What's Required to be in a Shop Drawing?

Shop drawings (or installation drawings, fabrication drawings, or working plans) are a cornerstone of the fire protection industry. Prepared by or under the installation contractor, this design package contains the most important details concerning the design of fire sprinkler systems.

Enforceable Minimums
NFPA 13 has specific requirements to what is required for a shop drawing submittal. It is enforceable by the Authority Having Jurisdiction anywhere that NFPA 13 is used as the reference standard.

Below is a basic checklist for items that are required to be indicated in a shop drawing package, with references to whichever edition of NFPA 13 is being used. ​

There's many items required to be included in a set of shop drawings beyond just the basic design parameters.

Don't Be A Jerk
Unfortunately I have seen these references abused - an engineer rejecting submittals for not including a graphic scale, for instance, which does nothing to improve the technical content of the submittal but does adequately upset every person involved in a project.

It is a rare submittal that achieves and includes every single aspect of the checklist (how often do you see a full-building section, for instance?). However, if you're a review party, review engineer, or shop drawing designer/engineer, this re-organized checklist with references may help clarify expectations for the design package.

Shop Drawing Checklist
When using this tool, select the edition of NFPA 13 used in the red box on the right-hand side. The references and checkboxes will autopopulate based upon your selection.

Don't see the tool below? Click here to see it.
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