Cantilever - A beam or beams projecting beyond a support member.

Story - That part of a building between any floor or between the floor and roof.

Retentions - Amounts withheld from progress billings until final and satisfactory project completion.

Take off - The material necessary to complete a job.

Fire blocking - Short horizontal members sometimes nailed between studs, usually about halfway up a wall.

Fire block - Short horizontal members sometimes nailed between studs, usually about halfway up a wall. See also 'Fire stop'.

Screed - Leveling concrete, sand or other material by pulling a board pipe or other straightedge across it in a sawing motion.

Binder - A receipt for a deposit to secure the right to purchase a home at an agreed terms by a buyer and seller.

Buck - Often used in reference to rough frame opening members. Door bucks used in reference to metal door frame. See Window Bucks

Ceramic tile - A man -made or machine -made clay tile used to finish a floor or wall. Generally used in bathtub and shower enclosures and on counter tops.

Escutcheon - An ornamental plate that fits around a pipe extending through a wall or floor to hide the cut out hole

Lintel - A load-bearing beam over an opening in masonry, such as a door or fireplace.

Permeability - A measure of the ease with which water penetrates a material.

Shoe moulding - Strips of quarter round commonly used where a baseboard meets the floor. Also sometimes known as base shoe.

Short circuit - A situation that occurs when hot and neutral wires come in contact with each other. Fuses and circuit breakers protect against fire that could result from a short.

Void - Cardboard rectangular boxes that are installed between the earth (between caissons) and the concrete foundation wall. Used when expansive soils are present.