English for civil engineers and construction teams
Civil Engineering & Construction Vocabulary: 100 Key English Terms
English is the working language of international contracts, design codes, technical specifications and the many sites abroad where Turkish contractors build roads, bridges and buildings. This glossary collects the words civil engineers and site teams use every day, from loads and rebar to method statements and progress payments, with Turkish equivalents and realistic examples. It also points out site words such as proje, perde, iskele and metraj that do not translate the way Turkish speakers expect.
100 terms
9 topics
41 core terms
201 example sentences
Read, understand, keep going
No account needed. Read the meaning, see where the term is used, then study the examples. Click any word in the lesson for help. You can also select a word and press Alt + Enter.
Structures and Loads
load
noun
Meaning
A force that a structure has to carry, such as its own weight, people and furniture, wind, snow or an earthquake. Engineers usually express it in kilonewtons (kN).
Where you use it
One of the first words in any design calculation or technical discussion on site. Structures carry, support and transfer loads; loads act on a member and are applied, combined or exceeded. Distributed loads are given in kN/m² or kN/m.
Examples
The slab was designed for an imposed load of 5 kN/m² because the room will be used for storage.
Don't stack the blocks there; that part of the floor isn't ready to take the load yet.
The columns transfer the load from the roof down to the foundations.
Common phrases
carry a load · transfer loads · load combination · design load · distributed load
A horizontal structural member that carries loads across an opening and passes them to the columns or walls at its ends. It works mainly in bending.
Where you use it
Used for concrete, steel and timber structures alike. Engineers talk about beam depth, beam size and reinforcement; on site, beams are cast, installed or propped. A beam resting on two supports is a simply supported beam.
Examples
The beam over the shop entrance needs to be deeper because the span is almost eight metres.
We'll pour the beams and the slab together tomorrow morning.
A vertical structural member that collects loads from the beams and slabs above and carries them down to the foundations.
Where you use it
A core word on every building project. Columns are positioned on a grid (for example column C4 on grid line C), cast or erected, and checked for size, verticality and reinforcement. A column schedule lists the size and bars of each one.
Examples
Can you check the starter bars for column B3 before the concrete arrives?
The architect wants slimmer columns in the lobby, but they have to carry six floors.
Usage note
The final n is silent: say /ˈkɑːləm/ (KOL-um), not 'kolumn'.
A flat, horizontal concrete element that forms a floor or a roof. It carries the loads on its surface and passes them to beams, walls or columns.
Where you use it
Heard daily on building sites: slabs are poured, cured and stripped, and progress is often reported slab by slab. Common types are the flat slab (no beams), one-way and two-way slabs, and the slab on grade, which sits directly on the ground.
Examples
The third-floor slab is poured; we'll start the columns for the fourth floor on Monday.
There's a crack in the ground-floor slab near the loading bay.
Common phrases
pour a slab · flat slab · slab thickness · ground-floor slab · slab on grade
The permanent weight a structure always carries: its own self-weight plus fixed items such as floor finishes, walls, ceilings and fixed equipment.
Where you use it
Used in design calculations and code checks, often abbreviated DL or G (in the Eurocodes, the permanent action Gk). Engineers calculate dead load and combine it with live load using load factors.
Examples
The new screed adds about 1.5 kN/m² of dead load to the slab.
We left out the dead load of the plant room equipment in the first calculation.
Usage note
In Eurocode language dead load is called a 'permanent action' and live load a 'variable action'.
Common phrases
self-weight · superimposed dead load · dead load factor · permanent load
The load from things that move or change over time, such as people, furniture, vehicles and stored goods. It is also called imposed load.
Where you use it
Design codes give minimum live loads for each type of use, with lower values for homes than for offices, shops or archives. It is abbreviated LL or Q in calculations.
Examples
If the office becomes an archive, the live load will be much higher.
The car park deck was designed for a live load of 2.5 kN/m².
Common phrases
imposed load · design live load · live load reduction · floor live load
The distance between two supports of a beam, slab or bridge. As a verb, to span means to stretch across a space from one support to another.
Where you use it
Used as a noun and a verb: a beam spans six metres, and a bridge has a main span of 300 metres. Longer spans need deeper members, so span is one of the first numbers engineers ask about.
Examples
The slab spans eleven metres between the beams, so we're looking at post-tensioning.
What's the span of the new footbridge?
