South Carolina Limited Building Contractor Examination

Before excavating for a 3-story Limited Building project in South Carolina, how much advance notice must the excavator give SC 811, not counting the day the ticket is entered, weekends, or holidays?

• A1 full working day
• B2 full working days
• C5 full calendar days
• D3 full working days

On a Columbia jobsite, a locate crew paints a continuous yellow line across the proposed building pad. Under the APWA uniform color code used by SC 811, that mark identifies:

• Agas, oil, steam, petroleum, or other gaseous materials
• Belectric power lines, cables, and lighting
• Cpotable water
• Dcommunications, alarm, or signal lines

A 12-inch water main is marked on a Greenville site. Under South Carolina law, the tolerance zone on each side of the mark is:

• A18 inches, regardless of pipe diameter
• B24 inches only, with no addition for pipe size
• C36 inches plus the full pipe diameter
• D24 inches plus one-half the facility diameter, or 30 inches each side

After utilities are marked, a Limited Building excavator must work inside the South Carolina tolerance zone by:

• Ahand-digging or using nonintrusive means until the facility is visually exposed or confir…
• Busing a toothed bucket at idle speed until the line is felt
• Cprobing with a steel bar, then resuming machine excavation
• Drelying on the paint marks as the exact pipe centerline and digging 6 inches away

Under the 2021 IBC as adopted in South Carolina, the ground immediately adjacent to a building foundation shall slope away from the wall at not less than which rate for the first 10 feet, unless drains or swales are provided?

• A1 percent (about 1-1/4 inches in 10 feet)
• B2 percent (about 2-1/2 inches in 10 feet)
• C10 percent (12 inches in 10 feet)
• D5 percent (6 inches in 10 feet)

A Limited Building pad requires a 40 ft by 30 ft cut averaging 2.0 ft deep. The same site has a 40 ft by 20 ft fill averaging 1.5 ft. Ignoring swell and shrinkage, how many bank cubic yards must be exported?

• A45 cubic yards
• B22 cubic yards
• C89 cubic yards
• D133 cubic yards

On a 2-acre commercial site in Lexington County that will disturb more than 1 acre, a silt fence is installed primarily to:

• Atrap sediment in stormwater runoff before it leaves the site
• Bincrease the compacted density of structural fill
• Cmark the SC 811 tolerance zone around utilities
• Dreplace the need for a construction entrance and tracking pad

Structural fill under a 3-story Limited Building slab-on-grade is typically specified to be compacted to not less than which density?

• A85 percent of the standard Proctor maximum dry density
• B90 percent of the loose truck-bed unit weight
• C100 percent of the relative density of clean, dry sand
• D95 percent of the standard Proctor (ASTM D698) maximum dry density

A Limited Building crew will trench parallel to a marked 8-inch gas main for 200 feet. South Carolina requires visual exposure of that facility at intervals not exceeding:

• A50 feet
• B25 feet
• C100 feet
• D200 feet, once at each end of the run

Ready-mixed concrete is ordered and billed by the cubic yard. How many cubic feet are in 1 cubic yard?

• A9
• B12
• C36
• D27

A 30 ft by 40 ft warehouse slab is 4 inches thick. How many cubic yards of concrete are required, with no waste allowance?

• A14.8 cubic yards
• B11.1 cubic yards
• C18.5 cubic yards
• D44.4 cubic yards

A continuous footing is 16 inches wide, 8 inches thick, and 160 feet long. How many cubic yards of concrete are required, with no waste?

• A5.3 cubic yards
• B3.9 cubic yards
• C7.9 cubic yards
• D15.8 cubic yards

Per ACI 318, as referenced by the 2021 IBC, the minimum concrete cover for reinforcement in concrete that is cast against and permanently exposed to earth is:

• A3/4 inch
• B1-1/2 inches
• C2 inches
• D3 inches

An exterior 4-inch sidewalk and loading dock in the South Carolina Upstate will be exposed to moisture and freeze-thaw. The mix should be specified as:

• Aair-entrained concrete meeting ACI 318 durability requirements for freezing and thawing
• Bnon-air-entrained 2,500 psi concrete to maximize density
• Chigh-slump grout with no coarse aggregate
• DType O masonry mortar placed as a topping

A foundation wall is 80 ft long, 8 ft high, and 8 inches thick. Its continuous footing is 24 inches wide, 12 inches thick, and 80 ft long. With an 8 percent waste factor, how many cubic yards should be ordered?

