ASHI home inspector exam — what surprised people about the actual test?
I'm 4 weeks from my ASHI home inspector exam and I've been prepping for about 10 weeks at 90 minutes a day. My practice scores are averaging around 73–76%, which feels solid, but I keep hearing that the actual exam is harder than the major prep courses suggest. I want to know what specifically caught people off guard.
My background is in residential construction (framing and rough carpentry for 8 years) so structural and framing questions are easy for me. Where I lose points is roofing systems and HVAC—specifically heat pump operation, ductwork design principles, and combustion air requirements for gas appliances.
The ASHI exam has a reputation for being scenario-based rather than recall-based. Is that accurate? Most of my practice has been straightforward "what is deficient here" type questions but I want to make sure I'm not surprised by longer narrative scenarios.
Also: how much electrical showed up on your exam? I've seen estimates ranging from 15% to 25% of the total questions, which is a big range. Electrical is one of my stronger areas and I'm trying to figure out whether to keep investing time there or shift it to HVAC.
The exam does use scenario framing for probably 40–50% of questions in my experience. They'll describe a home situation and ask what you should report, how you should report it, or what further evaluation is warranted. Knowing defects is necessary but not sufficient—you need to know how to characterize and communicate them too.
At 73–76% you're in good shape. I passed at 74% after scoring 71–73% on practice tests, so the real exam was in the same range for me.
Electrical was around 18–20% on my exam—a real portion. If it's a strength, a quick review to stay sharp is worth it, but don't over-invest there at the expense of your weaker areas.
HVAC surprised me the most—specifically the combustion air calculations and the differences between 80% and 90%+ efficiency furnace venting requirements. That stuff is not intuitive if you haven't done mechanical work.
Heat pumps specifically—reversing valve operation, supplemental heat staging, and how to identify whether a heat pump is operating in heating versus cooling mode during an inspection. Those were 3–4 questions on my exam and felt very specific. If HVAC is your weak spot, drilling heat pump operation specifically is a high-yield move.