Home Inspector Structure & Interiors Practice Questions
Structure & Interiors makes up 5 of every 50 questions on a Tigertest Home Inspector practice test. Here are 10 of the 20 questions on it, each with the answer and the reason.
Updated by the Tigertest team. Based on the EBPHI content outline for the National Home Inspector Examination. Original questions; 50 per test, weighted like the real 200-question exam. Not affiliated with EBPHI.
1. A concrete block basement wall has a long horizontal crack at mid-height and bows inward. The most likely cause is:
- A.A settling corner
- B.Lateral soil pressure
- C.Concrete shrinkage
- D.Thermal expansion
Answer: B. Saturated or frozen soil pushes on the wall from outside until it cracks along a mortar joint and bows in. It is a structural concern that needs evaluation.
2. Stair-step cracks along the mortar joints of a block foundation most often indicate:
- A.Overloaded floor joists
- B.Freeze damage to the face
- C.Shrinkage during curing
- D.Differential settlement
Answer: D. When one part of a footing settles more than another, block walls crack diagonally along the weaker mortar joints in a stair-step pattern.
3. A thin vertical crack in a poured concrete wall, with no offset and no sign of water, is usually:
- A.Shrinkage from curing
- B.A collapsed footing
- C.Active settlement
- D.A hydrostatic failure
Answer: A. Concrete shrinks as it cures, leaving narrow vertical cracks. Offset, widening or water entry would point to a more serious problem.
4. White powdery deposits on the face of a basement wall show that:
- A.Mold is actively growing
- B.The wall is overloaded
- C.Water has moved through it
- D.The mortar mix was too strong
Answer: C. Efflorescence is salt left behind when water travels through masonry and evaporates at the surface. It is a moisture sign, not a structural one.
5. Which soil is most likely to heave and shrink under a foundation as its moisture changes with the seasons?
- A.Coarse sand
- B.Solid bedrock
- C.Expansive clay
- D.Well-graded gravel
Answer: C. Expansive clays swell when wet and shrink when dry, moving footings and slabs. Sand and gravel drain freely and change volume very little.
6. Under the IRC, a notch in a sawn lumber floor joist may not be made:
- A.In the middle third of the span
- B.In the end quarter of the span
- C.Near a bearing wall
- D.Within 12 inches of either support
Answer: A. Notches are limited to the outer thirds of the span, where bending stress is lowest. The middle third carries the greatest bending stress.
7. A hole bored through a sawn floor joist should be no closer to the top or bottom edge than:
- A.4 inches
- B.1 inch
- C.3 inches
- D.2 inches
Answer: D. The IRC keeps bored holes at least 2 inches from the edges and no larger than one third of the joist depth.
8. An attic truss web member has been cut to make room for an HVAC unit. The inspector should:
- A.Suggest adding collar ties
- B.Refer it to an engineer
- C.Call it a cosmetic issue
- D.Suggest adding a sister board
Answer: B. Trusses are engineered as a whole and no member may be cut without a design for the repair. A cut web is reported for evaluation by an engineer.
9. In an exterior or bearing wall, a sawn wood stud may be notched to no more than what share of its width?
- A.60%
- B.25%
- C.40%
- D.10%
Answer: B. Bearing wall studs may be notched up to 25% of their width. 40% applies to non-bearing walls, and 60% is the limit for bored holes in doubled studs.
10. A ridge that sags in the middle while the walls below are pushed outward suggests missing or failed:
- A.Soffit vents
- B.Hurricane straps
- C.Sheathing clips
- D.Rafter ties
Answer: D. Rafter ties near the plate line resist the outward thrust of rafters. Without them, the walls spread and the ridge drops.
Practice all 20 structure & interiors questions, and the rest of the 200-question bank, in the free Home Inspector training sets. Questions you miss come back until you have mastered them.
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