Construction & Building Terminology

Terms related to buildings and construction

• Accessoria or Row House: A house with no more than two stories, made up of dwelling units separated by party walls, each with its own independent entrance.
• Accessory Building: A building that is on the same lot and used in conjunction with the main building, such as a garage or servants' quarters.
• Agricultural Building: A building used for housing farm equipment, hay, grain, or livestock; it must not be used for human habitation or processing agricultural products for the public.
• Alley: A public space or passageway with a width of no more than three meters.
• Alteration: Any change, addition, or modification to a building's construction or occupancy.
• Apartment: A room or suite of rooms intended for one family's use for living, sleeping, and cooking.
• Apartment House: A building or part of a building occupied by three or more families living independently and doing their own cooking, including flats and apartments.
• Arcade: A covered portion of a building above the first floor that projects over the sidewalk, protecting pedestrians.
• Assembly Building or Hall: A building or part of a building used for gatherings of 50+ people for deliberation, entertainment, or awaiting transportation, or 100+ people for drinking and dining.
• Attic Story: A story located wholly or partly within the roof of a building, designed for business, storage, or habitation.
• Awning: A movable shelter supported by the exterior wall of a building, which can be retracted.
• Backing: The surface or assembly to which veneer is attached.
• Balcony: A portion of seating space in an assembly room at least 1.20 meters above the main floor level.
• Balcony Exterior Exit: An egress where the long side is at least 50% open, with the open area distributed to prevent smoke or toxic gas accumulation.
• Barbecue: A stationary open hearth or brazier, fuel-fired or electric, used for food preparation.
• Basement: A building portion between the floor and ceiling that is partly below and partly above grade, where the distance from grade to the floor is less than the distance from grade to the ceiling.
• Bay or Panel: An interval or space into which the building front is divided by columns, buttresses, or division walls.
• Boarding House: A house with five or more sleeping rooms where boarders are provided with lodging and meals for a fixed fee.
• Boiler Room: A room containing a steam or hot water boiler.
• Buildable Area: The remaining space on a lot after subtracting the required minimum open spaces.
• Building: Any structure built for support, shelter, or enclosure.
• Building Height: The vertical distance from grade to the average height of the roof, gable, or parapet.
• Building Length: The general linear dimension of a building, measured in the direction of the bearing wall for girders.
• Building Width: The shortest linear dimension of a building, measured in the direction of the floor, beams, or joists.
• Cellar: A portion of a building with the vertical distance from grade to the floor below equal to or greater than the vertical distance from grade to the ceiling.
• Chimney Classifications: Include residential, low-heat, and medium-heat appliance types.
• Chimney Connector: The pipe connecting a flue-burning appliance to a chimney.
• Chimney Liner: The lining materials of fire clay or other approved material for a chimney.
• Chimney, Masonry: A chimney of solid masonry units like bricks, stones, or reinforced concrete.
• Concrete Block: A hollow or solid concrete unit made from portland cement and aggregates like sand, gravel, or volcanic scoria.
• Coping: The material or units forming a cap or finish on top of a wall, pier, or pilaster.
• Corrosion-Resistant Material: Non-ferrous metal, metal with a non-ferrous surface, or steel with at least 10% chromium or less than 0.20% copper.
• Course: A continuous horizontal layer of masonry units.
• Court: An open space between building lines and lot lines, free from obstructions from the ground upward.
• Dispersal Area (Safe): An area for building occupants during an emergency, with a minimum area of 0.28 square meters per person
• Dwelling: Contains on or two "dwelling units" or "guest rooms" designed to be built, used, rented, leased, let or hired out to be occupied, or which are occupied for living purposes
• Dwelling, Indigenous Family: Built with native materials worth no more than fifteen thousand pesos.
• Dwelling, Multiple: A building used as a home or residence of three or more families living independently from one other, each occupying one or more rooms as a single housekeeping unit.
• Dwelling, One-Family: A detached building designated for, or occupied exclusively by one family.
• Dwelling Unit: One or more habitable rooms used by one family with facilities for living, sleeping, cooking, and eating.
• Exit: A continuous and unobstructed means of egress to a public way, including doors, corridors, stairways, and yards, opening into a safe dispersal area or public way.
• Exit Courts: A yard or court providing egress to a public way for one or more required exits.
• Exit, Horizontal: Passage from one building into another by the same tenant through a separation wall with a minimum fire resistance of one hour.
• Exit Passageway: An enclosed means of egress connecting a required exit or exit court with a public way.
• Facing: Masonry forming an integral part of a wall and used as a finished surface
• Firebrick: A refractory brick
• Fireclay: A finely ground clay used as a plasticizer for masonry mortars
• Fireplace: A hearth and fire chamber where a fire may be made, which is built in conjunction with a chimney.
