BCIN · House exam
House lessons
The House exam syllabus, section by section: Division A, Division C, Part 9 and the other Parts of Division B the syllabus names. Each lesson starts with a guess, gives you the map and the reasons, and ends with a 3-question check, book closed.
57 of 66 planned lessons are live. New lessons are added in batches, in syllabus order. Syllabus: Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, House syllabus (last updated January 21, 2026).
The first House lesson is open to everyone. or to open every lesson and Review.
Study notes, not an official interpretation. About these notes
Only the Minister’s binding interpretations (Act s.28.1) and the decisions of the chief building official on a real project are authoritative.
Quoted provisions are from the Building Code Act, 1992 (e-Laws consolidation current from June 2, 2026) and the 2024 Building Code, O. Reg. 163/24 (Compendium, January 16, 2025 update). Code amendments made after January 2025 (November 2025, April 2026 and July 2026) are not yet reflected.
Summaries, explanations and examples are ours: confirm against the official text of the Act and the Code before relying on anything.
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Division A · Compliance, scope and objectives
How the Code applies, which Part governs a building, defined terms, referenced documents, climatic data, objectives and functional statements.
Div. A 1.1–1.3.2
Application, compliance and the three Divisions
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What the Code applies to, the two ways to comply, what each Division does, and when used materials can go back into a building.
Div. A 1.3.3–1.3.4
Which Parts apply: Part 9 scope and existing buildings
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When Part 9 governs a building, how firewalls and fire separations affect building size, how the Code treats existing and moved buildings, and which structures count as buildings.
Div. A 1.4–1.5 · Div. B Part 1
Defined terms, referenced documents and climatic data
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How to read italic and plain words, which edition of a referenced standard applies, and where climatic values and frost depth come from.
Div. A Parts 2–3
Objectives, functional statements and SA-1
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What the objectives and functional statements are, when they apply, and how SA-1 ties them to each acceptable solution.
Division C · Administration
Conditional permits, paperwork on site, occupancy before completion, inspection notices, alternative solutions and rulings.
Div. C 1.1–1.3.2
Conditional permits and paperwork on site
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Which applicable laws must be met before a conditional permit, the two zoning exemptions, and what must be posted and kept on site.
Div. C 1.3.3–1.3.6
Early occupancy, inspection notices and as-constructed plans
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When a new house needs an occupancy permit, when an unfinished residential building can be occupied, which inspection notices are required, and when as-constructed plans can be asked for.
Div. C 2.1 · 2.4
Alternative solutions, rulings and interpretations
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What an alternative solution proposal must document, how it may be tested, and the Code’s rules for Minister’s rulings and interpretations.
Part 9 · Housing and small buildings
Division B, Part 9 as the House syllabus lists it, Section 9.1 to Section 9.41.
Div. B 9.1 · 3.1.20.1
Part 9 application, site hazards and factory-built buildings
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Where Part 9 sends you for its scope, overhead power lines, radon areas, flood plains, and when a factory-built house is deemed to comply.
Div. B 9.3
Concrete, lumber and sheet metal
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Concrete strengths and mixes, cold-weather pouring, lumber grades and moisture, undersized lumber, termite and decay protection, and galvanized steel.
Div. B 9.4
Structural design routes, snow loads, deflection and soil
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The three ways to design a Part 9 structural member, how snow loads are calculated, deck and attic loads, deflection limits, and allowable bearing pressures.
Div. B 9.5.1–9.5.4
Room areas, ceiling heights and spaces
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How rooms are measured, the minimum areas for living, dining, kitchen and bedroom spaces, ceiling heights, bathrooms and hallway widths.
Div. B 9.23.1–9.23.7
Wood framing: limits, fastening, notching, anchorage
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When Section 9.23 applies, protecting wood from decay and dampness, connectors for treated wood, nailing, limits on holes and notches, anchoring the frame to the foundation, and sill plates.
Div. B 9.23.4 · 9.23.8–9.23.9
Spans, beams and floor joists
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Using the span tables, steel beams, concrete toppings and heavy roofing, beam bearing and built-up beams, joist bearing and hangers, strapping and bridging, openings, wall support and cantilevers.
Div. B 9.23.10–9.23.13
Wall framing: studs, plates, lintels and bracing
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Stud sizes and spacing, bracing, stud orientation and continuity, studs at openings and under girders, wall plates and top plate joints, lintels, and bracing walls against wind and earthquake.
Div. B 9.23.14–9.23.17
Roof framing, subfloors and sheathing
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Rafters and ceiling joists, openings, ridge support and rafter ties, hip and valley rafters, trusses, subflooring, roof sheathing and wall sheathing.
Div. B 9.24
Sheet steel stud wall framing
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Where Section 9.24 applies, stud thickness and runners, steel studs in fire separations, installing runners, expansion clearance in fire-rated walls, framing around openings and fire dampers.
