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.

Area wells - Corrugated metal or concrete barrier walls installed around a basement window to hold back the earth

Casing - Wood trim molding installed around a door or window opening.

Rough sill - The framing member at the bottom of a rough opening for a window. It is attached to the cripple studs below the rough opening.

Stud - A vertical wood framing member, also referred to as a wall stud, attached to the horizontal sole plate below and the top plate above. Normally 2 X 4's or 2 X 6's, 8' long (sometimes 92 5/8"). One of a series of wood or metal vertical structural members placed as supporting elements in walls and partitions.

Teco - Metal straps that are nailed and secure the roof rafters and trusses to the top horizontal wall plate. Sometimes called a hurricane clip.

Veterans Administration (VA) - A federal agency that insures mortgage loans with very liberal down payment requirements for honorably discharged veterans and their surviving spouses.

Weep holes - Small holes in storm window frames that allow moisture to escape.