🌀 HVAC / Sheet Metal · SMACNA / UA Local
HVAC & Sheet Metal Code Practice for Apprentices
Practice HVAC and sheet metal code the way the job tests it — duct sizing, airflow, and SMACNA/ASHRAE standards in real installation puzzles. Free for SMACNA and UA apprentices.
What you'll practice
- ✓Duct sizing (CFM, friction rate, equivalent round)
- ✓Airflow, fan laws, and static pressure
- ✓Ventilation rates and outdoor-air requirements
- ✓Duct construction, gauges, and hanger spacing
Code standards covered
Duct work you can defend at inspection
Sheet metal lives and dies on sizing and support. CraftIQ's HVAC puzzles put you in front of the same decisions a foreman checks before the inspector shows up: is this duct sized for the air it carries, is the gauge right for the pressure class, are the hangers spaced the way SMACNA construction standards expect, does the installation meet the International Mechanical Code? You work the problem, commit to an answer, and the app shows you what the standard actually says — the IMC for the installation, SMACNA for construction and reinforcement, NFPA 90A for how air-distribution systems protect the building. Wrong answers are where the learning happens: every miss reveals the correct call and the standard behind it, the way a good journeyman walks you through a red tag instead of just writing it. Spot-the-violation and what's-missing puzzles train the same eye a QC walk demands.
Airflow math without the whiteboard
Fan laws, static pressure, friction rate, equivalent round — this is the math that separates a mechanic from an installer, and it is exactly what CraftIQ drills. Sizing puzzles make you commit to a duct dimension before you see the answer. Race-style problems make airflow intuitive: which register starves first, what happens downstream when a damper closes, why a return that looked fine on paper chokes the whole system. Ventilation questions draw on ASHRAE 62.1 for outdoor air and ASHRAE 90.1 for the energy side, and duct-sizing questions use the same friction-rate reasoning estimators and TAB technicians use every day. You do not memorize tables here — you learn to reason about air the way the trade does, so the tables make sense when you open them.
Built for SMACNA and UA apprentices — and their instructors
CraftIQ is free for individual apprentices, works in English or Spanish, and runs on the phone already in your pocket — practice on the bench, at lunch, or the night before a JATC exam. Every HVAC puzzle has been code-audited against the standard it cites, so what you practice matches what the journeyman exam and the inspector will actually ask. Training coordinators can license CraftIQ for a whole cohort and see where the class is strong and where it keeps missing — which code areas confuse first-years, who is ready for harder material — instead of finding out at test time.
Start practicing freeCodes & standards for this trade
- International Mechanical CodeEvery section CraftIQ tests, explained in plain language →
- SMACNA StandardsEvery section CraftIQ tests, explained in plain language →
- ASHRAE StandardsEvery section CraftIQ tests, explained in plain language →
- NFPA StandardsEvery section CraftIQ tests, explained in plain language →
- National Electrical Code (NFPA 70)Every section CraftIQ tests, explained in plain language →
Prepping for a license? Try the timed exam-prep mode.
Frequently asked questions
Does CraftIQ cover SMACNA duct construction standards?
Yes. HVAC puzzles test duct gauge selection, reinforcement, hanger spacing, and sealing decisions against SMACNA duct construction standards, alongside International Mechanical Code installation requirements. Each puzzle cites the standard it draws from, and the code library explains those sections in plain trade language.
Will CraftIQ help me pass a sheet metal or HVAC journeyman exam?
It is built as the practice layer for exactly that. Sizing calcs, code-check questions, and timed exam-prep mode mirror how licensing exams ask questions. It complements — not replaces — your JATC classroom hours and a current code book; the reps you get here make both stick.
Is the duct sizing practice based on real methods?
Yes. Duct sizing puzzles use the friction-rate and equivalent-round reasoning used in real design and TAB work, and airflow puzzles apply the fan laws the way field techs do. Nothing is invented for the game — every answer traces to a published method or standard.
Can a JATC or SMACNA training center use CraftIQ for a whole class?
Yes. Individual apprentices play free, and training centers can license CraftIQ for a cohort. Instructors get a dashboard showing per-topic performance across the class — useful for spotting which code areas need another classroom pass before exam day.