Div. B 9.25
Insulation, air barriers and vapour barriers
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Required insulation and its installation, loose-fill limits, the air barrier system and its continuity, vapour barrier materials and placement, and where low-permeance materials may go.
Div. B 9.26.1–9.26.6
Roofing: materials, slope, flashing, eaves, underlay
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What roofing must do, material standards, roofing nails and staples, slope limits and back-slope, flashing at walls, valleys, masonry and chimneys, eave protection and underlay.
Div. B 9.26.7–9.26.18
Shingles, shakes, built-up and other roofing
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Asphalt shingles on normal and low slopes, wood shingles and shakes, built-up roofs, selvage roofing, sheet metal, panels, membranes, concrete tiles, roof drains and downspouts.
Div. B 9.27.1–9.27.5
Cladding: rain protection, flashing and attachment
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Which path applies to each cladding, first and second planes of protection, clearances, sheathing membranes, face-sealed cladding, flashing, sealants, and attaching cladding with blocking, furring and fasteners.
Div. B 9.27.6–9.27.14
Cladding types: wood, panels, metal, vinyl, EIFS
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Lumber siding, wood shingles and shakes, plywood, hardboard, OSB and waferboard, metal, vinyl and polypropylene siding, and exterior insulation finish systems.
Div. B 9.28
Stucco
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Sheathing and lath under stucco, clearance above ground, flashing, materials, fasteners, lath and its fastening, mixes, cold weather, and the three coats.
Div. B 9.29
Interior wall and ceiling finishes
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Waterproof finishes at tubs and showers, furring, plaster, gypsum board and its fastening, plywood, hardboard, fibreboard, particleboard and OSB finishes, and ceramic and plastic tile.
Div. B 9.30
Flooring
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Required finished flooring, water-resistant floors, sleepers, panel-type underlay and its fastening, wood strip flooring, parquet, resilient flooring on slabs, and ceramic tile.
Div. B 9.31 · 9.33.6.14A · 9.34
Plumbing, dryer exhaust and electrical facilities
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Required water supply, fixtures, laundry, floor drains and service water heaters in dwelling units; independent dryer exhaust ducts; required lighting outlets at entrances, rooms, stairs, basements and garages.
Div. B 9.35
Garages and carports
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When a carport counts as a garage, garage floor drainage, foundations and the small detached garage exemption, soil movement and frost, carport piers, finishes, columns and anchorage.
Div. B 9.37–9.39
Cottages, log buildings and park model trailers
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What seasonal recreational buildings are exempt from and what they still need, log construction, and park model trailers built to CAN/CSA-Z241.
Div. B 9.40–9.41
Cold room slabs and change of use
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Reinforced concrete slabs over basement cold rooms, and the rules for a change of use in an existing Part 9 building: what counts, and how performance level is kept.
Div. B 9.5.5 · 9.6
Doorway sizes, glass and safety glazing
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Minimum doorway sizes inside dwelling units, wider bathroom doors on a barrier-free path, and where safety glazing is required.
Div. B 9.7
Windows, doors, skylights and forced entry
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Entrance doors, minimum window glass areas, performance and thermal requirements, door and window security, and installation.
Div. B 9.8.1–9.8.4
Stairs: width, headroom, rise, run and treads
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Stair widths and headroom, stair configurations, rise and run limits, uniformity tolerances, winders, spiral stairs, nosings and open risers.
Div. B 9.8.5–9.8.6 · 9.8.9–9.8.10
Ramps, landings and stair construction
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Ramp width, headroom and slope, where landings are needed and how big they must be, design loads, stringers, treads and cantilevered concrete steps.
Div. B 9.8.7–9.8.8 · SB-7
Handrails and guards
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Where handrails are required and how high, graspability and loads, where guards are required, guard heights and loads, openings, climbing and glass.
Div. B 9.9.1–9.9.8
Means of egress: exits, doors and travel distance
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Occupant load, types of exits, exit widths and heights, fire protection of exits, obstructions, exit doors, access to exits and travel distance.
Div. B 9.9.9–9.9.12
Egress from dwellings, bedroom windows, signs, lighting
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How far you can travel up or down inside a unit, when a second means of egress is needed, bedroom egress windows, exit visibility and egress lighting.
Div. B 9.10.1–9.10.4
Fire protection: scope, ratings and building height
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What Section 9.10 hands to Part 3, occupancy classification, how ratings are determined, which side of an assembly is exposed, and when mezzanines count as storeys.
Div. B 9.10.5–9.10.8
Membrane openings, construction types and floor ratings
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Openings in rated membranes, combustible and heavy timber construction, protecting steel, and the fire-resistance ratings for floors, roofs and supporting walls, including when houses are exempt.
Div. B 9.10.9
Fire separations: continuity, penetrations, suites, garages
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How fire separations and smoke-tight barriers stay continuous, what may pass through them, and the ratings between suites, occupancies and garages.
Div. B 9.10.10–9.10.12
Service rooms, firewalls and fire spread at walls
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When service rooms and fuel-fired appliances need a separated room, firewalls and party walls, where floors end, skylights, walls meeting at an angle and soffits.
