Start with the opening drawing note of the issued Section 06 20 00: confirm that the drawings give the material, size, and thickness of each finish carpentry item, the fasteners, millwork details, trim profiles, and the species and finish of every stained or clear-finished piece. Then check that the grades, panel products, and treatment kept suit each location and exposure drawn, that the countertop, cabinet, and casework paragraphs describe one consistent product for the casework shown, and that shelving, siding, soffits, and trim match the elevations and sections, before comparing details piece by piece.
Assemble the review package
Gather the floor plans and the room finish schedule with trim, base, and wood finishes, the interior elevations with cabinets, countertops, shelving, closet rods, seats, and bumpers, the millwork and casework details with materials, edge profiles, and hardware, the door and window schedules and the jamb, head, and stool details, the wood stair plans and sections, the exterior elevations and wall sections with siding type, orientation, and trim, the soffit and fascia details, the attic plan where catwalks are shown, the structural notes where panel siding braces or sheathes the wall, the design analysis with the climate zone and environmental severity classification (ESC) under UFC 1-200-01, and the issued Section 06 20 00 with Sections 06 61 16, 06 41 16.00 10 where casework has its own section, 06 10 00, 08 14 00, 09 90 00, and 07 92 00. Follow one room and one exterior wall from substrate to finish before assuming the others match.
WBDG publishes UFGS 06 20 00: Finish Carpentry as a public guide-specification reference (accessed November 12, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| What the drawings must show | Opening drawing note (location, size, type, and thickness of materials; fastener size, type, and spacing; millwork details; color and pattern of prefinished material; trim profiles and sizes; species, color, and finish of stained or clear-finished wood) + Detail Drawings submittal + elevations, millwork details, and finish schedule | Does each trim, cabinet, countertop, shelf, siding, and soffit item have a detail or schedule entry that gives its material, size, and thickness, are fasteners shown where the section leaves them to the drawings, does every stained or clear-finished surface name a species and finish rather than a generic wood callout, and are the trim profiles drawn, since the shop drawings are measured against them? |
| Wood species, grades, and the standards behind them | Sizes and Patterns + Species and Grades (AWPA U1 Use Category System tables) + Trim, Finish, and Frames and its grade table (one grade higher for stained or clear finish; Cypress listed twice under NHLA with different grades) + Fascias and Trim (AWPA U1 tables) + Lumber and Plywood grade marks + finish schedule | Has the specifier named a grading rule and grade for each item, since Species and Grades and Fascias and Trim point to the AWPA U1 tables, which govern preservative treatment rather than appearance grade, has the grade table been edited to the species actually available and to one Cypress grade, and does the finish schedule mark which trim is painted and which is stained, so the higher grade the table requires for stained work can be priced? |
| Plywood, hardboard, MDF, and particleboard by exposure | Opening note (MDF “also referred to herein as particleboard”) + MDF and Particleboard bracket and notes (not in humid or ESC C4 and C5 locations; prohibited in some areas) + Softwood and Hardwood Plywood brackets (no added urea-formaldehyde inside the building) + Composite Wood Products certification + Hardboard + Moisture Content brackets + design analysis climate zone and ESC + room uses | Where the design analysis places the project in a humid or corrosive location, has particleboard been deleted from the countertop core, cabinet, and panel options, and since the opening note treats MDF as particleboard while the articles treat them as separate products, does the restriction also apply to MDF, are the interior plywood and composite products limited to those without added urea-formaldehyde, and are the moisture content brackets set for the conditioning the rooms will actually have? |
| Preservative and fire-retardant treatment | Non-Pressure Treatment note and article (cabinets bracket in humid and ESC C4 and C5 locations; one preservative for food contact) + Pressure Treatment (exterior; contact with masonry or concrete bracket; ground and water proximity; sentence ending “to a reflection level as follows:” with no list) + Fire-Retardant Treatment note and bracket (items listed in a blank; not for roof parts) + wall sections, siding and trim details, and rated assemblies | Do the wall sections and trim details show which exterior trim, fascia, and siding is treated and which is heartwood that the section exempts, is the treated plywood requirement completed, since the paragraph stops before stating it, does the fire-retardant blank list the items the rated assemblies or the code analysis actually require, and is fire-retardant plywood kept out of the roof, as the note says? |
| Countertops, cabinets, and casework | Countertops (laminate grades) and Countertop fabrication (post-formed tops, backsplash style, core options, backing sheet bracket) + Cabinets (same as countertops; hardwood frames and plywood) + Cabinet Hardware (frameless concealed European hinges) and Finish + Quality Standards grades (incomplete sentence) + transparent-finish and laminate casework (ANSI/AWI 0641 grades; ANSI/AWI 1232) + Solid Surface (to Section 06 61 16) + elevations and casework details | Do the countertop details show the post-formed profile and backsplash the fabrication paragraph requires, or self-edged tops that need the general-purpose grade the finishes paragraph also allows, is each cabinet run assigned to one paragraph, the simple cabinets or the transparent or laminate casework, with one grading standard and grade, are the cabinets framed or frameless on the elevations, since the hardware paragraph assumes frameless hinges, and where casework has its own section, have these paragraphs been deleted? |
