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Illinois G n ral Masonry 𝑒 𝑒
Contractor
Lic nsing Examination Practic 𝑒 𝑒
Qu stions 𝑒
and Corr ct Answ rs (V rifi d 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒
Answ rs) 𝑒
Plus Rational s 2026 Q&A 𝑒
1. Th 𝑒 primary ingr di nts of mortar ar : 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 A. C m nt, sand, wat r𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 B. Lim , clay, wat r𝑒 𝑒 C. Asphalt, sand, wat r𝑒 D. Ston 𝑒only Answ r: A 𝑒 Rational : 𝑒 Mortar consists of c m ntitious mat rials (c m nt ±𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 lim ), sand, and wat r.𝑒 𝑒 2. Th 𝑒 main purpos 𝑒 of mortar in masonry is to: A. Provid 𝑒 d coration𝑒 B. Bond masonry units tog th r𝑒 𝑒 C. Incr as𝑒 𝑒 w ight𝑒 D. R plac𝑒 𝑒 r inforc m nt𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 Answ r: B 𝑒 3. Grout is us d to: 𝑒 A. Mak 𝑒 patt rns𝑒 B. Fill cor s and bond𝑒 r inforc m nt𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 C. Finish surfac s𝑒 D. Color units Answ r: B 𝑒 4. Air- ntrain d mortar improv s 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 r sistanc 𝑒 𝑒 to: A. Fir𝑒
B. Fr 𝑒𝑒 𝑒z -thaw cycl s 𝑒 C. Stains D. Color fad𝑒 Answ r: B 𝑒
10. Portland c m nt is classifi d by: 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 A. Color B. ASTM standards bas d on composition and𝑒 p rformanc𝑒 𝑒 C. Siz 𝑒only D. Cost Answ r: B 𝑒
11–20: Tools & Equipm nt 𝑒
11. A mason’s trow l is 𝑒 us d to: 𝑒 A. Mix concr t𝑒 𝑒 only B. Spr ad and shap𝑒 𝑒 mortar C. Paint block D. Hamm r ti s𝑒 𝑒 Answ r: B 𝑒 12. A joint rak r is us d 𝑒 𝑒 to: A. B at mortar𝑒 B. R mov𝑒 𝑒old mortar from joints C. Fast n anchors𝑒 D. Add grout Answ r: B 𝑒 13. A mortar board is: A. A pan l us d to mix concr t𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 B. A portabl 𝑒board to hold mortar for laying units C. A saf ty shi ld𝑒 𝑒 D. A m asuring tool𝑒 Answ r: B 𝑒 14. A l v l is us d to 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 ch ck: 𝑒 A. Color B. V rtical and horizontal𝑒 alignm nt𝑒 C. Mortar quantity
D. W ath r𝑒 𝑒 Answ r: B 𝑒
D. Insp ct units𝑒 Answ r: A 𝑒
20. A cor 𝑒 drill in masonry is us d to: 𝑒 A. Mix grout B. Cr at𝑒 𝑒 hol s in concr t𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 or CMU walls C. Spr ad mortar𝑒 D. T st slump𝑒 Answ r: B 𝑒
21–30: Mortar & Grout
21. Mortar should b 𝑒 mix d to: 𝑒 A. A soupy consist ncy𝑒 B. A plastic, workabl𝑒 consist ncy𝑒 C. A v ry dry mix𝑒 D. A wat ry mix𝑒 Answ r: B 𝑒 22. Mortar joints should b 𝑒 struck: A. As soon as possibl 𝑒 b for𝑒 𝑒 s tup𝑒 B. Aft r mortar has stiff n d slightly for𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 prop r tooling C. At random𝑒 D. Aft r grout only𝑒 Answ r: B 𝑒 23. Too w t mortar can: 𝑒 A. Incr as𝑒 𝑒 str ngth𝑒 B. W ak n bonds and caus𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 shrinkag𝑒 C. Improv 𝑒color D. Incr as𝑒 𝑒 hardn ss𝑒 Answ r: B 𝑒 24. Grout slump must b 𝑒 A. V ry stiff𝑒 B. Within sp cifi d rang s (oft n 8–11 in𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 for grout) C. Wat ry only𝑒
25. Grout should b 𝑒 consolidat d by: 𝑒 A. Vibrating or rodding to r mov𝑒 𝑒 voids B. L aving it alon𝑒 𝑒 C. Pouring in slowly without vibration D. Curing imm diat ly𝑒 𝑒 Answ r: A 𝑒 26. Mortar that is too dry will: A. Improv 𝑒workability B. B 𝑒 difficult to spr ad and𝑒 bond units C. Incr as𝑒 𝑒 str ngth𝑒 D. Cur 𝑒 slow r𝑒 Answ r: B 𝑒 27. Mortar that has start d to s t should: 𝑒 𝑒 A. B 𝑒 r t mp r d by adding wat r𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 B. B 𝑒 discard d𝑒 C. B 𝑒 r us d without chang s𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 D. B 𝑒 𝑒l ft outsid 𝑒only Answ r: B 𝑒 Rational : 𝑒 ASTM standards prohibit r t mp ring mortar that𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 has b gun to s t.𝑒 𝑒 28. A grout mix oft n includ s: 𝑒 𝑒 A. Only wat r𝑒 B. Sand, c m nt, and wat r (som tim s𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 admixtur s) C. Extra lim𝑒 𝑒only D. Fib r only𝑒 Answ r: B 𝑒 29. Masonry mortar should b 𝑒 k pt: 𝑒 A. Cov r d and moist until us𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 B. Expos d to wind𝑒 C. H at d only𝑒 𝑒
