Glossary index
This is the quickest route through the industry vocabulary used across the actor, process, flow, and friction notes.
| Term | Plain-English definition | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction) | The government body that adopts and enforces the applicable code or rule set for a project. It may be a city, county, state, or another regulator depending on the issue. | S11 - International Code Council - Code adoption resources |
| ASI (Architect’s Supplemental Instruction) | A directive from the architect that adds information or makes minor changes within the contract documents without adjusting contract sum or time, in the architect’s view. | S9 - AIA Contract Documents - Change orders fundamentals |
| Authorization | Census term for local approval to proceed, usually by building or zoning permit. | S1 - U.S. Census Bureau - Survey of Construction definitions |
| Built for sale | A house built on the builder’s land with the intention of selling house and land together. This is the dominant new single-family lane in current U.S. data. | S1 - U.S. Census Bureau - Survey of Construction definitions, S2 - NAHB Eye on Housing - Custom Home Building Share Declines in 2024 |
| Built-for-rent | A builder-land single-family house intended for rental rather than sale. It exists in Census data but is outside the main scope of this map. | S1 - U.S. Census Bureau - Survey of Construction definitions, S2 - NAHB Eye on Housing - Custom Home Building Share Declines in 2024 |
| CCD (Construction Change Directive) | A directive that tells the contractor to proceed with changed work before cost/time are fully agreed, with formal contract incorporation to follow. | S9 - AIA Contract Documents - Change orders fundamentals |
| Change order | A written agreement among the relevant parties describing a change in work and its effect on contract sum and/or contract time. | S9 - AIA Contract Documents - Change orders fundamentals |
| Construction documents (CDs) | Detailed drawings and specifications used for permitting, pricing, and building. They become part of the building contract. | S3 - AIA East Tennessee - Design to Construction, S4 - AIA Contract Documents - B201 basic services |
| Contractor-built house | A house built for owner occupancy on the owner’s land under supervision of a single general contractor. | S1 - U.S. Census Bureau - Survey of Construction definitions |
| Design development (DD) | The phase where the concept becomes more detailed and major materials, systems, and room relationships are refined. | S3 - AIA East Tennessee - Design to Construction, S4 - AIA Contract Documents - B201 basic services |
| Estimator | A role that converts the project into expected labor, material, time, and cost requirements. | S15 - BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook - Cost estimators |
| Final completion | The stage when all work, including punch items, is complete and the contractor’s obligations for the contracted scope are fully satisfied. | S10 - AIA Contract Documents - Substantial vs. final completion |
| NCS (National CAD Standard) | A voluntary U.S. standard for organizing drawing information to support more consistent communication across project teams. | S6 - Construction Specifications Institute - National CAD Standard |
| Occupancy - use signoff | Local approval that the project is legally ready to be occupied or used, after required inspections and conditions are satisfied. | S10 - AIA Contract Documents - Substantial vs. final completion, S17 - BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook - Construction and building inspectors, S31 - Seattle SDCI - New building permit for single-family residential or duplex |
| Owner-built house | A house built for owner occupancy on the owner’s land with the owner acting as general contractor. | S1 - U.S. Census Bureau - Survey of Construction definitions |
| Pay application - application for payment | A progress-payment request that records work completed to date, prior payments, retainage, and current amount requested. | S8 - AIA Contract Documents - G702 - G703 payment forms |
| Permit set | The drawing and calculation package submitted to the AHJ to obtain approval to build. Local content requirements vary. | S11 - International Code Council - Code adoption resources, S12 - SF Planning - Homeowners, S13 - Sacramento County - Building Permits & Inspection Division, S30 - City of Hayward - New single-family home checklist |
| Plan check - review comments | The AHJ’s review process and written corrections or conditions that must be answered before permit issuance or final signoff. | S12 - SF Planning - Homeowners, S13 - Sacramento County - Building Permits & Inspection Division, S17 - BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook - Construction and building inspectors |
| Plan reviewer | An authority-side professional who examines submitted documents for code and local-rule compliance. | S17 - BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook - Construction and building inspectors |
| Procurement - buyout | The conversion of an estimate into committed subcontracts and purchase orders. | S4 - AIA Contract Documents - B201 basic services, S18 - BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook - Purchasing managers, buyers, and purchasing agents, S24 - NAHB - Project Management |
| Programming | The earliest project-definition phase, where owner and architect test needs, budget, room count, function, and site fit. | S3 - AIA East Tennessee - Design to Construction |
| Punch list | The list of minor incomplete or corrective items that remain after the project is substantially complete. | S10 - AIA Contract Documents - Substantial vs. final completion |
| Retainage | An amount held back from payment until later in the project, often released in part at substantial completion and fully at final completion. | S8 - AIA Contract Documents - G702 - G703 payment forms, S10 - AIA Contract Documents - Substantial vs. final completion |
| RFI (Request for Information) | A standardized request for clarification during construction when a party needs more information to proceed confidently. | S7 - AIA Contract Documents - G716 Request for Information (RFI) |
| Schedule of values | A breakdown of the contract sum into portions of work so progress payments can be tracked against completion. | S8 - AIA Contract Documents - G702 - G703 payment forms |
| Schematic design | Rough sketches or early concepts that show general arrangement of rooms and the site before full technical detail exists. | S3 - AIA East Tennessee - Design to Construction, S4 - AIA Contract Documents - B201 basic services |
| Specialty permits | Local permits or approvals that may be separate from the main building permit, such as electrical, plumbing, HVAC, side sewer, or fire-related items, depending on jurisdiction. | S12 - SF Planning - Homeowners, S31 - Seattle SDCI - New building permit for single-family residential or duplex |
| Substantial completion | The stage when the project is ready for its intended use, even though minor work may remain. | S10 - AIA Contract Documents - Substantial vs. final completion |
| Superintendent | The builder-side field leader who manages sequencing, site coordination, inspection readiness, quality, and many daily handoffs. | S25 - NAHB - Basic Construction Management - The Superintendent’s Job |
| Under construction | One of the Census project phases between start and completion. | S1 - U.S. Census Bureau - Survey of Construction definitions |