MT General Contractor study plan

Map each business-entity type (sole proprietorship, general partnership, LLC, corporation, joint venture) to its liability, taxation, and licensing consequences, and write a one-page comparison table from memory

Trace the contractor-licensing pathway in your state: application, qualifying party/qualifier exam, classification limits, renewal, and disciplinary grounds, and list each step with the agency that controls it

Distinguish the elements of a valid contract (offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity, legality) and identify at least three contract defenses that void or voidable agreements

Classify the standard contract types (lump sum, unit price, cost-plus, GMP, T&M, design-build) by how risk and quantity uncertainty shift between owner and contractor

Summarize the effect of the key clauses found in most construction contracts: scope, changes, differing site conditions, time, payment, indemnity, and termination

Analyze how change orders, constructive changes, and cardinal changes affect contract price and time, and draft sample language for a change-order clause

Explain the doctrine of substantial performance and how it interacts with progress payments, retainage, and final acceptance

Identify the remedies for breach (damages, specific performance, termination) and distinguish direct, consequential, and liquidated damages with a numeric example of each

Describe the subcontractor relationship: flow-down clauses, pay-when-paid versus pay-if-paid, pass-through claims, and back-charge procedures

Review a sample AIA-style agreement and a sample subcontract to locate where risk allocation differs between them

Build a quantity takeoff for a small hypothetical project (footings, slab, walls, roofing) using dimensioned descriptions and show the arithmetic for each line item

Apply the standard estimating structure: direct labor, material, equipment, subcontractor, indirect costs, overhead, contingency, and profit, and compute a bid price from a cost buildup

Compute unit costs and productivity rates from crew-hour data, and adjust labor rates for burden and overtime

Differentiate bid-shopping, bid-shopping protection, addenda handling, bid bonds, and the rules governing withdrawal or modification of a bid before opening

Construct a basic critical path method network from an activity list, identify the critical path, and compute total float for at least three activities

Distinguish the schedule types (bar chart, CPM, linear/LOB) and select the appropriate one for three different project scenarios with justification

Perform a forward and backward pass on a 15-activity network and verify early start, early finish, late start, late finish, and float for each activity

Explain resource leveling versus resource smoothing and describe how each affects the critical path

Interpret schedule performance using earned value: compute BCWS, BCWP, ACWP, SPI, and CPI from a sample dataset and state what each result signals

Prepare a short schedule-update narrative that documents delay events, fragnet insertion, and time-extension justification

Identify the OSHA standards most frequently cited in construction (fall protection, scaffolding, ladders, excavation, PPE, hazard communication, silica) and state the trigger threshold or requirement for each

Explain the multi-employer worksite doctrine and the duties of creating, exposing, correcting, and controlling employers

Outline the components of a site-specific safety plan: hazard assessment, competent-person designations, training records, incident investigation, and emergency response

Match common construction materials (concrete, masonry, steel, wood, gypsum, roofing, insulation) to their structural role, installation sequence, and typical failure modes

Describe the inspection and testing methods applied to those materials and the point in the sequence at which each test occurs

Sequence a site-development operation from clearing and grubbing through rough grading, utility installation, and finish grading, naming the equipment used at each step

Classify soils by the Unified Soil Classification System and explain how classification drives excavation support, dewatering, and bearing capacity decisions

Compute cut-and-fill volumes using the average-end-area or prismoidal method on a sample cross-section set, and state how shrinkage and swell factors adjust the numbers

Explain OSHA excavation requirements: protective systems by depth and soil type, spoil placement, access/egress, and daily competent-person inspection

Describe concrete mixture design, batching, placement, consolidation, curing, and testing (slump, air content, compressive cylinders), and identify the defects caused by poor practice in each step

Trace the mechanics of a mechanics lien from preliminary notice through recording, perfection, and enforcement, and identify the deadlines that apply to owners, primes, and subs

Explain how payment bonds, lien waivers (conditional and unconditional, progress and final), and joint-check arrangements protect or expose each party

Describe the risk-management cycle: identify, assess, transfer, retain, and monitor, and place insurance (GL, builders risk, workers comp, umbrella) and surety products within it

Identify the environmental permits and approvals commonly triggered by construction (NPDES/stormwater, air, wetlands, endangered species, historical preservation) and the activity that triggers each

Outline stormwater pollution prevention plan contents, erosion and sediment controls, and hazardous-waste and asbestos/lead handling obligations during renovation

Complete a timed full-length practice set under exam conditions and record the score by domain to expose weak areas

Re-teach the three lowest-scoring domains by rewriting each key concept in your own words without reference material, then verify against your notes

Drill the numerical skills that recur across domains: cost buildup, float, earned value, cut/fill, and concrete yield, until each is completed accurately without notes

Build a one-page formula and deadline sheet covering the computations and statutory time limits you must recall on exam day

Simulate the exam-day routine: confirm testing logistics, permitted reference materials, and a pacing plan for the item count and time limit