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Alabama Roofing and Sheet Metal Contractor — Practice Exam

What This Practice Exam Covers

The Alabama Roofing and Sheet Metal Contractor licensing exam consists of 60 questions answered in 150 minutes, with a passing score of 70% (42 correct answers minimum). The exam draws from five topic areas spanning estimating and plan reading, surface preparation and planning, steep and low slope roofing systems, roofing components, and safety.

Two practice options are available here:

• Free practice exam: 10 questions per attempt, pulled from a limited pool. There's no cap on retakes, so you can use it repeatedly to get comfortable with question style and pacing before committing to more intensive prep.
• Full practice exam (paid): Mirrors the real exam exactly — 60 questions, 150-minute time limit. Questions are drawn from a pool of 442+ items, so no two attempts are identical. This is the most effective tool for simulating exam conditions and identifying weak spots across all five topic areas before test day.

What You'll Be Tested On

Estimating and Plan Reading — 10 items

This is a math-heavy section and one that rewards candidates who practice calculations ahead of time. You must be able to measure roof area using both positive and negative methods, meaning you need to understand how openings and penetrations reduce gross area to net area. Slope calculation is central: expect to convert rise/run ratios to pitch fractions and to degrees, and to use roof-slope factors to calculate actual rafter length from plan (horizontal) dimensions.

Hip and valley lengths require the use of slope factors and appendix tables — you can't eyeball these. The gutter flow calculation seen in the sample questions below is representative of the applied math style: multi-step, unit-specific problems where one wrong conversion destroys the answer. Labor estimating questions ask you to calculate unit prices and adjust for actual crew wages, using frameworks from Roofing Construction & Estimating, Chapter 14.

Surface Preparation and Planning — 8 items

Questions here focus on what happens before the first shingle goes down. Expect questions on roof deck inspection criteria, minimum slope standards by roofing system type, and specific plywood and OSB grading and thickness requirements under IBC 2021, Table 2304.8(1) and Table 2304.8(2). Structural deflection limits and load-bearing capacity of roof decks are tested — know the difference between what the deck can carry and what the code requires.

Underlayment selection and installation by slope and covering type is a consistent source of questions, as are air and vapor retarder placement within roof assemblies. These questions often hinge on which assembly condition requires a retarder on the warm side versus the cold side.

Steep and Low Slope Roofing, including BUR, Waterproofing — 27 items

This is the largest section at 27 items — nearly half the exam. No other section is close. It covers:

• Asphalt shingles: materials (asphalt, surfacing, self-sealing strips), fastener specifications, starter course requirements, laminated shingle attachment in high-wind conditions, and exposure/offset patterns. Key references include NRCA Roofing Manual: Steep Slope Roof Systems, Section 4.1 and Section 4.2.
• Built-up roofing (BUR): bitumen types, ply felts, surfacing materials, and system composition.
• Single-ply membranes: EPDM, TPO, and PVC systems, with attachment methods (fully adhered, mechanically fastened, ballasted).
• Polymer-modified bitumen: APP versus SBS modifier chemistry, membrane application methods, and overlap requirements. Reference the NRCA Roofing Manual: Membrane Roof Systems, Chapter 5 and Chapter 7.
• Clay, concrete tile, and slate: manufacturing standards (ASTM C1167 for clay tile, ASTM C1492 for concrete tile), freeze-thaw grade selection, water absorption criteria, fastener requirements for slate, and reroofing constraints.
• Underlayment for steep-slope systems: single-layer vs. double-layer mechanically attached, self-adhering configurations, and ice barrier requirements.

Given its weight, budget significant study time here. A candidate who does well on this section has a major structural advantage.

Roofing Components — 9 items

This section tests your knowledge of specific materials and accessories in detail. Expect questions distinguishing solid from spaced decking, classifying underlayment types (asphalt felt, synthetic sheet, polymer-modified bitumen, and self-adhering membranes), and applying underlayment requirements by slope and covering.

Flashing is heavily represented: drip edge, valley, step, apron, and counterflashing configurations all appear, along with cricket/saddle covering requirements under IBC 2021, Section 1503.5. Accessories including equipment curbs, pipe flashings, roof vents, skylights, expansion joint covers, and snow guards round out this section. Ice barrier and water/ice-dam protection membrane placement is tested here as well as in the steep-slope section — don't treat it as a throwaway subtopic.

Safety — 6 items

OSHA 29 CFR 1926 is the dominant reference for this section. Know the fall protection triggers for both low-slope roofs (§1926.501(b)(10)) and steep roofs (§1926.501(b)(11)), and be precise about the elevation thresholds. Personal fall arrest system components — including the anchor, body harness, and connecting subsystem — and the criteria under §1926.502(f)(1)(i) appear regularly.

