Have you heard the word jargon? It means words or expressions that are used by a particular profession and are difficult for others to understand. Well, there’s plenty of construction jargon thrown around in our industry that can leave you feeling confused, even if you ARE a contractor. Don’t worry, STACK has provided a comprehensive list of construction terminology, from takeoff and estimating terms to general construction definitions, to act as your go-to resource!

Addendum – formal notification of a change in a construction project, part of the signed contract, and is a legal representation of the status of the project 

Architect – a person who designs buildings and advises in their construction 

CAD – Computer-Aided Design, a way to digitally create 2D drawings and 3D models of real-world products before they are manufactured 

Contractor – a person who works under a contractual agreement to provide services, labor or materials to complete a construction project 

Blueprints – a design plan, architectural drawings 

BIM – Building Information Modeling, plan and visualize construction projects during preconstruction using space-use simulations and 3D visualizations 

Bid – A hard number for job completion proposed during the competitive bidding process 

CSI MasterFormat – master list of numbers and titles classified by work results, primarily used to organize project manuals and detailed cost information 

Digital Plans – digital version of a blueprint 

Dimension – a measure in one direction, one of three coordinates determining a position in space or four coordinates determining a position in space and time 

Estimator – determines total cost of a construction project; responsible for takeoffs, markups, and overhead costs 

Floorplan – a scale diagram of a room or suite of rooms viewed from above 

General Contractor – GC, construction manager responsible for daily management of the job site, all vendors, and subcontractors, and the primary communicator to everyone involved during a building project 

Owner – owns the construction job site; responsible for liability, contracts, and approvals 

Subcontractor – businesses or individuals that carry out work for a contractor as part of the larger contracted project 

Trade Contractor – a type of subcontractor that specializes in a specific type of skilled construction (I.e., concrete, painting, electrical) 

Zoning – process of partitioning a city, town, or borough into zones reserved for different purposes 

Area – surface included within a set of lines (ex: a floor) 

Linear – a straight line, single dimension (ex: baseboards) 

Count – the number of units (ex: outlets) 

OC (On Center) – the distance between the center of one framing member to the center of the next member 

Pitched Area – degree of slope in an area (ex: a sloped roof) 

Pitched Linear – degree of slope in a pitched line (ex: a hip on a sloped roof) 

Surface Area – the amount of space covering the outside of a three-dimensional shape (ex: drywall) 

Takeoff – the process where contractors determine how much of each material they will need to complete a project 

Volume 2D – the amount of space occupied by the object or shape, which is in two-dimensional space (ex: a parking lot) 

Volume 3D – the amount of space occupied by the object or shape, which is in three-dimensional space (ex: a concrete footer) 

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