• A15.8 cubic yards
• B21.7 cubic yards
• C29.4 cubic yards
• D23.5 cubic yards

Under the 2021 IBC, a concrete floor slab supported directly on the ground shall be at least 3-1/2 inches thick and, unless an exception applies, shall be placed over a polyethylene vapor retarder not less than:

• A6 mil, with joints lapped not less than 6 inches
• B4 mil, lapped 2 inches
• C10 mil, taped but not lapped
• D15 mil, placed on top of the slab after finishing

A 4-inch interior slab-on-grade will have saw-cut contraction joints. A common industry rule used in ACI quality-concrete guidance spaces those joints at about:

• A8 to 12 feet on center (about 24 to 36 times the slab thickness)
• B4 to 6 feet on center
• C20 to 24 feet on center
• Donly at construction joints around the perimeter

Acceptance of structural concrete strength on a Limited Building project is based primarily on compressive tests of cylinders at:

• A24 hours, so forms can always come off the next morning
• B3 days only, which is the specified design age
• C90 days, after all finishes are installed
• D28 days, the standard specified compressive-strength age unless the project specifies oth…

A 20 ft by 40 ft slab is reinforced with #4 bars at 12 inches on center each way, with bars running to the edges (include one extra bar each way). What is the total linear feet of #4 bar, ignoring laps and hooks?

• A600 linear feet
• B1,200 linear feet
• C2,400 linear feet
• D1,660 linear feet

ACI cold-weather concreting practice requires protection when the air temperature is at or expected to fall below:

• A20°F
• B32°F
• C40°F
• D55°F

The slump test (ASTM C143) performed on a truck at the jobsite is used primarily to measure:

• A28-day compressive strength
• Bair content
• Cconsistency and workability of the fresh concrete
• Dunit weight of hardened concrete

The specified (actual) size of a nominal 8 × 8 × 16 concrete masonry unit is:

• A7-5/8 × 7-5/8 × 15-5/8 inches
• B8 × 8 × 16 inches
• C7-1/4 × 7-1/4 × 15-1/4 inches
• D6 × 8 × 16 inches

Per ASTM C270, Type S masonry mortar has a minimum 28-day compressive strength of:

• A350 psi
• B750 psi
• C1,800 psi
• D2,500 psi

A below-grade 8-inch CMU foundation wall for a 3-story commercial building should be laid with which ASTM C270 mortar type unless the engineer specifies otherwise?

• AType O, because it is the most flexible
• BType N, the general-purpose above-grade mortar
• CType M or Type S, the high-strength mortars recommended for foundation and below-grade ma…
• DGypsum plaster used as a setting bed

How many nominal 8 × 8 × 16 CMU are required for a solid 48 ft long by 10 ft high wall with no openings and no waste?

• A360
• B450
• C540
• D720

Conventional masonry grout (ASTM C476) is mixed to a slump of:

• A1 to 2 inches, matching a stiff concrete
• B3 to 5 inches, matching a typical slab
• C8 to 11 inches, so it will flow and fill the cells
• D14 to 16 inches, essentially a neat cement soup

A 32 ft long by 8 ft high CMU wall has one full-height 4 ft by 8 ft door. Using modular 8 × 8 × 16 units and a 5 percent waste factor, how many units should be ordered?

• A265
• B252
• C288
• D302

In running bond, each CMU or brick is typically lapped:

• Aone-half of its length, so head joints land at mid-unit of the course below
• Bflush with the unit below (stack bond)
• Cone-quarter of its length only at corners
• Da full length, creating a continuous vertical joint

In anchored masonry veneer, weep holes immediately above through-wall flashing shall be spaced not more than:

• A16 inches on center
• B24 inches on center
• C33 inches on center
• D48 inches on center

Through-wall flashing in a brick-veneer Limited Building wall is required at the base of the wall and also:

• Aabove shelf angles, lintels, and other interruptions of the drainage cavity
• Bonly at the roof ridge
• Cbehind every interior gypsum partition
• Dunder the slab vapor retarder

An 8-inch CMU wall is 40 ft long and 8 ft high. Vertical cells are grouted at 16 inches on center. Each grouted cell contains 1.5 cubic feet of grout. How many cubic yards of grout are required, with no waste?

