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Tennessee BC-A, b (sm) – Combined Residential/Small Commercial Contractor Practice Exam

What This Practice Exam Covers

This practice exam targets the Tennessee BC-A, b (sm) Combined Residential/Small Commercial Contractor license. The real exam is 100 questions, 300 minutes, and requires a 73% to pass.

Free practice exam: 10 questions per attempt, pulled from a limited pool. Retake it as many times as you want. It gives you a feel for question style and difficulty before you commit to anything.

Full practice exam: 100 questions, 300-minute timer — same format as the real thing. Questions are drawn from a pool of 826+ items, so each attempt gives you a different set. No duplicate exams. Topics match the exact breakdown provided by the official test provider, so you're practicing on what actually shows up.

Start with the free version. If it exposes gaps, the full exam is where you close them.

What You'll Be Tested On

Estimating, Plan Reading, and General Residential Code Requirements — 20 items
The heaviest section on the exam. You need to calculate material quantities from plans, apply markups to change orders, read architectural drawings, and identify IBC occupancy classifications, building height and area limits, and fire-resistance ratings. Expect multi-step math: board feet, concrete volume, stud counts, rafter quantities. A missed unit conversion here costs you real points. Know IBC definitions for key terms — Building Area, Fire Wall, Story Above Grade Plane — per IBC Section 202.

Carpentry — 17 items
Second-largest topic. Covers lumber grades, wall framing layout, floor framing span tables, roof framing geometry (common, hip, valley, and jack rafters), and sheathing fastening schedules. You must know IRC requirements for headers — including when a single flat 2×4 is permitted as a header under IRC Section R602.7.4. Engineered wood products appear here too. Read the span tables; they are tested directly.

Associated Trades — 12 items
Covers six trade areas: gypsum board (types, finishing levels, fastening), plumbing (supply, DWV, traps), fuel gas (piping, venting, combustion air), electrical (branch circuits, GFCI/AFCI placement), HVAC (equipment, ducts, exhaust), and insulation R-values. Questions are one per trade roughly — know the big rules for each. Finish levels (Level 1 through Level 5) and gypsum board screw spacing are tested. Know finger-jointed stock for trim.

Sitework, Footings, and Foundation — 10 items
OSHA Subpart P governs excavation safety — soil classification (Type A, B, C), sloping requirements, and protective systems. You also need drainage, dampproofing vs. waterproofing distinctions, footing sizing rules, and foundation wall requirements. Soil bearing capacity values come from IBC Table 1806.2.

Concrete and Concrete Reinforcement — 10 items
Know the five basic Portland cement types and when each is used. Water-cement ratio, slump testing procedure, air content, compressive strength testing, and admixture effects are all tested. Formwork removal timing, rebar cover requirements, and concrete placement methods appear here. ACI 318-11 is a key reference — specifically cover requirements (Section 7.7.1) and spiral reinforcement (Section 7.10.5.1).

Roofing — 10 items
Rafter layout math, ridge board vs. ridge beam selection, underlayment application, ice barrier requirements, and roofing material installation (asphalt shingles, tile, slate, metal, built-up, elastomeric). Know roof-slope factors for estimating and how to calculate net roof area. Roofing Construction & Estimating is heavily referenced — specifically the slope factor tables and hip/ridge unit calculations.

Masonry — 7 items
ASTM C270 mortar types (M, S, N, O, K) — know proportions and where each is used. CMU grades, brick types and bond patterns, cavity vs. composite vs. veneer wall systems. Fireplace and chimney construction requirements under IBC 2021 Sections 2111 and 2113. Footing sizing for masonry foundation walls is tested.

OSHA Safety — 8 items
Fall protection thresholds (6 feet for construction — 29 CFR 1926 §1926.501(b)(1)), scaffolding load capacity (§1926.451(a)(1)), PPE selection, fire extinguisher placement (§1926.150(c)(1)(i)), and hazard communication. Excavation safety overlaps with the Sitework topic. These questions are rule-recall — know the specific numbers.

