Glossary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
2D: A graphic representation that shows only two of an object’s dimensions at one time, such as height and width, or width and depth, or height and depth.
3D: A graphic representation that shows all three dimensions of an object at one time: height, width, and depth.
3D modeling (computer): A computer-based modeling system that allows the designer to create model geometry on an x-, y-, and z-axis system.
A-frame: A structure, such as a house, with steeply angled sides that meet at the top in the shape of the letter A.
Above ground: Term applied to any utility that is brought into a property situated or taking place on or above the surface of the ground.
Absorption: The process whereby one substance is physically taken into and included within another substance, as the absorption of water by soil.
Adjacency matrix: A matrix used to clarify the design parameters for the client by rating components of a project based on most desirable features and placement.
Aesthetics: Of or concerning how pleasing something is to the senses.
Alluvium: Clay, silt, gravel, or similar material deposited by running water.
Ampere: A measure of electrical current flow.
Anaerobic: Growing in the absence of oxygen, as in anaerobic bacteria in a septic tank.
Analyzed: Examined carefully and methodically; broken down for consideration of constituent parts.
Angle of Repose: The angle, measured from the horizontal, that granular material is stable while unsupported.
Architect: A person who designs and supervises the construction of buildings or other large structures.
Architecture: The profession of designing buildings and environments with consideration for their aesthetic effect.
Architectural styles: The design element of a structure that is identified by the distinguishing characteristics of the exterior.
Arterial: Roads that carry between 400 to 800 cars per lane per hour depending on businesses, parking, signs, and control signals.
Aquifer: An underground geological formation or group of formations containing usable amounts of groundwater that can supply wells and springs.
Artifact: An object produced or shaped by human craft, especially a tool, weapon, or ornament of archeological or historical interest.
Asymmetry: Lack of balance or symmetry.
Attorney: A person legally appointed by another to act as his or her agent in the transaction of business, specifically one qualified and licensed to act for plaintiffs and defendants in legal proceedings.
Azimuth: The horizontal angle reckoned clockwise from the north or south meridian.
Backsight (BS): The reference point from which horizontal angles, vertical and horizontal differences are measured.
Baffle: A shield usually made of scrap material to keep insulation from plugging eave vents; also used to describe wind- or sound-deadening devices.
Balance: A principle of design dealing with the relationship between the various areas of a structure as they relate to an imaginary centerline; sometimes referred to as symmetrical or equally proportioned.
Barrier: Soil or vegetation blocking sound or sight lines.
Beam: A horizontal structural member that is used to support roofs or wall loads, such as a header.
Bearing points: A property boundary location identified by the distance from a fixed point and at an angle and direction relative to that point.
Bearings: would indicate a direction that is 56-degrees, 45-minutes from the south to the west. Directions with reference to one quadrant of a compass used to identify property boundaries in the metes and bounds system. Example: (S 56° 45’ W)
Begin Vertical Curve (BVC): On an engineering drawing, the point at which the road transitions from an even slope to a vertical curve.
Benchmark: A known reference point or location of known or assumed elevation and/or horizontal coordinates.
Bending: One of three major forces acting on a beam. It is the tendency of a beam to bend or sag between its supports.
Bending moment: A measure of the forces that cause a beam to break by bending. Represented by (M).
Bentonite: 1. A very fine grained clay formed from decayed glass particles in volcanic rock which forms a watertight bond when compacted. One form of it, Sodium Bentonite, absorbs water and swells to about 20 times its original size. The other, Calcium Bentonite, does not change size. Bentonites are generally used to seal dump sites, pond bottoms and other areas used to contain water or chemicals. 2. An absorbent aluminum silicate clay formed from volcanic ash and used in various adhesives, cements, and ceramic fillers.
Berm: Mound of earth used as a barrier.
Bird’s mouth: A notch cut into a rafter to provide a bearing surface where the rafter intersects the top plate.
Blocking: Framing members, typically wood, placed between joist, rafters, or studs to provide rigidity (also called bridging).
Blueprints: A generally accepted term for a set of printed drawings created by the Diazo reproduction process. Original blueprints were created by a wet chemical process that caused the background to be blue and any lines or printing to be white.
Body Language: The gestures, postures, and facial expressions by which a person manifests various physical, mental, or emotional states and communicates nonverbally with others.
Bottom plate: The lowest horizontal framing member used in residential wall construction.
Boxes: A metal or plastic container equipped with clamps, used to terminate a conduit. Also known as an outlet box.
Bracing System: A method of reinforcing a structure to resist lateral loads.
Branch: A pipe or conduit that splits from a main to carry a utility to a group of structures.
Broadleaf: Plants having relatively broad rather than needle-like or scar-like leaves.
Bounds: A limit, “boundary” as used in the Metes and Bounds system for the legal description of property.
Bubble diagrams: Freehand sketches used to determine room locations, flow of traffic, and spatial relationships. They are the first step in the design process used to represent spatial relationships and placement of circulation flow.
Building Codes: Legal requirements designed to protect the public by providing guidelines for structural, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical areas of a structure.
Building Inspectors: Individuals who inspect new construction to make sure that the methods and materials meet local and national code requirements.
Building section: A type of drawing showing an object as if it had been cut through from the peak of the roof to the base of the foundation in order to show interior construction.
Building Structure: The arrangement of parts to form a whole. A building structure’s primary function is to support and redirect loads and forces safely to the ground. It constantly withstands forces of wind, effects of gravity, vibrations, and sometimes earthquakes.
Caisson: A watertight structure within which construction work is carried on under water.
Cantilever: Projected construction that is fastened at only one end.
Cantilever beam: A long piece of wood or metal used to support a structure; a horizontal beam that is fastened only at one end and extends beyond a supporting surface.
Cartography: The study of map making.
Cartographic surveying: Plotting the points necessary to make a map.
Cast iron: A heavy metal pipe typically used to convey potable water supplies.
