What the NHBRC Test Covers

The Eight Areas

Each practice question includes a SANS reference. Use it to find the relevant section of the standard when you need to review an answer.

These are the areas this site's 277 questions are written against, matching the app. They are our organisation of the material, not an official NHBRC syllabus. The assessment guide sets out what the NHBRC does and does not publish about the real thing.

What the Two Standards Are

SANS 10400 is the code of practice for the application of the National Building Regulations. Its parts are lettered, and the letters are what you see in a reference: H is foundations, J floors, K walls, L roofs, M stairways, P drainage.

SANS 2001 is the construction works standard, and covers how the work is carried out, including CC1 and CC2 for concrete and EM1 for masonry plaster, and so on. Where SANS 10400 tells you what a building must achieve, SANS 2001 tells you how the work is specified.

Which to Study First

Start where the building starts. Ground conditions and foundations decide what everything above them is allowed to be, and questions about walls and floors often turn on something settled in the foundation section. Roofs and stairways are more self-contained and can wait.

Then use your practice results to choose what to revise next. Look for areas where you repeatedly lose marks, and use the answer references to find the clauses to read.

A Caution About Question Packs

Treat claims about “the actual NHBRC exam questions” with care. The NHBRC publishes no paper, and a 2021 tender of its own describes questions drawn at random per candidate. Practise the standards, not a memorised list.

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