How To Pass The General Contractor License Exam THE FIRST TIME!!

what's up thanks for tuning into this video i am going to teach you how to pass the icc general contractor license exam the first time let's get started [Music] all right before we get started please do me a favor go over to that subscribe button right now and click subscribe hit that bell for notifications if you haven't already that way you can get future videos the videos come out every monday and friday afternoons in the worlds of home building real estate general contracting diy carpety projects the whole nine yards and new merch is in so make sure you go to builtbybaileys.com check out all the merch we have t-shirts hoodies tank tops hats all kinds of fun stuff um find something for yourself there we'd uh really appreciate that as well so without further ado let's get started what we're talking about today which is how do you pass this general contractor licensing exam the first time shane people talk to me all the time i hear that only 10 of the people pass this test the first time and it is brutal that is somewhat true um not many people pass the first time and i think the main reason is just because people aren't prepared for what the test is actually about all right so first things first make sure you have the correct year for the test that you're taking right now the test is on the 2015 irc book make sure you have the correct book before you go to the test because you don't want to open up the wrong book or be screwed the day before the test as i know some people have done and realized they have the wrong code book for the test they're taking so make sure you go to iccsafe.org and check on which book they're going to test you on before you start preparing for this test that being said this is the 2018 version that is right here you also want to have the most up-to-date code book for when you're out in the field because you need to know the most up-to-date codes that are out there things change all the time these books come out every three years um i have not grabbed my 2021 book yet um i'm a little bit behind the eight ball on that one because i've got some projects coming up but most building departments out here in colorado are still in the 2015 book so i'm still ahead of most people as far as that goes but always keep updated as far as the book goes alright so i got the 2018 sitting in front of me we're going to run off that today now you need to understand what this test is about this test is about not just how to build homes but how you interpret this code book they don't expect you to know every single page in this book it's big right the test is open book but that doesn't mean you can just show up with this bad boy in front of you and just thumb through it to based on what question they're asking you and assume you're going to be able to find it yes it is a four hour test and there are 80 multiple choice questions however in that four hours and that 80 question test this is where people end up not passing they don't finish the test because they're not prepared the correct way so i'm going to show you what to do they're testing you on how to read this book and how to find information in this book they're not testing you specifically on memorizing this book okay that being said you don't go into that test like i said thinking that you can just find the information you need to be proficient in being able to search for information in this book but you also got to know you're in the field stuff for lack of a better word you've got to know what you're doing in order to build homes obviously that's why we're getting licensed but you got to know a lot of this book without having to be able to find stuff okay so there's certain sections of the book you should already have in your head as far as codes go most of that being administrative type information that's section 300 of this book okay so make sure you understand most of those codes before going in to take your test if you are taking this test you're preparing to become a licensed general contractor you should know most of those codes by now anyway so keep that in mind all right next thing you need to understand is the breakdown of what this test has okay so i'm going to read you the breakdown percentage-wise of what each section of the test involves so you understand what you're looking at all right so we're going to talk about the class c icc exam in particular okay and on the con building contractor c exam the first area like i said is administration which is the mostly section 300 okay most of that needs to be in your head already that's nine percent of the exam okay second section building planning all right that's 11 of your exam again most of that information you should have up in your head you should be able to recite that thing on site because it's going to be proficient for you when you're building but also proficient for you on this test okay 10 uh sorry 13 of the test is on plan reading if you if you can't read plans you shouldn't be taking this test enough said there right five percent of the test is actually on life safety you've got to understand some of the osha requirements you should understand most of them to be honest with you all right but life safety evaluating risk hazard and preparing for that when building a home is important okay three percent is on exterior walls that's kind of crazy to think about understanding uh wall assemblies only three percent of the test is actually looking at that but a lot of that can be found in the book all right you don't need to know everything but you should understand how an exterior wall is assembled in your area all right eight percent is on roof assemblies and roof structures again a lot of that you guys should already know the key here is understanding where to find the tables okay we'll address all of that in a second eleven percent is gonna be on soils and foundations three percent is actually on concrete eight percent on masonry the chunk of the test is literally on wood residential construction is most of the time built with dimensional lumber 24 of the test has to do with wood basically your structure on building the home outside of foundation okay this is the stuff you need to be able to find quickly in the book glaze and glass and glazing three percent gypsum board and plaster three percent an energy efficiency three percent most of that you should probably have up in your head by now anyway because they're most municipalities are really cracking down on the iecc requirements make sure you understand what that is all right that's your total of 100 that's the breakdown of the test okay next step and you can see all these pink tabs here on my book okay is organizing the book in an efficient manner so you're able to thumb through it and find these tables and these codes as efficiently as possible based on the breakdown that you now understand on the test you want to make sure that you can efficiently move through this book knowing where things are when they