Glossary of Common Terms Used by the UK Construction Industry

There are many terms and specialist descriptions – otherwise known as jargon – used by builders architects and other professionals. The following are some that anyone new to the construction industry will find useful to know at the start of a project. They are helpful ‘shorthand’ but sometimes we forget who we are talking to and use it inappropriately, so if there is anything that you need explaining, please ask straight away.

Architect, Registered
Professional who has obtained sufficient qualifications to be registered with the Architects Registration Board, a government body, to use the title 'architect'

Architrave
Strip of wood, usually decorative, which surrounds a door opening and conceals the joint between the plaster and timber lining

Building Control Officer (BCO)
Local authority official who checks building comply with the building regulations.

Building Regulations
Minimum standards for construction and design, set by the government and illustrated by a series of booklets called Approved Documents

CAD
Computer Aided Design. 2 and 3 dimensional models, created on computer, to give an idea of how a design may look and work out a schedule of components needed.

Defects Peroid
A period of time, usually 6 months, that is allowed after the completion of a house by a builder, during which time a small amount of money due is held back. At the end of this period, the house is checked for defects and

DPC
Damp proof course, that prevents moisture rising up through the walls into a room, and is also used tro describe strips that do a similar job in other locations aroung a building.

DPM
Damp proof membrane, that prevents moisture rising up through the floor into a room

Eaves
The edge of a sloping roof, where the gutter is usually fixed.

Embodied Energy
The energy that has been used to incorporate a material into a building, including the energy used manufacturing it, transporting it to the site and dealing with it after the building is demolished.

Estimate
An informed guess, a rough price.

External Works
Otherwise known as hard and soft landscaping, this is anything that it is built on the site but not part of a main building, e.g. external steps, flower beds and driveways.

First Fix
The point at which electric cables and pipework are put into position, usually once the building is watertight and before plastering.

Flashing
Lead sheet, often used to prevent water getting into a building through a junction between two different materials. e.g. where a roof butts into a brick wall.

Footprint
The area of ground covered by a building, measured along the outside of the walls. For a two storey house, the gross area of the building is usually twice the footprint.

Gable
Vertical triangular section of a wall, between two roof pitches

Glazing Bar
Horizontal support for a panel of glass in a window.

Gob On
A cheap additional feature on the outside of a house that is supposed to improve its appearance. Coach lamps and imitation classical columns are classic 'gob ons'.

Groundworks
Building work that takes place below ground. Typically excavations, laying foundations, laying drains and creation of basement walls.

Hip
Sloping section of roof between two other roof pitches. An alternative to a gable.

Jamb
The side of an opening in a wall for a door or window

JCT Contract
Contract that has been produced by a collaboration of all the professionals involved in building work, including clients, builders and architects.

Joist
Support for floor and ceiling

Kerb Appeal
A house that looks attractive when seen from the kerb of the road as you drive past is said to have this quality.

Lintel
Concrete, timber or steel beam over opening to support wall above

Low E Glass
Glass that is treated to help to trap more heat from the sun in a room.

Making good
The finishing touches that bring work up to scratch, remedial work to existing surfaces and finishes affected by the work

OS
Ordnance Survey - the only reliable source of larger scale maps, eg. 1:1250.

Payback Period
Period of time that a cost saving measure needs to cover the intial cost eg. if extra insualtion costs £500 to fit, and saves £100/year in fuel, the pay back is 5 years.

Permitted Development
Changes and additions that you can make to your house without needing formal planning approval from the local planning authority.

Procurement Route
The management and contractual method used to get a building constructed

Purlin
Horizontal beam, part way up a rafter to prevent sagging

Quote
A fixed price that is binding.

Rafters
Series of structural timbers rising from eaves to ridge to support pitched roof covering

RIBA
Royal Institute of British Architects

Ridge
Apex of a roof, where two pitched meet.

Roof Truss
Prefabricated structural timber framework to support roof

SAP Rating
A number that indicates to Building Control Officers how much energy a building looses. The closer this number is to 100 the less energy is wasted.

Second Fix
The point at which radiators, sockets, switches etc are fixed, prior to decoration.

Services
Usually refers to anything supplied to and through the house by pipework, cables or ducts. e.g. heating and hot water, lighting and mains supplies to the house such as gas.

Soffit
The underside of a projection e.g. the underside of a roof between the eaves and the wall of the house.

Solar Gain
The build up of heat that occurs in a room when sun shines into it through glass.

Specification
List of materials and procedure need to complete a building, sometimes with a description of the standard of work that is expected

Sustainable construction
Building in a way that reduces the damage that results to the environment. Similar 'green' or 'environment friendly' building.

Timber
Wood prepared for building, carpentry

U-Value
This number describes the insulative properties of a construction. the lower it is the better it is at insulating

Valley
Line which follows the lowest point where two roof pitches meet.

Vernacular
A form of building design that uses the traditional building style and materials of a locality.