• Fire Retardant Treated Wood: Lumber or plywood treated with chemicals to retard flame spread and combustion, properties are not permanent when exposed to the weather.
• First Story: The story with the floor at or above sidewalk level, with remaining stories numbered upward.
• Floor Area: The area within the exterior walls of a building, excluding vent shafts and courts.
• Footing: The portion of a foundation that spreads and transmits loads to the soil.
• Foundation: All building portions below the footing, and the earth upon which the structure rests.
• Garage: A building for storing, repairing, or keeping motor vehicles containing flammable liquids in their tanks.
• Garage, Commercial: A garage where vehicles are housed, cared for, equipped, repaired, or kept for remuneration, hire, or sale.
• Garage, Open Parking: A structure at least 50% open on two or more sides, used for parking passenger vehicles.
• Garage, Private: A building where motor vehicles used by the tenants are stored or kept.
• Girder: A horizontal structural piece supporting floor beams, joists, or walls over openings.
• Grade (Adjacent Ground Elevation): The lowest point of elevation of the finished ground surface next to a building wall, or the elevation of the sidewalk, alley, or public way.
• Ground Floor: The story at or near the grade level.
• Guest Room: A room used by a guest for sleeping purposes, with every 9.30 square meters of floor area in a dormitory considered a guest room.
• Habitable Room: A room meeting code requirements for sleeping, living, cooking, or dining, excluding closets, pantries, bathrooms, service rooms, corridors, laundries, attics, storage, cellars, and utility rooms.
• Hall, Common: A corridor or passageway used in common by all occupants within a building.
• Hall, Stair: A hall including the stair, stair landings, and portions of common halls necessary to pass between the entrance floor and rooms.
• Heliport: An area of land or water or a structural surface used for helicopter landing and take-off, including areas for heliport buildings and facilities.
• Helistop: Same as a heliport, but without refueling, maintenance, repairs, or storage facilities.
• Hotel: A building with rooms for temporary lodging, a general kitchen, and a public dining room, but no cooking facilities in individual suites.
• Hotel, Apartment: An apartment house that may furnish dining room service and other services for its tenants.
• Incombustible: A material with a structural base of incombustible material.
• Incombustible Materials: Brick, stone, terracotta, concrete, iron, steel, sheet metal, or tiles, used singly or combined.
• Incombustible Roofing: A covering of roofing felt, tar and gravel, or fire-resisting material.
• Incombustible Stud Partition: A partition plastered on both sides upon metal lath or wire cloth for the full height, and fire-topped between the studs with incombustible material 20 centimeters above the floor and at the ceiling.
• Line, Building: The intersection of the outer surface of the enclosing wall of the building and the surface of the ground.
• Lintel: A beam or girder placed over a wall opening to support the wall construction above.
• Load, Dead: The weight of the permanent portions of a building, including walls, framing, floors, roofs, and fixtures.
• Load, Lateral: Loads caused by winds, earthquakes, or other dynamic forces.
• Load, Live: The weight of the contents of a building, including temporary partitions, cases, counters, and equipment.
• Load, Occupant: The total number of persons that may occupy a building or portion thereof at any one time.
• Lodging House: A building with no more than five guest rooms used by no more than five guests, where rent is paid.
• Lot: A parcel of land with a principal building and accessories, with required open spaces.
• Lot, Corner: A lot at the junction of two or more streets forming an angle of not more than 135 degrees.
• Lot, Depth Of: The average horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines.
• Lot, Front: The boundary line of a lot bordering on the street and in the case of a corner lot, it may be either frontage.
• Lot, Inside: A lot fronting on but one street or public alley with the remaining sides bounded by lot lines.
• Lot Line: The line of demarcation between either public and private property.
• Lot, Open: A lot bounded on all sides by street lines.
• Lot, Width Of: The average horizontal distance between the side lot lines
• Masonry: Construction composed of building units set in mortar.
• Masonry Solid: Masonry of solid units without hollow spaces.
• Masonry Unit: A building unit made to be bounded together by a cementation agent.
• Mezzanine or Mezzanine Floor: A partial intermediate floor not more than one-half the area of the room or space it is in.
• Non-Conforming Building: A building that does not conform with district regulations regarding height, yard, lot area, and occupancy.
• Non-Conforming Use: The use of a building or land which does not conform with the use and regulation of the zone where it is situated.
• Occupancy: The purpose for which a building is used or intended to be used; also includes the building or room housing such use.
• Owner: Any person, company, or corporation owning the property or properties under consideration or the receiver or trustee thereof.
