To review steel joists against SJI, confirm the SJI 100 (and, for composite joists, SJI 200) edition the adopted building code and the specification cite, then trace each joist and joist girder from its plan designation through the structural notes, load diagrams, joist specification, and manufacturer’s placement plans and calculations. Every designation should match in every source, every special or concentrated load and the net uplift should be stated once with its location and design basis, and bridging, bearing, and joist girder layout should agree between the drawings and the submittal. AI can flag conflicts; the engineer of record and the building official decide compliance.
What do SJI 100 and SJI 200 cover?
The SJI standards and specifications page posts two standard specifications. SJI 100-2025, the Standard Specification for K-Series, LH-Series, and DLH-Series Open Web Steel Joists and for Joist Girders, states in Section 1.1 that it covers the design, manufacture, application, and erection stability and handling of those joists and joist girders, designed by ASD or LRFD, and includes KCS joists, joist substitutes, and top chord extensions and extended ends. SJI 200-2025 covers CJ-Series composite steel joists, designed by LRFD, and adds sections on shear connector placement and welding. SJI 100-2025 is organized into scope and definitions, referenced standards, materials, design and manufacture, application (span, end supports and bearing, bridging, bearing seat attachments, decks, deflection, ponding, uplift, and diaphragms and collectors), and erection stability and handling. Section 1.5 points the design drawings and specifications to SJI’s Code of Standard Practice for steel joists and joist girders.
SJI 100-2025 is headed as revised to January 6, 2026 and effective December 1, 2026, replacing the edition revised to April 27, 2020; SJI 200-2025 carries the same revision and effective dates and replaces the 2015 revision. SJI also offers its historical specifications and load tables, noting that earlier editions have appeared in building codes at various times. Checked October 27, 2026. The edition that governs is the one the referenced standards chapter of the adopted building code names, with local amendments, and the project specification may name another; record both rather than assuming the 2025 editions apply.
This page follows the manufactured joist system. Hot-rolled beams, columns, braces, and their connections follow the AISC 360 guide, and the structural steel specification is compared with the drawings in the structural steel specifications guide; neither covers joist designations, joist loading diagrams, or joist bridging. Loads, including roof uplift and the load combinations the drawings state, come from the building code and ASCE 7; see the ASCE 7 guide.
Gather every sheet that defines a joist or joist girder
Collect the structural general notes with the design basis and joist design loads, roof and floor framing plans with joist and joist girder designations, load diagrams or special joist load schedules, mechanical and rooftop equipment plans that hang or set loads on joists, bearing and seat details at steel, masonry, and concrete supports, bridging and bridging termination details, joist girder to column details and any moment connection details, the roof drainage plan where ponding or secondary drainage affects joist loads, and the steel joist specification section. UFGS 05 21 00 Steel Joist Framing (Active on WBDG, published May 2015 with an August 2018 change) is one federal master; office masters may number and title the section differently.
Add the joist manufacturer’s placement plans, design calculations, and product data once submitted, and the SJI 100 or SJI 200 edition the adopted code references.
Trace each joist and joist girder from the plan to the submittal
| Review question | Sources to compare | Decision to record |
|---|---|---|
| Edition and design basis | Structural general notes, joist specification, manufacturer submittal notes | Confirm one SJI edition and one design method, ASD or LRFD, are named, and that the submittal designs to the same ones. |
| Designations | Framing plans, joist schedule, specification, placement plans | Check each joist and joist girder designation, including load/load and KCS designations and girder panel counts and panel point loads, matches between plan, schedule, and placement plan. |
| Special and concentrated loads | Load diagrams, mechanical and equipment plans, general notes, calculations | Record every concentrated, drift, or nonuniform load and its location, and flag equipment drawn on joists with no matching load on the structural drawings. |
| Net uplift | General notes, roof framing plans, manufacturer calculations | Confirm net uplift is stated with its basis, LRFD or ASD, as SJI 100-2025 Section 5.12 asks, and that the submittal designs joists, girders, and bridging for it. |
| Bridging and terminations | Bridging details, framing plans, specification, placement plans | Check that bridging rows, uplift bridging, and bridging terminations at walls and beams are shown and that the termination connections are detailed by the engineer of record. |
| Bearing and joist girder layout | Seat and bearing details, column details, framing plans, placement plans | Match bearing conditions, any special end reaction location, girder stabilizer plates, and column and girder grid layout between the drawings and the submittal. |
Joists used as diaphragm chords or collectors need the forces and seismic data SJI 100-2025 Section 5.13 asks the drawings to state, so compare those notes with the structural calculations checklist. Fire-resistance ratings that rely on joist assemblies continue in the ASTM E119 and UL 263 guide and the spray fireproofing specifications guide, field welding in the AWS D1.1 guide, manufacturer submittals in the submittal review checklist, and the wider set in the structural drawing review checklist.
Example: rooftop units the joist loads never mention
Hypothetical example. A one-story retail building has a roof of LH-Series joists on joist girders. The mechanical roof plan places two rooftop units between gridlines where the structural roof framing plan shows standard designations with no load diagram, the general notes state net uplift without saying whether it is an LRFD or ASD value, the joist specification cites an earlier SJI edition than the general notes, and the manufacturer’s placement plan omits the bottom chord bridging line the uplift note implies.
Two rooftop units on the mechanical roof plan sit on joists that carry standard designations with no concentrated loads, the net uplift in the general notes has no LRFD or ASD basis, the joist specification and general notes cite different SJI editions, and the placement plan shows no bottom chord bridging for uplift. Confirm the equipment loads, uplift basis, SJI edition, and bridging, and coordinate the framing plan, notes, specification, and submittal.
The engineer of record adds the unit loads and the uplift basis, aligns the editions, and returns the placement plan for revision. The finding is a conflict between documents, not a judgment of the joist design.
Review steel joists with Groundbook
Upload the current drawings and specifications to Groundbook, and state the edition, amendments, and review scope in your instructions. SJI posts SJI 100 and SJI 200 as free PDFs on its standards page, and earlier editions on its historical page: upload the edition the adopted building code references, the adopted code and its amendments, and the joist manufacturer’s submittal. See how Groundbook works with local and licensed codes.
Compare the structural general notes, roof and floor framing plans, joist and joist girder designations, load diagrams, mechanical and equipment plans, bearing, seat, bridging, and joist girder details, the steel joist specification, and the joist manufacturer’s placement plans and calculations. Flag a missing or conflicting SJI edition or design method, designations that differ between sources, equipment or concentrated loads with no matching joist load, net uplift with no stated basis, missing bridging or bridging terminations, and bearing or joist girder layout that differs between the drawings and the submittal. Use the supplied SJI specification and cite both sources.
Groundbook links each potential finding to the sheets, schedules, and submittal pages involved. It does not select joists, check load table capacities, or design bridging.
Document review does not certify compliance or design the joists, and it does not replace the engineer of record, the joist manufacturer’s engineer, the special inspector, or the building official.