Structural Steel and Metals
Documents and fabrication
Structural design drawings are prepared by the engineer of record; shop drawings are the fabricator's detail of members, connections, and erection. AISC 303, the Code of Standard Practice, governs tolerances, camber, marking, and erection practice. Anchor bolts and base plates are set from a survey-controlled template before concrete placement.
Connections
High-strength bolts are typically ASTM F3125 Grade A325 or A490, installed by turn-of-nut, calibrated wrench, or tension-control bolts with DTI washers, and inspected for pretension. Standard holes are 1/16 inch larger than the bolt diameter, with oversize and slotted holes governed by their own limits. Welding follows AWS D1.1 for structural steel; prequalified joints, electrodes matched to base metal (E70XX is common), preheat for heavy sections, and visual plus nondestructive testing per the contract documents.
Protection and coordination
Shop primer is applied at the fabricator, with field touch-up at welds and damage. Fire protection may be spray-applied fire-resistive material or intumescent coating, matched to the tested assembly. Shear studs make deck composite with the beams.
Traps
Believing shop drawing approval shifts design responsibility to the fabricator; mixing AWS D1.1 (steel) with D1.3 (sheet steel); skipping bolt pretension verification; and expecting members to be perfectly straight, when mill tolerances allow slight camber and sweep.
Rule of thumb: standard bolt hole equals bolt diameter plus 1/16 inch; anything larger is an oversize or slotted hole with its own rules.