• Panic Hardware: A bar extending at least half the width of each door leaf that opens the door when subjected to pressure.
• Partition: An interior subdividing wall.
• Pier: An isolated mass of masonry forming support for arches, columns, girders, lintels, trusses, and similar structural parts.
• Pilaster: A portion of the wall which projects on one or both sides and acts as a vertical beam, a column, or both.
• Plaster, Portland, Cement: A mix of portland cement, or portland cement and lime, and aggregate.
• Plastics, Approved: Materials with a flame spread rating of 225 or less.
• Platform, Enclosed: A partially enclosed portion of an assembly room used for presentations where scenery may be installed.
• Public Way: A parcel of land open to the sky, more than 3.00m in width, appropriated to the free passage of the general public.
• Repair: The reconstruction or renewal of any part of an existing building for the purpose of its maintenance.
• Shaft: A vertical opening through a building for elevators, equipment, etc.
• Show Window: A store window where goods are displayed.
• Slum: Blighted Area; Eyesore; An area where the values of real estate tend to deteriorate because of the dilapidated, obsolescent, and insanitary condition of the building within the area.
• Socalo, Masonry: The wall between the bottom of the window sill and the ground.
• Soffit: The underside of a beam, lintel or reveal.
• Stable: Any structure designed and intended for the enclosure, shelter, or protection of any horse, carabao, or other cattle
• Stable Commercial: A stable wherein the animals kept are for business, racing or breeding purposes.
• Stage: A partially enclosed portion of an assembly building which is designed or used for the presentation of plays, demonstrations, where the distance between the top of the proscenium opening and the ceiling above the stage is more than 1.50 meters.
• Stairway: Two or more risers shall constitute a stairway.
• Stairway, Private: A stairway serving one tenant only.
• Storey: That portion of a building included between the upper surface of any floor and the upper surface of the floor next above, except that the topmost storey shall be that portion of a building included between the upper surface of the topmost floor and the ceiling or roof above.
• Storey Height: The perpendicular distance from top to top on two successive floors, floor beams, or joints.
• Street: Any thoroughfare or public space which has been dedicated or deeded to the public for public use.
• Structure: That which is built or constructed, an edifice or building of any kind, or any piece of work artificially built
• Structural Frame: The framing system including the columns and the girders, beams, trusses, and spandrels having direct connections to the columns and all other members.
• Suportales: The vertical supports, such as posts or stanchions, as used in indigenous or traditional type of construction
• Surface, Exterior: Weather-exposed surface.
• Surface, Interior: Surfaces other than weather-exposed surfaces.
• Surface Weather-Exposed: All surfaces of walls, ceilings, floors, roofs, soffits, and similar surfaces exposed to the weather
• Value or Valuation of a Building: The estimated cost to replace the building in kind, based on current replacement costs.
• Vault: Any surface or underground construction covered on top, or any fire-proof construction intended for the storage of valuables.
• Veneer Adhered: Veneer secured and supported by approved mechanical fasteners attached to an approved backing.
• Veneer Exterior: Veneer applied to weather-exposed surfaces.
• Veneer Interior: Veneer applied to surfaces other than weather-exposed surfaces.
• Wall, Bearing: A wall which supports any load other than its own weight.
• Wall Cross: A term which may be used synonymously with a partition.
• Wall, Curtain: The enclosing wall of an iron or steel framework or the nonbearing portion of an enclosing wall between piers.
• Wall Dead: A wall without openings.
• Wall, Exterior: boundaries or courts of a building.
• Wall, Faced: A wall in which the facing and backing are so bounded together that they act as a composite element
• Wall Fire: Any wall which subdivides a building so as to resist the spread of fire
• Wall Foundation: That portion of an enclosing wall below the first tier of floor-joists.
• Wall, Height Of: The perpendicular distance measured from its base line either at the grade or at the top of the girder to the top of the coping thereof.
• Wall, Nonbearing: A wall which supports no load other than its own weight.
• Wall, Parapet: That part of any wall entirely above the roof line.
• Wall, Party: A wall separating two or more buildings, and used in common by the said buildings.
• Wall, Retaining: A subsurface wall built to resist the lateral pressure of internal loads.
• Wall, Thickness Of: The minimum thickness measured on the bed.
• Window: An opening through a wall of a building to the outside air
• Window, Oriel: A projecting window similar to a bay window, but carried on bracket or corbels.
• Wire Backing: Horizontal strands of taunted wire.
• Yard or Patio: The vacant space left in a lot between the building and the property line.
• Yard Rear: The yard lying between the side lot lines and the nearest lot line and the nearest building line.
• Yard Side: The yard lying between the side line and the nearest building and between the front and the rear yards.