| Shelving, closet rods, and hardware | Shelving (supports; hook strips and cleats; adjustable standards bracket) + Linen Closets, Storage Rooms, Room Closets, and Cleaning Gear Closets (default shelf arrangements unless indicated) + Clothes Hanger Rods and its article (intermediate supports) + Adjustable and Vertical Slotted Shelf Standards (BHMA types in blanks) + floor plans and closet elevations | Do the closet and storage room elevations show the shelf arrangement intended, or will the default arrangements in the shelving paragraphs apply, are the standard and bracket types filled in where adjustable shelving is drawn, is blocking shown behind standards and rod supports, and are shelf spans and rod lengths on the plans consistent with the intermediate supports the section requires? |
| Siding, soffits, and fascias | Siding notes (no wood shingles; no hardboard siding in humid or ESC C4 and C5 locations) and article (hardboard, plywood, or wood horizontal siding; hardboard or plywood panels) + siding type articles (Engineered Wood Structural Panels sized for a span that is not specified; Epoxy Coated Wood Panels on a cement board base) + Soffits (span brackets) + siding installation (panel siding in shear walls) + Fascia and Exterior Trim + exterior elevations, wall sections, and structural notes | Has hardboard been removed from the siding and soffit options where the project is humid or corrosive, does each elevation name one siding type and orientation that matches a kept article, where engineered panels or panel siding serve as wall bracing or shear walls, do the structural drawings give the span, nailing, and wind load the siding paragraphs assume, and is the epoxy coated panel kept only for the accent or spandrel panels the note allows? |
| Finish, installation, and coordination | PART 3 opening (ANSI/AWI 0620; no materials with biological growth) + Finish Work (primer before installing; blind nailing) + Exterior and Interior Finish Work + Door Frames (blocking) + Bases (shoe mould after flooring) + Finish Stair Work (railing joints to structural load requirements) + Delivery, Storage, and Handling (wet trades dry first) + painting section + door and window schedules | Does the requirement to prime finish work before installing suit the trim the finish schedule shows stained or clear finished, are door frame blocking and base grounds shown on the partition details, where wood stairs and rails are drawn, are the railing loads and anchorage stated by the structural engineer, since the section relies on load requirements it does not give, and does the schedule hold millwork delivery until the wet trades are dry and the space is conditioned? |
Worked example: a cabinet run, closet shelving, and siding that three paragraphs describe differently
Illustrative example: a small unaccompanied housing renovation at a Gulf Coast installation that the design analysis places in a humid climate zone keeps Section 06 20 00 for kitchenette cabinets, closet shelving, interior trim, and replacement exterior siding. The elevations show framed cabinets with stained oak doors and a self-edged laminate top, the finish schedule calls the trim “wood, stain” with no species, and the exterior elevations show lap siding with no material named. The issued section keeps particleboard as a countertop core option, keeps both the simple cabinet paragraph and the laminate casework paragraph, keeps the frameless concealed hinges, keeps hardboard among the siding options, and leaves the fire-retardant blank empty although the life safety plan shows a rated corridor wall with wood trim.
Ask the architect to name the trim species and finish on the schedule, to state the lap siding material, and to confirm whether the cabinets are framed or frameless and whether the top is post-formed or self-edged. Ask the specifier to delete particleboard and hardboard for the humid location, to keep one cabinet paragraph with one grading standard, to match the hinge and laminate grade to the cabinets and tops drawn, to complete the treated plywood sentence, and to fill in or delete the fire-retardant blank, and confirm with the fire protection engineer whether the trim on the rated wall needs treatment.
Avoid a false conflict
Section 06 20 00 is a condensed finish carpentry section for small projects. Framing, blocking, and sheathing follow Section 06 10 00, solid surface countertops follow Section 06 61 16 and the solid surfacing guide, larger casework packages often have their own section, such as 06 41 16.00 10, and the wood casework guide, wood doors follow Section 08 14 00 and the wood door guide, paint and stain follow the painting section, and sealant at exterior trim follows Section 07 92 00, so check those before calling a requirement missing. Some of the section’s own wording needs resolving: its opening note treats MDF as particleboard while its articles do not, two articles take species and grades from a preservative treatment standard, its grade table gives Cypress two grades, the pressure treatment paragraph stops before stating the plywood requirement, its woodwork grade sentence is incomplete and its casework paragraphs cite two different casework standards, its cabinet paragraph matches the cabinets to the countertops and then specifies different materials, its hinges assume frameless cabinets it does not describe, its countertop paragraphs allow and then exclude a laminate grade, its epoxy coated wood panel has no wood, and its engineered siding is sized for a span it never states. Ask the specifier which wording the project intends before treating a difference as a design conflict.
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.