Common phrases
clear span · main span · long-span structure · span length · span-to-depth ratio
Describes a wall or other element that carries weight from the structure above, so it cannot be removed without providing another support.
Where you use it
Most often in 'load-bearing wall'. Before alterations people ask whether a wall is load-bearing or non-load-bearing (a partition). Masonry buildings without a frame are load-bearing structures.
Examples
You can't open a doorway there; it's a load-bearing wall.
The old school is a load-bearing masonry building with timber floors.
A beam, slab or other structural element supported at one end only, with the other end projecting freely, as in a balcony or a canopy.
Where you use it
Used as a noun and a verb: a balcony cantilevers two metres from the facade. Cantilevers need careful checks of deflection and of the reinforcement at the support, where the main bars are at the top.
Examples
The cantilever over the entrance is three metres long, so check the deflection carefully.
The bridge was built using the balanced cantilever method.
The amount a beam, slab or other member bends or moves under load, measured as a distance, usually at the middle of the span.
Where you use it
Codes set deflection limits, often as a fraction of the span such as span/250. Excessive deflection may not be dangerous, but it can crack finishes and partitions, so engineers check it as well as strength.
Examples
The long-term deflection of the slab is cracking the partition walls below.
Deflection, not strength, controls the depth of this beam.
Relating to earthquakes and the ground shaking they cause. In engineering it describes the loads, design rules and details that help structures resist earthquakes.
Where you use it
Common in design and reports: seismic load, seismic zone, seismic design, seismic retrofit. In Turkey buildings are designed to the Turkish Building Earthquake Code (TBDY 2018), and in Europe to Eurocode 8.
Examples
Seismic loads govern the design of the shear walls in this building.
The school was strengthened as part of a seismic retrofit programme.
The turning effect of loads on a beam or slab that makes it bend. It is measured in kilonewton-metres (kNm) and is largest where the member is most heavily stressed.
Where you use it
Engineers draw bending moment diagrams to find the maximum moment and then design the reinforcement or steel section for it. A simply supported beam has its maximum bending moment at mid-span.
Examples
The maximum bending moment in the beam is 240 kNm at mid-span.
Can you send me the bending moment diagram for the transfer slab?
Usage note
A sagging moment is the positive moment at mid-span; a hogging moment is the negative moment over the supports.
Common phrases
bending moment diagram · maximum bending moment · hogging moment · sagging moment · moment capacity
A force that acts across a member and tries to make one part slide past the next. In beams it is highest near the supports and can cause diagonal cracking.
Where you use it
Engineers check shear force, shear capacity and shear reinforcement (links or stirrups). Shear walls are concrete walls that resist horizontal loads from wind and earthquakes.
Examples
Shear governs near the supports, so we've reduced the stirrup spacing there.
The building's lateral stability comes from two shear walls around the stair core.
Usage note
What Turkish engineers call 'perde' in a building is a 'shear wall' in English. A 'curtain wall' is something else: a glass facade (giydirme cephe).
A building material made by mixing cement, water, sand and gravel. It is placed while wet and hardens into a strong, stone-like mass.
Where you use it
The most common word on any site. Concrete is ordered, delivered, poured, vibrated and cured; fresh concrete can still be worked, while hardened concrete has set. Strength classes are written like C30/37.
Examples
The concrete for the basement walls is booked for seven o'clock.
Nobody adds water to the concrete on site; it reduces the strength.
Usage note
In everyday English 'concrete' also means real and specific, as in 'a concrete example'. Do not mix up concrete and cement: cement is only one ingredient of concrete.
Common phrases
pour concrete · fresh concrete · concrete mix · concrete truck · mass concrete
Concrete with steel bars or mesh cast inside it. The concrete resists compression and the steel resists tension, so together they make strong beams, slabs and columns.
Where you use it
The standard structural system for most buildings in Turkey and in many other countries. It is usually shortened to RC on drawings and in reports: an RC frame, RC walls, RC design.
Examples
The building has a reinforced concrete frame with brick infill walls.
Reinforced concrete is cheaper than structural steel here, so we chose it for the car park.
Short for reinforcing bar: a steel bar with ribs on its surface, placed in concrete to resist tension and hold the concrete together.
Where you use it
Very common on site and in emails. Rebar is cut, bent, fixed and tied with wire; steel fixers place it according to the bar bending schedule. Sizes are given by diameter, such as 12 mm or Ø16 bars.
