Understanding the Building Construction Process (eBook)

2 Terminology

This chapter is a useful reference guide to some terms used throughout the book. I have included this tool near the beginning so that it is easy to find. Upon the first use of a defined term in each later chapter, the term is in italics for easy reference back here.

• Air Conditioning

This term refers to the provision of warm or cool air to a space to create a feeling of comfort for occupants.

• Air Conditioning Unit (ACU)

This component of mechanical equipment is part of the system that supplies warm or cool air.

• Air Handling Unit (AHU)

This term describes a component of mechanical equipment containing integral fans and blowers that moves air through ducts.

• Air Plenum

This is a term used to describe an enclosure for air supplied from or returning to an air handling unit. A return air plenum is an enclosure for air to return to an air handling unit. In some buildings, the ceiling spaces are used as return air plenums.

• Ambient Air Temperature

This is the average temperature of air in a space.

• Aspect Ratio

This ratio describes the geometric shape of an air duct.

• Atrium

This is a space with a high ceiling built to encompass several floors in a building and often includes considerable glazing. Normally an atrium is an architectural feature of a building.

• Bid

This word is a verb, as in to bid. It can also be a noun, as in receipt of a bid or a bidder. Relative to construction, it normally refers to the process of a contractor formulating a price (bid) for a defined scope of work. (See also Tender). The word Tender may be unfamiliar to some, so from here on I use the term tender/bid where the words are interchangeable.

• BIM

Building Information Modelling has the acronym BIM. BIM is a software-created digital representation of the building in a 3-dimensional format. A building project using BIM techniques will typically have all the major building consultant designs included in the BIM representation. Such inclusions may be made by design consultants or there may be a separate consultant for BIM.

Besides the main building consultants, other consultant designs that may be included in a BIM representation are landscape architecture and civil works such as for uncovered parking lots etc. You may make further reference to BIM using internet resources such as Google, YouTube, Wikipedia, etc.

• Boiler

A boiler is mechanical equipment used to produce hot water. Simply, a hot water boiler encloses a fire through which pipes containing water are run. Fire heats water in the pipes to produce hot water. Natural gas, propane, or oil can produce the fire. An electric boiler is similar except electric elements heat water in the same way as an element in an electric kettle.

• Bollard

This is a short steel post set in the ground that typically projects between 3 and 5 feet (0.9m and 1.5m) above ground. Bollards may prevent automobile encroachment into an area, such as a garden. To help prevent theft by auto ramming, a commercial storefront may have bollards buried in concrete to a depth of 3 feet (0.9m) or more.

A bollard light fixture is a short post with a light source at the top of the post.

• Bond (Construction Bond)

Those in the industry refer to a construction bond as simply a bond. A construction bond is a surety bond. A surety bond is a 3-party contract where party A (the Bonding company) guarantees that party B (the Principal, such as a contractor) will fulfill its obligations to party C (the Obligee, such as an Owner). Chapter 9 discusses construction bonding.

• Budget Price or Budget

A budget price is a prediction of the cost to perform a defined scope of work. The accuracy of a budget price will depend on the expertise of those who prepare it.

• Building Code

As used in this book, Building Code is a reference to the requirements that regulate construction in a jurisdiction. The ‘Building Code’ may be one or more books and may often have a series of references to other published codes and standards requiring such other documents to be included as part of it. The building code may also be a nationally published book with local amendments to suit various jurisdictions. The building code may be a combination of all the above.

Thus, the term ‘Building Code’ includes all the regulations that a building department in a jurisdiction will consider governs construction of buildings.

• Building Code Relaxation/Equivalency

This describes a negotiation that may occur with a jurisdictional authority, like a Building Department, where difficult and costly building code requirements can sometimes be offset by using alternative design accommodations.

• Building Construction or, as used in this book, Construction

Construction involves the building of space for occupancy. Construction may involve building new buildings, building additions to, and or performing renovations in existing buildings. There are normally two phases in construction. The first is the design phase, and the second is the on-site construction phase.

• Building Elevation View

This is an exterior view of a building like that seen in a photograph of one side of a building. For example, east elevation means a view of the east side of the building. To view the east side of the building, a person must face west.

• Building Envelope

This refers to parts of a building forming exposure between building exterior and earth or the atmosphere. The envelope includes the floor and walls in contact with earth below grade, as well as those exposed to the weather, the roof, and walls.

• Building Heat Gain

Light fixtures and people give off heat to the surrounding air. The temperature of the air in a building will increase from these two sources, and this is heat gain. Other items that contribute to heat gain include electrically operated office machines and computers. All electrically powered equipment gives off heat because some or all the power consumed is converted to heat. The other major contributor to heat gain is the conduction and radiation of heat from the sun. Such heat gain is through the building envelope, particularly the glazing. (Heat gain from the sun is solar heat gain.)

• Building Heat Loss

The building exterior components (or the envelope) enable heat transfer from a warm interior to a cool exterior. This heat loss...