PE Exam - Construction
2025/2026 Exam
Questions and Answers
A+ Grades Guarantee
, Dead, Live, Construction, Environmental, and Lateral Earth Pressure
Types of Loads
Allowable Stress Design (ASD)
Available Design Methods for
Construction Loads Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD)
Residential: Light wood stick framing
Commercial: Wood, steel, or masonry
High-rise and other commercial: heavy steel framing or reinforced
Building Type & Construction concrete
Method Long-Span Bridges: steel cables
Wood Framing Most common way to build houses in NA
1. Place concrete foundation
2. Place first floor walls
3. Construct wood platform to build second floor
Simplified Building Procedure for 4. Place second floor walls
Wood House 5. Place roof on top of 2nd floor walls
Most common for high-rise and commercial buildings
Similar to wood but with less flexibility
Steel Framing High strength & relatively light weight
Expensive compared to other materials
Concrete systems are commonly used in high-ride buildings
More resistant to fire than steel or wood
Concrete Structures Less prone to corrosion than steel (common for UG structures)
1. Prepare concrete mix design
2. Prepare formwork
3. Pour steel reinforcement
Simplified Building Procedure for 4. Pour Concrete
Concrete Structures 5. Allow for concrete curing process
6. Disassemble formwork
Higher quality fabrication from casting off-site
Advantage of Precast Concrete Can accelerate construction schedules
Wood Framing
A two-story multi-family residential (2-story, low rise residential)
structure is being construction in a "High-seismic" is a distractor
high seismic area. Which
construction type is most likely to be
used?
May be removed at end of construction (usually)
May be incorporated into the finished structure
Temporary Structures Concrete formwork is a common example of temporary structure
, Dead Load: weight of fresh concrete plus form self weight
Live Load: 50-75 psf depending on equipment used (to pour concrete)
Design Considerations of Concrete Lateral pressure exerted by fresh concrete
formwork
Typical formwork material 3/4" plywood that is coated on one side
Slab Formwork
Beam Formwork
Types of concrete formwork Column/Wall Formwork (look at photos)
Equation for Lateral Pressures of ACI 347R-14 Table 4.2.2.1a(a)
Concrete
Initiation -> Planning -> executing -> Controlling and monitoring (loop
back to planning) -> closing
Project Management Process Groups Ex. of loop (Value Engineering)
Small to mid-size projects
Forecast & manage resources (labor, equipment, budgets, etc)
Gantt Chart Disadvantage: doesn't show all the links/sequencing
Project modeling technique that identifies the most critical activities on a
schedule
Helps monitor the assets, expenses, and advancement of the project
Critical Path Method (CPM) Activity on Node (AON) is most common
PERT Program Evaluation Review Technique (also known as CPM)
Amount of time that an activities can be delayed without affecting the
Float Time (slack time) overall schedule (applies to activities not on CP)
1. Specify each activity
2. Sequence the activities
3. Draw the network diagram
Applying the CPM (steps) 4. Identify the CP
5. Update to show progress
Dummy Node: Used when 2 activities have the same starting and ending
AOA (Activity on Arc) event
Define Dummy Nodes & Dummy Dummy Activity: Have no duration, used to prevent an activity from
Activities occurring in more than 2 spot
Contract Terms
Quantity and cost estimates
project and task descriptions (SOW)
Contract Documents (what is Specification of the deliverables
included?) Time, resources, and payment
Schematic Design
Design Development
Design Sequencing Phases Construction Documents
Bidding Process
2025/2026 Exam
Questions and Answers
A+ Grades Guarantee
, Dead, Live, Construction, Environmental, and Lateral Earth Pressure
Types of Loads
Allowable Stress Design (ASD)
Available Design Methods for
Construction Loads Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD)
Residential: Light wood stick framing
Commercial: Wood, steel, or masonry
High-rise and other commercial: heavy steel framing or reinforced
Building Type & Construction concrete
Method Long-Span Bridges: steel cables
Wood Framing Most common way to build houses in NA
1. Place concrete foundation
2. Place first floor walls
3. Construct wood platform to build second floor
Simplified Building Procedure for 4. Place second floor walls
Wood House 5. Place roof on top of 2nd floor walls
Most common for high-rise and commercial buildings
Similar to wood but with less flexibility
Steel Framing High strength & relatively light weight
Expensive compared to other materials
Concrete systems are commonly used in high-ride buildings
More resistant to fire than steel or wood
Concrete Structures Less prone to corrosion than steel (common for UG structures)
1. Prepare concrete mix design
2. Prepare formwork
3. Pour steel reinforcement
Simplified Building Procedure for 4. Pour Concrete
Concrete Structures 5. Allow for concrete curing process
6. Disassemble formwork
Higher quality fabrication from casting off-site
Advantage of Precast Concrete Can accelerate construction schedules
Wood Framing
A two-story multi-family residential (2-story, low rise residential)
structure is being construction in a "High-seismic" is a distractor
high seismic area. Which
construction type is most likely to be
used?
May be removed at end of construction (usually)
May be incorporated into the finished structure
Temporary Structures Concrete formwork is a common example of temporary structure
, Dead Load: weight of fresh concrete plus form self weight
Live Load: 50-75 psf depending on equipment used (to pour concrete)
Design Considerations of Concrete Lateral pressure exerted by fresh concrete
formwork
Typical formwork material 3/4" plywood that is coated on one side
Slab Formwork
Beam Formwork
Types of concrete formwork Column/Wall Formwork (look at photos)
Equation for Lateral Pressures of ACI 347R-14 Table 4.2.2.1a(a)
Concrete
Initiation -> Planning -> executing -> Controlling and monitoring (loop
back to planning) -> closing
Project Management Process Groups Ex. of loop (Value Engineering)
Small to mid-size projects
Forecast & manage resources (labor, equipment, budgets, etc)
Gantt Chart Disadvantage: doesn't show all the links/sequencing
Project modeling technique that identifies the most critical activities on a
schedule
Helps monitor the assets, expenses, and advancement of the project
Critical Path Method (CPM) Activity on Node (AON) is most common
PERT Program Evaluation Review Technique (also known as CPM)
Amount of time that an activities can be delayed without affecting the
Float Time (slack time) overall schedule (applies to activities not on CP)
1. Specify each activity
2. Sequence the activities
3. Draw the network diagram
Applying the CPM (steps) 4. Identify the CP
5. Update to show progress
Dummy Node: Used when 2 activities have the same starting and ending
AOA (Activity on Arc) event
Define Dummy Nodes & Dummy Dummy Activity: Have no duration, used to prevent an activity from
Activities occurring in more than 2 spot
Contract Terms
Quantity and cost estimates
project and task descriptions (SOW)
Contract Documents (what is Specification of the deliverables
included?) Time, resources, and payment
Schematic Design
Design Development
Design Sequencing Phases Construction Documents
Bidding Process
