AllowanceCore terms
A budgeted dollar figure placeholder in the contract for an item not yet selected (e.g., tile, fixtures). If your final selection costs more than the allowance, you pay the difference — scrutinize low allowances in bids.
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A budgeted dollar figure placeholder in the contract for an item not yet selected (e.g., tile, fixtures). If your final selection costs more than the allowance, you pay the difference — scrutinize low allowances in bids.
A trade worker learning a craft through a structured program of paid on-the-job training and classroom instruction under journeymen, the standard path into the skilled trades.
Source: U.S. DOL — Apprenticeship.gov
The licensed architect legally responsible for the design documents submitted for permit, certifying the design meets applicable codes and standards.
Source: Wikipedia — Architect of Record
Updated drawings that reflect the project exactly as constructed, including all field changes — invaluable for future remodels and locating concealed utilities.
Source: Wikipedia — As-Built Drawing
A primary horizontal member that carries loads from joists or framing across a span to posts or walls. Opening up a floor plan usually means adding a sized beam.
Source: Wikipedia — Beam (Structure)
The recess in a wall or foundation that receives and bears the end of a beam. Cutting in new beam pockets is part of the cost when opening a load-bearing wall.
Source: Wikipedia — Beam (Structure)
A contractor's formal price proposal for a defined scope of work. Always compare multiple bids on the same written scope so you are comparing like for like, not just bottom-line numbers.
Source: Merriam-Webster — Bid
A surety bond is a guarantee from a third party that the contractor will complete the work (performance bond) or pay subs and suppliers (payment bond). Bonding is a sign of contractor financial stability.
Source: Cornell Law LII — Surety
Finishing the interior of a commercial shell or tenant space to suit a specific occupant — partitions, ceilings, lighting, HVAC distribution, finishes and fixtures. The scope is usually spelled out in the lease as tenant improvements.
Source: Wikipedia — Tenant Improvement
The set of minimum legal standards for safe construction adopted by your jurisdiction (in Ohio, based on the International Residential Code). Work must meet code to pass inspection and protect resale.
Source: Wikipedia — Building Code
A skilled tradesperson who constructs, installs, and repairs structures and fixtures from wood and other materials — framing, trim, cabinetry, and finish work.
Source: U.S. BLS — Carpenters
A flexible sealant used to close gaps and joints against air and water (around trim, tubs, counters). The right caulk for the location matters — kitchen/bath joints need a mildew-resistant silicone.
Source: Wikipedia — Caulk
A rigid cement-based panel used as a stable, water-durable substrate for tile in wet areas — preferred over drywall behind tile in showers and on counters.
Source: Wikipedia — Cement Board
A document issued by the building department certifying a structure complies with code and is safe to occupy. Often required after major remodels and before a property can be legally sold.
A written, signed amendment that adds, removes, or modifies work after the contract is signed, adjusting price and schedule accordingly. Verbal changes are the leading cause of remodel disputes — get every change in writing.
Source: Wikipedia — Change Order
Meeting all applicable codes, permit conditions, and regulations for the work performed. Documented compliance is what protects you at resale and with insurers.
Source: Merriam-Webster — Compliance
A mix of cement, aggregate, and water that cures into a hard structural material used for footings, slabs, and foundations. Curing time affects schedule on any structural work.
Source: Wikipedia — Concrete
A reserve (typically 10–15% of project cost) set aside for hidden conditions and surprises uncovered once work begins. The line clients most want to skip and most often need.
Source: Investopedia — Contingency
The legally binding agreement between owner and contractor that defines scope, price, schedule, and responsibilities. A remodel should never start on a handshake — the contract is your primary protection.
Source: Cornell Law LII — Contract
The full set of papers that together form the agreement — the signed contract, drawings, specifications, scope of work, allowances, and any addenda. All of it governs the job, not just the signature page.
Source: Wikipedia — Contract
The person the contractor names as its single point of contact for the owner for the life of the job. At iSpec that is the project manager who takes the first call: the liaison between the owner, the designer and the crew, with a skilled-trades lead running the site day to day and reporting to them.
Source: AIA — A201 General Conditions of the Contract for Construction
Two contract structures: fixed-price (lump sum, contractor bears overrun risk) versus cost-plus (owner pays actual costs plus a fee, owner bears overrun risk). Each shifts risk and pricing transparency differently.
A shallow accessible void below the floor (instead of a basement or slab) housing structure, plumbing, and ducts. Its condition affects access cost and moisture risk on remodels.