Catchbasin: A device used to capture sediment, nutrients, metals, and hydrocarbons suspended in runoff from impervious surfaces before being conveyed to a storm sewer network or to another water-quality treatment system.
Ceiling: The upper interior surface of a room.
Ceiling joist: The horizontal member of the roof which is used to resist the outward spread of the raters and to provide a surface on which to mount the finished ceiling.
Chipboard: A flat construction material, made by using flat chips of wood bonded with formaldehyde glue; sometimes referred to as wafer board; term used in the construction industry for Oriented Strand Board (OSB). OSB was developed as an inexpensive replacement for plywood. It comes in several thicknesses only some of which are rated for sheathing or decks.
Chord: The upper and lower members of a truss which are supported by the web.
Circuit: The various conductors, connections, and devices found in the path of electrical flow from the source through the components and back to the source.
Circuit Breaker: An electrical safety switch that automatically opens a circuit when excessive amperage occurs.
Circulation: Overall flow of people and goods on a site.
Civil engineer: A person trained in the design and construction of public works projects, such as highways, bridges, sanitation facilities, and water treatment plants.
Clamp screw: A mechanism that locks a surveying instrument in a horizontal or vertical position.
Clean-out: A special fitting that allows access to drainage lines for removing obstructions that develops in those lines.
Client: A person who employs another professionally; a customer.
Closed Traverse: A collection of Traverse lines that return to the POB (Point of Beginning) or other Control Point; the boundaries of a property.
Codes: A body of laws regulating land use, development, and construction.
Collar: Horizontal ties between rafters near the ridge to help resist the tendency of the rafters to separate.
Collectors: Local roads that can generally carry 100-250 cars per lane per hour.
Colloidal: Made up of very small particles, which remain suspended in water. A typical example is clays.
Color: An integral part of design and decorating which helps distinguish exterior materials and accents shapes.
Columns: Vertical, beam members which are responsible for supporting compressive loads and transferring those loads to the foundation of a structure.
Commercial Structure: Any building intended for carrying out a business or service.
Common practices: Procedures that are widely accepted by a group of people as the preferred way to accomplish certain tasks.
Community: Organized political or social body; a body of people in the same locality.
Competitions: Contests used to show or expose work to different forms of evaluation and comparisons to alternate solutions.
Complex beam: Beam with a non-uniform load at any point on it, having supports that are not located at its end.
Component: A part of a mechanical or electrical complex.
Compression: A force that crushes or compacts.
Conclusion: The close or last part; the end or finish.
Conductor: Any material that permits the flow of electricity.
Construction Management Engineering: A profession that is responsible for managing and providing quality control, reviewing contracts, ordering materials, and hiring and scheduling sub-contractors for a structural engineering job.
Constructive criticism: Comments serving to improve or advance; providing a helpful critical judgment expressed with knowledge.
Consumption-Based Methodology: One of two suggested systems that can be used to establish utility allowances. (See also engineering-based methodology.) This method is based on actual consumption data from utility bills or checked meter readings. Data is used to estimate the amount of energy or water a household should reasonably require.
Continuous beam: A beam having three or more supports.
Continuous foundation: A base on which something rests; poured or fabricated in one complete form, such as a concrete foundation.
Contour: Lines on a map showing the topographical outlines of the physical characteristics of the land or a line that joins points of similar elevation.
Contour Interval: The elevation change between adjacent contours.
Contractor: A person responsible for directing a project or a portion of the work on a project as in the case of a subcontractor; usually a legally binding agreement is signed and a bond posted to ensure completion.
Control: Any station for which position coordinates and/or elevation is already known, and from which the positions or elevations of unknown stations are determined.
Cooling Degree Days: A measure of the severity of the summer in a given locality: the more cooling degree days, the hotter the summers. Cooling degree days (CDD) are the difference between 65 degrees F and the daily mean (average) temperature when the latter is more than 65 degrees F.
Coordinate geometry: A mathematical system that locates points using x- and y-values and angles.
Corner post: The built up vertical section of wall framing used to provide stability and nailing surface at the intersection of wall sections.
Cornice: The part of the roof that extends out from the wall; sometimes referred to as the eave.
Covenants: Binding agreements that list restrictions for the use of property by its owners.
Cripple stud: An upright piece of wood that is cut at less than full length used in wall construction
Critical buckling load: Large compression load that causes a column to become unstable, resulting in a sudden lateral deflection of the column.
Critique: A critical review or commentary.
Cross bracing: Boards fastened diagonally between structural members, such as floor joists, to provide rigidity.
Culture: Range of customs, beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a religious, social, or racial group.
Culvert: A transverse drain used to conduct water under roadways.
Curb Cut: A break or opening onto a road from private property.
Curve length (L): The length of a curve on a road between the Point of Curve and Point of Tangency.
Cut and Fill: A plan to remove (cut) excess soil or add (fill) soil to low spots.
Data Collector: A portable computer usually sized to hold in one hand that automatically records observations made with a total station.
Datum: A reference point for starting a survey.
Deciduous: A type of tree, shrub, or vine that drops all of its leaves in winter.
Dead load: Unchanging or dead weights a structure must support (i.e., roof, beams, flooring).
Deflection: Description of the stiffness of a beam by its tendency to bend under a load.
Deformation: Change of shape as a result of forces being applied to an object.
Deed restrictions: Limitations placed on the owner of property for its usage.
Degree of curve (D): The angle within the Delta angle of a curve that has a chord of 100 feet along the curve. Provides information on how tight the curve will be.
Delta Angle (∆): The inclusive angle of a curve Measured from PC to PT.
Design: To plan, create, or devise; may refer to the results of the planning, creating, and devising.
Design brief: Summary of a design project that includes brief descriptions of the following: initial problem, identification of needs to solve the problem, factors/constraints to be considered.
Design elements: Parts that make up an end-product that satisfies a set criteria or constraints.
Design Temperature Differential: The difference between the indoor temperature in winter and the outdoor design temperature in winter. The design temperature differential or design range is used in calculating the space heating requirements of a dwelling unit under the engineering-based methodology.
