Start with the opening note of the issued Section 05 21 00: confirm that the framing plans give every joist and joist girder its SJI designation, spacing, span, and slope, that the drawings state the design loads, including net uplift and lateral forces, with load diagrams for special joists, and that anchorage, framing at openings, bridging, and accessories are detailed. Then check that the deflection and camber brackets kept suit the ceilings and roof drawn, that the SJI documents cited are the edition the project uses, that bearing plates and priming agree with the bearing and fireproofing details, and that the certification list asks for things a new joist can be certified to.
Assemble the review package
Gather the structural general notes with the design loads, net uplift, and the SJI edition, the roof and floor framing plans with joist and joist girder designations, spacing, and slopes, the load diagrams or special joist schedules, the lateral system drawings where joist girders carry end moments, the bearing and seat details at steel, masonry, and concrete, bridging and bridging termination details, the reflected ceiling plans and room finish schedule showing which ceilings are plaster, suspended, or open to structure, the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection drawings that hang or set loads on joists, the roof drainage and slope plan, the fire-resistance assembly designations and fireproofing locations, and the issued Section 05 21 00 with Sections 05 12 00, 05 30 00, 09 90 00, the fireproofing section, and 03 30 00. Follow one special joist from its load diagram to its bearing and one joist girder to its column before assuming the others match.
WBDG publishes UFGS 05 21 00: Steel Joist Framing as a public guide-specification reference (accessed November 14, 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 note (joist series and size, spacing, panel point loads, span, and slope; design loads including net uplift and lateral forces; anchoring, framing at openings, bridging spacing and type; accessory details; joists resisting uplift or lateral forces and those forces indicated, with their anchorage and bracing) + System Description (SJI standard designations on the drawings) + Special Steel Joists note (load diagrams for all loading conditions, including net wind uplift) + framing plans, general notes, and load diagrams | Does every joist and joist girder on the framing plans carry an SJI designation, spacing, span, and slope, are net uplift and lateral forces stated with the joists that resist them identified, does each special joist have a load diagram covering every load case, and are the anchorage, opening framing, bridging, and accessory details the note asks for on the drawings? |
| Designations, substitutions, and the SJI documents cited | System Description (other designations or properties may be substituted where structural properties are equal or greater) + Steel Joists and Joist Girders (conform to SJI LOAD TABLES; K, KCS, LH, and DLH joists designed for the standard load tables) + References article (SJI LOAD TABLES 2020, 45th edition; SJI COMPOSITE JOISTS 2007 catalog with a 2010 supplement; ICC IBC 2024) + general notes + the SJI steel joist page (SJI 100-2025 and SJI 200-2025 posted since) | Do the general notes, the issued section, and the adopted building code name the same SJI edition, now that SJI has posted later editions than the ones the References article cites, and does the substitution sentence still require equal or greater properties for every load case, including uplift and special loads, rather than for gravity loads alone? |
| Special joists, joist girders, and deflection | Steel Joists and Joist Girders (design calculations for joist girders, special and composite joists, net uplift, non-SJI details, and field splices; sealed by the manufacturer’s registered design professional) + Special Steel Joists (roof live-load deflection bracket; floor criterion fixed) and note (the roof choice depends on whether a plaster ceiling is attached or suspended) + Joist Girders (deflection brackets; end moments for wind [and seismic] where part of the lateral system; holes in top chords for bolted joists) + SD-05 Design Calculations + reflected ceiling plans and lateral system drawings | Does the roof deflection bracket kept match the ceilings on the reflected ceiling plan, with the stricter choice where plaster is attached or suspended, where joist girders are part of the lateral system, are the end moments indicated for each girder and is the seismic bracket kept only where it applies, and is it clear who reviews the sealed calculations the section requires? |
| Equipment, hanger, and concentrated loads | Opening note (mechanical and electrical layouts and ceiling suspension specifications to carry a note that hanger loads between panel points above a stated limit are suspended from panel points) + Special Steel Joists note (load diagrams) + Erection (joists placed on joist girders per the placement plan, not always at panel points) + Visual Inspections (concentrated loads located per the joist placement plan) + mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection drawings | Do the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection drawings and the ceiling suspension specifications carry the panel point note the section asks for, are rooftop units, hung equipment, sprinkler mains, and other concentrated loads shown on the structural drawings with matching load diagrams, and do the joists that carry them have special designations rather than standard ones? |
| Camber, slope, and reduced-depth ends | Steel Joist Camber and joist girder camber brackets (per the SJI tables, as indicated, or no camber) + opening note (standard tables cannot be used verbatim where joist depth is reduced at the ends for two-way top chord slopes beyond a stated slope; the designer verifies those members) + Erection (tag end placed as shown on the placement plans; square-end joists right side up) + roof slope and drainage plan + ceiling and partition details | Is one camber option kept for joists and one for joist girders, and does it suit flat ceilings, partitions built tight to the joists, and the roof drainage drawn, where joists slope both ways or have reduced-depth ends, are they identified on the framing plans for the designer’s verification, and do the plans show the tag-end orientation the erection paragraph relies on? |
