Exam Cheat Sheet · Quick Reference

Arkansas Residential Builder Exam

Arkansas · PSI Services Contractor

Verified, not estimated. Every figure below is drawn from the official exam structure we maintain — question counts, passing standard and topic weighting. Practice questions are grounded in the source law with statute citations. We omit any figure we can't verify rather than guess at it.

Total questions

Passing score

70%

Exam time

75 min

Administered by

PSI Services Contractor

Format

Reference materials allowed

Arkansas State Portion 30 questions

General Carpentry 3 Q · 10%

Concrete and Reinforcement 5 Q · 17%

Estimating and Plan Reading 2 Q · 7%

Masonry 6 Q · 20%

Roofing 6 Q · 20%

Site Work, Footings and Foundations 5 Q · 17%

OSHA Safety 3 Q · 10%

Key Distinctions

Thickened slab under an interior bearing wallvsStandard footing

The thickened slab area acts like a footing but is formed by a trench dug into the subgrade (strengthened with rebar) rather than by formwork.

Carpentry and Building Construction, Section 11.1, Page 295

HDRvsHDW

On architectural drawings HDR abbreviates Header, while HDW is a separate abbreviation meaning Hardware.

Carpentry and Building Construction, Ready Reference Appendix, Page 1024

Hip rafter framed against the ridge board (single side cut)vsHip rafter framed against the common rafters (double side cut)

The single-side-cut condition uses a shortening allowance of one-half the 45° thickness of the ridge board, while the double-side-cut condition uses one-half the 45° thickness of a common rafter.

Carpentry and Building Construction, Chapter 18, Page 509

Hip and valley raftersvsCommon rafters

Hip and valley rafters should be 2 inches wider in nominal dimension than the common rafters (e.g., 2×8 hips with 2×6 commons) to give full bearing to intersecting jack rafters.

Carpentry and Building Construction, Chapter 18, Page 504

Grade SW building brickvsGrade MW / Grade NW building brick

Grade SW (Severe Weathering) is highly frost-resistant for brick exposed to freezing weather such as foundation courses and retaining walls; Grade MW is for moderate exposure and Grade NW is for interior backup masonry.

Modern Masonry (9th ed.), Page 116

Common (American) bondvsFlemish, English, and stack bonds

Common bond is a running-bond variation with full-length header courses generally every fifth to seventh course; Flemish alternates headers and stretchers within every course, English alternates full header and stretcher courses, and stack bond is purely a pattern bond with no overlapping.

Modern Masonry (9th ed.), Pages 129-130

Class A firevsClass B fire

Class A fires involve wood, paper, cloth, and plastic, while Class B fires involve grease, oil, and chemicals (Class C is electrical equipment and Class D is combustible metals).

Carpentry and Building Construction, Construction Safety & Health, Page 81

First number on a performance-rated panel stamp (e.g., the 32 in 32/16)vsSecond number on the stamp (the 16)

The number in front of the slash is the maximum support spacing in inches for roof sheathing use; the number after the slash is the maximum spacing for subflooring use.

Carpentry and Building Construction, Section 19.5, Pages 562-563

Five-bag concrete mixvsSix-bag concrete mix

Five bags of cement per cubic yard is the minimum generally acceptable for most work, while six-bag mix is commonly specified where high strength is needed or where steel reinforcement is used.

Carpentry and Building Construction, Section 8.2, Page 226

Unit of measure for walls in a unit-cost estimatevsUnit of measure for floors and roofs

Interior partition walls are typically measured in lineal feet (LF), while floors and roofs are measured in square feet (SF).

Carpentry and Building Construction, Section 2.4, Pages 61-62

TheodolitevsBuilder's level (dumpy level)

A theodolite is a transit that reads horizontal and vertical angles electronically on an LCD screen for extremely accurate work, while the builder's level is the least expensive instrument, typically accurate to ±1/4" at 75'.

Carpentry and Building Construction, Chapter 9 — Types of Instruments

Room-finish schedulevsWindow and door schedule

A room-finish schedule lists materials and finishes for floors, walls, and ceilings in each room, while window and door schedules are charts giving rough-opening sizes used during wall layout.

Carpentry and Building Construction, Section 2.3, Page 57

Key Terms

Competent person (OSHA) OSHA 1926 CFR 29, §1926.32(f), Page 31

One who is capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in the surroundings or working conditions that are unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous to employees, and who has authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them.

Emergency action plan (10 or fewer employees) OSHA 1926 CFR 29, §1926.35(e)(3)

For employers with 10 or fewer employees the plan may be communicated orally to employees and the employer need not maintain a written plan.

Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) Carpentry and Building Construction, Construction Safety & Health, Book Page 92

A manufacturer-supplied document that explains product hazards, including physical data such as melting or flash point, toxicity levels, first-aid recommendations, storage and disposal, protective equipment, and spill or leak response; every worker must have access to it on the job site.

Job hazard analysis (JHA) walk-through Modern Masonry (9th ed.), Chapter 4 — Job Hazard Analysis section

A safety review that, because the jobsite constantly changes and job sizes differ, may be performed multiple times during the day—usually one in the morning and another directly after lunch.

