Reference
Glossary
The words contractors, designers, inspectors and lenders use without explaining. Plain-language meanings for coordination, not legal or technical definitions. Where a term means different things in different places, the entry says so; your building department, licensing authority, lender or adviser has the meaning that applies to you.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Addendum | A written change to the bid package issued before bids are due, so that every bidder prices the same corrected job. After the contract is signed, changes are change orders instead. |
| Additional insured | A person added to someone else's insurance policy by an endorsement, so the policy also protects them. Being listed on a certificate of insurance is not the same thing; ask for the endorsement. |
| ADU (accessory dwelling unit) | A second, smaller dwelling on the same lot as a house: detached, attached, or converted from a garage or basement. What counts as one, and what it must have, is set by local zoning. |
| AHJ (authority having jurisdiction) | The agency that enforces a code or rule for your property: usually the building department, but also the fire department, the health department (septic, wells), the utility, or a state board. Different items have different authorities. |
| Air sealing | Closing the gaps where air leaks through the building shell (around windows, pipes, top plates). Tested by a blower door; required in some form by most adopted energy codes. |
| Allowance | A placeholder sum in a price for something not yet selected ("tile allowance $1,200"). You pay the difference if your choice costs more and get a credit if less. Ask what it includes: material only or installed, tax, delivery, markup. |
| Arbitration | A private process for settling a dispute, decided by an arbitrator rather than a court. Some contracts require it; some states run arbitration programs for registered contractors. Whether it binds you is a question for an attorney. |
| As-built (record drawings) | Drawings or photographs showing what was actually built, including where pipes, wires and ducts ended up. On most residential jobs the pre-drywall photo set is the as-built. |
| As-built survey | A survey by a licensed surveyor after construction showing where the building sits on the lot. Required by some jurisdictions and lenders at closeout. |
| Asbestos survey | Sampling and lab testing of materials (floor tile, pipe insulation, plaster, siding) before demolition to find asbestos. Rules on who must survey and who may remove it vary by state and locality. |
| Attic stock | Leftover tile, flooring, paint and hardware kept for future repairs. Ask for it at handover. |
| Backcharge | A cost one party deducts from what it owes another to cover damage or work the other should have done. Common between contractors and subs; it should be documented like a change order. |
| Backfill | Putting soil back against a foundation or into a trench after the work in it is inspected. Nothing is backfilled before the inspection that needs to see it. |
| Bearing wall (load-bearing wall) | A wall that carries weight from above. Whether a wall bears, and what replaces it if removed, is an engineer's question, never a trade's guess or an owner's. |
| Bid (quote) | An offer to do a described scope for a stated price under stated conditions. Its value depends entirely on how well the scope is described. |
| Bid package | Everything handed to every bidder so they price the same job: drawings, specifications or finish schedule, scope narrative, exclusions, allowances, schedule, site conditions, a bid form and the question and bid deadlines. |
| Blower-door test | A fan in an exterior doorway that measures how leaky the building shell is. Many adopted energy codes set a limit and require a third party's written result before the final inspection; the limit and who may test vary. |
| Bond (performance, payment) | A guarantee from a surety that the contractor will finish the job (performance) or pay subs and suppliers (payment). Some states require small bonds for registration; larger bonds are bought per project and cost money. |
| Builder's risk insurance | A policy covering the building under construction against fire, theft, storm and similar loss. A standard homeowner's policy may not cover a construction site; ask your agent who buys this and when it starts. |
| Building envelope | The parts of the building that separate inside from outside: foundation, walls, roof, windows, doors, insulation and the air and water barriers. |
| Building official (building department) | The local office and officials who review plans, issue permits, perform inspections and issue the certificate of occupancy or completion. They inspect for the adopted code; they do not design or supervise. |
| Certificate of completion | A document some jurisdictions issue when a permit for work that does not create new occupiable space (many renovations) has passed its final. Elsewhere the closed permit record serves the same purpose. Ask which applies to you. |
| Certificate of insurance (COI) | A one-page summary showing that a contractor's policies existed on the date it was issued, with limits and dates. It does not change the policy or give you coverage. Have the broker send it directly, and check the dates. |
| Certificate of occupancy (CO) | The building department's document stating a new building or new space may be occupied, issued after the final inspections pass. Many jurisdictions prohibit occupancy before it. Names and rules vary. |
