Rebar Detailer Duties and Rebar Detail Placement Drawings

In the rapidly growing steel construction industry, it is essential that any building contractor or structural engineer know the basic function of rebar laying plans, the duties of rebar detailers, the method for producing placement drawings and the responsibility of the steel fabricator.

The ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) Handbook on Steel Construction Guidelines has clearly explained the difference between the two types of rebar detail drawings: placement drawings for concrete reinforcing steel and shop drawings for structural members. Although many engineers/fabricators still think that structural steel shop drawings and reinforcing steel drawings are identical in nature, purpose and scope, which is not true in many practical ways!

A rebar retailer is generally a subcontractor to the steel fabricator. The detailer scans design data shown on design drawings and project specifications to detail or record all the reinforcing steel elements needed for a specific section of the structure. These particular rebar pieces are recorded or shown on a blueprint on a detailed location plan.

Generally, for rebar, the ACI (American Concrete Institute) Building Code requires design drawings to show the location and size of all structural components and reinforcement, splice location and type welded, the length of the anchorage and the mechanical connections of the reinforcement.

Design information will typically be specific regarding structural dimensions, number of reinforcing bars, and bar sizes. This typical data is not specific enough to allow you to cut, fabricate, ship, and install rebar directly from design drawings. Hence the requirement that detail/location drawings be provided. The detailer must have good math and visual skills with additional knowledge of CAD design or drafting systems to provide accurate drawings for profitable manufacturing.