Source: Wikipedia — Crawl Space
The roll-off container for construction waste. Placement, permits for street placement, and haul-away are real line items and logistics on any sizeable remodel.
Source: Wikipedia — Roll-Off (Dumpster)
The controlled removal of existing finishes and structure to prepare for new work. A clean, properly contained demo is where most hidden conditions (rot, old wiring, mold) are first uncovered.
Source: Wikipedia — Demolition
A delivery method where one entity handles both design and construction under a single contract, giving the owner one point of responsibility and tighter cost/design feedback.
Source: Wikipedia — Design–Build
The agreed timeline of payments tied to completed project milestones rather than calendar dates. A fair draw schedule keeps payments slightly behind the work completed, never ahead of it.
Source: Investopedia — Construction Loan
The coordinated package of plans — floor plans, elevations, sections, and details — that defines the design and governs construction and permitting.
Gypsum panel wall and ceiling material (also called sheetrock) that is hung, taped, mudded, and finished. Any wall opened during a remodel needs drywall repair and finish.
Source: Wikipedia — Drywall
Temporary barriers, zip walls, and negative-air setups that keep demolition and sanding dust out of occupied areas. Standard practice for live-in remodels and required where lead is present.
A recorded legal right for someone else (often a utility) to use part of your land. Building over an easement can force removal at your expense — check the survey before adding structures.
Source: Cornell Law LII — Easement
A code-required path of exit from a space in an emergency. Bedrooms and finished basements require a compliant egress window or door of minimum size and reachable height.
Source: Wikipedia — Egress Window
A licensed tradesperson who installs and maintains wiring, panels, circuits, and devices to code. Remodels that add circuits or move panels require a licensed electrician and inspection.
Source: U.S. BLS — Electricians
A flat, straight-on drawing of one face of a structure or wall (e.g., a kitchen wall elevation) showing heights and vertical relationships that a plan view cannot.
Earth removal for foundations, footings, or utilities. Regulated for cave-in safety and requires utility locating before digging.
A table in the drawings specifying the exact finish for every surface in every room — flooring, wall, ceiling, trim — so selections are documented, not assumed.
Thin water-resistant material installed at joints and transitions (roof-to-wall, around windows and penetrations) to direct water away and prevent leaks into the assembly.
A scaled overhead view of a level showing walls, rooms, openings, and fixture locations. The primary drawing for understanding layout and flow.
Source: Wikipedia — Floor Plan
The widened concrete base below a foundation wall or post that spreads the structure's load over enough soil to prevent settling. New structural posts require their own footings.
The lead worker who directs a specific crew or trade on site, working alongside the team while ensuring the work meets plan and schedule.
Source: Wikipedia — Construction Foreman
The structure (slab, crawl space, or basement) that transfers the building's load to the ground. Foundation condition underlies the feasibility and cost of major remodels.
The skeleton of wood or steel members — studs, joists, rafters, beams — that gives a structure its shape and carries its loads before finishes go on.
Thin strips fastened to a wall or ceiling to create a level, plumb nailing surface or an air gap before finish material is applied — common over masonry or uneven framing.
Source: Wikipedia — Furring
The party responsible for the overall project — scheduling, hiring and managing subcontractors, pulling permits, and delivering the finished job. Your single point of accountability.
Source: Wikipedia — General Contractor
Shaping the ground around a structure so water drains away from the foundation. Poor grading is a leading cause of basement and crawl-space water problems.
Source: Wikipedia — Grading (Earthworks)
The material that fills and seals joints between tiles. Sanded, unsanded, and epoxy grouts differ in durability and stain resistance — epoxy is the premium choice in wet, high-use areas.
Source: Wikipedia — Grout
The tangible construction costs — labor, materials, equipment — as opposed to soft costs like design fees, permits, and financing. Hard costs are the bulk of a remodel budget.
Source: Investopedia — Hard Cost
A condition or activity with potential to cause harm — electrical, structural, dust, fall, or material (lead, asbestos). Identifying hazards before demo drives containment and cost.
A horizontal structural member spanning the top of an opening (door, window, cased opening) that transfers the load above around the opening to the supports on each side.
Source: Wikipedia — Lintel (Header)
A code official's review of work at defined stages (rough-in, framing, final) to verify compliance before the next phase can proceed. Failed inspections stop the job until corrected.
Source: Wikipedia — Building Inspection
Material that resists heat flow, rated by R-value, installed in walls, ceilings, and floors. Opened walls are the opportunity to upgrade insulation while it is accessible.
