CD and Admin tips

[Tiffany Adair]

Hi Folks, just look for any last minute tips on the construction documentation exam. A lot of the resources were a bit contradictory or had variances that didn't really fit each other. 

But, looking for any tips for this one. LARE Prep also didn't seem as well rounded for this as for 2 other exams so I would be interested to hear others experience. 

Cheers,

T.

[ADMIN]

"A lot of the resources were a bit contradictory or had variances that didn't really fit each other." - can you clarify what you mean by this so we can assist? Some of it may be inherent to the exam itself or reflect your level of familiarity with construction. For example, from irrigation equipment to green roof cross sections to asphalt mixes, there is a huge variance in how things are built due to climatic variables. So something may appear contradictory ("why is the root barrier placed above the insulation in one detail, but not another").

[Abby Schafer]

Hello,

I took the Construction Docs and Admin exam in April and passed. The information in the LARE Prep Study guide covered pretty much everything that was on the test. I do recommend taking some practice tests though and becoming familiar with thinking about this information in the way the questions require you to. I made flashcards from my notes of the LARE Prep study guide and had those fully memorized, but the questions are worded in ways that despite knowing everything, you could still get tripped up. This exam was the first one I took, so it is possible that all the exams are this way and your previous exam experience has prepped you for this test. Good luck and Godspeed!

[Tiffany Adair]

Hi ADMIN: I found that even the general 'best practice' guidelines seem to vary making it a bit frustrating to know what is possible on the exam. The clearest example I can think of is a digging a hole for a tree to be planted. Typically it should be 2x as wide as the root ball and a few inches shallower with absolutely no inorganic material around the roots (save untreated burlap). But I saw some examples that had wire left on and the hole dug deeper in the details, which was also in a (non-CALRB) practice exam. So things like that, leaning towards the best practice or rules of thumb, seem to vary. I guess this mostly for detailing things on drawings. 

[ADMIN]

A few thoughts:

- Unfortunately, the CLARB/non-CLARB distinction for information is not always clear. There was a discussion on here where we determined that CLARB had provided incorrect information on ADA ramp standards (!!!) in their new online practice exam. And there is (as you've pointed out) contradictory information both between different CLARB recommended readings as well as within the books themselves.

- Generally speaking I think CLARB does a good job of using questions that address the consensus. So for your tree example, I expect that you could get a question that asks what the width of the planting hole should be, that the root flare should be above ground, etc. (Also it helps to cite where you are reading the discrepancies of wire basket removal if you really want feedback on that specific issue)

- In my opinion, planting details are often not intended to be read at scale in the same way that a hardscape detail would. So if you see a large gap between the bottom of the root ball and the subgrade but its not dimensioned, I would just ignore that/not worry about it. Planting has such a wide degree of tolerance because its workers digging holes in loose material, not a fabricator cutting steel to a tolerance of 1/64". So if its not dimensioned but it "looks" deeper, just don't worry about it

- Finally, all you're trying to do is pass the exam. You don't need to get every question right and regardless of how hard you study, you will encounter a handful of questions that you don't know how to answer. A lot of it comes down to how odd/confusing the wording is on these questions, that you received an experimental question, etc. I remember getting the same question twice on one my exams. One year people were complaining that there was no spacing between words in the exam so everythingappearedlikeasingleunbrokenword.The LARE is weird like that. So just take it easy. If you've put in the time to study the material and are starting to notice minutiae like the tree planting detail, it means you're likely more than prepared enough for exam day.