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Construction Terms and Slang

Click on a letter to go to the appropriate set of definitions (e-mail us if we forgot a term!)

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Ladder, Fixed
A ladder which is permanently attached to a building.

Laminated Glass
Two or more lights of glass permanently bonded together with one or more inter-layers.

Landing
A platform between flights of stairs or at the termination of a flight of stairs.

Lap
To extend one material partially over another; the distance so extended.

Lath
A building material of wood, metal, gypsum, or insulating board that is fastened to the frame of a building to act as a plaster base.

Lattice
A framework of crossed wood or metal strips.

Lead
A malleable metal once extensively used for flashings.

Lead Pusher
(slang) An engineer or designer.

Leader
See Downspout.

Lean-To Roof
the sloping roof of a building addition having its rafters or supports pitched against and supported by the adjoining wall of a building.

Ledger Strip
A strip of lumber nailed along the bottom of the side of a girder on which joists rest.

Lemonhead
(slang) An electrician.

Let-In Brace
Nominal 1 inch-thick boards applied into notched studs diagonally.

Leveling Rod
A rod with graduated marks for measuring heights or vertical distances between given points and the line of sight of a leveling instrument. They are longer than a yardstick and are held by a surveyor in a vertical position.

Light
Space in a window sash for a single pane of glass. Also, a pane of glass.

Lintel
A horizontal structural member that supports the load over an opening such as a door or window.

Liquated Damages
A monetary amount agreed upon by two parties to a contract prior to performance under the contract that specifies what a either party owes the other if that party defaults under the contract.

Liquid-Applied Membrane
Generally applied to cast-in-place concrete surfaces in one or more coats to provide fully-adhered waterproof membranes which conform to all contours.

Lite
Another term for a pane of glass. Also spelled "light" in industry literature.

Live Load
Loads produced by use and occupancy of the building or other structure and do not include construction or environmental loads such as wind load, snow load, ice load, rain load, seismic load, or dead load.

Lookout
A short wood bracket or cantilever to support an overhang portion of a roof or the like, usually concealed from view.

Loose Laid
In roofing, a membrane "laid loosely", i.e., not adhered, over a roof deck or Burm.

Lot
A parcel of ground with boundaries determined by the county.

Louver
An opening with a series of horizontal slats so an ranged as to permit ventilation but to exclude rain, sun. light, or vision. See also Attic ventilators.

Lumber
The product of the sawmill and planing mill not further manufactured other than by sawing, resawing, and passing lengthwise through a standard planing machine, crosscutting to length, and matching.