Source: U.S. DOE — Insulation
One of the repetitive horizontal members that support a floor or ceiling, spanning between beams or walls. Joist size, spacing, and direction govern what you can cut or load.
Source: Wikipedia — Joist
A short wall, typically under a sloped roof or supporting a counter or railing, that is less than full ceiling height.
Source: Wikipedia — Knee Wall
A legal claim against your property for unpaid work or materials. A mechanic's lien filed by an unpaid subcontractor can cloud your title even if you already paid the general contractor.
Source: Cornell Law LII — Lien
A signed document in which a contractor or supplier gives up the right to file a lien for a given payment. Collect lien waivers with each payment to protect against double-payment claims.
Source: Investopedia — Lien Waiver
A pre-agreed dollar amount the contractor owes the owner for each day a project runs past the contracted completion date. Must be a reasonable estimate of actual loss, not a penalty.
A wall that carries weight from the structure above down to the foundation. Removing or opening one requires an engineered beam and posts — never assume a wall is non-bearing.
Source: Wikipedia — Load-Bearing Wall
Shop-made wood products installed as finish carpentry — trim, casing, baseboard, crown, built-ins, stair parts, doors and cabinetry. Distinct from rough framing lumber; the quality of the millwork is what the eye reads as a finished room.
Source: Wikipedia — Millwork
A cement-based paste used to bond masonry or, as thinset, to adhere tile to a substrate. Different mixes are rated for different applications and exposures.
Source: Wikipedia — Mortar (Masonry)
Building a structure from the ground up on an empty or cleared site, as opposed to remodeling or adding onto an existing one. Site work, foundation, framing and every trade follow in sequence, so the big design decisions are made before a shovel hits the ground.
Source: Wikipedia — Construction
Oriented strand board — an engineered panel of compressed wood strands and resin, commonly used for sheathing and subfloor. Cheaper than plywood but less moisture-tolerant.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration — the federal agency setting and enforcing job-site safety standards. A contractor's safety record is a meaningful screening signal.
Source: U.S. OSHA — Occupational Safety & Health Administration
The person the owner names to make decisions and answer questions on the owner's behalf — the homeowner, one spouse, an investor's local agent or a hired consultant. Naming one at the pre-construction conference keeps decisions and change orders running between two people, so nothing is decided twice or by the wrong person.
Source: WBDG — Project Delivery Teams
A non-load-bearing interior wall that divides space but carries no structural load above it. Generally simpler and cheaper to move than a bearing wall.
Source: Wikipedia — Partition Wall
Official jurisdiction authorization to perform regulated work, triggering required inspections. Unpermitted remodels can force teardown, block sale, and void insurance — always confirm permits are pulled.
Source: Wikipedia — Building Permit
A licensed tradesperson who installs and repairs water supply, drain-waste-vent, and gas piping to code. Relocating fixtures or running new lines is licensed, inspected work.
An engineered panel of thin wood veneers glued in cross-grain layers for strength and stability. Preferred over OSB for cabinet boxes and where moisture exposure is a concern.
Source: Wikipedia — Plywood
A preparatory coating that seals the surface and helps the finish coat adhere and cover evenly. Skipping primer over new drywall or stains causes finish failures.
Source: Wikipedia — Primer (Paint)
An invoice issued while a project is under way for the work completed in that period, as opposed to a single bill at the end. Progress invoicing is typically weekly on a remodel; on larger or lender-financed jobs the contract may set a milestone draw schedule instead.
Source: FAR 52.232-5 — Payments Under Fixed-Price Construction Contracts
The person who plans, coordinates, and oversees the project day to day — schedule, budget, subs, and communication with the owner. On smaller jobs the GC and PM may be the same person.
The final list of incomplete or deficient items the contractor must correct before the job is considered done and final payment is released. Walk the project and build this list together.
Source: Wikipedia — Punch List
Changing the structure, layout or function of an existing space — moving walls, relocating a kitchen, adding a bath — rather than simply refreshing finishes. More involved than a cosmetic renovation because it usually touches framing, plumbing and electrical behind the walls.
Source: Wikipedia — Renovation
A percentage of each payment (often 5–10%) the owner withholds until the project is satisfactorily completed, providing leverage to ensure the job is finished and punch-listed.
Source: Investopedia — Retainage
A formal written question from the builder to the designer or owner to clarify drawings or specs before proceeding. RFIs create a paper trail that prevents costly assumptions.
The framed gap left in a wall to receive a window, door, or unit, sized slightly larger than the product to allow shimming and squaring during installation.