| Change order | A written amendment to the contract, signed by both sides, stating what changes, what it costs or credits, and what it does to the schedule. The industry's rule: signed before the work. |
| Clearance testing | Dust sampling after lead-paint work to confirm the area is clean enough to reoccupy. Optional for owners doing their own work under federal rules; required in some programs. |
| Commitment | A signed contract, subcontract or purchase order: the point at which money is spoken for even if not yet paid. The budget tracker replaces estimates with commitments as they are signed. |
| Conditional lien waiver | A waiver of lien rights that takes effect only when the named payment actually clears. Collected with each payment; followed by an unconditional waiver once the check clears. Forms and rules vary by state. |
| Construction documents (CDs) | The complete drawings and specifications a contractor builds from and the building department reviews. "Preliminary" or "design development" drawings are not yet these. |
| Construction loan draw | A disbursement from a construction or renovation loan, usually paid after the lender's inspector confirms the work billed is in place. Lenders differ on deposits and stored materials; most hold some retainage. |
| Construction manager (CM) | A professional who manages construction for a fee. "CM as adviser" advises an owner who holds the trade contracts; "CM at risk" holds them and guarantees a price. The second is rare in single-family work. In some states managing construction for a fee requires a license. |
| Containment | Plastic walls, sealed doors and negative air that keep dust in the work zone of an occupied house. Priced by some bidders and not others; ask. |
| Contingency | Money set aside for the unknown. The owner's contingency sits outside the contract and is yours; a contractor's contingency inside a fixed price is theirs. Older houses and incomplete drawings need more. |
| Cooling-off rule | A federal rule giving three business days to cancel certain contracts signed at your home rather than at the seller's place of business. Some states add longer periods for some buyers. Details are a consumer-protection question. |
| Correction notice | The inspector's written list of what must be fixed before an inspection passes. Photograph it; request reinspection the day the items are corrected. |
| Cost-plus | A contract where you pay actual costs plus a fee (a percentage or a fixed amount). Transparent and flexible; you carry the cost risk unless a cap or guaranteed maximum is negotiated. |
| Critical path | The chain of tasks that sets the end date, because each waits for the one before. A day lost on the critical path is a day lost on the project; a day lost elsewhere may not be. |
| Daily log | A short record for each working day: weather, who was on site, deliveries, inspections, visitors, decisions, problems. Delay disputes turn on it. |
| Demolition (demo) | Removing existing construction. "To the studs" means finishes, drywall and fixtures off, framing left. Photograph everything before it is disconnected. |
| Deposit (down payment) | Money paid before work starts. Some states cap it for home-improvement contracts (California and Massachusetts set different limits, for example); most do not. A large deposit on a fixed-price job moves risk to you. |
| Design-build | One firm provides both design and construction under one contract. Single point of responsibility and earlier pricing; you give up an independent design check. |
| Design review | Approval of a project's appearance by a historic commission, HOA or planning board, separate from and often before the building permit. It can add weeks to months. |
| Draw schedule | The list of milestones at which a lender releases loan funds, or at which a contract pays the contractor. Milestones tied to passed inspections are easy to verify. |
| Dry-in | The point at which the roof, sheathing, water-resistive barrier, windows and doors keep weather out. Interior work that needs a dry building waits for it; a late window delays it. |
| Duct leakage test | A pressure test of the heating and cooling ducts. Required by many adopted energy codes unless the ducts are entirely inside conditioned space; the exemption wording varies. |
| Easement | Someone else's right to use part of your land: a utility line, a shared driveway, access to a neighbor's lot. Building over one may be prohibited; the survey and title documents show them. |
| Egress | The way out of a room or building in an emergency. Codes set requirements for bedroom windows and exits; what they are for your project is a question for the designer and building department. |
| Engineered lumber | Manufactured wood products (LVL beams, I-joists) used where sawn lumber is not strong or straight enough. Common sizes are stocked; long or unusual ones are special order. |
| Engineer's observation letter | A letter from the engineer of record confirming that something they looked at (the excavation, the framing hardware) generally conforms to their design. Not an inspection; sometimes required by the building department. |
| Erosion control | Silt fence, straw, inlet protection and similar measures that keep soil on the site. Often a permit condition for new construction and additions, inspected before anything else. |
| Estimate | An opinion of probable cost. Not an offer to do the work for that amount. Useful early; not something to level against bids. |
| Exclusions | What a proposal explicitly does not include. An exclusion is visible; an item simply not mentioned is where surprises live. |
