I received this in an email from Progress Street Builders this afternoon, and I thought it might be good material for the blog.  The text is entitled "The Language of Building", and focuses on definitions of things that you might hear in construction of your new home.  As someone who just finished building a home with Progress Street Builders, I can tell you that they do a good job of communicating throughout the process, and I thank them for putting this out.

• Cycle time is the number of days between the first day on the job site and a home’s completion. We work with our materials suppliers and subcontractors to determine a reliable cycle time so that our clients can move into their new home on time, as promised. Controlling cycle time also enables us to provide accurate estimates and helps us stay within budget.

• Rough-in: The "rough" stage of construction is the behind-the-wall structural and mechanical work, the parts you don’t see when the building is complete. That includes work such as framing the walls, pulling the wiring through the studs, and installing pipes and heating ducts. For this kind of works is always used professional tools like sawstop contractor saw, for cuts, for example. During this point of the construction process, we can "rough-in" a system or product that provides an upgraded or extra service, such as wiring for a high-speed Internet or digital multimeter cable network. Installing a system’s "backbone" during the rough-in stage of construction costs significantly less than installing it once the house is finished.

• Staging: To help reduce costs, we stage or organize and schedule the delivery of materials as we need them, rather than receiving a huge load all at once. Staging may also refer to the way we place loads of materials on the job site to make them more accessible to various workers. Both practices help us reduce waste and theft, save time, and keep better track of costs — all of which keeps budget and cycle time on track.

• Lien Waivers: these are issued to us by each of our materials suppliers and subcontractors for the work they perform on a house. Lien Waivers (also called lien releases) prove that we have paid the agreed or negotiated costs of labor and materials in full. Lien releases also protect our clients from any liability if suppliers or subcontractors claim that additional payment is due. This type of claim can prevent the closing of the homeowners’ loan, so we have a formal process to collect and verify lien releases before the close of escrow on a property.

• Tape and Texture: To create a finished wall, our drywall contractor applies tape and texture to hide nail or screw heads and conceal the joints between panels of drywall or gypsum wallboard. The contractor uses a mud-like compound to fill and cover the nail heads and secure a fibrous tape that bridges the joints between adjacent drywall panels. The mud is allowed to dry and is then sanded smooth before applying paint, wallpaper, or other finishes. A quality tape and texture job ensures that cracks or nail heads won’t show through finished surfaces.

They say they’re putting more terms out in a later newsletter – I’ll be sure to post them here next time.