South Carolina Roofing Practice Exam
Free Practice Exam
Test your knowledge with 10 questions from our pool of 20 free questions.
- 10 questions per attempt
- 30 minute time limit
- Unlimited attempts
- A new mix each time
- Instant results
Full Practice Exam
Complete exam simulation matching the real PSI test format.
- 65 questions (same as real exam)
- 180 minute time limit
- 8 topic areas covered
- 595 questions in pool
- Detailed explanations
Texts preferred · 9am–9pm Central
South Carolina Roofing Practice Exam Guide
What's on the exam
Questions per topic, out of 65The South Carolina Roofing examination is an open-book trade test covering the work a roofing contractor performs and supervises: job-site safety, roof decks and substrates, steep-slope coverings, metal panel systems, metal flashing, repairs and reroofing, elastomeric and single-ply membranes, and built-up bituminous systems. Questions mix code lookups, NRCA manual recommendations, and field arithmetic — squares, waste factors, load totals, material counts.
Two practice options are available. The free practice exam gives you 10 questions per attempt. The full practice exam gives you 65 questions on a 3 hours clock.
Safety 5 items
Safety covers OSHA construction standards for roofing work. Verified questions ask which fall protection options are acceptable for roofing on a low-slope roof (slope 4 in 12 or less) with unprotected edges 6 feet or more above a lower level, including the combination of a warning line system and a safety monitoring system (29 CFR 1926, §1926.501(b)(10)); the minimum setback of a warning line when mechanical equipment is not in use (29 CFR 1926, §1926.502(f)(1)(i)); guardrail top-rail strength (29 CFR 1926, §1926.502(b)(3)); and portable ladder side-rail extension above an upper landing (29 CFR 1926, §1926.1053(b)(1)). One item computes total fall clearance from lanyard length, deceleration distance, body length, and a safety buffer.
Roofing - Substrate 8 items
Substrate items test deck materials and their preparation. Verified questions cover the added 1-inch by 4-inch boards required between spaced sheathing boards set at 10 inches on center for wood shakes (2021 IBC, Section 1507.9.1), NRCA's recommended nominal plywood thickness for 24-inch rafter spacing under asphalt shingles (NRCA Roofing Manual: Steep Slope Roof Systems, Section 2.1—Wood Panels), and the nominal thickness below which wood boards are not considered strong enough to carry roof loads (Section 2.2—Wood Planks and Wood Boards). Reroofing over faced and sealed wood sheathing is addressed in Chapter 6—Reroofing, Section 6.4. Expect arithmetic on sheet counts with a waste factor and on total design load from stacked psf values.
Roofing - Steep 22 items
The largest topic. Items test material standards and fire and wind classifications: ASTM D3462 for fiberglass-reinforced asphalt shingles (NRCA Roofing Manual: Steep Slope Roof Systems, Section 4.1—Asphalt Shingle Standards), ASTM D1970 and ASTM D8257 for underlayments (Section 3.1—Underlayment Materials), clay tile (IBC 2021, Section 1507.3.4), slate (IBC 2021, Section 1507.7.5), zinc thickness (IBC 2021, Table 1507.4.3(1)), galvanized steel coating class (IBC 2021, Table 1507.4.3(2)), and wood shake grade (IBC 2021, Table 1507.9.6). Fire classifications and their exceptions come from IBC 2021, Sections 1505.2, 1505.3, and 1505.6. Wind classification by basic wind speed is a table lookup in IBC 2021, Table 1504.2. Slate underlayment options appear in IBC 2021, Table 1507.1.1(1). Roofing-square conversions also appear here.
Roofing - Metal Panel 6 items
Metal panel items separate architectural from structural systems and test slope, seams, and coil stock. Verified questions ask the approximate valley slope produced by a 3:12 architectural panel slope (NRCA Roofing Manual: Metal Panel and SPF Roof Systems, Page 47) and the minimum female-leg height in a single-lock standing seam (NRCA Roofing Manual: Architectural Metal Flashing and Condensation and Air Leakage Control—2022, Page 52 (Chapter 1, Section 1.7—Joinery)). Others cover minimum slope for an architectural panel system on a nailable deck, maximum available prefinished coil stock width, ventilation airspace behind uncoated zinc cladding, and tension precision leveling as the mechanical operation that reduces oil canning.