| Excusable delay | A delay the contract allows the contractor more time for (weather, owner changes, unforeseen conditions). "Compensable" delay also pays them. What counts is in the contract and is a question for an adviser. |
| Field verification (field measure) | Measuring the actual building rather than trusting the drawing before ordering something that must fit: cabinets after demolition, countertops after cabinets, windows against the framed opening, appliances from the real units. |
| Final completion | Every punch item closed and the closeout documents delivered. Supports the final payment and the release of retainage. Distinct from substantial completion and from the building department's final. |
| Final inspection | The building department's last inspection on a permit, often preceded by separate trade finals. Passing it closes the permit; it does not certify quality or conformance to your contract. |
| Finish schedule | A table listing the finish for every surface and the fixture for every location: floor, wall, ceiling, trim, paint, tile, hardware, by room. It is what bidders price and what the punch walk checks. |
| Flashing | Metal or membrane that directs water out of joints: around windows, where a roof meets a wall, at a deck ledger. Hidden once covered; the most common source of leaks; photograph it before siding. |
| Footing | The widened concrete base under a foundation wall or post that spreads the load to the soil. Inspected before concrete is placed; depth and width are the engineer's and the code's. |
| Foundation | The concrete or masonry structure between the footings and the framing: a slab, a crawlspace stem wall, or a basement wall. Mismatched foundations that settle differently are a known failure in additions. |
| Framing | The structural skeleton: floor, wall and roof members. Inspected after the trade rough-ins in most places, because trades cut and drill it. |
| Front-loading | Putting more value on early items in a schedule of values than the work is worth, so that early payments run ahead of progress. A known abuse; lender inspectors check for it. |
| General conditions | The contractor's costs of running the job that are not a trade: supervision, temporary facilities, dumpsters, cleanup, protection, insurance, permits. Often a line item; ask what is in it. |
| General contractor (GC) | The business that takes responsibility for the whole construction scope, hires and coordinates the trades, pulls the permit in many places, and carries the schedule. The owner-builder takes on these roles personally. |
| Guaranteed maximum price (GMP) | A cost-plus contract with a ceiling: you pay actual cost plus fee up to the maximum, and the contractor absorbs overruns beyond it for the defined scope. Changes to scope move the ceiling. |
| HEPA | High-efficiency particulate air filtration. HEPA vacuums and air scrubbers capture fine dust, including lead dust; standard shop vacuums spread it. |
| HERS rater | A certified energy rater who tests and scores a home's energy performance and often performs the blower-door and duct tests a jurisdiction requires. |
| HOA approval | Written permission from a homeowners' association or condo board for exterior or structural changes under the community's rules. Separate from, and often required before, the building permit. |
| Home improvement contract | In many states, a contract for work on an existing home that must contain specific terms and notices under consumer-protection law. What it must say, and above what price, varies by state. |
| Homeowner's exemption | A provision in some states' licensing or code rules letting an owner pull a permit or act as contractor for their own residence under conditions (occupancy, frequency, resale limits). Eligibility and consequences vary; verify yours. |
| HVAC | Heating, ventilation and air conditioning: the equipment, ducts, refrigerant lines, flues and controls, and the trade that installs them. |
| Impact fee | A fee some local governments charge new construction (and sometimes additions or ADUs) toward roads, schools, parks or utilities. A soft cost; ask the building department whether one applies. |
| Implied warranty | A warranty state law reads into a sale or contract even if nothing is written: that goods are fit for their purpose, or that a new home is habitable and built in a workmanlike way. Terms and duration vary by state. |
| Inspection (municipal) | A code official's check of specific items at specific stages for compliance with the adopted code. Passing does not certify workmanship or conformance to your drawings beyond what the code requires. |
| Inspection card (building card) | The card or record, posted on site or online, on which each inspection's result is logged. Photograph it after every inspection. |
| IRC and IECC | The International Residential Code and International Energy Conservation Code, two of the model codes most US jurisdictions adopt, each with its own edition and local amendments. Always ask which edition and amendments apply to you. |
| Joint check | A check made out to both the contractor and a subcontractor or supplier, so both must endorse it. One tool for making sure the sub is paid; whether and how to use it is a question for an adviser. |
| Lead-safe work practices (RRP) | Federal rules (the Renovation, Repair and Painting program) requiring paid contractors who disturb paint in pre-1978 housing to be certified and use lead-safe practices. Homeowners doing their own work are generally outside the rule, with exceptions; some states run stricter programs. |