Metals — 6 items
Steel joist designations: K-Series, LH-Series, DLH-Series, CJ-Series, and joist girders. Erection bridging requirements and when bridging must be installed before loads are applied. Metal decking fastening methods. Cold-formed steel framing member types and tools. Subpart R steel erection safety rules. SJI Technical Digest is the reference.

Worked Sample Questions

Question 1 — Estimating

A change order has a cost of $25,000 with a 15% markup. What is the total amount billed to the owner?

• A. $26,000
• B. $28,000
• C. $28,750
• D. $30,000

Correct Answer: C

Multiply the base cost by 1.15: $25,000 × 1.15 = $28,750. A common error is adding 15% of something other than the full $25,000, or confusing markup with margin. Markup is applied to cost; margin is profit divided by selling price. These are not the same number. Get this calculation automatic — change order math appears on this exam.

Question 2 — Carpentry

What is the maximum allowable opening width for which a single flat 2-inch by 4-inch member may serve as a header in a nonbearing wall?

• A. 4 feet
• B. 10 feet
• C. 8 feet
• D. 6 feet

Correct Answer: C

Per IRC Section R602.7.4, a single flat 2×4 may be used as a header in interior or exterior nonbearing walls for openings up to 8 feet in width — provided the vertical distance to the parallel nailing surface above is not more than 24 inches. The 8-foot limit is specific. Don't guess 6 feet or confuse this rule with bearing wall header requirements.

Source: International Residential Code, Section R602.7.4, PDF Page 216

Question 3 — Associated Trades

What type of molding or trim stock is made from short lengths of solid wood glued together and is considered suitable only for painting, not staining?

• A. S4S trim stock
• B. Veneered stock
• C. Synthetic stock
• D. Finger-jointed stock

Correct Answer: D

Finger-jointed stock uses short wood pieces joined end-to-end with interlocking finger joints and glued together. Paint conceals the joints; stain reveals them. It's a paint-grade product only. This question tests material knowledge, not code. Know it.

Source: Carpentry & Building Construction, Chapter 26 (Molding & Trim)

How to Read Your Score

Passing is 73 out of 100 questions correct.

Your first practice attempt is a diagnostic, not a verdict. A score of 60% tells you where your knowledge has holes — use the topic breakdown to find them. A score of 65–70% means you're close but not there. Close is not passing. Scoring near 73% on practice usually means you need another cycle of review, because the real exam draws from a broader question pool and you won't see the same questions twice.

Look at your per-topic results. If you're dropping points in Estimating (20 items) or Carpentry (17 items), fix those first — they have the most weight. If Metals (6 items) or OSHA Safety (8 items) are weak, those are tighter but still cost you. Retake the full practice exam after studying each weak area. Your score should climb consistently before you book the real test. If it's not climbing, you haven't studied the right material yet.

Where Candidates Lose Points

Multi-step estimating math. Candidates set up the right formula but drop a unit conversion — cubic yards instead of cubic feet, or board feet calculated from nominal instead of actual dimensions. The Estimating section is 20 items. One bad habit costs you several questions.

Wrong code section for the question. The exam references both IBC and IRC. A header rule in the IRC is not the same as an IBC framing provision. Candidates who memorize rules without anchoring them to the right code get burned when the question specifies residential vs. commercial context.

Mortar type mix-ups. Type S vs. Type N vs. Type M — candidates confuse compressive strength values and appropriate applications. ASTM C270 proportions are tested, not just the letter designations.

OSHA trigger heights. Six feet is the fall protection threshold for construction. Candidates confuse this with other industries or misremember scaffold platform requirements. Know the specific numbers from 29 CFR 1926.

Running out of time. Three hundred minutes sounds like a lot. With 100 questions and multi-step calculations in Estimating and Roofing, it goes fast. Practice at pace, not just for correctness.

Exam Quick Facts