Roofing - Metal Flashing 8 items
Flashing items combine code dimensions with NRCA detailing. Verified questions cover valley flashing for clay and concrete tile — extension from the centerline and splash diverter rib height (IBC 2021, Section 1507.3.9) — and the smaller corresponding figures for metal roof shingles (IBC 2021, Section 1507.5.7). Underlayment is installed over the drip edge at eaves (IBC 2021, Section 1507.2.8.3). Other items address coping caps and edge metal on parapets, including the sheet membrane liner NRCA recommends beneath metal caps, and the timing of tension precision leveling (NRCA Roofing Manual: Architectural Metal Flashing and Condensation and Air Leakage Control—2022, Pages 43-44). Linear-footage takeoffs for drip edge and fascia appear here.
Roofing Repairs 4 items
Verified questions ask what must be verified before a re-cover is installed, because a re-cover may reduce the live load capacity of the roof structure (NRCA Roofing Manual: Steep Slope Roof Systems, Chapter 6—Reroofing, Section 6.5); when existing counterflashings may be reused, judged against the remaining service life compared with the expected service life of the new system (Asphalt Shingle Roof Systems, Chapter 6—Reroofing, Section 6.2); and why interior staining may not line up with the point of water entry, since water can travel laterally or upslope within the system (Clay and Concrete Tile Roof Systems, Chapter 6—Reroofing, Section 6.2). Tear-off weight and disposal calculations also appear.
Roofing - Elastomeric 6 items
Single-ply and SPF items test membrane classification, thickness, orientation, and flashing clearances. Verified questions cover ASTM D4637 Type III EPDM as sheets with fabric backing (NRCA Roofing Manual: Membrane Roof Systems, Chapter 5, Pages 216-217), the minimum nominal PVC sheet thickness NRCA recommends for conventional systems (Chapter 5, Page 217), and membrane orientation perpendicular to steel deck flutes for seam-fastened mechanically attached systems (Chapter 5, Page 222). Detailing items include minimum clearance between pipes and curbs or walls (Chapter 10, Page 309) and SPF termination height above the roof line at parapets and penetrations (Metal Panel and SPF Roof Systems, SPF Chapter 5, Page 432). Wind zone designations for low-slope roofs also appear.
Roofing - Built-up Bituminous 6 items
Built-up items test bitumen selection, heating limits, ballast, and assembly components. Verified questions identify the ASTM D312 asphalt type generally appropriate for interply moppings where the completed membrane slope is 1:12 or less (NRCA Roofing Manual: Membrane Roof Systems, Chapter 5, Page 192), the maximum kettle or tanker temperature for hot-applied work (Chapter 5, Page 199), and the common application rate for Size Number 4 round river-washed ballast (Chapter 5, Page 221). Minimum drain sump dimensions are computed from drain bowl diameter plus 24 inches (Chapter 10, Pages 324-326). Coating coverage arithmetic — gallons per 100 square feet across multiple coats — appears in this topic.
Sample 1 — Roofing - Steep
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 states that cricket or saddle coverings shall be sheet metal or of the same material as the roof covering. The code gives two permitted choices, so any option limiting the answer to one of them fails. Here the code text offers alternatives, and the distractors narrow it to a single material or name specific metals the section does not require. Read the full sentence in the code before selecting.
Sample 2 — Roofing - Substrate
Question: Roof: 2,000 sq ft; Framing: 10 psf; Decking: 8 psf; Roofing: 5 psf; Snow: 25 psf. What is total design load (lbs)?
- A. 80,000
- B. 90,000
- C. 96,000
- D. 98,000
Correct Answer: C
Add every listed load before multiplying: 10 + 8 + 5 + 25 = 48 psf. Then 48 psf × 2,000 sq ft = 96,000 lbs. Total the psf column on paper, confirm the count of line items matches the question, then multiply once.
Sample 3 — Roofing - Metal Flashing
Question: The headwall flashing needed is 34 ft. Metal comes in 8 ft sections. Add 15% waste. How many pieces?
