Construction Fundamentals

The foundational program for every trade: safety, the jobsite, construction math, reading plans, tools, materials, and the skills that build a career.

The materials buildings are made of: wood and lumber, concrete and masonry, steel and metals, fasteners and connectors, and how to read material specs.

Applied jobsite math: unit conversions, area and volume for estimating, roof pitch and slope, the framing square, and laying out square and accurate.

The written half of the documents: what specs are, how CSI MasterFormat organizes them, the 3-part section format, conflicts with drawings, and using specs in the field.

How building works legally: what codes are, the permit process, inspections, the Authority Having Jurisdiction, and why skipping permits backfires.

Build and care for your kit: power tools and what each does, cordless vs corded, larger equipment, maintenance, and buy-vs-rent decisions.

How a building actually works as a set of systems — structure, envelope, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection — and how a GC coordinates them, even without installing each trade.

A practical guide to the IBC: what it is and the I-Codes family, how it's organized, occupancy classifications, construction types & fire resistance, means of egress, fire & life-safety systems, structural/accessibility/energy, and using the code analysis in practice.