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The ABC’s of Construction Jargon
Jar-gon (noun) Obscure and often pretentious language marked by circumlocutions and long words (from WWWebster’s Dictionary on the Iinternet).
Construction, like many professions, has it’s share of jargon—obscure terms that are meaningless to the average person. Unlike the medical profession and the Catholic Church, however, we don’t intentionally use an arcane language in order to mystify the laity. We use jargon to feel smug and important.
I am frequently questioned about the meaning of construction terminology. At the risk of raising the hackles my fellow contractors, and in the spirit of openness, I will attempt to throw open the doors of construction chauvinism, and shed light on many of the terms of the trade.
Some of the following definitions come from an actual dictionary, the Means Illustrated Construction Dictionary. Running 566 pages in length, and including more than 12,000 construction terms, it clearly demonstrates how important contractors are. Other definitions are from my vast personal knowledge, and a few are from jokes that have been circulated for so long as to be almost illegible. It will be up to you to determine which ones you trust. They are arranged alphabetically for your convenience:
Astragal—A molding attached to one of a pair of doors or windows to cover up the joint between two stiles.
Bid opening—A poker game in which the player with the losing hand wins.
Change order—A written order to a contractor with necessary signatures to make it a legal document, and authorizing a change from the original plans, specifications, or other contract documents, as well as a change in the cost and schedule.
Dentil—Square tooth-like blocks used as ornaments under a cornice.
Estimate—The cost of construction in heaven.
Fascia—A board used on the outside vertical face of a cornice, or connecting the top of the siding with the bottom of the soffit, or nailed across the ends of the rafters at the eaves.
General contractor—The primary contractor who oversees and is responsible for all the work performed on the site, and to whom any subcontractors on the same job are responsible. Unlike a real general, the buck doesn’t stop with the general contractor. It passes through him on the way to everyone else.
Header—A framing member extending horizontally between two joists to support tailpieces.
I-beam—A structural member of rolled steel whose cross section resembles the capital letter I.
Jack rafter—A rafter, shorter in length than the normal rafters in the same building, and used to support the roof in a hip or between a valley and a ridge.
Knee wall—A wall that shortens the span of the roof rafters by acting as a knee brace, in that it supports the rafters at some intermediate point along their length.
Low bidder—The contractor who got the job, but is wondering what he left out.
Molding—An ornamental strip of material used at joints, cornices, bases, door and window trim, and the like.
Newell—The post supporting a handrail at the top and bottom of a flight of stairs. Also, the center post of a spiral staircase.
Overhead—Indirect costs incurred in achieving project completion, but not applicable to any specific task. Includes insurance, payroll taxes, telephone, vehicle maintenance, and the like.
Profit—Not listed among the more than 12,000 terms in the Means Illustrated Construction Dictionary. Apparently unknown in the construction industry.
Quarter-sawn lumber—Lumber sawn so that the annual growth rings form angles of 45 to 90 degrees with the surface of the piece.
Rebar—Short for reinforcing bar. A steel bar, usually with manufactured deformations, used in concrete and masonry construction to provide additional strength.
Schedule of values—A collection of wild guesses carried out to two decimal places.
Tenon—A projecting, tongue-like part of a wood member designed to be inserted into a slot or mortise of another member to form a mortise and tenon joint.
U-value—A measure of heat flow, also know as thermal transmittance, used as a quality measure of products such as windows. The lower the number the better the insulation property.
Variance—A written authorization from a responsible agency permitting construction in a manner which is not allowed by a code or ordinance. Most contractors aren’t familiar with this term since the last variance was issued in 1783.
Water hammer—A loud thumping noise in a water service line due to the surge of suddenly checked water.
X-brace—A paired set of sway braces. Yokel—a contractor from out of town.
Zoning department—a bureaucratic organization constituted to keep you from using your property
There you have it—construction from A to Z. Try sprinkling a few of these choice terms in your discourse, and you too can talk like a contractor and impress your friends. But be prepared. They may just think you’re “half a bubble out of plumb”.