Span table Carpentry and Building Construction, Section 13.2, Page 355

A list of distances that a particular structural product can span between structural supports such as walls or columns, provided with recommended installation details by each manufacturer for products like I-joists.

Schedules (building plans) Carpentry and Building Construction, Section 16.2, Page 440

Charts included in building plans that provide rough-opening sizes for windows and doors and organize information such as window types and door sizes for layout and estimating.

DFL IRC Table R502.3.1(2)

The lumber species-group abbreviation for Douglas fir-larch, listed as a standard species group in IRC floor-joist span tables.

Keyway Carpentry and Building Construction, Section 10.1, Page 258

A groove formed in the top of the footing that locks the foundation wall to the footing and prevents moisture from seeping between them, usually 3½" wide and 1½" deep because a 2×4 is often used to form it.

Consolidation Carpentry and Building Construction, Section 8.2, Page 227

The process that removes air pockets and forces concrete into all parts of the forms, accomplished with a concrete vibrator, by tamping, spearing with a spade, or tapping forms with a hammer.

Plyform Modern Masonry (9th ed.), Chapter 19, Page 402

An exterior-type plywood specially designed for concrete forming, made from special wood species and veneer grades and available in Class I and Class II grades.

Jointer (jointing tool) Carpentry and Building Construction, Chapter 24, Page 688

A simple metal bar with a shaped end run over mortar joints to pack the mortar into them and give the joints a particular shape.

Collar tie Carpentry and Building Construction, Section 17.1, Page 468

A horizontal tie connecting opposite pairs of rafters to help stiffen the roof.

Skirtboard Carpentry and Building Construction, Page 723

A finish trim piece running along the wall on the closed side of a stairway that decoratively and protectively covers the joint where tread and riser ends meet the wall.

Closed cornice Carpentry and Building Construction, Section 19.4, Page 552

A cornice on a house with no rafter overhang, seldom used on newer houses because of the difficulty of providing attic ventilation.

Porosity Carpentry and Building Construction, Chapter 9 — The Excavation

The measurement of the ability of water to flow through soil; poorly draining soil may have to be excavated and replaced with better soil.

Differential leveling Carpentry and Building Construction, Chapter 9 — Measuring a Difference in Elevation

The process of determining differences in elevation between points remote from each other, requiring one or more additional intermediate instrument setups.

Formulas to Know

Excavation volume at a 7-foot depth (worked example)

Excavation length = building length + the specified clearance on each side; width = building width + the same clearance each side; volume = area × 0.259 cu yd per sq ft (factor for a 7-ft depth). Example with 2' clearance: (40+2+2)=44' × (26+2+2)=30' = 1,320 sq ft; 1,320 × 0.259 = 341.88 ≈ 342 cu yd.

Board feet per piece of lumber

Board feet = (nominal thickness × nominal width × length in feet) ÷ 12, where one board foot = 1" × 12" × 12". Example: (2 × 10 × 22) ÷ 12 = 36.67 bf per piece; 24 pieces × 36.67 = 880 board feet.

Board feet from the Board-Foot Measures table (worked example)One 2×6 board 12 feet long = 12 board feet; 50 boards × 12 bf = 600 board feet.

Rough material cost estimate — first step

Step 1: floor area = length × width for each level (example: 20' × 40' = 800 sq ft); then apply the board-feet-per-100-sq-ft factor from Table 15-4 and the cost per board foot.

Board feet for gable-roof rafters, ridge board, and collar ties (2×6 @ 16" OC)

(Roof surface area ÷ 100) × 102 bf per 100 sq ft. Example: 2,100 ÷ 100 = 21; 21 × 102 = 2,142 board feet (includes common rafters, hip and valley rafters, ridge boards, and collar ties).

Roof sheathing panel count with waste

Panels = roof area ÷ 32 sq ft per panel, then add 5 percent for trim and waste. Example: 72.19 × 0.05 = 3.6; 72.19 + 3.6 = 75.79, rounded up to 76 sheets.

Checking a square corner (3-4-5 rule)

Measure 3 feet along one layout line and 4 feet along the other; the diagonal must read exactly 5 feet for a 90° corner — if not (e.g., 5'-1"), adjust one layout line until it measures 5 feet.

Unit run of a hip rafter

Hypotenuse of a right triangle with both short sides = 12" (the common rafter unit run): √(144 + 144) = 16.97 inches, often rounded up to 17 inches.

Cripple wall bracing length (IRC 2015 R602.10.11)

When cripple walls use the same method and tabulated length required for the wall above, multiply the required bracing length by 1.15; any adjustment for omitting gypsum wall board on the inside face is taken in addition to this 1.15 increase.

Rafter span adjustment for raised ceiling joists/rafter ties (IRC Table R802.4.1(9))

When Hc/Hr (height of ceiling joists or rafter ties to height of roof ridge, both measured vertically above the top of the rafter support walls) = 1/3, multiply the tabulated rafter span by 0.67.

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