TN General Contractor study guide
TN General Contractor · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Tennessee General Contractor examination is the licensing test administered for contractors who intend to take on commercial or residential projects above the dollar threshold that Tennessee law sets for licensure. It is aimed at working contractors, construction managers, and owners who already know how to build but now need to demonstrate that they can run a business legally, price and schedule work competently, and answer to the state Board for Licensing Contractors. The TN General Contractor study guide has 10 sections and about 3,784 words.
01Business Organization, Financial Management, and Accounting
A Tennessee contractor license is issued to a specific legal entity - sole proprietorship, general partnership, limited partnership, LLC, or corporation - and names a qualifying agent who must satisfy the Board's experience and examination requirements. Every business-organization question on this exam ultimately asks: who holds the license, and who is responsible for the work?
654 words, about 3 min02Contract Law and Contract Administration
A contract needs offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity, and a lawful purpose. Tennessee's statute of frauds requires certain agreements to be in writing - notably contracts that cannot be performed within one year and promises to answer for another's debt.
327 words, about 2 min03Tennessee Contractor Licensing Law and Board Rules
The Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors licenses contractors, and the threshold that candidates most often miss is 25,000 . A general contractor may not bid on, offer to engage in, or perform a single project of 25,000 or more without a license.
360 words, about 2 min04Liens, Payment Bonds, and Payment Provisions
A lien attaches to the improved real property when labor, materials, or equipment are furnished. In Tennessee the prime contractor's lien relates back to the commencement of the improvement, giving it priority over later-recorded mortgages; this is why lenders monitor lien waivers closely.
371 words, about 2 min05Employment Law, Labor Relations, and Jobsite Safety
Tennessee is an employment-at-will state and a right-to-work state: employment may end for any lawful reason, and union membership cannot be required as a condition of employment. Wage-hour compliance follows the FLSA - overtime after 40 hours in a workweek for non-exempt workers - and the exempt classifications (executive, administrative, professional, outside sales) hinge on duties and salary, not job titles.
353 words, about 2 min06Estimating, Bidding, and Project Scheduling
Estimating moves in a fixed sequence: review documents and addenda, perform the quantity takeoff, apply waste and conversion factors, price labor with burden (taxes, insurance, fringe), add equipment and subcontract quotes, then apply indirect costs, contingency, overhead, and profit. Labor pricing uses crew rate ÷ crew production per hour , not a single worker's rate.
341 words, about 2 min07Site Work, Excavation, and Foundations
Sitework estimating turns on volume change. Soil in its natural state is bank volume; once excavated it swells into loose volume; once compacted it shrinks below bank.
351 words, about 2 min08Concrete, Masonry, and Structural Steel
Strength is governed by the water-cementitious materials ratio - extra water for workability costs strength and increases shrinkage. Specified compressive strength is measured on 28-day cylinders; slump and air content are tested fresh.
354 words, about 2 min09Carpentry, Roofing, and Building Envelope
Platform framing dominates light construction: floor joists, subfloor, walls, then the next floor or roof. Know stud spacing, header sizing, king and jack studs at openings, fire blocking, and the difference between bearing and non-bearing walls.
330 words, about 2 min10Project Management, Quality Control, and Project Closeout
Project management is a document-control discipline. Submittals (product data, shop drawings, samples, mockups) verify that what will be installed matches the specification; the reviewer confirms compliance but does not relieve the contractor of design responsibility for means and methods.
343 words, about 2 min