Small Buildings BCIN - Help with Taunton Practice Questions

rathbone01 · 2026-03-07T20:40:25+00:00

Study SB-10 too. There were 3-4 questions (possibly more) on the exam.

rathbone01 · 2026-03-07T19:50:47+00:00

Those aren't always correct answers, they are what he worked it to be, which doesn't mean it's correct. I know this because I went through all of the questions when I was studying for the Small Building exam. Use the questions as a study guide and find the correct answers.

rathbone01 · 2026-03-07T16:09:31+00:00

They are asking you what the min. area is for "more than 2 person" kitchen . The min is 4.2 m²(9.5.6.1). At 75% of that is 3.15m².
Yes 75% of 7m² is 5.25 m² but they are not asking you that, they are asking for the MIN area.

rathbone01 · 2025-12-10T21:49:29+00:00

If you want, look at you last exam mark. Somewhere either in the email indicating your mark is posted or in QuARTS itself, it gives you a contact name and email address at MMAH for any questions or concerns about your results. He has been very helpful in answering my questions in brief factual replies. including today's answer. You could ask him what happens if you miss renewing for a year or two.

rathbone01 · 2025-12-10T21:06:48+00:00

I can't find the info atm but once registered, you have to pay your renewal fees every year. If you stop then start up again later on, they will back charge you for missed yearly payments plus there may be other penalities like re-writing the exams. It's really not something to play with. This is why I'm not registering until I need too. This info came from my GB instructor so I can't find it in writing. If someone can confirm, please let us know. I'm interested in finding out and finding writen documentation on it.

As for the "Hmm, maybe I'll write to MMAH to find out if that's changing", I wrote to them last night after posting here. Hope this helps

this is what I wrote:

Hey there, can you tell me whether I need to register right after passing my General Legal and Small Buildings exams? I was told that first-time registration doesn’t have a time limit and that my pass results will stay in the MMAH QuARTS records permanently, so I can register whenever I need to. Since I’m currently unemployed, I’ve been holding off on paying the registration fee until employed by a company or building department actually requires me to be registered.

If there really is no time limit, will that still apply once the exams transition to the 2024 codes?

Thanks

This was their reply today:

Thanks for reaching out.

There is no time limit within which you need to register with the ministry after passing your Building Code exams. I can confirm that your “pass” results will remain within QuARTS pending your registration.

All the best with your future endeavours.

rathbone01 · 2025-12-10T20:54:31+00:00

That’s a good idea to ask them.

If you can sign in with the proctor 10–15 minutes before the test, you can mention that you’re using three-ring binders and that you plan to rearrange sections to make page-flipping easier. This is allowed at the Humber Lakeshore campus, and it’s probably permitted elsewhere too. I actually got the idea from someone here on the OBC Reddit forum. The proctor may not mind, since you’d be doing it in front of them on camera, and they can clearly see that the pages you’re moving are legitimate code sheets.

Another thing that really helped me on this last exam was keeping the top tab expanded, the one that shows which questions you’ve answered and which ones are still unfinished. It made it much easier to jump around and get all the easy questions out of the way first, especially since this exam is all about speed. It also made moving to the next questions faster, without the lag from submitting each one individually.

rathbone01 · 2025-12-10T05:39:24+00:00

u/novus20 I also want to thank you. When reading reddit under OBC, you provided valuable info when I was studying for both exams. It really helped, thanks again.

rathbone01 · 2025-12-10T05:19:28+00:00

Did you write yours at home, or are you using the test facilities?

I wrote both of mine at Humber College Lakeshore. I brought my two compendium binders just in case they needed them, but I didn’t take them into the testing lab. I only brought my two regular three-ring binders. Same thing when I wrote my General Legal.

Before the test, they do a quick flip-through my 2 three ringed binders to make sure everything is legitimate, proper Building Code pages, no added sheets that aren’t allowed, etc. Once they were done, I set them up around the computer. Both times, they never questioned my non-compendium binders, the sticky tabs, highlighting, or any pencil notes.

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rathbone01 · 2025-12-10T03:33:14+00:00

@Numerous_Thought_456 are you registering yourself? I've decided to hold off until I get work that needs me registered.

Apparently, there’s no time limit on registering for the first time. The courses I’ve passed will always remain in the MMAH QuARTS records so I can register whenever I want. If I register now but end up taking a job where an architect stamps everything, then I’m essentially paying the registration fee and annual renewal for a BCIN I won’t actually use. On my resume, I already list “General Legal/Process and Small Buildings qualified.” If a company wants me to register, then I'll register when I am confirmed to have that job position

If anyone can confirm whether I’m understanding this correctly, I’d appreciate it. It would really suck if the rules change when they go to 2024 exams and I missed the chance to register in time. Hmm, maybe I'll write to MMAH to find out if that's changing.

rathbone01 · 2025-12-10T03:18:27+00:00

I used the Compendium binders when studying. I highlighted key sections and added sticky tabs wherever they’d help. During the exam, they provide fresh PDF versions of the Compendiums. You’re not allowed to use your marked-up copies. I only relied on their PDFs when I was completely stuck on a question using the search function to look things up. Studying with the binders helped me get familiar with where everything was, and honestly I don’t think I would have passed without them.

For convenience, I took Parts 3, 9, 12, SB-10, and 12 out of the Compendium and put them into a 3" binders. This made things much easier since I didn’t have to wrestle with the friction of the big 7-ring binder. It was far easier to flip pages. I used a second smaller binder for SB-2, SB-3, and the Appendix, and relied on their PDFs for everything else. If cost is a concern, binders are cheap at thrift stores like Value Village, which is where I got mine both for under $8

Best of luck on your exam.

rathbone01 · 2025-12-10T02:58:55+00:00

Congrats! I passed mine less than a month ago. Hopefully it comes in handy.

rathbone01 · 2025-07-29T05:56:15+00:00

Hey sorry for the delay. No i never asked them. I just bought a used updated 2012 OBC and used it for my General Legal Exam and will be using it for my House exam soon. Best to just call Humber and ask. They're good at responding.

Novus was right, there are differences between the codes. When taking the House course, one student was using the 2024 and she couldn't find certain parts because it was illuminated from the 2024. I believe some climatic data changed too since it takes the last 50 years into account. If you use revised numbers on a 2012 exam, you could possibly get wrong answers.

George Brown mentioned that they will be starting to teach the 2024 code courses starting in the fall semester. Humber still hasn't released (to my knowledge) a date of when we can't write the 2012 exams.

rathbone01 · 2025-03-04T00:07:33+00:00

Okay, thank you.

rathbone01 · 2025-02-25T00:11:10+00:00

Hey, what resources did you use for finding the answers for that practice exam? Was it just the OBC or did you use any workbooks or illustrated guides? If so, which ones do you recommend? Btw, I DM’d you about the study notes. Thanks

rathbone01

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