Tennessee BC-B, C Combined Commercial/Industrial Contractor

TN BC-B, C Combined Commercial/Industrial Contractor — 15 questions (15%)

Key Concepts

Scales and drawing basics - Dimensions are shown in engineering scale (feet and tenths of a foot) or architectural scale (feet, inches, and fractions of an inch). Plans used in excavation and grading work are likely to use engineering scale (Module 22209, Section 1.0.0, Page 98). - Most utility site plans use two scales — one horizontal, one vertical. Usually the horizontal scale is ten times the vertical; in the text's example, 1" = 40' horizontal and 1" = 10' vertical gives a 4:1 ratio (Pipe & Excavation Contracting, Page 109). - Station numbers show horizontal distance in multiples of 100 feet: left of the plus =…

Key Concepts

Administration. A permit application is deemed abandoned 180 days after the date of filing, unless pursued in good faith or a permit has been issued (IBC 105.3.2).

Occupancy classification. A building or tenant space used for assembly purposes with an occupant load of less than 50 persons is classified as Group B (IBC 303.1.1).

Types of construction. Type III is construction in which the exterior walls are of noncombustible materials and the interior building elements are of any material permitted by the code (IBC 602.3). In Types I and II, wood nailers for parapet flashing and roof cants are permitted combustible materials (IBC 603.1, Item 27).

Key Concepts

Excavation safety and soil classification (OSHA Subpart P) - Type A = cohesive soil with unconfined compressive strength 1.5 tsf or greater; Type B = greater than 0.5 tsf but less than 1.5 tsf; Type C = 0.5 tsf or less. Soil is not Type A if it is fissured, subject to vibration, or previously disturbed (29 CFR 1926, Subpart P, Appendix A, para. (b)). - Ventilation or other adequate precautions are required so employees are not exposed to a flammable gas concentration in excess of 20 percent of the lower flammable limit (§1926.651(g)(1)(iii)). Atmospheric testing is required before entry into excavations greater than 4 feet deep where oxygen deficiency (below 19.5 percent) or other hazardous atmospheres…

Source: 2021 International Building Code, Chapters 16 and 18

Key Concepts

Lateral soil loads (Section 1610.1) - Foundation walls and retaining walls shall be designed to resist lateral soil loads from adjacent soil; Table 1610.1 values are the minimum design lateral soil loads unless determined otherwise by a geotechnical investigation per Section 1803. - Foundation walls and other walls in which horizontal movement is restricted at the top shall be designed for at-rest pressure. - Retaining walls free to move and rotate at the top are permitted to be designed for active pressure. - Exception: foundation walls extending not more than 8 feet below grade and laterally supported at the top by flexible diaphragms are permitted to be designed…

Tennessee BC-B, C Combined Commercial/Industrial Contractor — 16 questions (16%)

Key Concepts

IBC code minimums (plain and structural concrete) - Concrete floor slabs supported directly on the ground: thickness not less than 3½ inches (89 mm) — 2021 IBC §1907.1. A 6-mil polyethylene vapor retarder with joints lapped not less than 6 inches shall be placed between base course/subgrade and slab, or approved equivalent (§1907.1). - Plain concrete footings: for Group R-3 occupancies and buildings of other occupancies less than two stories above grade plane of light-frame construction, the required footing thickness of ACI 318 is permitted to be reduced to 6 inches (152 mm), provided the footing does not extend more than 4 inches (102 mm) on either…

Key Concepts

Materials and standards - Building brick grades: Grade SW is highly resistant to frost action, for brick exposed to freezing weather such as foundation courses or retaining walls; MW for exposure below freezing where the brick is not likely to be permeated with water (face of a wall aboveground); NW for interior backup masonry (Modern Masonry 9th ed., p. 116). - A solid masonry unit is "one whose cross-sectional area in every plane parallel to the bearing surface is 75% or more of its gross cross-sectional area"; a hollow unit has less than 75% solid in any plane (p. 123). - Green bricks are bricks that have not been fired; they contain 5% to 30% moisture as…

Key Concepts

Dimensions - Where lumber dimensions are specified in Chapter 23, they are nominal dimensions unless specifically designated as actual (IBC 2301.2). - Computations to determine required member sizes shall be based on net dimensions (actual sizes), not nominal (IBC 2304.2).