Guardrail height and load specifications under §1926.502(b)(3), scaffold erection and fall protection under §1926.451(g)(1), ladder angle and duty rating under §1926.1053(a)(1)(i), and fire extinguisher placement under §1926.150(c)(1)(vi) are all testable. Six questions sounds small, but these are all-or-nothing lookups — missing a single threshold number costs a full point.

Worked Sample Questions

Sample 1 — Counterflashing and Raggle Installation

Question: When replacing raggles in an existing concrete or brick wall to accommodate counterflashing at a different height, what concern must be addressed regarding the wall's drainage system?

• A. The raggle depth must not exceed ½ inch to maintain wall structural integrity
• B. The new raggle must be sealed with elastomeric sealant on both sides
• C. Raising a raggle should not block weep holes or wall drainage
• D. The raggle must be cut at a minimum 15-degree downward angle

Correct Answer: C

Raising a raggle to a new elevation risks covering existing weep holes or wall drainage openings. The NRCA Roofing Manual specifies that when new raggles are cut into an existing concrete or brick wall — and generally, when raggles are used, no through-wall flashing is present — blocking drainage is the primary concern. Options A and D reference measurements not prescribed in this context, and B describes a separate sealant step that does not address the drainage issue. (Source: NRCA Roofing Manual: Steep Slope Roof Systems, Asphalt Shingle Roof Systems, Chapter 6—Reroofing, Section 6.5)

Sample 2 — Gutter Flow Rate Calculation

Question: A roof drains 2,400 sq ft into one gutter. The rainfall design rate is 6 inches per hour. The gutter cross-sectional capacity is rated at 0.80 gallons per sq ft per inch of rain. What is the required gutter flow (GPH)?

• A. 8,000
• B. 10,000
• C. 11,520
• D. 12,000

Correct Answer: C

Multiply the three values directly: 2,400 sq ft × 6 in/hr × 0.80 gal/sq ft/in = 11,520 GPH. The most common error is stopping at 2,400 × 6 = 14,400 and forgetting to apply the capacity factor, which produces a number not even listed. Every value in the problem has a unit role — treat them as a chain, not a list.

Sample 3 — Cricket and Saddle Covering Material

Question: A cricket or saddle covering installed on the ridge side of a chimney must be made of which material(s)?

• A. The same material as the roof covering only
• B. Galvanized steel or copper flashing only
• C. Sheet metal or the same material as the roof covering
• D. Sheet metal only

Correct Answer: C

IBC 2021, Section 1503.5 permits two options: sheet metal or the same material as the roof covering. Options A and D each allow only one of those two permitted choices, making them incomplete. Option B improperly restricts sheet metal to specific metals not required by the code section. Knowing the exact language — "shall be sheet metal or of the same material as the roof covering" — is what separates a correct answer from a close miss. (Source: IBC 2021, Section 1503.5)

How to Read Your Score

Passing requires 70% — 42 out of 60 questions. On your first practice attempt, treat your score as a diagnostic, not a verdict. A first attempt typically underestimates readiness on familiar topics and overestimates it on topics where you got lucky on multiple-choice options.

Look at your results by topic. If your weakest area is Steep and Low Slope Roofing (27 items), improving there has the biggest numerical payoff. If you're dropping points on Safety (6 items) because of imprecise knowledge of OSHA elevation thresholds or equipment specifications, those are fast wins from focused review.

Scoring in the 70–75% range on practice should be a signal to keep studying, not a signal to book the exam. The real test will surface questions from corners of the reference material that your first pass missed. A comfortable margin — 78–80% or better on the full 60-question practice exam — reflects genuine readiness. The free exam is a useful starting point; the full 60-question exam, with its 442+ question pool producing unique attempts, is where serious preparation happens.

Where Candidates Lose Points

Calculation errors in Estimating: The gutter flow, rafter length, and labor unit price questions are multi-step. Candidates who skip writing out units, or who confuse gross area with net area, drop several points in a row without realizing it.

Wrong code section on deck requirements: IBC 2021, Table 2304.8(1) and Table 2304.8(2) cover wood panel selection and thickness. Candidates who confuse these tables with span tables for framing members apply the wrong minimum thickness.

Underlayment requirements by slope: Steep and low slope sections both test underlayment, and the requirements differ by system type and slope condition. Confusing the ice barrier application rules with standard underlayment installation is a consistent error — know where the eaves protection zone ends.

Imprecise OSHA numbers: Safety questions often turn on exact thresholds — the 6-foot trigger for low-slope residential roofing work, specific guardrail height requirements, or ladder angle ratios. Being approximately right gets you the wrong answer.

Time pressure on the large section: With 27 items on steep and low slope roofing, candidates who over-invest time on early estimating questions risk rushing through the section that carries the most weight. Practice under the 150-minute limit.

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