UT General Contractor study plan

List the elements of a valid construction contract (offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity, lawful purpose) and point to each one inside two agreement forms you draft yourself.

Differentiate owner-contractor, owner-subcontractor, and contractor-supplier agreements by writing one paragraph per party describing its obligations, risks, and remedies.

Classify ten common clauses (changes, differing site conditions, indemnity, liquidated damages, delay, pay-when-paid, termination, warranty, dispute resolution, insurance) by purpose and by which party bears the risk.

State from memory the standard remedies for breach, including expectation damages, consequential damages limits, termination for cause versus convenience, and stop-work rights.

Explain the general mechanics of payment bonds, performance bonds, and mechanic's lien rights, flagging every deadline that must be verified in the Utah Code rather than assumed.

Compute quantity takeoffs for concrete, wood framing, and drywall from dimensions you write out yourself, showing the waste factor for each.

Build a unit-price estimate for a 1,500 sq ft single-story project separating labor, material, equipment, overhead, and profit into distinct line items.

Calculate markup and gross margin on that same project at 10%, 15%, and 20%, and show numerically how the two methods produce different selling prices.

Sequence the bid process end to end: prequalification, bid documents, addenda, bid opening, award, and post-bid documentation, with the document produced at each step.

Distinguish lump-sum, unit-price, cost-plus, and time-and-materials contract types by naming the estimating method each one requires.

Apply change-order and delay provisions to three written scenarios you construct, computing the resulting cost and time adjustment for each.

Reconcile an estimate line against a change order to demonstrate how a scope change flows into contract price, retainage, and final payment.

Trace the progress payment cycle: pay application, schedule of values, retainage, certification, and final payment, and identify where disputes typically arise.

Identify the documentation you would need to support a claim for extra work, and draft the notice language that protects that claim.

Compare sole proprietorship, LLC, corporation, and partnership on liability exposure, taxation, capitalization, and continuity in a written comparison table.

Build a critical-path schedule for a small project: activity list, durations, dependencies, forward and backward pass, and total float per activity.

Design a cost-control reporting format showing budget, committed cost, actual cost, forecast-to-complete, and variance for each cost code.

Outline the licensing, registration, and insurance requirements that apply to a general contractor, naming the agency or document where each is verified.

Explain how overhead, working capital, and cash-flow timing constrain a contractor's bidding capacity.

Apply the hierarchy of controls to five site hazards you list, ranking each control from elimination down to PPE and justifying the ranking.

State from memory the OSHA construction focus areas and their trigger conditions: fall protection, scaffolding, excavation and trenching, electrical, PPE, ladders, and hazard communication.

Draft a site-specific safety plan outline including competent-person duties, inspection frequency, tool-box talks, and recordkeeping obligations.

Sequence the incident response path from injury through first aid, notification, investigation, and the final written report.

Describe supervisory duties for a multi-employer site: hazard correction authority, stop-work authority, and coordination with subcontractors.

Run a documented site inspection simulation: write the checklist, record five findings with photographs described in writing, and assign corrective actions with due dates and owners.

Apply subcontractor management practices: identify scope gaps between subcontracts, coordinate overlapping schedules, and document performance deficiencies in writing.

Explain how safety performance, insurance premiums, and claims history feed back into overhead, markup, and bonding capacity.

Compute schedule float on a short activity network and use it to decide which delay justifies a time extension.

Rank your four domains by practice-set score and re-drill the two lowest with targeted question sets until each clears 75%.

Re-derive every concept in your running error log and rewrite each as a single recall line readable in 15 seconds.

Drill every calculation type: markup versus margin, productivity rates, concrete volume and waste, and schedule float.

Test yourself on contract-versus-safety crossovers, such as who pays for safety compliance that a subcontractor disputes.

Complete two full-length timed simulations under exam conditions, scoring 80% or higher on each.

Review only the rule sheet and error log, adding no new material in the final three days.

Write a pacing plan in seconds per question and set checkpoints at the quarter, half, and three-quarter marks.

Confirm exam-day logistics: identification, scheduling, arrival time, and permitted materials.