D. Unt st d𝑒 𝑒 Answ r: A 𝑒
C. Incr as𝑒 𝑒 str ngth𝑒 D. Cur 𝑒walls Answ r: B 𝑒
35. Control joints in masonry ar 𝑒 us d to: 𝑒 A. Encourag 𝑒 cracking at pr d t rmin d𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 locations B. R mov𝑒 𝑒mortar C. Add color D. Incr as𝑒 𝑒 str ngth𝑒 Answ r: A 𝑒 36. R inforc m nt in masonry walls 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 h lps r sist: 𝑒 𝑒 A. Compr ssiv𝑒 𝑒loads only B. Lat ral loads lik𝑒 𝑒 wind and s ismic𝑒 forc s𝑒 C. Color chang s𝑒 D. Stain r moval only𝑒 Answ r: B 𝑒 37. Bond b ams in CMU walls: 𝑒 A. Allow horizontal r inforc m nt and load𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 distribution B. R duc𝑒 𝑒 str ngth𝑒 C. Ar 𝑒optional always D. Ar 𝑒 d corativ𝑒 𝑒only Answ r: A 𝑒 38. Masonry anchors attach: A. Wall v n𝑒 𝑒𝑒r to structural backup B. Scaffolding only C. Mortar boards D. Non𝑒 Answ r: A 𝑒 39. A r bar in CMU c ll should b 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 spac d p r: 𝑒 𝑒 A. Contractor’s pr f r nc𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 B. Structural plans and cod𝑒 C. W ath r only𝑒 𝑒 D. Slump Answ r: B 𝑒
D. Non𝑒 Answ r: C 𝑒
45. IBC masonry d sign r quir m nts 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 r f r nc : 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 A. ACI 530/530. B. Slump t sts only𝑒 C. ANSI only D. OSHA only Answ r: A 𝑒 46. ACI 530 is titl d: 𝑒 A. Building Cod 𝑒 R quir m nts and Sp cification for𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 Masonry Structur s B. Concr t𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 curing C. Slab finishing D. W lding𝑒 Answ r: A 𝑒 47. TMS 602 provid s: 𝑒 A. Masonry structural t sts𝑒 B. Sp cification for Masonry𝑒 Structur s𝑒 C. Ch mical analysis𝑒 D. Roofing only Answ r: B 𝑒 48. Mortar typ 𝑒 s l ction is 𝑒 𝑒 bas d on: 𝑒 A. Engin 𝑒𝑒r’s or archit ct’s 𝑒 sp cification𝑒 B. W ath r only𝑒 𝑒 C. Work r choic𝑒 𝑒 D. Paint typ𝑒 Answ r: A 𝑒 49. Tol ranc s for masonry alignm nts ar 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 sp cifi d in: 𝑒 𝑒 A. ACI/IBC standards B. ASTM only C. OSHA only D. ADA only Answ r: A 𝑒
55. A comp t nt p rson 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 must insp ct: 𝑒 A. Tools only B. Scaffolding and work zon s𝑒 C. Lunch ar as𝑒 D. Non𝑒 Answ r: B 𝑒 56. H aring prot ction is 𝑒 𝑒 important wh n: 𝑒 A. Nois 𝑒 𝑒xc 𝑒𝑒ds saf 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒l v ls B. Mortar is mix d𝑒 C. Only at night D. Always optional Answ r: A 𝑒 57. Masonry r inforc m nt cutting or b nding 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 should b 𝑒 don : 𝑒 A. Without PPE B. With prop r tools and prot ction𝑒 𝑒 C. By hand only D. By novic s𝑒 Answ r: B 𝑒 58. Hazard communication r quir s: 𝑒 𝑒 A. SDS availability B. Paint only C. No docum ntation𝑒 D. Slump t sts𝑒 Answ r: A 𝑒 59. Sit 𝑒 cl anup h lps 𝑒 𝑒 r duc : 𝑒 𝑒 A. Trip and fall hazards B. Mortar quality C. Cod 𝑒 r quir m nts𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 D. Non𝑒 Answ r: A 𝑒
60. Mat rial storag 𝑒 𝑒 must pr v nt: 𝑒 𝑒 A. Moistur 𝑒 damag 𝑒and contamination B. Work r acc ss𝑒 𝑒 C. Slump chang s𝑒 D. Painting Answ r: A 𝑒
61–70: Estimating & Proj ct Manag m nt 𝑒 𝑒 𝑒
61. Tak -off in masonry 𝑒 𝑒 stimating involv s: 𝑒 A. Counting units and d t rmining𝑒 𝑒 quantiti s𝑒 B. Painting sch dul s𝑒 𝑒 C. Slump t sts only𝑒 D. Saf ty plans𝑒 Answ r: A 𝑒 62. A masonry contractor must account for: A. Wast 𝑒factor B. R inforc m nt𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 C. Mortar and grout quantiti s𝑒 D. All of th 𝑒 abov𝑒 Answ r: D 𝑒 63. Allowanc s in an 𝑒 𝑒 stimat 𝑒 should: A. Account for unknowns or possibl𝑒 chang s𝑒 B. B 𝑒 z ro𝑒 C. Only for paint D. Only for saf ty g ar𝑒 𝑒 Answ r: A 𝑒 64. A conting ncy in 𝑒 𝑒 stimating is: A. Extra budg t for𝑒
