distinguish a verified correction from a question that still needs design information.
Where Groundbook fits
Groundbook’s drawing and specification review helps investigate potential disagreements in the documents you supply. Include the relevant specification sections and drawing references, then verify the cited evidence with the responsible reviewers before acting on a finding.