West Virginia Excavation Contractor Examination

Under the West Virginia Contractor Licensing Board excavation classification, which work is included in the license scope?

• AInstalling structural steel frames and precast concrete buildings
• BInstalling, altering, or repairing earthen material by digging, trenching, grading, or co…
• CInstalling interior plumbing, fixtures, and water heaters
• DInstalling electrical service equipment and branch circuits

West Virginia excavation contractors may install crib walls, gabion walls, and similar earth-retaining devices only up to what maximum height?

• A4 feet
• B6 feet
• C8 feet
• D10 feet

According to IBC 2018 Section 1804.1, what must be done before an excavation reduces vertical or lateral support for an adjacent foundation?

• ANotify the owner after the adjacent wall begins to crack
• BUnderpin or otherwise protect the foundation against detrimental movement first
• CIncrease the excavation depth to below the adjacent footing
• DPlace the spoil pile against the adjacent foundation for extra weight

Which pair of official references is listed for the West Virginia Excavation Contractor examination?

• AIRC 2021 and ACI 318-19
• BNEC 2023 and IPC 2018
• CIBC 2018 and Study Guide for Excavation Contractors, 3rd edition (2024)
• DAASHTO Green Book 2018 and MUTCD 2009

In earthwork estimating, what do bank, loose, and compacted volumes describe?

• AThree unrelated soil types that cannot be converted
• BThe same soil measured in place before excavation, after excavation or loading, and after…
• COnly truck-box capacities published by manufacturers
• DOnly laboratory Proctor mold volumes

What is a gabion wall?

• AA cast-in-place concrete cantilever retaining wall with a heel and toe
• BA wire-mesh basket filled with stone used to retain or control earthen material
• CA steel sheet-pile wall driven to refusal
• DA masonry brick garden wall laid in running bond

What is a crib wall used for in excavation work?

• AA temporary timber or concrete-member cell filled with soil or rock to retain earth
• BA roof truss used to span an excavation
• CA drainage pipe laid on the trench bottom
• DA survey monument set at a property corner

What is the angle of repose of a soil?

• AThe steepest angle at which a piled or sloped soil remains stable without sliding
• BThe angle between magnetic north and true north
• CThe maximum slope allowed only for Type A soil by OSHA Table B-1
• DThe angle of a motor-grader moldboard during finish grading

Which soil condition most increases the chance of a cave-in after a trench has been opened?

• ADry, unfissured clay classified as Type A and inspected daily
• BFree seepage, vibration, or previously disturbed soil that weakens the excavation face
• CStable rock that can stand vertically while exposed
• DA trench less than 5 feet deep that a competent person has examined and found stable

What is the primary purpose of a silt fence or similar perimeter control on an excavation site?

• ATo increase the compacted dry density of structural fill
• BTo intercept sediment-laden runoff and keep eroded soil on the site
• CTo replace the need for a construction entrance
• DTo serve as the only required trench protective system

What is the primary purpose of a topographic survey on an excavation project?

• ATo establish legal property ownership in the courthouse
• BTo document existing elevations, contours, and surface features for design and earthwork
• CTo replace the need for underground utility locates
• DTo measure the unconfined compressive strength of Type A soil

On a grading plan with a 2-foot contour interval, what do closely spaced contour lines indicate?

• AA flat area with little slope
• BA steep slope
• CA buried utility that has been abandoned
• DThe location of a temporary benchmark only

What is a benchmark used for on an excavation site?

• AA permanent or temporary point of known elevation used to control grades
• BA painted mark showing the proposed excavation outline for 811
• CA soil sample taken for a Proctor test
• DA timber used to shore a trench

On a plan, station 12+50 is how many feet from station 10+00 along the alignment?

• A12.50 feet
• B150 feet
• C250 feet
• D1,250 feet

What are blue-top stakes used for during grading?

• ATo mark underground electric lines
• BTo mark finish subgrade or finish grade so the operator can cut or fill to the stake top
• CTo mark the 811 proposed-excavation outline
• DTo mark trees that must be saved

A drainage swale drops 3.0 feet over a horizontal run of 60 feet. What is the slope expressed as a percent?