Detail drawing: Enlargements of specific areas of a structure that are typically drawn where several components intersect or where small members are required.
Determinant beam: A beam with three support reaction forces that can be determined by applying the three equilibrium equations. If a beam has more than three support reactions, it is said to be indeterminate.
Developer: Any property owner, or any person or group with written authorization from the property owner, who intends to improve or to construct improvements upon a given property.
Development: A piece of property of land that has been changed by the addition of improvements.
Diazo reproduction: Diazo prints, also known as blue-line prints, are made by passing an ultraviolet light through a translucent original drawing to expose a chemically coated paper or print material underneath.
Dimensions: Distances between points that delineate relationships between design elements.
Diatomaceous earth: Soft earth formed from the shells of diatoms.
Dispersement: Separation of a quantity.
Displays of Work: Public exhibits of work to allow others to learn about a project and to receive peer evaluation.
Distribution main: The primary trunk line used for distributing water, gas, or electricity within a specific area or region.
Distribution panel: A section or division of a wall where the conductor from the meter base is connected to individual circuit breakers, which are connected to separate circuits for distribution to various locations throughout the structure.
Drain: A pipe or channel by which liquid is drawn off.
Drainage: A system or plan to remove water from a site.
Drip edge: Molding at the edge of a roof designed for effective water shedding and for directing water away from the exterior facing material.
Driveway: A private road providing access from a public way to a building.
Ductile iron: A heavy metal pipe typically used to convey potable water supplies.
Ductwork capacity: The cubic feet per minute of airflow (abbreviated CFM) the ductwork is capable of handling.
Dutch hip: A type of roof shape that combines features of a gable and a hip roof.
Easement: Right of way across someone’s land; typically utility lines are placed in easements.
Eave: The lower part of the roof that projects from the wall (also see cornice).
Ecology: Study of the relationships between living organisms and their surroundings.
Economics: The production, consumption, and distribution of goods and services.
Electronic Distance Measuring (EDM): A means or method of measurement that uses electronics at a distance.
Effluent: The discharge of water or wastewater from a treatment process or processes.
Egress: Exits or a way out of.
Electric Meter: A Kilowatt hour measuring device provided by the power company used for billing purposes.
Electrical plan: The display of all of the circuits and systems to be used by the electrical contractor during installation.
Electrical systems: The means of supply, transmission, and distribution of power to a site.
Elements of art: The basic principles of art, such as design, color, symmetry, or proportion.
Elevation: A point’s height above an adopted datum, such as mean sea level (MSL).
Elevations: Orthographic drawings that show one side of a building’s interior or exterior.
End Vertical Curve (EVC): Point where the vertical curve ends and the road has an even slope again.
Energy: The ability to do work; types include heat, light, sound, chemical, nuclear, mechanical, electrical.
Energy Codes: A set of rules that are intended to regulate the design and construction of an energy system.
Energy resources: The supply that provides energy that is converted into usable power; source types include solar, wind, nuclear, geothermal, fossil fuels, and hydroelectric.
Energy Systems: A means of delivering a structure’s power enabling it to do work; it can be by onsite conduction, convection, radiation, or offsite mechanical means.
Engineered beam: A long, thick piece of wood created from smaller wood pieces improving upon the normal capabilities of construction lumber. These products are composed of wood particles (veneer, wood chips, oriented strands, wafers, laminated dimensional lumber, and combinations thereof) bonded by long-lasting adhesives to ensure the structural integrity.
Engineering-Based Methodology: One of two suggested systems that can be used to establish utility allowances. (See also consumption-based methodology.) This method is based on engineering calculations and other technical information that is used to estimate the amount of energy or water a household should reasonably require.
Engineering surveying: A measurement to show size, boundaries, utilities, and topography of a site.
Environment: External surroundings.
Environmental Engineer: A sub-discipline of civil engineering that deals with the treatment of chemical, biological, and/or thermal waste, the purification of water and air, and the remediation of contaminated sites, due to prior waste disposal or accidental contamination. Environmental engineers are also involved in pollution reduction, green engineering, and industrial ecology. Environmental engineering is the modern term for Sanitary engineering. Some other terms in use are public health engineering and environmental health engineering.
Environmentally Friendly: Designing and constructing buildings from renewable materials such as wood from managed forests, earthen materials, and recycled products.
Ethical: Being in accordance with the accepted principles of right and wrong that govern the conduct of a profession.
Equilibrium: State of balance achieved when the forces acting on a structural member are equal to zero.
Evergreen: Plants having foliage that remains green all year.
Exterior: Outside the boundaries of the floor plan.
Eye-contact: Direct visual contact with another's eyes.
Facilities: A structure, equipment, or service that is designed to meet a need; i.e. restroom.
Fascia: A horizontal board nailed to the end of rafters or trusses to conceal their ends.
Feeder: Local streets, Cul-de-sacs, or loops that service neighborhoods.
Fiber bending stress: The measurement of structural members used to determine their stiffness. Represented by (Fb).
Fine adjusting screw: A mechanism that when tightened or loosened makes fine adjustments of surveying equipment in the vertical or horizontal plane.
Finish floor: A floor that has been prepared with a smooth finish suitable for use that may or may not have a sealant applied.
Finishes: Final treatments that are applied to a design or construction element.
Fittings: A general term that usually refers to various piping parts such as tees, valves, fixtures, or elbows.
Fixed beam: A beam with both supports fixed, allowing no rotation at the restrained ends.
Fixed support: A support that totally restrains the beam, sometimes called a fixed end.
Fixtures: Plumbing, electrical, or other trade areas for personal finish devices that are fastened to the structure and become part of the property, such as, toilets, chandeliers, water faucets, doorbells.
Floating foundation: A system and slab formed in one fabrication.
Floor: The inside bottom surface of a room; sometimes refers to a story in a building.
