A floor plan is drawn at a scale of 1/4 inch = 1 foot. A bedroom wall measures 3-1/2 inches long on the drawing. What is the actual wall length?
Plan Reading
Question · Easy
Six feet: a hard-hat anthem
Short
A site plan is drawn at 1 inch = 20 feet. The distance from the front property line to the face of the foundation measures 1-3/4 inches on the plan. What is the actual front setback?
Question · Medium
On a drawing at 3/16 inch = 1 foot, a garage measures 4-1/2 inches wide. What is the actual garage width?
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Which drawing typically shows door swings, interior wall locations, room names, and overall building dimensions used to lay out a residential floor?
On a residential plot plan, contour lines are labeled 812, 814, and 816 and become closer together on the rear of the lot. What does the closer spacing indicate?
OSHA fall heights, to scale
A window schedule lists four Type A units at 3 feet 0 inches by 5 feet 0 inches each and two Type B units at 2 feet 0 inches by 3 feet 0 inches each. What is the total glazed unit area before subtracting sash?
A garage slab measures 2-1/4 inches by 3 inches on a 1/4 inch = 1 foot floor plan and is specified 4 inches thick. How many cubic yards of concrete are required for the slab, with no waste?
Question · Hard
A lumber list calls for twenty 2×8s that are each 12 feet long. How many board feet are in that list using nominal dimensions?
A straight exterior wall is 40 feet long. Studs are specified 16 inches on center, and both end studs are counted. Ignoring openings, how many studs are required on that wall line?
A rectangular house is 28 feet by 40 feet. The roof is a simple gable at 6:12 pitch with a 12-inch overhang on all four sides. What is the approximate roof surface area, excluding rakes beyond the fascia plane already included in the overhang?
A dimension string on a floor plan reads 12'-0", 3'-4", and 8'-8" between the same two outside faces. What is the overall outside-to-outside dimension?
A cutting-plane line on a floor plan with arrows pointing toward the right and a section label A/5 most nearly means which of the following?
A room-finish schedule lists the kitchen floor as "VCT over 1/4-inch underlayment" and the walls as "painted 1/2-inch gypsum." Which sheet should the estimator use first to quantify those finishes?
A plot plan shows a 50-foot-wide lot, a 10-foot left-side setback, an 8-foot right-side setback, and a house 28 feet wide. How much leftover side-yard width remains if the house is placed at the minimum left setback?
A stair section gives a finished-floor-to-finished-floor height of 8 feet 1 inch. Using the 2018 IRC maximum riser of 7-3/4 inches, what is the minimum number of risers required, and what is the resulting riser height?
Per 2018 IRC Section R401.3, the finished grade around a dwelling shall fall at least which amount in the first 10 feet, unless a listed exception applies?
Sitework
Batter boards are used to square a rectangular foundation with the 3-4-5 method. One leg along a building line is 15 feet and the perpendicular leg is 20 feet. What must the diagonal measure for a true 90-degree corner?
A building pad 32 feet by 48 feet must be excavated 8 inches deep. How many cubic yards of cut are removed, with no swell or waste?
Existing grade at a pad is 642.4 feet. Proposed subgrade is 641.1 feet. What is the required cut?
Except for listed exceptions, 2018 IRC Section R403.1.4 requires exterior footings to be placed not less than which depth below the undisturbed ground surface, and also to the frost depth where frost protection is required?
Lot lines prevent a 6-inch fall in the first 10 feet from a foundation. Per 2018 IRC R401.3, which combination satisfies the exception?
Before placing a residential slab-on-grade, 2018 IRC R506.2 requires which site-preparation step inside the foundation walls?
Residential sitework references commonly specify structural fill under footings and slabs to be placed in thin lifts and compacted to about which density standard?
A shallow swale is graded along a property line to carry surface water away from a new house. What is the primary purpose of that swale?
A rectangular foundation is 36 feet by 48 feet. If the corners are square, what should each diagonal measure?
Per 2018 IRC Section R506.1, what is the minimum thickness of a concrete slab-on-ground floor, except where expansive-soil provisions require a different design?
Concrete
A residential driveway is 12 feet wide, 40 feet long, and 4 inches thick. How many cubic yards of concrete are required, with no waste?
In Severe weathering regions, 2018 IRC Table R402.2 requires porches, carport slabs, steps exposed to weather, and garage floor slabs to have which minimum specified compressive strength?
Under the 2018 IRC (not later editions), what vapor retarder is required between a concrete floor slab and the base course, except where R506.2.3 lists an exception?
Per 2018 IRC R506.2.2, a slab-on-ground generally requires which base course, unless the exception for well-drained sand-gravel soils applies?
Per 2018 IRC R403.1.6, wood sill plates on exterior walls shall be anchored with bolts that meet which minimums?
Per 2018 IRC R403.1.1, the minimum thickness of a spread footing is generally which of the following?
Cast-in-place concrete that is cast against and permanently exposed to earth generally requires which minimum concrete cover over reinforcement, consistent with 2018 IRC concrete provisions and ACI practice referenced by the IRC?
Air-entrained concrete is specified for a Severe-weathering garage slab primarily to do which of the following?
As a standard residential estimating rule used in concrete and sitework references, contraction (control) joints in a 4-inch slab are commonly spaced at about which interval?
A rectangular house is 40 feet by 28 feet. The continuous exterior footing is 16 inches wide and 8 inches thick. Ignoring interior footings, how many cubic yards of concrete are in that exterior footing, with no waste?
During cold-weather concreting, residential references and ACI practice used with the IRC generally require protection of newly placed concrete when the air temperature is at or below about which value?
2018 IRC footing figures commonly show continuous residential wall footings with which minimum longitudinal reinforcement unless a specific table or engineered design says otherwise?
A 20-foot by 24-foot garage slab is 4 inches thick and has a thickened edge 12 inches wide that extends an additional 8 inches below the slab soffit, all the way around. What is the total concrete volume, with no waste?
After a residential slab is placed, which curing practice best matches ordinary concrete and sitework guidance?
Which ASTM C270 mortar type is the general-purpose mortar most often specified for above-grade, non-reinforced residential masonry?
Masonry
A concrete-masonry foundation wall will retain earth and is at or below grade. Which mortar types are the appropriate choices among the ASTM C270 types used in residential masonry?
What are the actual face dimensions of a standard nominal 8×8×16 concrete masonry unit (not including the mortar joint)?
Using modular brick with 3/8-inch joints, how many regular brick courses plus their joints equal 8 inches of wall height?
Estimate modular face brick for a veneer 40 feet long and 8 feet high. Use 6.75 bricks per square foot and add 5 percent waste. Openings will be deducted later. How many bricks should be ordered?
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