PDD Pass - 1st try

PDD Pass - 1st try

Postby Raja » Mon Jan 14, 2019 10:56 pm

This exam was easier for me than PPD, I got a lot of questions on project issues and types I have experience in. Know details— waterproofing for proper drainage, vapor barriers and so forth. Know how to read building sections and what is supposed to be in them, where. I had few structures questions, they were straightforward diagrams, not complicated calcs, similar to on PPD. Know specs, what goes where. This exam like PPD, builds on what you’ve already learned for the other ones.

My primary study materials for PDD were the NCARB recommended books, which I skimmed through entirely. I fully read BCI (construction) and Olin’s. As with PPD I kept going back to review what they wanted me to know, in the ARE Handbook and

Graphic Standards— details
Building Codes Illustrated
Building Construction Illustrated
MEEB
Olin’s Construction Principles, Materials and Methods
2015 IBC
I did not read the ASCE structures

I supplemented with Ballast question and answers for 4.0 SS, BDCS, BS and CDs. I also went through my old NALSA 4.0 flash cards for these divisions in my spare time. I didn’t get through them all but they were useful. I also used Hyperfine study questions, which helped me think through things for the questions.

Time management was hard for me in this one but I at least remembered to press the break button this time. I also didn’t skip/mark any questions this time. I ran out of time on the 2nd case study and had to skim/gut response answer about 10 questions in less than 5 minutes. Give yourself at least 90 minutes for the case studies if you can but also remember they’re not worth more than any other question, and they have more resource material to dig through quickly.

On to try again in PPD, last one (plus CA Supplemental...)
Raja
 
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Re: PDD Pass - 1st try

Postby KOOTA » Tue Jan 15, 2019 10:18 am

CONGRATS, how long did you study for? would you say olin was useful if so what chapters.
Thank you
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Re: PDD Pass - 1st try

Postby architectco » Tue Jan 15, 2019 4:55 pm

Olin's is a huge book, did you study it cover to cover or just certain chapters ?
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Re: PDD Pass - 1st try

Postby Raja » Tue Jan 15, 2019 6:07 pm

KOOTA wrote:CONGRATS, how long did you study for? would you say olin was useful if so what chapters.
Thank you


I found Olin's useful, but I don't think there's any one resource where you will get everything you need to know. On the community board NCARB moderators suggest focusing on the reference material listed for each exam in the Handbook. I took this to heart and I think it was the right approach, along with the supplemental stuff I used. I'd try to get a good general understanding of everything covered by the exam, with lots of detailed info on some aspect that interests you or that you know about already.

I studied about 6 weeks for PDD after failing PPD. I'd given myself 3 weeks but they rescheduled me last minute due to weather-related closure of my testing center, so I got to "cram" twice for this one. Really stressful, but it probably helped to have to do that.
Raja
 
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Re: PDD Pass - 1st try

Postby Raja » Tue Jan 15, 2019 6:10 pm

architectco wrote:Olin's is a huge book, did you study it cover to cover or just certain chapters ?


Yes, cover to cover. I like that it's organized in Masterformat, very very useful. I tried to go through it fast, but if something was interesting, for instance I got super excited about the masonry construction section for some reason, I would slow down and really read carefully, think through it all, do a little outside internet research with reading, videos, diagrams, and cross-reference other study books to get a better understanding.
Raja
 
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Re: PDD Pass - 1st try

Postby Raja » Tue Jan 15, 2019 6:12 pm

I dropped my sentence in original post, meant to write "...ARE Handbook and Test Specification."
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Re: PDD Pass - 1st try

Postby architectco » Tue Jan 15, 2019 7:46 pm

A lot of technical reading .
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Re: PDD Pass - 1st try

Postby Anob » Wed Jan 16, 2019 7:33 am

Can "Fundamentals of Bldg Materials" be used in place of Olin's Book?
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Re: PDD Pass - 1st try

Postby Raja » Thu Jan 17, 2019 10:20 pm

architectco wrote:A lot of technical reading .


Yeah. I felt most of the exam questions were educated guesswork based on overall knowledge about the topics, but studying some areas in-depth helped me pick off a good handful of very specific questions, and informed the educated guesses.
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