• A1.67 cubic yards
• B0.83 cubic yards
• C2.50 cubic yards
• D3.33 cubic yards

ASTM C270 Type N mortar has a minimum compressive strength of 750 psi and is generally appropriate for:

• Ainterior, above-grade, non-severe-exposure masonry such as partitions
• Bbelow-grade foundation walls of a 3-story building
• Chigh-wind coastal veneer that the engineer specified as Type M
• Dgrouting bond beams in place of ASTM C476 grout

The standard mortar-joint thickness used with modular CMU and brick is:

• A1/8 inch
• B1/4 inch
• C3/8 inch
• D3/4 inch

Open-web steel joists commonly used on short-span floors and roofs of 3-story Limited Building projects are the Steel Joist Institute:

• AK-series joists
• BW-shape wide-flange beams
• CHSS tube columns
• Dcold-formed C-joists only

Horizontal or diagonal bridging on open-web steel joists is installed primarily to:

• Aprovide lateral stability to the joist chords during erection and in service
• Bincrease the specified 28-day concrete strength of the slab
• Creplace the need to weld or bolt the joist seats to the supporting steel
• Dserve as the hanging system for mechanical equipment

Per OSHA 1926.757, after a steel joist is set in its final position and before additional joists are placed, the erector shall:

• Aattach at least one end on both sides of the seat to the supporting structure
• Bleave both ends loose so the joist can be shifted later
• Cweld the bottom chord to the column web only
• Dremove all bridging so deck can be placed

When welding horizontal bridging to K-series joists, SJI Technical Digest No. 9 instructs the erector to:

• Aweld bridging to the joist chords, not to the web members
• Bweld the bridging only to the joist web members
• Ctack-weld bridging to the metal deck instead of the joist
• Dskip welding if the bridging wires are twisted tight by hand

Open-web joists are spaced 5 ft on center and support a 40 psf live load plus 15 psf dead load on a 30 ft span. What uniform load, in pounds per linear foot, does each joist carry?

• A55 plf
• B165 plf
• C275 plf
• D825 plf

Shop-installed camber in an open-web steel joist should be:

• Aforced out with come-alongs so the top chord sits dead flat before decking
• Bignored because K-series joists are camber-free by specification
• Ccut out of the bottom chord at midspan
• Dleft in place; the joist is fabricated with camber to offset dead-load deflection

Steel roof or floor deck on a Limited Building joist system is designed to:

• Aspan between joists and act as a diaphragm once properly fastened
• Breplace all joist bridging
• Cbe set with zero sidelap fasteners in a high-wind coastal county
• Dbe welded only to masonry veneer ties

For steel joists more than 60 feet long, OSHA 1926.757 requires that before hoisting cables are released:

• Aonly one end needs any connection
• Ba concrete slab must already be placed
• Cthe metal deck must already be fully welded
• Dboth ends shall be attached as specified and the erection-bridging provisions met

An SJI designation 18K4 identifies a K-series joist that is:

• A18 feet long with a 4-inch chord
• Ban LH-series joist 18 feet deep
• C18 ksi steel with 4 webs per panel
• D18 inches deep, K-series, chord section 4

Where SJI tables require bolted diagonal erection bridging, that bridging shall be installed:

• Aafter the concrete slab has cured 7 days
• Bafter all roofing is complete
• Conly on every fourth joist
• Dbefore the hoisting cables are released from the joists that require it

K-series joist seats are typically connected to supporting steel by:

• Afriction only, with no weld or bolt
• Bconstruction adhesive
• Cpowder-actuated pins into masonry veneer
• Da fillet weld on each side of the seat, or the specified bolted connection

Load-bearing cold-formed steel studs on a 3-story Limited Building are distinguished from nonstructural drywall studs primarily by:

• Apaint color chosen by the architect
• Bsubstitution of wood 2x4s without a revised drawing
• Cbeing always 25 gage regardless of load
• Dthicker steel (lower gage number), structural designation, and an engineered layout