CSLB C-53 Swimming Pool (Trade Exam) — All Questions

On a $6,000 pool cover and equipment contract, what downpayment cap applies?

• a.$6,000
• b.$1,000
• c.$60
• d.$600✓

Ten percent of $6,000 is $600, which is less than $1,000, so the cap is $600. A $1,000 downpayment exceeds 10 percent.B&P Code §7159.5(a)(3)

A contractor wants to bill 40 percent of the price the day the permit is issued, before any work. What does the statute say?

• a.It is allowed with the owner's verbal agreement
• b.It is allowed because the permit itself has value
• c.Beyond a downpayment, payments cannot exceed work done✓
• d.It is allowed for specialty contractors

Except for a downpayment, the contractor may neither request nor accept payment that exceeds the value of the work performed or material delivered. A permit is not work, a verbal agreement cannot override the statute, and specialty contractors are covered.B&P Code §7159.5(a)(5)

How must progress payments be stated in a pool contract?

• a.As percentages of the price, untied to work
• b.At the contractor's choice when billing
• c.In dollars and cents, tied to specific work✓
• d.By calendar date, untied to progress

Each progress payment is stated in dollars and cents and references the work or services and the materials and equipment to be supplied. Percentages, dates and later choice do not meet the statute.B&P Code §7159(d)(9)

How does a change order become part of a swimming pool contract?

• a.By a writing signed before the changed work begins✓
• b.By billing it after the work is finished
• c.By an oral request made on the job site that day
• d.By the contractor's invoice alone, sent at completion

A change-order form becomes part of the contract only if it is in writing and signed before commencement of the work it covers. Oral requests, after-the-fact billing and invoices do not qualify.B&P Code §7159(c)(5)

Besides the drawing, what does a pool contract's project description include?

• a.The names of the owner's relatives
• b.The significant materials and equipment✓
• c.A list of the neighbors who agreed
• d.The contractor's personal phone records

The description covers the project and the significant materials and equipment, and for pools a plan and scale drawing. Relatives' names, a list of agreeing neighbors and the contractor's phone records have no place in a contract description.B&P Code §7159(d)(7)

Which Energy Code item belongs in the estimate for a new outdoor gas-heated pool?

• a.A fire pit
• b.A cover✓
• c.A diving board
• d.A slide

Outdoor pools and spas with electric or gas heaters must have a cover, so it is priced. A fire pit, a diving board and a slide are optional features that the Energy Code does not require.2025 Energy Code §110.4(b)3

Which costs must the contract amount include?

• a.Materials, with labor billed separately later
• b.Profit, with costs billed as incurred
• c.The entire cost, including profit, labor and materials✓
• d.Labor, with materials billed separately later

The statute says the contract amount shall include the entire cost, including profit, labor and materials, but excluding finance charges. Each other statement leaves out one cost class (labor, materials or profit) or defers it to later billing.B&P Code §7159.5(a)(1)

A pool surface measures 14 feet by 28 feet. What is the 60-percent solar collector area?

• a.About 157 square feet
• b.About 168 square feet
• c.About 392 square feet
• d.About 235 square feet✓

Surface area is 392 square feet and 60 percent is 235. The figure 157 is 40 percent, 392 is the whole area, and 168 is a slip in the arithmetic.2025 Energy Code §110.4(c)

A pool is 24 feet by 48 feet with a flat 4-foot depth. At 7.5 gallons per cubic foot, how many gallons does it hold?

• a.69,120 gallons
• b.34,560 gallons✓
• c.17,280 gallons
• d.4,608 gallons

Area is 1,152 square feet, volume is 4,608 cubic feet, and x 7.5 = 34,560 gallons. The figure 4,608 skips the conversion, 69,120 doubles the volume, and 17,280 halves it.CSLB C-53 study guide 13E-53 (computation questions)

One city's guide asks for how many stamped and signed engineered pool plans and how many scaled site plans?

• a.Two engineered plans and three site plans✓
• b.Two engineered plans and two site plans
• c.Three engineered plans and two site plans
• d.One engineered plan and one site plan

The guide asks for two stamped and signed engineered pool construction plans and three site plans drawn to scale. Swapping the counts, asking for one of each, or asking for only two site plans does not match the guide.City builder guide (Menifee) plan submittal

What does the enforcing agent retain once public pool plans are approved?

