Progress Payments Payments made during progress of the
work, on account, for work completed and/or suitably stored.
Progress Schedule A diagram showing proposed and
actual times of starting and completion of the various oper-
ations in the project.
Punch List A list prepared by the architect or engineer of
the contractor’s uncompleted work or work to be corrected.
Purlin Secondary horizontal structural members located
on the roof extending between rafters, used as (light) beams
for supporting the roof covering.
Rafter A primary roof support beam usually in an inclined
position, running from the tops of the structural columns at
the eave to the ridge or the highest portion of the roof. It is
used to support the purlins.
Recess A notch or cutout, usually referring to the blockout
formed at the outside edge of a foundation, providing support
and serving as a closure at the bottom edge of wall panels.
Reinforcing Steel The steel placed in concrete to carry the
tension, compression, and shear stresses.
Retainage A sum withheld from each payment to the con-
tractor in accordance with the terms of the owner-contractor
agreement.
Rolling Doors Doors that are supported on wheels that
run on a track.
Roof Overhang A roof extension beyond the end or the
side walls of a building.
Roof Pitch The angle or degree of slope of a roof from the
eave to the ridge. The pitch can be found by dividing the
height, or rise, by the span; for example, if the height is 8 feet
and the span is 16 feet, the pitch is 8/16 or 1/2 and the angle
of pitch is 45 degrees (see Roof Slope).
Roof Slope The angle that a roof surface makes with the
horizontal, usually expressed as a certain rise in 12 inches of
run.
Sandwich Panel An integrated structural covering and
insulating component consisting of a core material with
inner and outer metal or wood skins.
Schedule of Values A statement furnished to the architect
by the contractor, reflecting the amounts to be allotted for the
principal divisions of the work. It is to serve as a guide for
reviewing the contractor’s periodic application for payment.
Sealant Any material that is used to close cracks or joints.
Separate Contract A contract between the owner and a
contractor other than the general contractor for the con-
struction of a portion of a project.
Sheathing Rough boarding (usually plywood) on the out-
side of a wall or roof over which is placed brick, siding, shin-
gles, stucco, or other finish material.
Shim A piece of steel used to level or square beams or col-
umn base plates. A piece of wood used to level or plumb doors.
Shipping List A list that enumerates by part, number, or
description each piece of material to be shipped.
Shop Drawings Drawings that illustrate how specific por-
tions of the work shall be fabricated and/or installed.
Sill The lowest member beneath an opening such as a win-
dow or door; also, the horizontal framing members at floor
level, such as sill girts or sill angles; the member at the bot-
tom of a door or window opening.
Sill Lug A sill that projects into the masonry at each end of
the sill. It must be installed as the building is being erected.
Sill Slip A sill that is the same width as the opening—it
will slip into place.
Skylight An opening in a roof or ceiling for admitting day-
light; also, the reinforced plastic panel or window fitted into
such an opening.
Snow Load In locations subject to snow loads, as indicated
by the average snow depth in the reports of the US Weather
Bureau, the design loads shall be modified accordingly.
Soffit The underside of any subordinate member of a build-
ing, such as the undersurface of a roof overhang or canopy.
Soil Borings A boring made on the site in the general loca-
tion of the proposed building to determine soil type, depth
of the various types of soils, and water table level.
Soil Pressure The allowable soil pressure is the load per
unit area a structure can safely exert on the substructure
(soil) without exceeding reasonable values of footing
settlements.
Spall A chip or fragment of concrete that has chipped,
weathered, or otherwise broken from the main mass of
concrete.
Span The clear distance between supports of beams, gird-
ers, or trusses.
Spandrel Beam A beam from column to column carrying
an exterior wall and/or the outermost edge of an upper floor.
Specifications A statement of particulars of a given job as
to size of building, quality and performance of workers and
materials to be used. A set of specifications generally indi-
cates the design loads and design criteria.
Square One hundred square feet (100 sf ).
Stock A unit that is standard to its manufacturer; it is not
custom made.
Stool A shelf across the inside bottom of a window.
Stud A vertical wall member to which exterior or interior
covering or collateral material may be attached. Load-bearing
studs are those that carry a portion of the loads from the
floor, roof, or ceiling as well as the collateral material on one
or both sides. Non-load-bearing studs are used to support
only the attached collateral materials and carry no load from
the floor, roof, or ceiling.
Subcontractor A separate contractor for a portion of the
work; hired by the general (prime) contractor.
Substantial Completion For a project or specified area of
a project, the date when the construction is sufficiently com-
pleted in accordance with the contract documents, as modi-
fied by any change orders agreed to by the parties, so that the
owner can occupy the project or specified area of the project
for the use for which it was intended.Common Terms Used in the Building Industry 241