Construction & Buildings Slang, Jargon, and New Words from Double-Tongued Dictionary

Citations in the Category Construction & Buildings

Building, zoning, planning, contractors, blueprints, construction, development, demolition, renovation, rooms, hallways, etc. You can also see entries assigned to this category.

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buttering n. Spread a layer of mortar on the bottom of the opening like you’d spread butter on bread. In fact, the process is called buttering. Do the same to the top and sides of the replacement brick and slide it carefully into the hole. [English Construction & Buildings] [full cite] (Jun. 4, 2008)

canal wrench n. Canal wrench. Shovel. [English Construction & Buildings] [full cite] (May. 13, 2005)

cat-claw n. Part of our loot included a a short wrecking bar known to carpenters as a cat-claw. It’s pretty rusted after lying out in the weather all those months. [English Construction & Buildings] [full cite] (May. 8, 2008)

cold shell n. Although there are no strict definitions, “cold shells” are generally facilities where tenants may have to install bathrooms, elevators and air conditioning. But that’s not as bad as an “arctic shell,” which doesn’t have much more than a roof and exterior walls. A “warm shell” at least has bathrooms and elevators. “Tropical shells” offer amenities beyond that. [English Construction & Buildings Houses & Housing Slang] [full cite] (Jul. 16, 2007)

come-along n. Come along: A ratchet tool that ironworkers use to clamp onto a beam and pull it into place. [English Construction & Buildings Slang] [full cite] (Aug. 18, 2006)

concretable n. Both new additions, which came online when school opened in August, are constructed of concrete portable modules built by Royal Concrete Concepts Inc. of Palm Beach County. Approved by the School Board in January 2006, the “concretables” were assembled over eight days at the beginning of summer vacation and were ready for students less than two months later. [English Architecture Construction & Buildings Houses & Housing] [full cite] (Apr. 9, 2007)

concretable n. In an industrial lot alongside Pike Road, amid steel frames and giant cranes, is where portables are born. The concrete cottages that go together like an erector set and promise more permanence are finding their way to school campuses.…"I call these relocatables,” said Sanger, patting the walls of a finished classroom that was ready to be loaded and hauled to Wellington High School last week.…Sanger said using concrete portables—concretables—is a response to a state law that is requiring the district to house all children in buildings that meet building codes. [English Architecture Construction & Buildings] [full cite] (Apr. 9, 2007)

cover pricing n. The four-year investigation—one of the OFT’s biggest—centred on a practice known as cover pricing, in which construction firms secretly agreed the prices they would submit during a tender process. A firm that did not want to win the contract would submit a price that was much too high. In some cases, the eventual successful bidder would then reward them with a secret payment. [English Construction & Buildings Jargon] [full cite] (Apr. 21, 2008)

cribbing n. So, last week, crews began the work of raising the 80-foot-long house 8 1/2 feet above flood level. Workers used a technique, called “cribbing,” where they jack up the house one foot at a time. The house was completely raised late Tuesday afternoon, but the Farrs won’t be able to move back in right away. [English Construction & Buildings Houses & Housing] [full cite] (May. 16, 2007)

deconstruction n. Instead of having her 1,300-square-foot house bulldozed, she hired Jon Alexander, a contractor who shared her environmentalism and was willing to dismantle the home shingle by beam, and build a replacement with the same two-by-fours.…Ms. Keller was able to reuse around 90 percent of the original house.…Due to rising landfill costs, tighter recycling guidelines and the growing trend toward ecologically sound building methods, this sort of home “deconstruction,” as the practice is called, is starting to catch on. [English Construction & Buildings Houses & Housing Jargon] [full cite] (Oct. 18, 2007)

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