Floor joist: A horizontal structural member used in repetitive patterns to support floor loads.
Floor Plan: A sectional drawing to show a floor from a point four feet above the finished floor level.
Floor plan symbols: Representations used in floor plans to describe items that are associated with living in the home, such as doors, windows, cabinets and plumbing fixtures.
Flow Rate: The rate at which water or wastewater moves through a treatment system or pipe network.
Foam core board: Model building material; a thin piece of foam sandwiched between two pieces of posterboard.
Foliage: Plant leaves, especially tree leaves, considered as a group.
Footings: Lowest member of a foundation system used to spread the loads of a structure across supporting soil.
Force: A push or a pull on an object.
Form: A principle of design that is described by lines and geometric shapes. For best results, the form of a structure should be dictated by its function.
Foresight (FS): The station or location to which a horizontal angle (relative to the backsight), vertical difference, and horizontal distance are measured.
Foundation: System that supports and transfers to the ground a building’s loads; may include footings, piers, pilings, foundation walls, and slabs.
Freeway: A road with limited access that generally handles between 1,000-1,300 cars per hour per lane.
Gable: A type of roof with two sloping surfaces that intersect at the ridge of the structure.
Gallons per day: A flowrate unit (gpd), which is typically, used for water distribution and wastewater management systems.
Gallons per minute: A flowrate unit (gpm), which is typically, used for water distribution and wastewater management systems.
Gambrel: A type of roof formed with two planes on each side of the ridge. The lower pitch is steeper than the upper portion of the roof.
Geodetic surveying: Mathematical determination of exact locations of geographical points, shapes, and sizes.
Geotechnical Engineering: A profession that analyzes subterranean rock and soil in order to determine load bearing capabilities essential for a safe and secure structure.
Girder: A horizontal support member at the foundation level.
Global Positioning System (GPS): A surveying technology using specialized radio receivers tuned to signals from military navigation satellites to position survey stations.
Grade beam: The designation of the quality of a manufactured piece of wood.
Grading: Act of changing a property’s topography for a purpose.
Green space: Land that consists predominantly of unsealed, permeable, ‘soft’ surfaces, such as soil, grass, shrubs, and trees.
Ground: An electrical connection to the earth by means of a rod.
Groupings: A number of plants placed in an arrangement within a landscape for maximum impact and appeal.
Gussett: A metal or wood plate used to strengthen the intersection of structural members.
Hard water: Drinking water, usually from a groundwater source, that is high in dissolved minerals, most commonly calcium, magnesium, and iron.
Head loss: Energy loss in hydraulic systems.
Header: The upper portion of a door or window frame.
Heat Loss: The rate of heat transfer in British Thermal Units (BTU) per hour from occupied space to the outdoors. Losses occur through walls, ceilings, and floors of a structure, and through cracks around windows and doors. The heat loss depends on the structure size, construction, design, physical condition, amount of insulation in the walls and ceilings, the assumed indoor temperature, and various other factors.
Heating Degree Days: A measure of the severity of the winter in a given locality: the more heating degree days, the colder the winters. Heating degree days (HDD) are the difference between 65 degrees F and the daily mean (average) temperature when the latter is less than 65 degrees F.
Heckling: To try to embarrass and annoy (someone speaking or performing in public) by questions, gibes, or objections; badger.
Height of Instrument (HI): The vertical distance from the station mark to the center of the trunnion axis of the total station or level.
Hip: The exterior edge formed by two sloping roof surfaces.
Holding Pond: A fabricated containment area for holding storm run-off.
Horizontal Alignment: Tangency established between straight-a-ways and curves on roads.
Horizontal orientation: A view of an object that shows its width.
Horizontal shear: One of three major forces acting on a beam; it is the tendency of the fibers of a beam to slide past each other in a horizontal direction. Represented by (Fv).
Hydraulic detention time: The average amount of time a particle of water stays within a treatment vessel. The hydraulic detention time can be calculated by dividing the vessel volume by the flowrate.
Hydrogeologist: Scientists who study groundwater occurrence and movement.
Hydrographic: Relating to features of a body of water or the study of the flow of water.
Hydrology: The study of the properties and characteristics of earth’s water.
Impact loads: Dynamic forces applied by live loads; because they are considered related to live loads, they are generally taken as a fraction of the live loads causing them.
Indeterminant beam: A beam with more than three support reaction forces. The three equilibrium equations are not sufficient to solve for all of the reactions. If a beam has three support reactions, it is said to be determinate.
Indigenous: Originating and growing or living in an area or environment.
Influent: Water or wastewater, partially or completely treated, or in its natural state that flows into a reservoir, tank, treatment component or disposal component.
Infrastructure: Basic installations, such as roads, railways, or factories that determine the economic power of a country, city, or town.
Ingress: Entrances or a means to enter.
Inlet: A narrow passage for water to enter a system.
Interior: Within the boundaries of the floor plan.
Interviews: A verbal process to inform and provide suggestions for improvement.
Introduction: Something spoken, written, or otherwise presented at the beginning of a presentation or written piece; used in presenting a person.
Irrigation: A process to supply something, such as dry land with water by means of ditches, pipes, or streams; to water artificially.
Jack stud: A wall member that is cut shorter than other studs to allow for an opening, such as a window (also called a cripple stud).
Jamb: The vertical member of a door or window frame.
Journal: Daily record or collection of writings, sketches, and research that express the design process.
Junction box: A metal or plastic container that protects electrical wiring splices in conductors or joints in a run.
Juried presentation: A showing or viewing of something that has been assessed by a group of judges or evaluators.
Jury: A panel of individuals that assess a design project with a formal presentation.
Kaolin: A fine, white clay used in ceramics and refectories and as a filler or coating for paper and textiles. This clay is formed by the weathering of pegmatities or mica schists from the acids in ground water.
King stud: A full-length piece of wood placed at the end of a header.
Land: A solid part of the earth’s surface, ground, or soil.
