Glossary

Construction has accumulated decades of acronyms, technical terms, trade slang, and regulatory jargon, and the same term often means something different in a contract clause than it does on the tools. This glossary defines the terms that show up in NCC clauses, HIA and MBA contracts, council documents, and site conversations, in plain English, with enough context to understand why the term matters and where to find the full definition in the source document.

It is for anyone who encounters an unfamiliar term in a building document: builders reading a specification for the first time, building designers working through NCC Deemed-to-Satisfy provisions, owner-builders trying to understand what their certifier's letter means, and tradespeople looking up what a clause in their subcontract actually requires. The glossary is also the index that connects terms across the other ten pillars.

Chalkline's glossary is different from a dictionary: each entry says what the term means in practice, not just in theory. If a term appears in a clause that builders routinely misread in their favour, the entry says so. Use the search box to find terms directly, or browse by pillar for terms relevant to your current work.