Advice for construction detailing areas to focus study time on?
I have moved on to CE from from PcM and PjM so I think I'm pretty comfortable with what I have to cover for the contracts and admin procedures side of things. Reading through posts on here and some advice blogs, it seems like there are quite a lot of specific construction detail and code questions - I had presumed they were all confined to the PA/PPD/PDD side of the exams. Any advice on the extent or depth of code & construction knowledge required for CE? Any recommended resources that have been helpful to you?
Thanks, and good luck on your journey!
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If you want to use one sentence to summarize the 2"-thick spec book: "Don't leak, don't fall."
Focus on the details that keep the water and moisture out of the building, the "don't leak" part.
The "don't fall" part is handled by the structural engineer.
Gang Chen, Author, AIA, LEED AP BD+C (GreenExamEducation.com)
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Eugene,
Draw, from memory, two wall sections:
- A large commercial building wall section detail with steel or concrete structure, exterior rigid insulation, masonry/rain screen, a parapet and a low-sloped roof membrane
- A small house wall section detail with stick construction, cavity fibrous insulation, an overhanging steep roof with roof shingles and gutters
The wall sections should be "all the way" details from bottom of foundation to a small portion of the roof, inclusive of windows and intermediate floors. Not sure where to start? Try drawing the sections in the order that each element would be constructed on the site, for instance, footer, then footer key, then foundation wall, then termite shield, etc.
There's obviously more than one way to draw these. You can check your work and then redraw (from memory again) with edits from Architectural Graphic Standards, Building Construction Illustrated or Fundamentals of Building Construction.
That said, Eugene, I think you may just want to schedule the exam. Your answers to other posters' questions on this forum, across a yawning expanse of subjects, were so strong, clear, and precise that, a week before you posted this question, I had already "flagged" you as a person to watch and sent an email to my colleagues about you. How often do I do that? Maybe four times total in 15 years. So, yeah, I think you're probably ready and should take your shot now. The penalty for failing is so small, just a 60 day wait, you can study more if you need to retest during that window.
--Michael Ermann, Amber Book creator
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