PE Exam – Construction questions with
complete solutions
Types of Loads - correct answer ✔✔Dead, Live, Construction, Environmental, and Lateral Earth Pressure
Available Design Methods for Construction Loads - correct answer ✔✔Allowable Stress Design (ASD)
Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD)
Building Type & Construction Method - correct answer ✔✔Residential: Light wood stick framing
Commercial: Wood, steel, or masonry
High-rise and other commercial: heavy steel framing or reinforced concrete
Long-Span Bridges: steel cables
Wood Framing - correct answer ✔✔Most common way to build houses in NA
Simplified Building Procedure for Wood House - correct answer ✔✔1. Place concrete foundation
2. Place first floor walls
3. Construct wood platform to build second floor
4. Place second floor walls
5. Place roof on top of 2nd floor walls
Steel Framing - correct answer ✔✔Most common for high-rise and commercial buildings
Similar to wood but with less flexibility
High strength & relatively light weight
Expensive compared to other materials
Concrete Structures - correct answer ✔✔Concrete systems are commonly used in high-ride buildings
,More resistant to fire than steel or wood
Less prone to corrosion than steel (common for UG structures)
Simplified Building Procedure for Concrete Structures - correct answer ✔✔1. Prepare concrete mix
design
2. Prepare formwork
3. Pour steel reinforcement
4. Pour Concrete
5. Allow for concrete curing process
6. Disassemble formwork
Advantage of Precast Concrete - correct answer ✔✔Higher quality fabrication from casting off-site
Can accelerate construction schedules
A two-story multi-family residential structure is being construction in a high seismic area. Which
construction type is most likely to be used? - correct answer ✔✔Wood Framing
(2-story, low rise residential)
"High-seismic" is a distractor
Temporary Structures - correct answer ✔✔May be removed at end of construction (usually)
May be incorporated into the finished structure
Concrete formwork is a common example of temporary structure
Design Considerations of Concrete formwork - correct answer ✔✔Dead Load: weight of fresh concrete
plus form self weight
Live Load: 50-75 psf depending on equipment used (to pour concrete)
Lateral pressure exerted by fresh concrete
Typical formwork material - correct answer ✔✔3/4" plywood that is coated on one side
, Types of concrete formwork - correct answer ✔✔Slab Formwork
Beam Formwork
Column/Wall Formwork (look at photos)
Equation for Lateral Pressures of Concrete - correct answer ✔✔ACI 347R-14 Table 4.2.2.1a(a)
Project Management Process Groups - correct answer ✔✔Initiation -> Planning -> executing ->
Controlling and monitoring (loop back to planning) -> closing
Ex. of loop (Value Engineering)
Gantt Chart - correct answer ✔✔Small to mid-size projects
Forecast & manage resources (labor, equipment, budgets, etc)
Disadvantage: doesn't show all the links/sequencing
Critical Path Method (CPM) - correct answer ✔✔Project modeling technique that identifies the most
critical activities on a schedule
Helps monitor the assets, expenses, and advancement of the project
Activity on Node (AON) is most common
PERT - correct answer ✔✔Program Evaluation Review Technique (also known as CPM)
Float Time (slack time) - correct answer ✔✔Amount of time that an activities can be delayed without
affecting the overall schedule (applies to activities not on CP)
Applying the CPM (steps) - correct answer ✔✔1. Specify each activity
2. Sequence the activities
3. Draw the network diagram
4. Identify the CP
5. Update to show progress
complete solutions
Types of Loads - correct answer ✔✔Dead, Live, Construction, Environmental, and Lateral Earth Pressure
Available Design Methods for Construction Loads - correct answer ✔✔Allowable Stress Design (ASD)
Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD)
Building Type & Construction Method - correct answer ✔✔Residential: Light wood stick framing
Commercial: Wood, steel, or masonry
High-rise and other commercial: heavy steel framing or reinforced concrete
Long-Span Bridges: steel cables
Wood Framing - correct answer ✔✔Most common way to build houses in NA
Simplified Building Procedure for Wood House - correct answer ✔✔1. Place concrete foundation
2. Place first floor walls
3. Construct wood platform to build second floor
4. Place second floor walls
5. Place roof on top of 2nd floor walls
Steel Framing - correct answer ✔✔Most common for high-rise and commercial buildings
Similar to wood but with less flexibility
High strength & relatively light weight
Expensive compared to other materials
Concrete Structures - correct answer ✔✔Concrete systems are commonly used in high-ride buildings
,More resistant to fire than steel or wood
Less prone to corrosion than steel (common for UG structures)
Simplified Building Procedure for Concrete Structures - correct answer ✔✔1. Prepare concrete mix
design
2. Prepare formwork
3. Pour steel reinforcement
4. Pour Concrete
5. Allow for concrete curing process
6. Disassemble formwork
Advantage of Precast Concrete - correct answer ✔✔Higher quality fabrication from casting off-site
Can accelerate construction schedules
A two-story multi-family residential structure is being construction in a high seismic area. Which
construction type is most likely to be used? - correct answer ✔✔Wood Framing
(2-story, low rise residential)
"High-seismic" is a distractor
Temporary Structures - correct answer ✔✔May be removed at end of construction (usually)
May be incorporated into the finished structure
Concrete formwork is a common example of temporary structure
Design Considerations of Concrete formwork - correct answer ✔✔Dead Load: weight of fresh concrete
plus form self weight
Live Load: 50-75 psf depending on equipment used (to pour concrete)
Lateral pressure exerted by fresh concrete
Typical formwork material - correct answer ✔✔3/4" plywood that is coated on one side
, Types of concrete formwork - correct answer ✔✔Slab Formwork
Beam Formwork
Column/Wall Formwork (look at photos)
Equation for Lateral Pressures of Concrete - correct answer ✔✔ACI 347R-14 Table 4.2.2.1a(a)
Project Management Process Groups - correct answer ✔✔Initiation -> Planning -> executing ->
Controlling and monitoring (loop back to planning) -> closing
Ex. of loop (Value Engineering)
Gantt Chart - correct answer ✔✔Small to mid-size projects
Forecast & manage resources (labor, equipment, budgets, etc)
Disadvantage: doesn't show all the links/sequencing
Critical Path Method (CPM) - correct answer ✔✔Project modeling technique that identifies the most
critical activities on a schedule
Helps monitor the assets, expenses, and advancement of the project
Activity on Node (AON) is most common
PERT - correct answer ✔✔Program Evaluation Review Technique (also known as CPM)
Float Time (slack time) - correct answer ✔✔Amount of time that an activities can be delayed without
affecting the overall schedule (applies to activities not on CP)
Applying the CPM (steps) - correct answer ✔✔1. Specify each activity
2. Sequence the activities
3. Draw the network diagram
4. Identify the CP
5. Update to show progress
