10 exam-style questions with answers and explanations, straight from our 1,030-question bank. Tap an answer to check yourself. When you're ready, take the scored version in the free practice test.
The MN-RBC exam has 110 questions and runs 5 hours 30 minutes.
These 10 free MN-RBC questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Minnesota Residential Building Contractor License Exam blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
At final testing of a new Minnesota house, a blower door measures 720 cubic feet per minute at a 50-pascal pressure difference. The conditioned volume is 18,000 cubic feet. The owner asks whether this result allows the planned whole-house mechanical ventilation to be omitted. How should the contractor interpret the test?
Correct answer: B - It meets the leakage limit at 2.4 ACH50; mechanical ventilation is still required.
An operable window is proposed as the emergency escape and rescue opening for a new second-floor bedroom. With the sash fully open, its unobstructed opening is 19 inches wide and 48 inches high, with a manufacturer-reported net clear area of 6.33 square feet. The bottom of the clear opening is 40 inches above the finished floor. Which dimension prevents approval?
Correct answer: D - The 19-inch clear width is below the required opening width.
A backhoe strikes a marked natural-gas service during foundation excavation. The crew hears hissing and smells gas near the trench. No one is injured, and the gas has not ignited. Which response takes priority?
Correct answer: C - Move people clear and immediately notify 911 and the gas operator from a safe location.
A mix submittal for a footing supporting a poured-concrete basement wall specifies 3,000-psi concrete at 28 days with an approved admixture documented to provide water and vapor resistance at least equivalent to 5,000-psi concrete. The structural design permits this strength, and no project specification requires a higher one. Under Minnesota's footing-concrete provision, this submittal should be:
Correct answer: C - Accepted as the permitted admixture alternative to 5,000-psi concrete.
A homeowner wants a vaulted ceiling in a room framed with conventional rafters and a nonstructural ridge board. The proposal removes the horizontal rafter ties near the wall plates but leaves the collar ties high near the ridge. Which force would no longer have its intended restraint?
Correct answer: C - Outward thrust pushing the exterior bearing walls apart
Ice-barrier coverage is being checked on a heated house with a 6:12 asphalt-shingle roof. The horizontal distance from the lowest roof edge to the exterior wall line is 18 inches. An approved self-adhering sheet starts at that roof edge. Ignoring lap allowances, which upslope coverage is the shortest listed that reaches the code-required distance inside the exterior wall line?
Correct answer: D - 48 inches measured along the roof surface
During re-siding, a contractor finds decayed sheathing immediately below the point where a lower roof's eave ends against a two-story wall. The step flashing upslope is intact. A controlled water test shows runoff leaving the last step flashing and entering behind the siding instead of entering the gutter. What correction addresses this specific failure?
Correct answer: A - Install kick-out flashing that directs the runoff away from the wall and into the gutter.
Two Minnesota construction LLCs each have 30% ownership held by the same investor. Both want to designate Morgan as their qualifying person. Morgan has passed the Qualifying Builder exam, holds an active QB registration, and is an actual managing employee actively engaged in residential contracting for both companies, but owns no interest in either. Does this arrangement satisfy the common-ownership and qualifying-person relationship requirements?
Correct answer: A - Yes; the companies share sufficient ownership, and Morgan has a qualifying relationship with both.
For an insurance-funded roof replacement, a homeowner asks the contractor for a $1,500 yard-sign advertising credit specifically to cover the homeowner's $1,500 deductible. The insurer would still receive an invoice for the full contract price. Which payment arrangement avoids the prohibited deductible subsidy?
Correct answer: B - Collect the deductible from the homeowner without an offsetting payment or credit.
Eighteen months after the statutory warranty date of a newly built home, a concealed plumbing joint leaks because the original installer made a connection that violated building standards. The owner promptly gives written notice. There is no damage to load-bearing construction. Which statutory coverage most directly addresses the defective installation?
Correct answer: D - The two-year warranty for faulty installation of plumbing systems
The MN-RBC exam also covers these domains. Drill them in the full free practice test:
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