This study proposes an economically affordable method for retrofitting non-seismic detailed roof reinforced concrete beam-column joints (BCJs). The proposed method presents an innovative arrangement of steel plates designed to delay the propagation of joint shear cracks by externally applying compressive stress to the area surrounding the BCJs. Two full-scale sub-assemblage specimens for each exterior and interior roof BCJ, i.e., control and retrofitted specimens, were subjected to reversed cyclic loading to evaluate the proposed method. The retrofitted specimens displayed a preferable ductile behavior to the corresponding control specimen, with an enhancement in lateral strength by at least 100%. Furthermore, retrofitted specimens dissipated up to 13 times more energy than the control specimen by initiating a plastic hinge on beams or columns. These results indicated the effectiveness of the proposed method in preventing joint shear failure and improving the seismic behavior of roof BCJs.