| Lead time | The time from placing an order to delivery. Windows, cabinets, trusses, special-order tile and some appliances have lead times of weeks to months; the selection schedule is built backward from them. |
| Lien | A legal claim against your property for an unpaid debt. See mechanic's lien. |
| Lien waiver (lien release) | A document in which a contractor, sub or supplier gives up lien rights for work or materials covered by a payment. Conditional or unconditional; progress or final. Forms and rules vary by state. |
| Liquidated damages | A fixed daily amount a contract says the contractor owes for finishing late. Common in commercial contracts, rare in residential; whether it is enforceable is an attorney's question. |
| Long-lead item | Anything whose lead time is long enough to drive the schedule. Order early, but recognize that ordering before the permit turns a reversible decision into a commitment. |
| Look-ahead schedule | A short rolling schedule, usually two or three weeks, listing each task with its crew, materials and prerequisites. Re-issued weekly; the main coordination tool on a small job. |
| Lump sum (fixed price) | One price for the defined scope. The contractor carries their own estimating risk; you carry the risk of an incomplete definition. Works best with complete drawings. |
| Maintenance calendar | A list of recurring upkeep (filters, gutters, sealants, water heater, septic pumping) and warranty deadlines, built from the manuals at handover. |
| Markup and margin | Markup is the percentage added to cost; margin is profit as a share of price. A 10 percent markup on $5,000 is $500, which is a 9.1 percent margin on $5,500. Change orders usually quote markup. |
| Means and methods | How the contractor chooses to do the work: sequence, equipment, technique, safety. The contractor's responsibility; an owner who directs them takes on responsibility that was theirs. |
| Mechanic's lien (construction lien) | A lien that contractors, subcontractors and suppliers can record against a property for unpaid work or materials, in most states even if the owner paid the general contractor. Notice rules, deadlines and defenses are state-specific. |
| Mediation | A negotiated settlement of a dispute with a neutral third party's help. Non-binding; often a required step in a contract's dispute process before arbitration or court. |
| MEP | Mechanical (heating and cooling), electrical and plumbing: the three trades whose rough-ins happen with walls open and whose finals precede the building final. |
| Milestone | A point in the schedule that marks a phase complete (foundation poured, dried in, rough-ins passed, substantial completion). Payments tied to milestones are easier to verify than percentages. |
| Negative air | Keeping the work zone at slightly lower pressure than the rest of the house, with an exhaust fan or scrubber, so dust leaks inward instead of outward. |
| Not-to-exceed (NTE) | A cap on a time-and-materials authorization. Work stops at the cap until a new approval is written. |
| Notice of commencement | In some states (Florida, for example) a document the owner records and posts before work starts, which starts the clock on lien rights and notices. Whether it exists where you are is a verification item. |
| Notice of completion | In some states a document the owner records when the work is done, which shortens the time in which liens can be filed. Not universal; ask an adviser. |
| O&M manuals | Operating and maintenance manuals for installed equipment, with model and serial numbers. Part of the handover file; warranty claims need them. |
| Overage | The amount by which a selection costs more than its allowance. Usually billed with markup; ask in advance whether it is. |
| Owner-builder | A homeowner who acts as their own general contractor under a state or local exemption from licensing, taking on the contractor's responsibilities: permits, supervision, hiring, payment, liability, and in some places employer duties. Eligibility, conditions and resale restrictions vary by jurisdiction. |
| Owner-supplied | Materials or equipment the owner buys directly (appliances, fixtures, tile) for the contractor to install. The bid package must list them, and the owner carries delivery timing, damage claims and often the warranty on installation fit. |
| Owner's representative (owner's rep) | A professional hired to advise and act for the owner with the design team and contractor: reviewing pay applications, attending meetings, tracking the schedule. The owner still holds the contracts. |
| Pay application (invoice) | The contractor's request for payment for work done or materials delivered, often against a schedule of values showing percent complete per line. |
| Percent complete | The share of a line item's value claimed as done. Hard for an owner to verify; lender inspectors and designers assess it on larger jobs. |
| Permit | The building department's authorization to do described work, issued after plan review, with inspections at set stages. Separate electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits are common. Whether your work needs one is a question for the department. |
| Permit closeout | The state of a permit after its final inspection passes and the department's record shows it closed. An open permit resurfaces at sale or refinance. |
| Permit holder | The person or business named on the permit, who is responsible for scheduling inspections and for the work meeting the code. An owner who pulls the permit for a contractor's work takes on that responsibility. |