The stage where plumbing, electrical, and HVAC lines are run inside open walls and floors before insulation and drywall. Rough-in must pass inspection before walls are closed.
A temporary elevated work platform system. Proper scaffolding is a regulated safety item on multi-story exterior and high-ceiling interior work.
Source: U.S. OSHA — Scaffolding
The detailed written description of exactly what the contractor will and will not do on the project. The single most important document for preventing misunderstandings and 'I thought that was included' arguments.
A material applied to a surface or joint to block the passage of water, air, or stains. Stone counters, grout, and exterior penetrations are commonly sealed.
Source: Wikipedia — Sealant
A drawing showing the structure as if sliced vertically, revealing how floors, walls, and roof assemble and stack — used to communicate construction detail.
Work a general contractor does with its own crew rather than through a subcontractor — on a kitchen or bath, typically demolition, framing, drywall, tile, cabinets, trim and fixture swaps. A self-performing contractor keeps small projects affordable because each trade is not carrying a separate subcontractor's overhead; licensed plumbing, electrical and HVAC are still subcontracted when the layout or mechanicals change.
Source: FAR 52.236-1 — Performance of Work by the Contractor
The minimum required distance between a structure and the property line, street, or other features. Setbacks constrain where additions, decks, and detached structures can be placed.
Source: Wikipedia — Setback (Land Use)
The structural panel layer (plywood or OSB) attached to studs or rafters that braces the frame and provides a base for siding, roofing, or finishes.
Source: Wikipedia — Sheathing
A poured concrete floor or foundation surface. Moving plumbing in a slab-on-grade home means saw-cutting and patching concrete — a significant cost driver.
Source: Wikipedia — Concrete Slab
An official order halting construction, usually for working without a permit or a code/safety violation. Work cannot resume until the issue is resolved and the order is lifted.
Source: Wikipedia — Building Inspection
A vertical framing member in a wall (typically 2x4 or 2x6) spaced 16 or 24 inches on center, forming the structure to which sheathing and drywall attach.
Source: Wikipedia — Wall Stud
A specialized trade (electrician, plumber, tile setter) hired by the general contractor to perform a portion of the work. You contract with the GC, not the subs.
Source: Wikipedia — Subcontractor
The structural sheet material (plywood or OSB) fastened over floor joists that everything else — underlayment and finish flooring — is built on. Squeaks and unevenness usually start here.
Source: Wikipedia — Subfloor
Product data, samples, or shop drawings the contractor submits for approval before ordering or installing, confirming what will actually be used matches the specification.
The on-site supervisor who runs the field operation — directing crews, sequencing trades, and enforcing safety and quality at the job site.
The process of measuring quantities of materials and labor from the drawings to build an estimate. Accurate takeoffs are the foundation of an accurate bid.
Source: Wikipedia — Cost Estimate
A billing arrangement where the customer pays the crew's actual hours at a stated hourly rate plus the materials and equipment used, invoiced as the work is completed rather than as a fixed price. iSpec bills its own crew's work this way, with nothing added on top of the hourly rate; subcontracted trades are billed cost-plus.
Reviewing the design to find lower-cost ways to achieve the same function and quality — substituting materials or methods to bring a project back within budget without gutting its goals.
Source: Wikipedia — Value Engineering
A material that limits moisture diffusion through an assembly to control condensation. Correct placement is climate-dependent — wrong-side vapor barriers trap moisture and cause rot.
Source: Wikipedia — Vapor Barrier
Official permission to deviate from a zoning requirement (e.g., to build closer to a property line than the setback allows). Requires application and usually a hearing.
Source: Cornell Law LII — Variance
A thin layer of a finish material bonded to a cheaper substrate — wood veneer on cabinet panels, stone or brick veneer on walls — delivering the look without the solid-material cost.
Source: Wikipedia — Wood Veneer
Gases emitted by some paints, finishes, and adhesives that affect indoor air quality. Low- and zero-VOC products are widely available and recommended for occupied remodels.
A house stuck between owners: the occupant left — often after a foreclosure filing — but the foreclosure stalled or the taxes went unpaid, so nobody maintained it. In Columbus they reach the market through sheriff's auctions, the Franklin County land bank and as-is sales, usually without an inspection before purchase. The rehab is a whole-home gut remodel with every system assumed dead until proven otherwise.
Source: Central Ohio Community Improvement Corporation (Franklin County Land Bank) — About
Local laws governing how land may be used and what can be built where, including size, height, and setback limits. Additions and footprint changes often require zoning review.
Source: Cornell Law LII — Zoning
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