Land surveying: The process of measuring and locating physical entities on a plot of land to obtain a legal description.
Landscape design: The aesthetic improvement of land with the use of existing resources and the addition of plant material as needed.
Landscape horticulturist: A person whose profession is the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, flowers, or ornamental plants for decorative and functional alteration and planting of grounds.
Landscaping: The improvement of a plot with the responsible use of existing and new plant material.
Lateral: Of, relating to, or situated at or on the side.
Lateral loads: Sideways directed loads sustained by a structure that may be caused by winds or seismic activity.
Layout: Arrangement of design components to satisfy the design requirements.
Least squares: A method of determining the curve that best describes the relationship between expected and observed sets of data by minimizing the sums of the squares of deviation between observed and expected values. It is a process used to determine the best fit of a line or curve (depending on whether a person is using linear, non linear, damped, etc.) to a matrix of data points used in prediction.
Legal description: A written passage or statement that describes property; may be one of three types: metes and bounds, rectangular survey system, and lot and block.
Lending institution: Organization that is in the business of providing monetary funds for individuals or companies needing funds.
Leveling base: A foundation or area designed to level surveying instruments prior to use; four leveling screws are used.
Leveling Rod or Target rod: A device with a graduated scale in 1/10ths or 1/100ths of feet that is focused on through the telescope.
Liquid Limit: Minimum moisture content at which the soil will flow upon application of a sheering force.
Line: A sense of direction or movement in the design of a structure which helps to relate it to the site and the natural surroundings.
Line-of-sight: An imaginary line from the eye to a perceived object.
Live load: Changing (live) weights on a structure in need of support, such as people, furniture, rain, or snow.
Load: Weight a structure must support.
Load paths: The direction a force will follow along structural members to reach its foundation and ultimately the ground supporting the foundation.
Long span: A one-story structure with a span greater than 12 to 15 m and large free spaces between columns.
Lot size: The number of square footage in a plot of land that is under consideration for development.
Main: The public pipe or wire that conveys a utility from one point to another.
Maintenance: The work of keeping something in proper condition; upkeep.
Management: People in charge of carrying out the administration of business.
Manhole: An entry through which a person may gain access to an underground or enclosed structure.
Mansard: A four-sided, steep-sloped roof.
Materials: The products that are used to protect the exterior of the building from weather, such as roofing, wall coverings, doors, and windows.
Mat (Raft) foundations: A foundation used when soil bearing is relatively low or where loads are heavy in relation to soil-bearing capacities. This foundation type is essentially one large footing under an entire building, which distributes the load over the entire mat. A mat is called a raft foundation when it is placed deep enough in the soil that the soil removed during excavation equals most or all of the building’s weight.
Meridians: Lines of longitude used in legal property descriptions.
Meter: An instrument used to measure electrical quantities.
Metes: Measurements used to identify the boundaries of a property.
Micaceous: A mineral that crystallizes in thin, flexible layers resistant to heat.
Minute: A measurement of 1/60th of a degree, where 360 degrees equals a circle.
Models: A model, or mock-up, is a three-dimensional representation of an architectural design solution that is used to help communicate design concepts. The model can either be a physical model or a computer-generated model of the design.
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Modulus of elasticity: The degree of stiffness of a beam. Represented by (e).
Moment: Tendency to rotate about a point determined by the product of a force multiplied by the distance from this force to this point.
Monument: A known reference point on an immovable object used to reference topographical data usually identified by a brass circle with data inscribed on it.
Multi-Family: Distinction given in building codes to a structure where more than one family unit would reside.
NAD 27: The North American Datum of 1927 is a horizontal reference datum.
NAD 83: The North American Datum of 1983 is a horizontal reference datum, which superseded NAD 27.
National Geodetic Survey (NGS): A federal government activity that is responsible for national programs in geodesy and geodetic surveying. NGS is a division under the National Ocean Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) within the Department of Commerce.
Native plants: Plants, which are indigenous to a particular area.
NAVD 88: The North American Vertical Datum of 1988 is a vertical reference datum, which superseded NGVD 1929.
NGVD 29: The National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 is a vertical reference datum.
Outlet: An electrical receptacle which allows current to be drawn from a system.
Overhang: The horizontal measurement of the distance the roof projects from a wall.
Overhang beam: A beam supported with two supports, one or both supports are not located at the end of the beam.
Overview: A broad, comprehensive view; a summary or review.
Ownership: Having legal authority over something; i.e. land or buildings.
P & Z Board: Local planning and zoning committee that is comprised of community individuals who make decisions governing the development of property within the community.
Panel box: The electrical enclosure where the service is connected to the individual circuits in the structure.
Parallels: Lines of latitude used as a reference point in legal descriptions of property.
Particle board: A formed panel consisting of particles of wood flakes, chips, and shavings and bonded together with synthetic resin glue. Used for countertop or veneer panel underlayment.
Peer evaluation: Process of checking another’s work against the requirements that have been given and giving constructive feedback.
Peer Review: A method that enables reflection and revision of work completed.
Perspective Drawings: A type of pictorial drawing that provides the illusion of depth by converging all horizontal lines which represent the object’s depth to a single vanishing point on the horizon (for one-point perspectives) or to two vanishing points on the horizon (for a two-point perspective). Additional Information: In architectural drawing, one-point perspectives are most commonly used for drawing room interiors; two-point perspectives are used most often to illustrate the exterior of a structure: and three-point perspectives are used for exterior illustrations that also require the illusion of height, such as in a tall building.
pH: Measure of acidity.
Photogrammetry: The science of obtaining reliable information about physical objects through the use of recording, measuring, and interpreting photographic images.
Pier: Any of various vertical supporting structures, such as a pillar, supporting an arch or roof or buttress.
Pile foundations: Deep foundations acting like large nails that are hammered into the soil wit/;h pile drivers to deliver the structure load into a greater mass of soil, or to deliver the loads to a stiffer soil or bedrock stratum.
