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Five of 115 scored questions covering gypsum board and fire-rated assemblies, ceilings, flooring and tile, and painting and surface preparation.
Five questions, and the fire-rated assembly material carries more of them than the decorative work does.
The three subtopics
- Gypsum board, framing and fire-rated assemblies
- Ceilings, flooring and tile
- Painting, coatings and surface preparation
Fire-rated assemblies
This is the part with consequences, which is why it is examined more heavily than tile setting.
Type X gypsum board is used in rated assemblies, usually at 0.625 inches. A rated assembly is a tested system, and substituting any component or penetrating it without a rated firestop breaks the rating.
You cannot achieve a one-hour rating by using rated board in an untested arrangement. Questions describe a substitution and ask what happens to the rating, and the answer is that it no longer holds.
Penetrations
Every pipe, duct and cable passing through a rated wall needs a rated firestop system. This is the coordination point where finishes meets mechanical, and it is a common defect on real projects.
Surface preparation
Most coating failures are preparation failures. Questions about paint adhesion, primer selection and moisture in a substrate are really questions about whether the surface was ready.
Where the answers live
Split between the building code for the rated assembly material and the finishes references for everything else. The code is the one worth tabbing.
Common questions
How many finishes questions are on the exam?
5 of the 115 scored questions.
What is Type X gypsum board?
Board used in fire-rated assemblies, usually at 0.625 inches thick.
Does using rated board create a rated wall?
No. The rating belongs to the tested assembly, and substituting a component or penetrating it without a rated firestop breaks it.
What about penetrations through rated walls?
Every pipe, duct and cable needs a rated firestop system.
Why do coatings fail?
Usually because of surface preparation rather than the coating itself.