Conventional light-frame limits (Section 2308.2) - Floor-to-floor height shall not exceed 11 feet, 7 inches; exterior bearing wall and interior braced wall heights shall not exceed a stud height of 10 feet (2308.2.2). - Average dead loads shall not exceed 15 psf for combined roof and ceiling, exterior walls, floors and partitions; floor live loads shall not exceed 40 psf; ground snow loads shall not exceed 50 psf (2308.2.3, Items 1–3). - Ceiling joist and rafter framing…

Key Concepts

Gypsum board fastening — special ceiling cases - Type-X gypsum board on a garage ceiling beneath a habitable room: install perpendicular to the ceiling framing, fastened at a maximum 6 inches on center with minimum 1-5/8 inch 6d coated nails or equivalent drywall screws (IBC 2021, Chapter 25, Table 25.06.1). - Where a water-based texture is applied over framing at 24 inches on center, minimum board thickness increases from 1/2 inch to 5/8 inch; alternatively 1/2-inch sag-resistant gypsum ceiling board may be used, applied perpendicular to framing (IBC 2021, Chapter 25, Table 25.06.1 notes).

Key Concepts

Site readiness before erection. The steel erector must receive written notification that concrete or mortar in footings, piers and walls has attained 75 percent of the intended minimum compressive design strength (based on an appropriate ASTM field-cured sample test) or sufficient strength to support the loads imposed during steel erection — 29 CFR 1926, Subpart R, §1926.752(a)(1) and (b).

Pre-erection planning. The owner's designated representative for design (ODRD) is responsible for job planning and works with the owner's designated representative for construction (ODRC), who answers to the owner for overall construction, quality and completion (Study Guide, Structural Ironworking Two, §2.3.1). Members must be identified and a competent person must determine the erection sequence before pick lists (also…

Key Concepts

Roof covering slope and fire classification - Asphalt shingles shall only be used on roof slopes of 2 units vertical in 12 units horizontal (2:12) or greater. Slopes from 2:12 to less than 4:12 require double underlayment. (IBC 2021, Section 1507.2.2) - Type IIA construction requires a minimum Class B roof covering classification. (IBC 2021, Section 1505.1, Table 1505.1)

Flashing - Valley flashing for wood shingles shall extend not less than 11 inches from the centerline each way and shall have a splash diverter rib not less than 1 inch high at the flow line. (IBC 2021, Section 1507.8.8) - Flashing shall be installed at wall and roof intersections, at gutters, wherever there is a change in…

(Tennessee BC-B, C Combined Commercial/Industrial Contractor — 4 questions, 4% of exam)

The source material for this topic is IBC 2021 Chapter 29, Sections 2901–2903 (Minimum Plumbing Facilities and Installation of Fixtures). Everything below is drawn from that chapter; subtopics not addressed there are not covered here.

Key Concepts

Fixture counts and calculations - Plumbing fixtures shall be provided in the minimum number shown in Table 2902.1, based on the actual use of the building or space; uses not shown are considered individually by the code official (Section 2902.1). - To determine the occupant load of each sex, the total occupant load shall be divided in half; ratios are then applied per Table 2902.1. Fractional numbers shall be **rounded…

Scope note: The verified questions and reference text supplied for this topic all come from one place — Chapter 28, Mechanical Systems, of the 2021 International Building Code, specifically Section 2801.1 Scope (pages 652–653). Chapter 28 does not itself spell out combustion air sizing, pipe sizing, vent types, duct insulation, condensate drains, relief valves or exhaust requirements; the IBC User note for Chapter 28 explains that the chapter "regulates such systems by linking to the International Mechanical Code® and International Fuel Gas Code®, where details of mechanical system requirements are provided." Your job on these questions is to know which code governs which activity — that is what every verified question asks.

Key Concepts

The source material for this topic is IBC 2021, Chapter 27 (Electrical), Sections 2701 and 2702. All verified questions draw from Section 2702, Emergency and Standby Power Systems. Cover that material thoroughly.

Key Concepts

Scope (Section 2701.1). This chapter and NFPA 70 govern the design, construction, erection and installation of electrical components, appliances, equipment and systems. The International Fire Code, the International Property Maintenance Code and NFPA 70 govern use and maintenance. The International Existing Building Code and NFPA 70 govern alteration, repair, relocation, replacement and addition.

Stationary generators (2702.1.1). Stationary emergency and standby power generators required by the code shall be listed in accordance with UL 2200.

Key Concepts

Fall protection (Subpart M) - Each employee on a walking/working surface with an unprotected side or edge 6 feet or more above a lower level must be protected by guardrail, safety net, or personal fall arrest systems — §1926.501(b)(1). - Residential construction activities 6 feet or more above lower levels: guardrail systems, scaffolding, safety net system, or personal fall arrest system — §1926.501(b)(13). - Guardrail top rail must withstand, without failure, a force of at least 200 pounds (890 N) applied within 2 inches of the top edge in any outward or downward direction, at any point along the top edge — §1926.502(b)(3). Midrails and intermediate members: 150 pounds — §1926.502(b)(5). Top rail height 39–45 inches (1926.502).…