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NHBRC Practice Test: 10 Questions, Marked as You Go

Practise questions from the same bank used in the app. Each answer is marked straight away, with an explanation and the relevant SANS clause, table or figure. No account or download needed.

Questions
10
Timer
None
Practice pass mark
80%our setting

All 10 are foundations questions, SANS 10400-H — the app’s free tier starts there, and these are drawn from it. The full bank runs across eight areas, and the questions page publishes more of them with their answers. Checked against the published standard on 6 September 2026 — how we check these.

0 of 10 answered

  1. FoundationsQuestion 1 of 10

    Who is the most competent person that should design the Geotechnical solution

    Show the answer and the reason

    Correct answer: B, A Geotechnical Engineer. The standard reserves this work for a “competent person (geotechnical)”. Definition 3.10 asks for more than registration: suitable experience in geotechnical site investigations or foundation design. A general civil engineer does not automatically hold that experience, and an inspector checks work rather than designs it.

    SANS10400-H Foundation: Page 5

  2. FoundationsQuestion 2 of 10

    A dolomite feature that manifests as a hole in the ground is referred to as

    Show the answer and the reason

    Correct answer: A, A sink hole. Definition 3.40 states that a sinkhole is a feature that occurs suddenly and manifests itself as a hole in the ground. The suddenness is the point: subsidence is the slower settlement that happens when sinkhole formation stops early or the overburden consolidates.

    SANS10400-H Foundation: Page 9, Par 3.40

  3. FoundationsQuestion 3 of 10

    What is the purpose of a geotechnical site investigation in the home building sector

    Show the answer and the reason

    Correct answer: B, To document the parameters upon which the design of the foundation is to be based. Clause 4.2.1 sets out the purpose of the investigation: to document and form an opinion on the parameters the foundation design will rest on, and to classify the site against table 1. It is the input to a design decision, not paperwork produced for its own sake.

    SANS10400-H Foundation: Page 11, par 4.2.1

  4. FoundationsQuestion 4 of 10

    Which one of the following soils expands considerably when water is added

    Show the answer and the reason

    Correct answer: A, Clay soil site classification 'H". Table 1 groups fine-grained soils of moderate to very high plasticity (clays, silty clays, clayey silts and sandy clays) as expansive soils, designated H. They take up water and swell, then shrink as they dry, and that cycle is what cracks the masonry above them. Rock is class R and dolomite land falls under P.

    SANS10400-H Foundation: Page 11, Table 1

  5. FoundationsQuestion 5 of 10

    In terms of the NHBRC soil class classification, what is a "P" soil type classification

    Show the answer and the reason

    Correct answer: D, Contaminated soil, fill & marshes. Class P is table 1’s designation for ground whose behaviour the usual descriptors cannot predict: contaminated soils, controlled and uncontrolled fill, dolomite land, landslip, landfill, marshy areas, mine waste and mining subsidence. Rock, clay and sand each have classes of their own.

    SANS10400-H Foundation: Page 11, Table 1

  6. FoundationsQuestion 6 of 10

    What types of soil are good for construction

    Show the answer and the reason

    Correct answer: A, Rock soil. Table 1 ranks founding materials by how much they move. Rock is the only entry listed as stable with negligible movement, site class R. Clays are expansive, and sands and gravels are compressible or potentially collapsible, so every other option brings movement the design has to absorb.

    SANS10400-H Foundation: Page 11, Table 1

  7. FoundationsQuestion 7 of 10

    What is the minimum founding depth for slab on the ground foundation type

    Show the answer and the reason

    Correct answer: C, 300mm. Figures 3 and 4 dimension the slab-on-the-ground option at 300 mm minimum, against 400 mm for a strip footing in the same drawings. A slab spreads load across its whole area instead of concentrating it in a trench, so it does not have to reach as deep.

    SANS10400-H Foundation: Page 16, Fig.a

  8. FoundationsQuestion 8 of 10

    Except founded on rock, the minimum founding depth for a strip footing below natural ground level shall not be less than

    Show the answer and the reason

    Correct answer: B, 400mm. Figure 5 marks the strip footing “400 min.”, with rock called out as the exception. Rock is excepted because it is already a stable founding material; everything else has to get below the zone where seasonal moisture moves the soil.

    SANS10400-H Foundation: Page 16 Fig.b or Page 17 Table 3

  9. FoundationsQuestion 9 of 10

    The minimum width of a strip foundation for a single storey building with a tiled or sheeted roof in stable soil conditions for an external & internal wall shall be .... respectively

    Show the answer and the reason

    Correct answer: C, 500mm for the external wall & 400mm for the internal wall. Table 3 splits the width by wall and by roof. For soil under a tiled or sheeted roof it asks 500 mm on the external wall and 400 mm internally. The external wall takes the roof load down one side, so it needs the wider spread. On rock both drop to 400 mm.

    SANS10400-H Foundation: Page 17, Table 3

  10. FoundationsQuestion 10 of 10

    What is the minimum slab thickness of a strip foundation

    Show the answer and the reason

    Correct answer: B, 200mm. Clause 4.3.2.2.1(c) sets the thickness at not less than 200 mm, with one exception: bearing straight onto solid rock, where it need only be thick enough to give a level surface. Width comes from table 3. Thickness is specified separately.

    SANS10400-H Foundation: Page 17, Par 4.3.2.2.1ac

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