• a.One copy of the approved plans and later changes✓
• b.The contractor's complete license and bond file
• c.Every material invoice and delivery ticket
• d.The owner's loan documents and credit report

The enforcing agent retains one copy of the approved plans and specifications and any subsequent changes or modifications. The contractor's license file, the owner's loan papers and material invoices are not part of what the code has the agent keep.2025 CBC §3103B.4

Besides the electrical conduit, which line does one city's site-plan list ask to be shown by size, location and material?

• a.The gas line, if provided✓
• b.The doorbell wiring
• c.The irrigation controller wire
• d.The cable television drop

The site plan shows the size, location and type of material of the gas line, if there is one, and of the electrical conduit. Cable television, irrigation wire and doorbell wiring are not on the guide's list.City builder guide (Menifee) plan submittal

A pool dig is planned within 10 feet of a high pressure natural gas pipeline. What must be arranged before the legal start?

• a.A written note left at the neighbor's door
• b.An onsite meeting with the owner's representative✓
• c.A phone call to the homeowner's insurer
• d.Nothing beyond the normal notice to the center

When excavation is proposed within 10 feet of a high priority subsurface installation, the owner or operator notifies the excavator and an onsite meeting is scheduled to determine how the installation will be verified. An insurer call, a note to a neighbor and the normal notice alone do not meet that.Title 8 §1541(b)(1)(B)

A crew nicks a buried gas line while digging. What does Title 8 require right after?

• a.Backfill the damage and report it at the end of the shift
• b.Notify the facility owner or the notification center immediately✓
• c.Record it in the daily log and keep digging
• d.Tape the nick and tell the homeowner only

An excavator that causes damage to a subsurface installation immediately notifies the facility owner or operator, or contacts the regional notification center to reach the operator. Hiding the damage, telling only the homeowner or logging it and continuing leaves the operator unaware.Title 8 §1541(b)(5)

Under the general clearance table, how close may an employee's body or a hand tool come to an energized 20,000-volt overhead line?

• a.No closer than 3 feet
• b.No closer than 6 feet✓
• c.No closer than 2 feet
• d.No closer than 15 feet

Table 1 sets a minimum clearance of 6 feet for lines from 600 to 50,000 volts, and any activity that brings a body or tool closer is prohibited. Two and 3 feet are too close, and 15 feet is more than the table gives for this voltage.Title 8 §2946(b)(2), Table 1

When does one city's guide say an inspection must be requested?

• a.One week ahead, by letter
• b.The same morning, by 7:00 a.m.
• c.The day prior, by 2:00 p.m.✓
• d.Two weeks ahead, in person

Inspections are requested the day prior by 2:00 p.m., by email. A same-morning request, a week's notice by letter and two weeks' notice in person do not match the guide.City builder guide (Menifee)

A permit applicant is neither the property owner nor a licensed contractor. What does one city require?

• a.A verbal approval from the owner's next-door neighbor
• b.A copy of the applicant's most recent tax return
• c.A signed and notarized letter of authorization✓
• d.A letter of recommendation from the equipment supplier

The guide requires a signed notarized authorization letter from the property owner or a California licensed contractor that names the authorized persons. A neighbor's word, a tax return and a supplier's letter do not authorize anyone to pull the permit.City builder guide (Menifee)

Where should the permit card and approved plans be kept during an inspection?

• a.At the contractor's main office downtown
• b.With the homeowner's attorney for safekeeping
• c.On site, where the inspector can find them✓
• d.In the supplier's delivery truck

The permit card and approved plans must be on site for the inspection, in a location easily found by the inspector, preferably at the pool equipment location. The contractor's office, an attorney's file and a delivery truck are all away from the site.City builder guide (Menifee)

Before the pre-plaster inspection, what access must the owner plan to give the inspector?

• a.Entry to the house to test door alarms✓
• b.Entry to the neighbor's yard to view the fence
• c.Access to the roof to check the gutters
• d.A key to the equipment trailer

The pre-plaster inspection verifies the required alarms on the doors of the home, and the inspector needs access inside the house to verify them. The neighbor's yard, a trailer key and the roof are not part of that check.City builder guide (Menifee)