PDD Pass, and done with AREs!

I just passed PDD and have now finished all six exams! I passed them all on my first try in about 1 year and 9 months - something that I never thought was possible as someone who was historically a terrible test taker and has 3 years of experience working mostly in interiors. This forum was so helpful to me in figuring out what to study, and I hope I can pass along some helpful information!

Best resources for PDD:

ARE Questions by Elif

• I used her videos for this test. She is great at explaining structures, seismic, plumbing, in a really clear and easy to understand way. She focuses on the “why” of everything which I think is helpful for developing an intuitive understanding of things.

Building Construction Illustrated

• This is the best resource! Everything is explained very clearly with helpful drawings, and at a good level of granularity (not too much detail like MEEB). I think you could almost pass the exam with just this book.

Fundamentals of Building Construction

• Another very helpful book for understanding building envelope and assemblies

The Architect’s Studio Companion

• I LOVE this book! It was particularly helpful for PPD, but I continued to reference it for this test. A great high-level guide to selecting the right structural system and HVAC systems for a building type.

Heating, Cooling, Lighting

• Clear and pretty easy to read for HVAC systems, thermal envelope, and lighting

Architectural Graphic Standards

• This book is a beast. I didn’t even try to read much of it, but would use it as a reference when I wanted to see more details/drawings of wall assemblies, structural connections, foundations, etc. I would have gone insane if I tried to use it as my primary resource.

Hyperfine Assignments

• I used Hyperfine for all my tests and loved it. I found studying the content, then explaining it in my own words through the assignments to be so helpful to consolidating it in your memory and making sure you really get it.

Desk Crits

• I used this book for every test. It’s a great guide with study plans for each test, as well as the key content to know for all the major concepts. I would reference back to it regularly to make sure I wasn’t missing any key concepts, and to get a really quick and easy explanation.

PrepARE Videos

• These videos are more like summaries of each subject, so you definitely need to supplement with other materials, but I found them helpful to just further reinforce the content.

Building Science Corporation Articles

• These articles explain building envelopes in such a clear and easy way, and are all free!
• https://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-001-the-perfect-wall

Resources I didn’t love:

Black Spectacles

• I used BS for all the tests. I thought it was helpful for the first five, although I definitely needed to supplement the content extensively with other resources, and the practice tests are great. The PDD course is very different from the others. The instructor was easy to listen to, but the videos are so long and meandering that I just couldn’t focus or get through many of them.

Ballast

• For some reason, half of the Ballast PDD chapter is dedicated to unecessarily complicated structural calculations. Just ignore this!

My approach:

As you can see, I used a lot of different resources. This is probably learning-type specific, but layering the content from many different sources was probably the most critical study strategy for me. It was so helpful to read the same content explained in different ways, and I found that it entered my brain at a much deeper level, and concepts I wasn’t really getting would suddenly click. Watching the videos alone never felt like enough, so I would watch the videos and then layer with a bunch of reading. Then I would lock it in with Hyperfine questions or practice quizzes. Layering lots of sources also made me feel more secure that I wasn't missing any major content gaps - I feel like some study sources will barely cover some topics that end up being important.

I only took one timed practice test for all six exams, lol. I couldn’t bear sitting at my desk for hours to get through all the questions, and I wouldn’t even remember why I chose each answer by the time I was done and reviewing the incorrect answers. I preferred just taking the NCARB practice tests in practice mode, where you answer one question, review the answer, then move on to the next. I would make a note of anything I got wrong, then would do a deeper dive on those topics. I also never passed a single practice test, but passed all my real tests on the first try! If you keep failing the practice tests like I did, don’t let it get you down or convince you that you aren’t ready. I have a friend who would score super high on all the practice tests, then kept failing the real exams over and over again. Everyone is just really different.

PDD content:

PDD felt like a really random grab-bag. I would stress having a broad level understanding of all the topics, but try and think of yourself as a master of none. You likely can’t know everything about everything, and you could spend days memorizing every mortar or insulation type because someone on the forum told you to, only to get one mortar question on the test (this was me!). Try to really understand the concepts, and know the rules of thumb really well, like where the vapor barrier goes based on climate, where flashing goes, where shear vs moment forces are greatest in a structural member, worst building designs for seismic forces, etc. Instead of memorizing each insulation type, try to know which is moisture-resistant so it can touch the ground, which is flammable, etc. When you’re reading, try to think about what kind of questions NCARB might ask (based on practice tests, etc). Whenever I would get anxious about memorizing every possible type of glass, I would try to zoom out and remind myself of the likelihood of getting even two questions about glass on the whole test! I think every test is super different, so what people tell you to study might be totally different than what shows up on your test. Try to just have a good grasp of the major points for each section, and make sure you actually understand the concepts instead of memorizing. Understanding concepts will allow you to make intuitive guesses even if you didn’t study exactly what the question was asking.