Examples
The rebar for the raft has been delivered, but half of it is the wrong diameter.
Please don't walk on the rebar mesh before the inspector has signed it off.
Usage note
Rebar is usually uncountable: 'a lot of rebar', 'the rebar has arrived'. For one piece, say 'a bar'.
Common phrases
fix rebar · tie rebar · rebar cage · rebar spacing · bar bending schedule
A temporary mould, usually made of timber, plywood or steel, that holds fresh concrete in the required shape until it is strong enough to support itself.
Where you use it
Formwork is erected, checked, oiled and later struck or stripped. British sites also say shuttering, and American sites often say forms. Props hold up slab formwork from below.
Examples
The formwork for the lift shaft is up, so we can pour this afternoon.
We can strip the formwork from the walls after two days, but the slab props stay longer.
Usage note
Formwork is uncountable: say 'the formwork is ready', not 'the formworks are ready'.
To place fresh concrete into formwork or an excavation from a truck, pump or skip. As a noun, a pour is one continuous concreting operation.
Where you use it
An everyday site verb: concrete is poured, a slab is poured, and teams plan, delay or finish a pour. Large slabs are split into several pours, with construction joints between them.
Examples
We're pouring the roof slab on Friday if the weather stays dry.
The pour took nine hours and used 400 cubic metres of concrete.
Common phrases
pour concrete · pour a slab · concrete pour · continuous pour · pour sequence
Keeping newly placed concrete moist and at a suitable temperature for several days so that the cement keeps reacting and the concrete reaches its full strength.
Where you use it
Specifications state the curing method and period, such as seven days of wet curing. Common methods are covering the concrete with wet hessian or plastic sheets, spraying it with water and applying a curing compound.
Examples
Curing is especially important this week because it's hot and windy.
Spray the curing compound as soon as the slab has been finished.
Usage note
Do not confuse curing with setting: concrete sets (hardens) within hours, but curing continues for days.
Common phrases
curing period · wet curing · curing compound · curing time · steam curing
A fine grey powder that reacts with water and hardens. It is the binder that glues sand and gravel together in concrete and mortar.
Where you use it
Cement is delivered in bags or in bulk to a silo. Engineers talk about the cement type (such as CEM I or CEM II Portland cements), the cement content and the water-cement ratio, which strongly affects strength.
Examples
The mix uses 350 kilograms of cement per cubic metre.
Store the cement bags off the ground and keep them dry.
Usage note
Many people say 'cement' when they mean concrete. In technical English keep them apart: you pour concrete, not cement. The stress is on the second syllable: ce-MENT.
Common phrases
Portland cement · cement content · water-cement ratio · bag of cement · cement silo
Sand, gravel or crushed stone that is mixed with cement and water to make concrete. It makes up most of the volume of concrete and of road layers.
Where you use it
Engineers distinguish fine aggregate (sand) from coarse aggregate (gravel or crushed stone) and specify the maximum size, such as 20 mm. Aggregates are tested for grading, cleanliness and strength.
Examples
The supplier changed the coarse aggregate, so we need new trial mixes.
For the thin topping we'll use a 10 mm aggregate.
Usage note
As a noun the word ends in /-ɡət/; as a verb (to aggregate, to combine) it ends in /-ɡeɪt/.
Common phrases
coarse aggregate · fine aggregate · crushed aggregate · maximum aggregate size · aggregate grading
Concrete that is batched at a plant to a set recipe and delivered to site in truck mixers, ready to pour.
Where you use it
Most sites order ready-mix concrete rather than mixing on site. Each truck comes with a delivery ticket showing the class, volume and batching time, and site staff check the slump and take test samples.
Examples
We ordered 80 cubic metres of ready-mix concrete for the slab.
The ready-mix concrete plant is forty minutes away, so plan the trucks carefully.
Usage note
British English also writes 'ready-mixed concrete'. The truck is a 'truck mixer' or 'concrete mixer truck'; the Turkish word 'transmikser' is not used in English.
Steel made into standard shapes such as I-beams, H-columns, angles and hollow sections, used to build frames for buildings, bridges and industrial structures.
Where you use it
Structural steel is designed, detailed, fabricated in a workshop and erected on site. Sections are named by standard profiles such as IPE 300 or HEB 200, and by grades such as S275 or S355.
