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The NCGC-B exam has 90 questions and runs 3 hours 20 minutes.
These 10 free NCGC-B questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the North Carolina General Contractor License Exam (Building Contractor) blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
A crew transfers elevation from a benchmark at 412.36 ft. The backsight is 5.44 ft, and the foresight on the excavated footing bottom is 7.18 ft. The footing plan calls for a bottom elevation of 410.50 ft. What does the reading show?
Correct answer: C - The excavation is 0.12 ft high and needs additional cut
For 4,000-psi concrete, three consecutive strength tests-each already averaged from the required cylinders-are 4,050 psi, 3,920 psi, and 4,170 psi. Under the acceptance criteria for concrete with f'c not over 5,000 psi, how should the results be evaluated?
Correct answer: A - Accept the series; its three-test average exceeds 4,000 psi, and no test is more than 500 psi low
Before a footing pour, inspection finds the #5 bottom bars supported 2 inches above the soil. The approved detail requires the footing to be cast directly against earth. What should the superintendent require before placement?
Correct answer: D - Adjust or replace the supports so the bars have 3 inches of bottom cover before placement
After wind-driven rain, staining appears at both jambs of a masonry opening. Through-wall flashing is present beneath the sill, but it stops flush at each jamb; the weeps remain open. Which detail is missing from the flashing installation?
Correct answer: B - End dams turned up at both jambs
A shop drawing shows a fillet-weld symbol below the reference line. "1/4" appears to the left, "4-8" to the right, and a flag is placed at the arrow/reference-line junction. What work is specified?
Correct answer: B - A 1/4-inch fillet weld on the arrow side, 4 inches long at 8-inch pitch, made in the field
During steel erection, the frame has been plumbed, but the joist bridging and final deck connections are incomplete. A delivery arrives with bundled deck scheduled to be landed on the joists. What is the superintendent's best direction?
Correct answer: D - Do not land the bundles until required bridging, connections, and erection-plan conditions are in place
A cathedral-ceiling addition uses opposing rafters, but there are no ceiling joists or low rafter ties to resist outward thrust. The design provides vertical support at the ridge and posts to the foundation. Which member is carrying the roof load at the ridge?
Correct answer: A - A structural ridge beam transferring load to the posts
Interior staining recurs at the lower end of a sloped roof where it terminates against a taller wall. Step flashing farther upslope is correctly lapped, but runoff is disappearing behind the wall cladding near the gutter. Which detail is most likely missing?
Correct answer: C - Kickout flashing
A subcontractor proposes to seal a 2-inch insulated copper-pipe penetration through a 2-hour shaft wall with a listed system tested only for bare steel pipe. What should the general contractor require before the wall is closed?
Correct answer: D - Use a listed system matching the wall, copper pipe, insulation, annular space, and required rating
At a site meeting, the architect verbally directs a partition relocation that the contractor expects will increase both cost and duration. The work is not needed to address an emergency. Which response best protects the contractor without unnecessarily stopping the project?
Correct answer: A - Give prompt written notice, seek written change authorization, document cost and time separately, and continue unaffected work
The NCGC-B exam also covers these domains. Drill them in the full free practice test:
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