| Bridging, bearing, and erection | Bridging (material, size, and type per the SJI tables; additional erection bridging if required) + Erection (bridging installed with the joists; ends anchored at walls and beams; transitions with a separate piece; per 29 CFR 1926 and 1926.757, with 1926.756 bracketed for long joists) + Bearing Plates (ASTM A36/A36M, size and thickness indicated) + Bearing Plates in Part 3 (masonry or concrete only; bedding mortar or nonshrink grout as indicated, both sent to Section 03 30 00) + Visual Inspections (bearing on steel, concrete, and masonry) + bearing and bridging details | Who sets bridging, since the opening note asks the drawings for spacing and type while the Bridging paragraph leaves it to the SJI tables and the shop drawings, do the drawings detail bridging terminations at walls and beams, do the bearing details at masonry and concrete give the plate size and thickness and say where grout replaces bedding mortar, and on a masonry bearing, is the grout specified in the masonry section rather than only in Section 03 30 00? |
| Ceiling extensions, splices, composite joists, and openings | Ceiling Extensions (bottom-chord elements or separate units extended toward the finished wall unless otherwise indicated) + Drawing Requirements brackets (profiles for nonstandard joists; field splice locations and details) + Composite Steel Joists (SJI COMPOSITE JOISTS) + joist girder holes paragraph and note + Joist Substitutes and Outriggers + reflected ceiling plans, overhang details, composite slab sections, and opening framing | Where ceilings hang from joist bottom chords near walls, do the drawings show the ceiling extensions or another support, are nonstandard profiles and field splices shown where the brackets are kept, do composite joists have slab, deck, and shear connector information consistent with the deck section, and are outriggers at overhangs and framing at roof openings drawn and specified? |
| Priming, fireproofing, certifications, and inspections | Shop Painting (SSPC Paint 15 primer; SSPC SP 2 cleaning; bracket not to prime joists that receive sprayed fireproofing; compatible with Section 09 90 00) and note (heavier protection in crawl spaces and humid areas) + Touch-Up and Field Painting + Certification of Compliance (welder qualification to AWS D1.1/D1.1M; SJI MANUAL, which the References article titles “80 Years of Open Web Steel Joist Construction”; SJI member fabricator; 29 CFR 1926 and 1926.757; manufacturer’s statement under IBC Section 1704.2.5.2) + Visual Inspections (welding to AWS D1.1/D1.1M “Section 6”; AWS certified welding inspectors; snug-tight bolting) + finish schedule, fireproofing plans, fire-resistance assemblies | Do exposed joists appear in the painting schedule with a finish compatible with the shop primer, where joists are fireproofed, is the no-primer bracket kept and does the tested assembly allow the joist coating, does the certification list still ask for compliance with the SJI MANUAL on new work, since that publication is a reference history the note keeps for existing joists, and do the AWS clause and IBC section cited match the editions the project uses? |
Worked example: rooftop units on standard joists, a lateral joist girder, and a fireproofed boiler room
Illustrative example: a vehicle maintenance facility at an installation has an LH-Series joist roof on joist girders, with masonry bearing walls at the office wing and rooftop units over the shop bay. The issued Section 05 21 00 keeps the plaster-ceiling roof deflection choice, the seismic bracket for joist girder end moments, the SJI MANUAL certification, and the camber per SJI tables, and it deletes the bracket that leaves fireproofed joists unprimed. The structural general notes cite a later SJI edition than the References article, the rooftop units sit on joists with standard designations and no load diagram, the lateral system drawings show one joist girder line as part of a moment frame with no end moments indicated, the masonry bearing detail shows a plate with no size or thickness, and the boiler room joists are fireproofed under an assembly whose listing requires them unprimed.
Ask the structural engineer to give the rooftop unit joists special designations with load diagrams, to indicate the end moments for the lateral joist girders and confirm whether seismic moments apply, to size the bearing plates at the masonry, and to choose the roof deflection bracket that matches the open-to-structure shop and the suspended ceilings in the office wing. Ask the specifier to align the SJI edition with the general notes and the adopted code, to restore the no-primer bracket for the boiler room joists, to remove the SJI MANUAL certification on new construction, and to confirm the AWS clause and IBC section cited.
Avoid a false conflict
Section 05 21 00 covers joists, joist girders, their accessories, priming, erection, certifications, and inspections as a project specification. What the SJI standards themselves require of designations, loads, uplift, bridging, and bearing is covered by the SJI steel joist page, structural steel framing follows Section 05 12 00 and the structural steel guide, steel deck follows Section 05 30 00 and the SDI page, finish painting follows Section 09 90 00 and the painting guide, fireproofing follows its own section and guide, and welding follows AWS D1.1 and its page, so check those before calling a requirement missing. Some of the section’s own wording needs resolving: the certification list asks for compliance with a reference history the designer note keeps for existing joists, the References article cites earlier SJI documents than SJI now posts, the welding inspection clause and the IBC section cited should be confirmed against the editions in use, and bearing plate mortar and grout are sent to the concrete section even where the plates sit on masonry. 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.