MEP

Plumbing

• Riser diagrams
• Be able to identify key components like waste and vent lines, P traps, cleanouts, shut-off valves,etc

Fire protection

• Sprinkler system types and when to use them (ex: preaction in a archive building)

Electrical/lighting

• Lamp types and when to use
• Lamp properties - CRI, Kelvin, efficacy, etc
• What voltage different building types use
• Electrical distribution from transformer to circuits

Mechanical

• Brush up on knowledge from PPD - what type of HVAC system is best for a given situation
• Thermal comfort
• Recognize necessary documentation changes when mechanical layout/sizing changes

Structures:

Do not waste time on learning to solve a ton of structural calculations! I wasted weeks on this because Ballast for some reason goes into so much detail on structures, but didn’t need any of it in the end. Elif’s videos definitely went into much more detail than I felt I ended up needing, but they were really helpful for understanding structural forces on a deeper level.

Understand shear and moment really well

Structural connections - shear vs moment connections, bolts, welds

Seismic - understand seismic forces, resonance, soft/weak stories, key strategies for seismic design (FEMA doc and Elif’s videos are great for this)

Basic effects wind has on a building, how to resist wind forces like uplift etc

Know where you can/can’t penetrate a structural member, where rebar goes in a member

Assemblies/Materials:

Know different wall types, like mass/barrier walls and rainscreens. Just be able to identify the key components (WRB, drainage plane, flashing, etc) and where they go. Be able to identify where and how wall assemblies like curtain walls or rainscreens connect to the structure. I went into too much detail studying this. Just know the major assembly types and their components/locations. Practice drawing basic assemblies and their layers with different colored pens.

Joints - control, isolation/expansion, construction joints and where to use them

Thermal and moisture management - thermal bridging, best location for insulation, vapor barriers, air barriers, flashing, weep holes

Basic R and U value calculations

Roofing

• Types of membranes and roofing types for diff slopes
• Understand how wall and roof assemblies meet
• Flashing, roof penetrations, understand a basic parapet detail

Foundations

• Know shallow vs deep foundation types
• When to use damp-proofing vs waterproofing
• Look at basic foundation details - where the insulation, damp-proofing, perforated drain pipe, etc go

Fire-rated assemblies - Know different rated wall assemblies (one hour, two hour), know where firestopping/safing is needed

Materials

• What materials need to be separated from each other
• Galvanic action - which metals shouldn’t touch. Don’t memorize the whole chart, just know which metals can’t be paired together
• Insulation - which is moisture-resistant, which is flammable, where rigid, batt, spray insulation go
• Concrete - understand cement types for different conditions, concrete is strong in compression but weak in tension, where to place rebar
• Masonry - different brick and mortar types, best mortar joint types
• Glass - know glass types and when to use - laminated, vs heat strengthened, low e, tinted, etc
• Wood - grain patterns, wood panel products for different applications like exterior sheathing or millwork

Soils

• At this point, you’ve probably studied soils quite a bit for previous tests. Just remember which soils are good (rocky/gravel), and which are bad (clay, silt, organic). Be able to read a geotechnical report at a basic level, know what foundation type goes with each soil type
• Seismic forces and soil types

Stormwater drainage - I did not really get to this much while studying and wished I had! Different drain types, how they connect to the stormwater main

Doors and windows - basic types, hinges

Elevator types and when to use each type

Acoustics:

Know the main design solutions for an acoustic assembly (resilient channels, adding mass and insulation, sealing penetrations, etc), and the major issues that can reduce acoustic performance

Code:

Occupancy groups and construction types

Fire rating and occupancy separation

Means of egress - know the components (exit access, exit, exit discharge) and their required dimensions (corridor, stairway, door widths), max length of travel, exit fire rating

ADA - know basic elements like accessible route, flooring transitions, door clearances, etc

Construction Documentation:

Be able to navigate a CD set - know the basic arrangement of drawings. Look through drawing sets from your office or other offices that you can find.

Be able to read schedules, finish plans, lighting plans

Have a basic understanding of how to read MEP drawings and recognize graphic symbols

Project Manual

• I got to this really late in my study schedule and wish I had spent more time reviewing it! This is important to know.
• Know different specification types and when to use (ex: government projects need open specs, usually performance)
• Know the basic layout of the project manual. Everyone said to memorize at least the first 20 MasterFormat divisions in the correct order. I used an annoying mnemonic device and spent a bunch of time on this, and didn’t think it was necessary in the end. You do need to know the divisions and what is in each of them (ex, where bidding docs go, where submittals go, where miscellaneous concrete goes), but I don’t think memorizing the exact titles and order helped me much. Know what circumstances are related to each division.

Case Studies:

I have always hated the case studies, but for this test I tried to view them as an easy way to get points. The answers are often in the drawings/references provided, you just need to be able to locate them! Remember to use the search function.

Please reach out if you ever have any questions, and good luck! This whole experience is so hard and crazy - believe in yourself. You can do this!!!!!