ask you a question for example where does section 300 on the administrative stuff start okay i have most of the tables especially for the 24 the test has to do with wood i have to have all of my span tables i can't have them all memorized you should have a big understanding of that but tab those tables you're able to find them quickly it is okay to have stuff written on these tabs it is okay to highlight in the book and it is okay to have notes in in ink in the book before you go into the test they will thumb through this book when you check in so have all of this stuff done ahead of time and that is the key the biggest part of this test is literally finding the information that you're they're asking you and be able to quickly process it to get your answer and again like i said 24 of that test is on wood structure okay it's gonna be worked off of a couple different problems in the test and there'll be multiple questions based on that so understanding where to find that stuff quickly and efficiently is important so the biggest part of this test is literally organizing this book this is the key right here run your tabs being able to find this stuff quickly without going through section by section is so so important to passing the first time okay now day of the test what do you need to bring in make sure that you have an architectural ruler you need to have your scales because you're going to have multiple problems that are going to require you to use that finding scale and reading plans is 11 of the test right so you want to make sure that you have that the other thing you need to have is a calculator there is math on this test and you've got to figure it out and a lot of that's probably not going to be able to be done in your head okay most importantly i know everyone's used to having their iphones and their and their smartphones with them you can't bring that into the test for obvious reasons there are no lifelines once you're in that testing center you can't phone a friend so have an actual calculator yes this one's really old it still works there's no reason to get a new one bringing a calculator with an extra set of batteries that's always important too all right now also bring multiple pencils okay uh i got pencils sitting here i got them all over the place whatever you want bring multiple pencils in and you can bring in scrap paper so you can bring in a pad of paper they do provide them at some testing centers but i would recommend just getting in get a yellow tab and bring it in again they're going to look through that tablet so make sure you have nothing written on there before you go in the last thing you need to bring in is a driver's license or photo i government issued photo id okay so passport whatever it is you gotta have that before you can sit down take the test they will check you in they will literally go through all of your stuff anything else that you bring you're gonna put into a locker lock it up okay so those are the most important things about this test in order to pass the first time keep in mind too it's a four hour test if you need to use the entire four hours to get done 80 questions four hours doesn't seem like you're going to need all that time most the time you will you're literally going through a book and you're having to know all of this information between your brain and the book okay and there's gonna be some complicated questions on that test that being said take as many practice tests as you can you can go to iccsafe.org and find practice exam questions there's other websites i'll leave in the description below for links to find those practice tests some of them are great some of these practice tests really suck because it has nothing to do with the actual test itself so obviously i'm going to re leave you only the ones that will work for your test okay be prepared get sleep make sure you have a good breakfast schedule the test during the part of the day where your brain works most efficiently you guys should know how that works for you and then go in there with the confidence that you are ready to become a general contractor all right the last thing to really need to understand for this test is that there's no penalty for guessing okay so just like every other test you've ever taken in your life if you don't know the answer on the computer you can mark it for later make sure this is what i tell you guys on all these different tests including the real estate exam too make sure you answer the question before you tag it to come back to review later because sometimes you don't have the chance to come back if you run out of time and if you leave it blank but it's tagged for later you get no credit obviously at all because it's not tag it's not marked as an answer so you could get lucky make sure you just take the best possible guess and mark that down then you can tag the question to come back to review later but don't leave it blank even on your first run through then at the end of the test you can look at that time see how much time you got left go ahead and review all the questions don't change your answer if you already feel like you've answered the question correctly don't try and talk yourself out only go to the ones that you've marked as i don't know what the heck this is okay then you can change your answer on those if needed if you don't know another answer just leave it as is it's better to be lucky than good sometimes okay so make sure you answer every single question even if you don't know the answer put something down you never know you could luck out okay those are the keys to passing this test the first time take a deep breath you're going to be fine worst case scenario you don't pass the first time like almost 90 percent of people do i'm not trying to scare you but you taking these steps that i've just given you will be able to do it the first time and you're on your way to becoming a licensed general contractor building homes without having to worry about somebody else's license in order to do it you can branch off start your own company if you got any questions leave them in the comments below i really appreciate it on the way out please hit that like button if you haven't already i really appreciate if you guys subscribe to the channel trying to push out content again mondays and fridays and the afternoons are when these videos come out and until next time guys i appreciate it later [Music] foreign [Music] you

Channel: Built By Baileys

Views: 134,114

Keywords: general contractor license colorado, residential contractor license, international code council, icc exam prep, how to pass the contractors license exam, passing contractor exam first time, class c general contractor, class a contractor, how to get a contractors license, contractor license, general contractor, how to get your contractors license, Built By Baileys, home building process, home building ideas, general contractor exam prep

Id: HpsBFnFtl9I

Length: 14min 41sec (881 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 22 2021