Pile: A heavy beam of timber, concrete, or steel, driven into the earth as a foundation or support for a structure.
Piling: A structure composed of piles.
Pin support: Type of structural member connection usually metal.
Pitch: Slope (comparison of rise over run) of a roof.
Plagiarize: Act of using another author’s work without giving proper credit; literary theft.
Plan: Top view in an engineering drawing.
Plastic Limit: The lowest moisture content at which a soil can be rolled into a thread 1/8 inch in diameter. Sands are non plastic and cannot be rolled.
Plat: A map of part of a city or township showing some specific area, such as a subdivision made up of several individual lots.
Platy: A flat particle having one dimension relatively small in relation to the other two.
Plot: A small piece of ground; a measured area of land; a lot.
Plot Plan: Layout of a parcel of land.
Point of Beginning (POB): The first point in an engineering project referenced to a bench mark, such as 0+00.
Point of Curve (P.C.): The Station Point where a curve begins.
Point of Intersection (P.I.): The Station Point where two road grades or transit lines intersect.
Point of Reference (POR): A location of known or assumed elevation and/or horizontal coordinates.
Point of Reverse Curve (PRC): The Station Point where two curves meet and change direction.
Point of Tangency (PT): The Station Point where a curve ends and a Straight-a-way begins.
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Pipe: Pipe that is constructed with a polymer formed by polymerization of vinyl chloride monomer, sometimes called vinyl. The white PVC pipe is often found in structures and used for gravity pipe systems such as wastewater drains. Green PVC pipe is used for gravity sanitary sewers.
Poorly Graded: Soil classification where there is only one size, uniformly graded, or a soil that contains only a few differently sized particles, gap graded.
Portfolio: A written record of the development of a project from inception to completion. The three types of portfolios are formative, summative, and marketing.
Position: The coordinates, in a horizontal reference system, which identify a station mark or feature. Latitude and longitude, and Northing and Easting are examples of position coordinates in systems used in surveying.
Potable water: Raw or treated water that is considered safe to drink.
Pounds per Square Inch (PSI): A unit of pressure measurement.
Precast Concrete: Concrete building components which are formed and cured at a factory and then transported to a work site for erection.
Pressurized: Result of pressure being exerted upon something.
Prevailing winds: Direction from which the wind most frequently blows in a given area of the country.
Principles of design: The basic rules or standards that determine a good design, such as form, function, and aesthetics.
Prism: Reflecting device used with a total station or other electronic distance measuring instruments.
Private: Structure or property development that has restricted or limited access for certain groups of people.
Private Force Main: A privately owned utility pipe, conduit, or line that is under pressure.
Private utilities: Any gravity sewer, force main, sewage treatment plant or water or electrical supply system that serves residential subdivisions or other groups of uses or structures and that is not owned and maintained by the public utilities.
Profile: The elevation (or front view) of property showing the vertical information created if a vertical slice is taken through the property.
Project: An undertaking that is usually large and encompasses planning, execution, and presentation to varying degrees as addressed in the scope.
Project notebooks: Notebooks documenting an undertaking that is evidence of design process, research, and final implementation of the design solution.
Property Owners: Legal possessors of land.
Propped beam: A beam with two supports and one end is fixed.
Proportion: A principle of design that deals with the size and shape of areas and their relationship to one another.
Protractor: A measurement device that is graduated in degrees and minutes and that is used for measuring horizontal angles.
Public: Structure or property development that is intended for the use of all people.
Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW): Municipal owned water treatment or wastewater treatment facility.
Public Sanitary Sewer System: Community owned wastewater system.
Public Water System: Community owned potable water distribution system.
Pump stations: Pumps, typically housed in buildings, which add energy to water distribution and sanitary sewer systems.
Radius (R): The perpendicular distance between the Transit line and the center of the curve, measured from the Point of Curve.
Rafter: The inclined structural member of a roof system designed to support roof loads.
Realtor: A person whose business is selling and leasing property; an estate agent.
Regulators: Persons in a position to control the flow or distribution of entities.
Regulations: Rules or ordinances that must be followed in the design of a structure or property development.
Reinforcement bars (rebar): Rods that are used for compressive strength; that is, the bar absorbs the push force.
Reinforcing rods: Rods that are used for tensile strength; that is, the rod absorbs the pull force.
Relief: The elevations or inequalities of a land surface giving it three dimensional qualities.
Renderings: Pictorial drawings that illustrate a design’s details.
Residential Structure: Any structure used for living purposes.
Resources: Things needed to get a job done. The basic technological resources are tools and machines, materials, information, energy, capital, time, and people.
Restrictions: Constraints that limit what can be done.
Rhythm: A principle of design that describes the illusion of flow or movement created by having a regularly repeated pattern of lines, planes, or surface treatments.
Ridge: The uppermost area of two intersecting roof planes.
Ridge board: A horizontal member that rafters are aligned against to resist their downward force.
Right-of-Way (ROW): The strip or area of land around a state highway granted easement or fee paid to a local, state, or federal government agency.
Rise: The amount of vertical distance between one tread and another.
Riser: A water supply pipe that extends vertically one story or more to carry water to fixtures.
Roller support: Joint connection that allows for movement of a structural member.
Roof system: Primary system located on the top of a structure that protects its interior from the natural elements.
Rough Opening: The unfinished opening between framing members allowed for doors, windows, or other assemblies.
Run: The horizontal distance of a set of steps or the measurement describing the depth of one step.
R-value: Measurement of thermal resistance used to indicate the effectiveness of insulation.
Scale: 1. A measuring device used to draw a proportionately reduced representation of a design. 2. A mineral deposit left by hard water.
Schedule Key: Sets of letters and numbers enclosed in geometric shapes that are used to cross reference a feature on a drawing to its corresponding part on a schedule, often referred to as a tag.
Schedules: Written lists of similar components and their specifications, such as windows and doors.
Scissor truss: A roof truss design characterized by two crossing diagonal bottom chords that are frequently used when a vaulted ceiling is desired.