| Plan check (plan review) | The building department's review of the drawings before a permit is issued, returning comments ("corrections") that must be answered. Review times are posted targets; correction cycles restart the clock. |
| Preliminary notice (notice to owner) | A notice some states require subcontractors and suppliers to send the owner early in the job to preserve lien rights. Receiving one is normal and is not a lien; it tells you who to collect waivers from. |
| Prime contractor | The contractor with the direct contract with the owner; usually the general contractor. Subs contract with the prime, not with you. |
| Progress payment | A payment during the job for work completed to date, by milestone or by percent complete, less retainage, exchanged for a conditional waiver. |
| Protection | Floor coverings, plastic, dust barriers, furniture covers and pathway protection in an occupied house. Ask who provides it; it is often unmentioned in low bids. |
| Punch list | The numbered list of small items remaining after substantial completion, each with location, item, standard, photo, responsible party and due date. Not the place for defects that need professional review. |
| Reinspection | A repeat inspection after a correction notice. Request it the day the items are corrected; some departments charge a fee for repeated failures. |
| Release for fabrication | The written go-ahead that lets a shop start cutting cabinets, counters, trusses or custom windows after the reviewed submittal and field measurements. The point of no return. |
| Restocking fee | A charge (often 10 to 30 percent) for returning stock items; custom and special-order items are usually not returnable at all. |
| Retainage | A percentage held back from each progress payment until the work is complete; five to ten percent is common in commercial and lender-financed work, negotiated or absent in small residential contracts. The owner's leverage for the punch list. |
| RFI (request for information) | A written, numbered question to the designer, engineer or owner when the drawings are unclear, conflicting or silent. Logged with the date, the schedule impact, and the date an answer is needed. |
| Rough-in | The stage of a trade's work done while walls are open: pipes, wires, ducts in place but no fixtures or devices. Inspected before anything covers it. Rough-in locations lock the layout. |
| Rough opening | The framed hole a window or door goes into, sized from the manufacturer's tables, slightly larger than the unit. Verify against the actual framing before ordering. |
| Schedule of values (SOV) | The contract price broken into line items that add up to the total, each billed by percent complete. Front-loading early items is the abuse to watch for. |
| Scope | The described work: what is included, to what standard, and what is excluded. Every price is only as good as the scope it was built on. |
| Scope creep | Small additions during the job ("while the wall is open") that each seem minor and together move the budget and the schedule. Managed by change orders. |
| Septic as-built | A drawing of the installed septic system, often with a health-department certificate of compliance, required before the final or CO in many places where there is no sewer. |
| Setback | In zoning, the minimum distance a building must keep from a property line, street or feature. A building that violates it may be refused a permit or ordered moved. (The course also uses "setback" in its ordinary sense: a problem during the project.) |
| Shell | The weather-tight structure without interior finishes: foundation, framing, roof, siding, windows, often rough MEP, insulation and drywall. "GC builds the shell, owner finishes" is one hybrid approach; the handoff point must be defined precisely. |
| Shop drawing | A fabricator's drawing of how a specific item (cabinets, countertops, trusses, railings) will be built. Reviewed and approved before fabrication; "approved as noted" can change a dimension while reading as approval. |
| Site plan | A drawing showing the lot, the existing and proposed buildings, setbacks, easements, utilities and grading. Required with most permit applications for new buildings and additions. |
| Soft costs and hard costs | Hard costs build the building (labor, materials, equipment). Soft costs do not: design fees, surveys, permits, impact fees, insurance, financing, testing, temporary facilities, contingency. Both belong in the budget. |
| Soils report (geotechnical report) | An engineer's report on what the ground will support, from borings or test pits, with recommendations for footings and drainage. Required for new construction in some places; its conditions (compaction testing, an engineer's letter) become closeout items. |
| Special inspection | Inspection of specific structural work (reinforcing, welding, anchors, compacted fill) by an approved independent inspector, separate from the building department's inspections. Whether a residential project needs any is a question for the engineer and building official. |
| Special order | An item made or ordered specifically for your job and usually not returnable. Some states let contractors take a larger deposit to cover it. |
| Specification (spec) | Written description of materials, products and standards of work, complementing the drawings. On small jobs the finish schedule and the scope narrative serve as the specification. |
| Statute of repose | A state law cutting off construction-defect claims a fixed number of years after completion, regardless of when the defect was found. Periods vary widely; an attorney's question. |
