500+ INDUSTRY Terms

Construction Glossary

Explore a comprehensive list of construction terms and definitions to enhance your understanding of the construction industry.

Featured Term

Bid bond: A type of construction bond issued and guaranteed by a surety carrier to provide financial coverage to a principal.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z #

C

Campus master plan

Capital construction project

Casement window

Cast-in-place concrete

Cathedral ceiling

Cavity insulation

Cellular concrete

Certificate of occupancy

Certified Business Enterprise

Chartfield string

Chimney flashing

Circuit breaker

Clash detection

CMU (Concrete Masonry Unit)

Cold weather construction

Commercial project

Completion date

Compressive strength

Computer-Aided Design (CAD)

Concrete contractor

Concrete masonry

Constructability

Constructability review

Construction administration

Construction change directive

Construction documents

Construction joint

Construction lien

Construction management fee

Construction management plan

Construction management software

Construction manager

Construction manager as advisor

Construction Manager at Risk (CM@R)

Construction volume

Contingency plan

Contingent payment

Continuation sheet

Contract allowance

Contract documents

Contract warranty

Contractor invoice

Contractor schedule of values

Cost estimation

Cost management

Cost modification

Cost plus contract

Counter flashing

Course of construction insurance

Critical date schedule

Critical Path Method (CPM)

Cross-Site Request Forgery

CSI Master Format

J

Jalousie window

JOC (Job Ordering Contracting)

Joint and several liability

Joint reinforcement

K

Kickoff meeting

Knob-and-tube wiring

O

Occupancy permit

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

Operations and maintenance manual

Oriented Strand Board (OSB)

Owner-managed construction

Owner’s representative

P

Passive solar design

Pay application

Pay-if-paid clause

Pay-when-paid clause

Payment application

Payment processor

Percentage of completion accounting

Perforated metal

Performance bond

Performance specifications

Phased construction

Pneumatic tools

Post-and-beam construction

Post-construction phase

Post-tensioning

Potential change order

Pre-bid meeting

Pre-design phase

Pre-lien notice

Pre-qualification

Precast concrete

Preconstruction

Preconstruction meeting

Preliminary design (PD phase)

Preliminary notice

Prestressed concrete

Prevailing wage

Pricing commitment change order

Prime contractor

Privacy by design

Private-public partnership (P3)

Privity of contract

Pro se legal representation

Proceeding change

Proceeding commitment change order

Production quantity

Production rate

Progress meeting

Progress payment

Project charter

Project executive

Project Labor Agreement (PLA)

Project management

Project management plan

Project manager

Project program and programming

Project review team

Promissory note

Purchase order (PO)

Purchase order amendment (POA)

PVC (Polyvinyl chloride)

Q

Quality Assurance (QA)

Quality Control (QC)

Quality management

S

Safety Data Sheet (SDS)

Safety violation

Safety violation log

Schedule of values

Schematic design

Secondary containment

Seismic retrofit

Self-leveling compound

Self-performing contractor

Service entrance

Short interval schedule

Site instruction

Small project approval form (SPAF)

Special conditions

Special consultant

Specialty contractor

Specification book

Stakeholder analysis

State fire marshal (SFM)

Submittal package

Substantial completion

Supplemental bid document

Supplementary general conditions

Suspended ceiling

T

Tenant improvement

Thermal bridging

Tilt-up construction

Time and materials

Trade association

Trade contractor

Trade-off study

U

Unit price contract

Utility mapping

V

Value engineering

Variance report

Vibration control

Virtual Design and Construction (VDC)

W

Warranty period

Weather barrier

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Work in Progress (WIP) report

Workers’ compensation

Z

Zoning approval

Zoning ordinance

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