Seasonal wind pattern: A design of natural origin of how the wind flows during different seasons of the year.
Section Detail: A vertical cut through the road to show construction details.
Sections: Views that are formed by slicing a structure or part of a structure along a cutting plane line to show interior details.
Seismic load: Earthquake related forces that must be accounted for in the structural design; specified in the building codes.
Self-assessment: An assessment technique used to enhance learning and understanding through self-evaluation.
Septage: The biodegradable waste from septic tanks and similar treatment systems. Septage includes the sediments, water, grease, and scum pumped from a septic tank.
Septic: An anaerobic condition of water and wastewater.
Septic System: A method to handle raw sewage on site; consists of piping from the structure to the tank, a tank to hold sewage where bacteria breaks it down, and a drain field where liquid is dispersed.
Service: A facility providing the public with the use of something, such as water or transportation.
Service entrance: An entry to a structure or property that is used for delivery of goods and removal of refuse; usually located at the rear.
Service line: A pipe or conduit conveying a utility from a distribution main to the meter or entry point of any individual property.
Setback: The minimum legal distance from a property line or street where improvements to a site can be built or the minimum distance from the property lines to the front, rear, and sides of a structure.
Settling: To cause to sink, become compact, or come to rest; to cause (a liquid) to become clear by forming a sediment; to stabilize.
Shear: Stress that occurs when two forces from opposite directions are acting on the same member; tends to cut a member just as scissors cut paper.
Sheathing: A covering material placed over walls, floors, and roofs that serves as a backing for finishing materials.
Shed: A small structure, either freestanding or attached to a large structure used for storage or shelter.
Shock waves: Compressed waves that travel from an earthquake’s hypocenter at different velocities impacting structures on the earth’s surface; intensity varies according to the type of soil the wave is traveling through.
Sight Distance: The farthest point a driver can see around obstacles.
Sill: A horizontal wood member placed at the bottom of walls and opening in walls.
Silt: Sedimentary material less than .05mm in size.
Simple beam: A beam with a uniform load evenly distributed over its entire length and supported at each end.
Single Family: Distinction given in building codes to a stand alone structure where only one family unit would reside.
Single-phase: Producing, carrying, or powered by a single alternating voltage.
Site: An area of land generally one plot or construction lot in size. The term site is synonymous with plot and lot.
Site Location: Physical placement of a property and its surrounding vicinity.
Site Orientation: The placement of a structure on a property with certain environmental and physical factors taken into consideration.
Site plan: A map of a piece of land that may be used for any number of purposes. It shows the relationship between a structure and its physical surroundings. Also known as a plot or lot plan.
Sizing: Process of choosing the correct structural member necessary to carry specific loads in a design.
Shrubs: Woody plant smaller than a tree with several stems rising from the same root.
Slope: The relationship of the rise to the run expressed as a proportion or a percent, for example 1/10 or 10%.
Sketches: A collection of freehand drawings that communicate an idea; three types: program, design, and thumbnail.
Sketching: An effective means of communication that utilizes freehand drawing.
Soffit: A lowered ceiling, typically found in kitchens, halls, and bathrooms to allow for recessed lighting or HVAC ducts.
Soil Perc Test: A method to determine the permeability of the soil.
Soil pH: The measure of acidity of the soil.
Soil stack: Any vertical pipe in a waste water system.
Solar Orientation: A way of indicating the exposure to the sun. Solar orientation provides for excellent exposure to the sun. Solar access refers to the availability of direct sunlight to a structure or construction site.
Sound Orientation: A way of indicating the exposure to sound. Sound orientation includes determining the sounds that the client will contend with and what other design components may be used to soften the sound impact, such as droning road noise.
Space allocation: The allocation of square footage based on the functional needs within an area.
Space planning: The process of listing functions to be performed within a design and developing relationships as to their placement taking into consideration the design criteria.
Span: Horizontal distance between two supporting members.
Spatial relationship: The proportion of space and objects and how they relate to one another.
Specification Manuals: Reference materials specific in nature which provide additional information that is not given in the working drawings.
Spread foundation: Foundation where the structural load is spread out over a broad area under a building utilizing horizontal rebar mats to anchor the building as a whole or to anchor individual columns or sections separately. Spread foundation is sometimes called "footing foundations" or “spread footing” and is a frequent type of foundation utilized in low rise buildings.
Stable: The condition of a structural member that has been designed to handle the loads it will carry to prevent failure.
Static Head Pressure: The water pressure within a pipe when the water is not moving.
Statics: Branch of mechanics dealing with the forces that produce a state of equilibrium.
Station: A location sometimes called a Station Point, at the intersection of two Traverse lines. Stations are usually sectioned into 100 foot intervals with the hundreds separated from the tens and ones by a + sign. E.g. 3+27 would be 327 feet from the Point of Beginning.
Storm Drain: A drain designed to collect surface water runoff.
Stormwater Retention Areas: Manmade areas for the collection of storm water.
Strain: To alter the relations between the parts of a structure or shape by applying an external force; deform.
Stress: Live or dead load acting on a structural member that results as the material resists the external force; internal force per unit area of the member’s cross section.
Structural Engineer: A profession that studies and understands the basic principles that define and characterize the behavior of physical objects subjected to forces and the designs of such things as bridges, buildings, dams, and stadiums.
Structure: Something made up of interdependent parts in a definite pattern of organization; an interrelation of parts as determined by the general character of the whole.
Subfloor: The flooring surface that is laid on the floor joint and that serves as a base layer for the finished floor.
Subsurface: Soil conditions below ground.
Summary: A statement or presentation of the main points in a condensed form; concise.
Supply: Input line into an area of a structure.
Swale: A man made depression or low lying land feature used for drainage (i.e., a ditch).
Symmetry: (1) Exact correspondence of form and constituent configuration on opposite sides of a dividing line or plane or about a center or an axis. (2) Beauty as a result of balance or harmonious arrangement.