| Stored materials | Materials delivered to the site but not yet installed. Some contracts and lenders pay for them, with conditions (insured, on site, documented); others pay only for work in place. |
| Subcontractor (sub, trade contractor) | A business hired by the general contractor to do part of the work: the electrician, plumber, framer, tile setter. Subs have lien rights in most states even though you did not hire them. |
| Submittal | The formal package (shop drawings, product data, samples) a contractor sends for review before ordering or fabricating. Returned approved, approved as noted, or revise and resubmit. |
| Substantial completion | The point at which the work is complete enough for the owner to use the space for its intended purpose, with only punch-list items remaining. Recorded with a date and the remaining list; often when warranties start. Not a code approval. |
| Substitution | A product installed in place of the one specified or selected. Needs written approval from whoever specified it, a documented cost difference, and a change order, even at zero cost. |
| Supplier | A business that sells materials or equipment for the job without installing them. Unpaid suppliers have lien rights in most states. |
| Survey (boundary, topographic, foundation) | A licensed surveyor's measurement of the lot lines (boundary), its contours and features (topographic), or where the new foundation sits before framing (foundation or form survey). Different surveys serve different stages. |
| T&M (time and materials) | Pricing by hours at a stated rate plus materials at cost plus markup. Suited to unknowns; needs the rate, markup, reporting rhythm and a not-to-exceed cap in writing before the first hour. |
| Takeoff | Counting and measuring from the drawings to list the quantities of materials a job needs. The basis of an estimate; a bidder's takeoff is why two bids differ in quantities. |
| Template (countertop) | The exact pattern the fabricator makes of the installed cabinets, with the sink and cooktop on site, before cutting stone or solid surface. Changes after templating are usually not accepted. |
| Temporary certificate of occupancy (TCO) | In some jurisdictions, permission to occupy before every final item is complete, under conditions. Not available everywhere; ask the building department before planning on it. |
| Trim-out (finish stage) | A trade's second visit after drywall: electrical devices and fixtures, plumbing fixtures and faucets, HVAC registers and thermostats. Followed by that trade's final inspection. |
| Truss | A factory-made roof or floor frame engineered for your plan. Fabricators often need several weeks; the truss drawings are commonly required at the framing inspection. |
| Unconditional lien waiver | A waiver effective on signing, regardless of payment. Collect it only after the payment it covers has cleared; the unconditional final waivers from the GC, subs and suppliers are exchanged for the final payment. |
| Unforeseen conditions | Things found during the work that nobody could reasonably have known: rot, old wiring, a buried tank, soil that does not match the report. Usually priced as a change order, often on time and materials with a cap. |
| Unit price | A price per unit (per square foot, per linear foot of trench) for quantities that cannot be known in advance. Agree how quantities will be measured and by whom. |
| Utility will-serve letter | A utility's written confirmation that it can and will provide service (water, sewer, electric, gas) to the project, sometimes required for a permit. Utility lead times for new service are a common hidden delay. |
| Vapor retarder | A sheet or coating that slows moisture movement through a floor, wall or ceiling assembly. Where it goes depends on climate and the adopted code; inspected under slabs and sometimes at insulation. |
| Variance | Permission from a zoning board to build something the zoning rules would otherwise prohibit (a smaller setback, a taller building). Requires an application and often a hearing; adds months. |
| Warranty (workmanship, manufacturer) | The contractor's promise to fix defective work for a period (one year is common by custom); separate from manufacturers' warranties on products, which often need registration by a deadline. Some states run new-home warranty programs with set periods; most do not. |
| Weather day | A day on which the contract allows work to stop and the schedule to extend because of weather. How it is defined (and counted) is in the contract; read it before the first rain. |
| Well water test | A laboratory test of a private well's water, commonly required before occupancy where there is no public water; timing and parameters vary by health authority. |
| Workers' compensation | Insurance that pays for workers' injuries on the job. Ask every contractor for proof. An owner who directly employs workers may be required to carry it; thresholds vary by state and homeowner's insurance may not cover injured workers. |
| WRB (water-resistive barrier) | The house wrap or membrane under the siding that sheds water that gets past the cladding. Some jurisdictions inspect it with the flashing before siding covers it. |
| Zoning | Local rules on what may be built where: use, size, height, setbacks, lot coverage, parking, accessory units. Checked before design; often the first verification item. |
Terms are explained for coordination purposes. Where a term carries legal or technical weight in your project, the meaning that applies is the one in your contract, your jurisdiction's adopted code, or your adviser's explanation.