Glossary

The terms behind the numbers,
defined plainly.

469 construction terms defined in plain English for Australian builders. Contracts, claims, finance, estimating, procurement, scheduling, approvals, insurance and the vocabulary of construction software.

Read the guides

01 / Twelve categories

Pick the part of the job the term belongs to

Each category is its own page, so a definition sits beside the terms it is usually read with. Every entry is self-contained and quotable, and links to the page on this site that covers the subject in depth.

62 terms

Contracts and variations

The contract structures, clauses and instruments that govern a residential build.

35 terms

Claims, payment and security of payment

How completed work becomes money, from the claim schedule to adjudication.

55 terms

Finance and cost control

The numbers that tell a builder whether a job, and the business, is making money.

37 terms

Estimating and takeoff

Measuring, pricing and protecting the number a job is won on.

46 terms

Procurement, site and quality

Buying the job, receiving it, and building it right the first time.

22 terms

Scheduling and delivery

The programme, its dependencies, and the discipline that keeps dates honest.

44 terms

Planning, approvals and compliance

The approvals pathway and the compliance frameworks a home is built under.

32 terms

Building science and performance

The thermal, structural and protective performance a home must achieve, and the terms that decide whether it does.

41 terms

Materials and building methods

The slabs, frames, cladding, roofing and glazing a home is built from, defined for the builder pricing and ordering them.

32 terms

Insurance and warranty

The compulsory schemes, commercial covers and eligibility measures behind every job.

26 terms

Business, licensing and insolvency

How a builder is licensed to trade, employs and is taxed, and what the words mean when a building business fails.

37 terms

Software and intelligence

The vocabulary of construction software, structured intelligence and Oryn.

02 / How to use it

What these definitions are for

Every definition is written the way the owning page on this site explains the term, in plain Australian English, without hype. Insurance, legal and tax entries are general information and say so. Where a term is usually known by an abbreviation, the abbreviation is shown beside it, and where two terms are close cousins the entry cross-references the other so the difference is one click away.

Term links are stable. A link to a term takes the form of the category page followed by the term as an anchor, and older links to this page with an anchor are forwarded to the right category automatically.

The platform behind the terms.

VIABUILD keeps the cost, claims and financials these terms describe accurate and current. 7 days free, then $299 your first month.

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