Div. B 9.10.13 · 9.10.16
Closures, garage doors and fire blocks
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Closure ratings for openings in fire separations, wood doors, wired glass and glass block, latches and closers, fire dampers, doors from attached garages, and fire blocks in concealed spaces.
Div. B 9.10.14
Spatial separation between buildings
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For Part 9 buildings other than houses: exposing building faces, limiting distance, how much unprotected opening is allowed, and how the exposing wall must be built.
Div. B 9.10.15
Spatial separation between houses
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For houses and houses with a secondary suite: glazed openings by limiting distance, and when the exposing wall needs a fire-resistance rating and noncombustible cladding.
Div. B 9.10.17
Flame-spread limits and foamed plastics
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Surface flame-spread limits for walls, ceilings and doors, stricter limits in exits and public corridors, combustible skylights, protecting foamed plastic insulation, and bathroom finishes.
Div. B 9.10.18–9.10.19
Fire alarm systems and smoke alarms
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When a Part 9 building needs a fire alarm system and detectors, and where smoke alarms go in dwelling units and houses with a secondary suite, how they are powered, interconnected and silenced.
Div. B 9.10.20 · 9.10.22
Firefighting access and clearances at cooktops
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Access windows and panels for firefighters, access to large basements, fire department access routes, and clearances and protection around cooktops.
Div. B 9.11
Sound transmission between dwelling units
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The ASTC and STC routes to sound protection between dwelling units, how ratings are tested or taken from SB-3, and how flanking constructions must be built.
Div. B 9.12
Excavation, foundation depth and backfill
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Preparing and protecting the excavation, minimum foundation depths by soil and drainage, exemptions for light buildings and decks, backfill and trenches under footings.
Div. B 9.13 · SB-9
Dampproofing, waterproofing and soil gas control
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When foundation walls and floors are dampproofed or waterproofed, which materials and preparation are needed, protection of interior finishes, and soil gas and radon rough-ins.
Div. B 9.14
Foundation drainage and surface drainage
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Drainage at the bottom of foundation walls, drainage layers, drain tile and granular drainage, sump pits and dry wells, and grading the site so water runs away.
Div. B 9.15.1–9.15.3
Footings: application, materials, widths and thickness
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When Section 9.15 applies, foundation materials and piers, where footings are needed, minimum footing widths and areas with their adjustments, thickness and step footings.
Div. B 9.15.4–9.15.6
Foundation walls: thickness, support and finishing
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Foundation wall thickness and reinforcement, when walls count as laterally supported, ICF foundation walls, height above grade, control joints, supporting joists and beams, and finishing.
Div. B 9.16–9.17
Floors-on-ground and columns
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Granular fill, drainage and concrete for floors-on-ground, and the sizes, bearing plates and support of steel, wood, masonry and concrete columns.
Div. B 9.18–9.19
Crawl spaces and roof spaces
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Heated and unheated crawl spaces, access, ventilation, ground cover and plenums, and attic and roof space venting, clearances and access hatches.
Div. B 9.20.1–9.20.9
Masonry walls: units, mortar, thickness and ties
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Where Section 9.20 applies, masonry units and mortar, joints, support and lintels, wall and veneer thickness, chases, bearing of joists and beams, and bonding and tying wythes and veneer.
Div. B 9.20.10–9.20.17
Masonry: lateral support, anchors, flashing, ICF walls
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Lateral support and anchorage of masonry walls, corbelling, flashing and weep holes, cold-weather work, reinforcement and corrosion protection, and above-ground flat ICF walls.
Div. B 9.21
Masonry and concrete chimneys and flues
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Which chimneys Section 9.21 covers, what a flue may serve, liners, chimney height, stability, caps and cleanouts, and clearances from combustible framing.
Div. B 9.22
Fireplaces
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Combustion air, liners and wall thickness, fire chamber depth, hearths, dampers and smoke chambers, factory-built fireplaces, clearances to combustibles, and inserts.
Division B · Other Parts and supplementary standards
The named Articles of Parts 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11 and 12, with SB-7, SB-9 and SB-12.
Div. B 3.1Part 3 named Articles: materials, ratings and firewallsComing soon
Div. B 3.2.1–3.2.3Part 3 named Articles: building height, sprinklers and spatial separationComing soon
Div. B 3.2.4–3.8Part 3 named Articles: alarms, standpipes, exits, services and healthComing soon
Div. B 4.1–4.3Part 4: loads, foundations and structural materialsComing soon
Div. B Part 5Part 5: environmental separationComing soon
Div. B 6.2–6.3 · 7.1–7.6Parts 6 and 7: named HVAC and plumbing ArticlesComing soon
Div. B 11.5Part 11: compliance alternatives for renovationComing soon
Div. B 12.1–12.3 · SB-12Part 12: energy efficiency for housesComing soon
Div. B 12.4Part 12: water efficiencyComing soon
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