- A. 5
- B. 6
- C. 7
- D. 8
Correct Answer: A
Apply the waste factor first, then divide by the stock length: 34 × 1.15 = 39.1 ft; 39.1 ÷ 8 = 4.9, rounded up to 5 pieces. Waste applies to length, not to the rounded number of pieces, and any fractional piece requires one full stock length.
The real pass standard is 46 correct answers out of 65 scored questions. Score your practice attempt against that number directly, but treat the first attempt as a diagnostic rather than a prediction. What matters on attempt one is the topic breakdown: which sections you answered from memory, which you answered by looking something up, and which you guessed.
Weight your study by outline item counts. Roofing - Steep carries 22 items, nearly three times any other single topic, and Roofing - Substrate and Roofing - Metal Flashing carry 8 each. Together those three account for the majority of scored items, so a five-point gain there moves your total far more than perfecting Roofing Repairs, which carries 4 items. Do not abandon the small topics — they are cheap points once the thresholds are memorized — but do not spend a week on them either.
Track lookup time as well as accuracy. On an open-book exam, a question you answered correctly in four minutes is still a problem at about 2 minutes 46 seconds per question. If a topic is slow, the fix is usually familiarity with the table layout, not more reading.
Reading a threshold as the only option. The fall protection item offers "personal fall arrest systems only, with no other options permitted." For roofing work on low-slope roofs with unprotected sides and edges 6 feet or more above lower levels, 29 CFR 1926, §1926.501(b)(10) permits several arrangements, including a warning line system combined with a safety monitoring system. Candidates who remember one acceptable method pick the exclusive option. Under Safety, confirm whether the standard lists alternatives.
Mixing up numbers that belong to different subsections. Guardrail systems must resist 200 pounds at the top rail under 29 CFR 1926, §1926.502(b)(3); the 150-pound figure belongs to midrails and intermediate members. Similar near-misses appear in Roofing - Metal Flashing, where valley flashing for clay and concrete tile uses one set of dimensions (IBC 2021, Section 1507.3.9) and metal roof shingles another (IBC 2021, Section 1507.5.7). Note which covering the question names before opening the section.
Skipping the table lookup. Wind classification questions in Roofing - Steep give a basic wind speed and expect you to read IBC 2021, Table 1504.2 for the required ASTM D7158 class. Two verified items use different speeds and different answers. Material standards behave the same way — clay tile, slate, concrete tile, and asphalt shingles each have their own ASTM designation, and the distractors are the other three standards. Find the row; do not answer from recall.
Ordering the arithmetic wrong. Waste factors apply to quantity before conversion to pieces, and every fractional piece rounds up. Load problems require the full sum of the psf column. Coverage problems multiply the rate by the number of coats before dividing area by 100.
Treating a re-cover as a covering decision only. Roofing Repairs items test structural and service-life judgment: verifying roof structure capacity because a re-cover may reduce live load capacity (NRCA Roofing Manual: Steep Slope Roof Systems, Chapter 6—Reroofing, Section 6.5), and reusing counterflashing only when its remaining service life is at least equal to the new system's expected life (Asphalt Shingle Roof Systems, Chapter 6—Reroofing, Section 6.2). Answers about appearance, installer credentials, or color matching are distractors.
Losing time instead of points. With 3 hours for 65 questions, you have about 2 minutes 46 seconds per question. Practice locating the code tables and NRCA chapters listed above so a lookup takes seconds, and move past any item that resists a second search.
| Questions | 65 questions |
| Time limit | 3 hours |
| Passing score | 46 correct answers out of 65 scored questions |
| Books in the exam room | Open book |
| Exam fee | $78 |
- Your score is given immediately after the examination on screen and on a printed official report, with a diagnostic report of strengths and weaknesses if you do not pass.
- Except for Burglar and Fire Alarm, an examination may be taken only 2 times in a 12-month period and thereafter only once in six months, and a candidate who passes an exam may not take it again.
Source: Commercial Contractor Candidate Information Bulletin, Updated 8/27/2026. Check the bulletin before test day: fees and rules can change.