• A2 percent
• B5 percent
• C8 percent
• D20 percent

Which instrument is most commonly used to transfer a benchmark elevation and set grade stakes across a compact site?

• AA pocket penetrometer
• BAn automatic (builder's) level or laser level
• CA nuclear density gauge
• DA wellpoint header vacuum gauge

Offset stakes are set beside an alignment rather than on the centerline primarily so that:

• AThe excavation or grading equipment can work the centerline without destroying the control
• BThe contractor can avoid calling 811
• CContour intervals can be changed in the field
• DOSHA Type C soil can be reclassified as Type A

A hub-and-tack or nail-and-shiner set at a control point is used mainly to:

• AMark a soil-classification test hole
• BProvide a precise, recoverable horizontal point for layout
• CMeasure swell factor in the laboratory
• DAnchor a silt fence

Existing ground at a stake is elevation 102.40 feet. Finish subgrade is 101.15 feet. What cut should be marked on the stake?

• AFill 1.25 feet
• BCut 1.25 feet
• CCut 2.15 feet
• DFill 0.25 feet

According to OSHA 29 CFR 1926.650, a trench is a narrow excavation whose bottom width is not greater than:

• A4 feet
• B8 feet
• C15 feet
• D20 feet

A rectangular trench is 150 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 8 feet deep. What is the bank volume in cubic yards?

• A178 cubic yards
• B148 cubic yards
• C200 cubic yards
• D4,800 cubic yards

A job requires excavation of 1,000 bank cubic yards (BCY) of soil with a 20 percent swell factor. How many loose cubic yards (LCY) must be hauled?

• A800 LCY
• B1,000 LCY
• C1,200 LCY
• D1,250 LCY

OSHA Type A soil is cohesive soil with an unconfined compressive strength of at least:

• A0.5 ton per square foot (tsf)
• B1.0 tsf
• C1.5 tsf
• D3.0 tsf

Which condition requires soil to be classified as OSHA Type C?

• AUnfissured clay with 2.0 tsf unconfined compressive strength and no vibration
• BGranular sand, gravel, or soil from which water is freely seeping
• CStable rock that remains intact with vertical sides
• DAngular gravel that is dry and not submerged

A competent person finds that a clay has 1.8 tsf strength but the trench is in previously disturbed backfill next to a busy haul road. How must the soil be classified?

• AType A, because strength exceeds 1.5 tsf
• BNot Type A; previously disturbed soil and vibration exclude Type A, so it is Type B or C…
• CStable rock
• DType A if the trench will be open less than 24 hours

When excavating near a marked underground utility, OSHA 1926.651(b) requires the employer to:

• AAssume the paint mark is the exact center and excavate at full production speed
• BDetermine the exact location by safe and acceptable means as the excavation approaches th…
• CIgnore private service laterals because 811 never marks them
• DRemove the utility if it is in the way of the trench

Unsuitable organic or soft material is found at proposed subgrade. What is the correct excavation response before placing structural fill?

• APlace structural fill directly on the organics and increase roller passes
• BOverexcavate the unsuitable material to competent soil or as specified, then backfill wit…
• CFlood the area to consolidate the organics
• DCover the organics with a polyethylene vapor barrier only

OSHA Appendix A requires a competent person to classify soil using:

• AA visual test only
• BA manual test only
• CAt least one visual analysis and at least one manual analysis
• DA laboratory Unified Soil Classification test only

A 12-foot-deep trench in Type C soil is sloped at the OSHA maximum of 1½ horizontal to 1 vertical on both sides. The bottom width is 3 feet. What is the required top width?

• A15 feet
• B21 feet
• C33 feet
• D39 feet

What is the difference between clearing and grubbing?

• AClearing removes above-ground vegetation; grubbing removes stumps, roots, and buried vege…
• BClearing is compaction; grubbing is finish grading
• CClearing is dewatering; grubbing is trenching
• DThe two terms are identical and always mean stripping topsoil only

Why must stumps and major roots be grubbed from areas that will receive structural fill or pavement?

