Studying For California "B" License Test

buckleyclan

Hey ya'll,

Do any of you who are licensed "B" contractors in CA think there would be any benefit to studying the CBC (building code) for the test?

I haven't purchased study materials yet and wonder what overlaps or similiarities they have to the actual builing code, since that's the standard we are held to.

I appreciate any feedback. Cheers!

Donkey

There's no need to study the CBC. I think anyone who has worked in construction for about a year could pass the test without studying at all. That is assuming the person has been paying attention on the job and trying to learn. I bought the Peerless study guides, and they are excellent books, but they are extreme overkill. If you really think that you need to study, Peerless is the way to go.

send_it_all

This advice is ridiculous. I would go as far as saying that even if you have been in the trade for 25 years, (unless you have somehow made yourself very familiar with contracting laws and all the deadlines for submitting all the various forms that comes with contracting), you would never pass the test. That stuff is NOT common trade knowledge. You would have to have been a personal assistant for a licensed contractor for quite some time to just KNOW that crap.

BKFranks

If you've been in the trade for a couple of years and built a couple of houses you should be able to pass the trade part of the exam, but the law part is a little more difficult if you've never dealt with that stuff before. I bought both the Peerless books to study and I agree with the previous poster how they are overkill. They give you a lot of info, but more then you need to pass the test. I used a contractor school and took a two day course. They sent me materials to study for the law portion only along with 2 cd's to listen to until you attend the school right before you take your test. The first school day was nothing but the law. They read through the info giving you tips along the way. Then they gave out exams to read the questions and correct answers to get them stuck in your mind. The second day was the trade portion and since all the people in the class are there for different trades everyone basically gets a trade test specific for their trade. You study and take the test. The school did a very good job of getting me to remember everything and I passed both tests before I was even scheduled to take the second test.
The schools info was everything that was necessary to pass the test and not a bunch of extra stuff. The extra stuff is good to know, but not necessary for the test. I keep the books in case I want to go back and look something up.

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Donkey

Those Peerless books are awesome just to have as a reference even after you pass the exams. There are hundreds of practice questions in addition to hundreds of pages of text and illustrations. It just takes a long time to get through them. You'd need a couple months to study before the exams. It's about 1200 pages of material. And if you choose to study at home, this is all you need.

buckleyclan

Sorry about the delayed response--

How much were the peerless books?

nailman

I have been in construction for almost 20 yrs. and the trade part of the exam is a cake walk, the law I would have failed with out the class. Over all it was very easy. I would say take a class it really helps.

j_builder

If you want to pass the trade/law tests, books won't work or at least I can say that I saw 5 guys fail the test that said they studied the books. I say listen to the PRO'S (send_it_all, BKFranks,nailman) you'll go far grass-hopper.

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