Tangent Line: A single contact point or along a line; touching but not intersecting.
Telescope: An instrument that contains the lens focusing adjustment and cross hairs for sighting.
Telescope level: A spirit (air bubble in fluid encased in a glass cylinder) level used for leveling the instrument.
Tension: Forces that cause a material to stretch or pull apart.
Terrain: The characteristic of land on which the proposed structure will be placed.
Test boring: The process of removing a small diameter core of soil and earth to determine the subterranean features and composition.
Texture: A principle of design which refers to the roughness or smoothness, including reflective properties, of a material or object and its related physical and visual effects.
Three phase: Electrical supply utilizing 4 wires with three lines, each 120° out of phase with the others. Used for commercial or industrial utility; well suited to run heavy motors.
Timeline: Sequential listing of information according to the dates it took place or should take place.
Top plate: The upper horizontal framing member used in residential wall construction, frequently being doubled to provide for stiffness and for support of joists or trusses above.
Topography: The configuration of a surface including its relief and the position of its natural and cultural features.
Total dynamic head (TDH): The pressure within a pipe system with the water in motion. TDH = Static head minus head loss.
Total Station: An electronic surveying instrument that combines angles and distance-measuring capabilities in a single unit.
Traffic flow: The route that people follow as they move from one area to another.
Transit Line: The path or center line of a road.
Transmission Main: The main trunk of a utility system.
Transportation Engineering: A profession that designs and analyzes transportation systems, such as highway construction, railways, airports, urban and suburban road networks, parking areas, and traffic control systems.
Trap: A device for sealing a passage against the escape of gases, especially a U-shaped or S-shaped bend in a drainpipe that prevents the return flow of sewer gas by means of a water barrier.
Traverse: A series of lines of known length connected by known angles.
Tree canopy: The outer limits of a tree’s foliage shown from directly overhead.
Tributary width: The accumulation of loads that are directed to a structural member; always half the distance between the beam to be designed and the next bearing point.
Trimmer: Joists or rafters that are used to frame an opening in a floor, ceiling, or roof.
Tripod: A three-legged stand that provides a stable mounting base for a surveying instrument.
Truss: A rigid framework, to support a roof or bridge; made from shorter components connected in triangles with pin connections.
Turning Points: The stations used when surveying. Also called Traverse Stations or Station Points.
Ultraviolet Disinfection: A final treatment method in which partially treated effluent is exposed to ultraviolet light to kill pathogens and microorganisms.
Underground: Any utility located below the ground level.
Unity: A principle of design related to the commonality of the design or decorating pattern that ties a structure together.
Universal accessibility: A design to provide access with the mobility limited person in mind; Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 1997 and the International Code Council have specified guidelines that are to be followed.
USCS: Unified Soil Classification System.
USDA hardiness map: A map of the United States that shows the range of temperatures in zones for vegetation growth; used when identifying plant material to be used in landscaping.
Utilities: Any service provided by an offsite supplier.
Valley: The internal corner formed between two intersecting roof structures.
Vellum (tracing paper): Drafting paper that is specially designed to accept pencil or ink.
Vent stack: Any vertical pipe in a waste water system whose purpose is to provide a pathway for built up gasses.
Vertical alignment: Tangency between a vertical curve and a road with an even slope.
Vertical Curve (VC): The transition created when a road travels over a hilltop or down a valley and up again.
Vertical orientation: A view of an object that shows its height.
Vertical shear: A stress acting on a beam, that causes a beam to drop between its supports.
Viable: Capable of success or continuing effectiveness; practicable.
Viability analysis: Evaluation process that takes into account the factors that will influence and determine the successful implementation of a proposed project.
Vibrations: Quick forward and backward motions.
View Orientation: A visualization of mountains, city lights, water, or even a developed site, such as a golf course; is optimized in the site orientation.
Volt: The unit used in measuring electrical pressure.
Wall Section: A partial section that shows only typical roof, wall, floor and foundation information for one typical wall rather than the full structure.
Waste Treatment Engineering: The profession that is responsible for designing and analyzing waste water treatment facilities, such as sanitary waste, disposable waste, and water treatment facilities.
Wastewater: The spent or used water from an individual household, a community, or commercial establishment, which contains dissolved and suspended matter that is harmful to human health and the environment. Wastewater requires treatment to remove bacteria and pathogens, either through an onsite decentralized wastewater treatment system or a centralized municipal sewage system, before it can safely be released into the environment. Household wastewater includes liquid-solid mixtures from toilets, sinks, showers, bathtubs, washing machines, dishwashers, and other drains.
Water Management Engineering: A profession that studies the use of hydraulic and hydrologic principles to design drainage systems, detention and retention ponds, navigational waterways, dams, and lakes.
Watt: A unit of electrical power, which is composed of both voltage and amperage.
Weatherhead: Special fitting used to attach an electrical service line to a building or structure.
Webs: Interior members of the truss that span between the top and bottom chord.
Well-Graded: Soil classification where there are a variety of particle sizes present.
Wetlands: Environmentally sensitive lands that have a large concentration of water on it that filters surface water back into the aquifer; usually have developmental restrictions placed upon their usage.
Wind break: A hedge, fence, or row of trees serving to lessen or break the force of the wind.
Wind load: A wind load is dynamic in nature because wind pressure, direction, and duration of wind are constantly changing. To accommodate this with wind load, a standard is used. Wind loads are treated as lateral loading on walls and in a downward pressure or uplift forces on roof planes.
Wind Orientation: Involves determining prevailing winds, which should be taken into account in the placement of a home or business.
Working drawings: The set of plans from which a structure will be built. Working drawings are the vehicle by which the designer graphically conveys the final design solution. Their size is dependent upon the scope and nature of the project.
Zenith Angle: The angle, measured in the vertical plane, between straight up (zero) and the target of observation. The horizontal, therefore, is 90 degrees.
Zoning: Clarifications for property development that govern the design and use of buildings, structures, and utilities within a municipality.