• AThey increase the Proctor maximum dry density
• BThey decay, leave voids, and cause settlement in the completed fill
• CThey are required as reinforcement in compacted clay
• DOSHA requires stumps to remain as trench shoring

Stripped topsoil and other organic soils are generally:

• AThe preferred borrow for structural embankments under footings
• BUnsuitable as structural fill and should be stockpiled for later landscape respread if sp…
• CRequired in the bottom 12 inches of every trench backfill
• DEquivalent to crushed aggregate base

When a plan requires trees to be saved, equipment and spoil should generally stay outside the:

• ADrip line or specified tree-protection zone so roots are not compacted or torn
• BProperty line only, even if roots extend into the work area
• COSHA Type C slope, which automatically protects trees
• DNearest 811 white mark

After clearing, what is the preferred way to handle brush and grubbed debris on a typical building or grading site?

• ABury it in the structural fill to increase volume
• BChip, haul off, or otherwise dispose of it as specified; do not leave organics in the fil…
• CMix it uniformly into the top 2 feet of embankment
• DUse it as the only erosion-control mulch on steep cut faces that will receive fill

Why should erosion and sediment controls be installed as clearing proceeds rather than after the whole site is stripped?

• ABecause silt fences compact the subgrade
• BBecause bare soil begins to erode as soon as vegetation is removed, especially before sto…
• CBecause OSHA requires silt fence as trench shoring
• DBecause contour interval changes after clearing

Stripping is the removal of:

• AOnly rock ledges that require blasting
• BTopsoil and other unsuitable surface material before cut-and-fill earthwork
• CGroundwater with wellpoints
• DShoring after the pipe is laid

When salvaged topsoil is respread, it should be placed:

• AIn thin lifts under footings as structural fill
• BOn finished landscape or slope areas after structural grading and compaction are complete
• CIn the pipe zone around rigid sewer pipe
• DAgainst basement walls instead of free-draining backfill

Construction debris, stumps, and frozen clumps encountered during fill placement should be:

• ALeft in the fill if they occupy less than half the lift thickness
• BRemoved from the fill prism; they prevent uniform compaction and cause voids
• CUsed as drainage rock behind gabions over 6 feet high
• DBurned in place inside the embankment

Limits of clearing on the plans should be used to:

• AClear the entire parcel regardless of the work area
• BRestrict vegetation removal to the approved work, access, and stockpile areas
• CDetermine OSHA soil type
• DSet the compaction percentage for Type C soil

A wellpoint dewatering system is most effective in which condition?

• AMassive unfissured clay with almost no permeability
• BPermeable sands and sandy gravels where the water table must be lowered around an excavat…
• CSolid stable rock that does not transmit water
• DA trench that is already flooded and occupied by workers without a competent person

Sump pumping is typically used to:

• ACollect seepage that enters an excavation and discharge it after sediment control
• BRaise the water table before excavation begins
• CReplace sloping, shoring, or shielding in Type C soil
• DCompact cohesive fill by saturation

OSHA 1926.651(h)(1) states that employees shall not work in excavations where water is accumulating unless:

• AThe water is deeper than 2 feet, in which case work may continue without controls
• BAdequate precautions have been taken, such as special support or shield systems, water re…
• CThe soil was Type A when the trench was first opened
• DThe trench is less than 20 feet deep

If water-removal equipment is used to control accumulation in an excavation, OSHA requires that the equipment and operations be monitored by:

• AAny laborer on the crew
• BA competent person
• CThe project owner only
• DThe 811 locate technician

When excavation work interrupts natural surface drainage, OSHA 1926.651(h)(3) requires:

• ANo action if the trench will be open less than a week
• BDiversion ditches, dikes, or other suitable means to keep surface water out of the excava…
• CFilling the excavation with water to equalize pressure
• DPlacing the spoil pile at the edge to act as a dam only, with no other drainage control

After a rainstorm, when must an excavation be inspected before workers re-enter?

• AOnly if the trench is deeper than 20 feet
• BA competent person must inspect after every rainstorm or other hazard-increasing occurren…
• CNever; the morning inspection covers the entire week
• DOnly if someone reports a cave-in