Examples
The structural steel for the warehouse arrives in three deliveries.
Erection of the structural steel can't start until the anchor bolts have been surveyed.
To join two pieces of metal by melting them together with heat, usually from an electric arc. As a noun, a weld is the joint this creates.
Where you use it
Welding is done in the workshop or on site by certified welders. Engineers specify fillet or butt welds and the weld size, and inspectors check welds visually and with tests such as ultrasonic testing.
Examples
The brackets were welded to the columns in the workshop.
Two welds failed the ultrasonic test and must be redone.
How much crushing pressure a material, especially concrete, can take before it fails. For concrete it is measured in megapascals (MPa) on cubes or cylinders, usually at 28 days.
Where you use it
Concrete classes such as C30/37 give the characteristic cylinder and cube strengths. Site teams take samples during a pour, and the lab reports 7-day and 28-day results.
Examples
The 28-day compressive strength came out at 41 MPa, above the specified 37.
Low compressive strength in the column cubes means we may have to take cores.
Common phrases
28-day compressive strength · characteristic strength · cube test · core test · strength class
A simple site test of how workable fresh concrete is: a cone is filled with concrete and lifted away, and the drop in the concrete's height is measured in millimetres.
Where you use it
Done on site when the trucks arrive, often by a lab technician. The result is called 'the slump', for example 100 mm, and concrete outside the specified range may be rejected.
Examples
The third truck failed the slump test, so we sent it back.
The slump test gave 180 mm, but the spec allows 120 to 160.
Common phrases
carry out a slump test · slump value · slump class · slump cone
The thickness of concrete between the surface and the nearest reinforcing bar. It protects the steel from corrosion and fire and helps it bond with the concrete.
Where you use it
Usually just called 'cover' on site and given in millimetres, as in 40 mm cover. Spacers are fixed under and beside the rebar to keep the cover correct, and inspectors check it before every pour.
Examples
The concrete cover to the bottom bars is only 15 mm here; we need more spacers.
Foundations cast against soil need a larger concrete cover.
Common phrases
nominal cover · minimum cover · cover to reinforcement · cover spacers · cover meter
The lowest part of a structure, usually below ground, which spreads the building's loads safely into the soil or rock underneath.
Where you use it
Often used in the plural. Engineers design and specify foundations; contractors excavate for them and cast them. The main types are shallow foundations (pad, strip and raft) and deep foundations (piles).
Examples
The soil report recommends a raft foundation because the clay is soft.
We can't start the foundations until the excavation has been inspected.
Usage note
'Lay the foundations' is also an everyday idiom meaning to prepare the basis for something, just like Turkish 'temelini atmak'.
Common phrases
raft foundation · shallow foundation · deep foundation · foundation design · lay the foundations
A widened concrete base under a column or wall that spreads its load over a larger area of soil. Pad footings sit under columns and strip footings under walls.
Where you use it
A type of shallow foundation. On drawings you will see pad, strip and combined footings with sizes like 2.0 × 2.0 × 0.6 m. Footings are excavated, blinded, reinforced and poured.
Examples
The footings on grid line A are ready for the rebar inspection.
We hit rock at 1.2 metres, so the footing can be shallower.
A long column of concrete or steel that is driven or drilled deep into the ground to carry a structure's load down to stronger soil or rock.
Where you use it
Used when the soil near the surface is weak. Piles are driven or bored and then tested, and their tops are joined by a pile cap. The work is called piling and is done with a piling rig.
Examples
The bridge pier sits on twelve bored piles, each 25 metres long.
Piling will be noisy, so we've informed the neighbours.
Usage note
Turkish 'fore kazık' is a bored pile in English, and 'çakma kazık' is a driven pile. In everyday English a pile is also a heap, as in 'a pile of sand'.
Common phrases
bored pile · driven pile · pile cap · pile load test · piling rig
The maximum pressure the ground can safely carry from a foundation without failing or settling too much, usually given in kilopascals (kPa).
Where you use it
Stated in the geotechnical report and used to size footings. Engineers talk about allowable and ultimate bearing capacity, and about whether the soil has adequate bearing capacity.
Examples
The report gives an allowable bearing capacity of 150 kPa at two metres depth.
The fill has a low bearing capacity, so the footings must go down to natural ground.
The downward movement of a foundation or structure as the soil beneath it compresses under load. Some settlement is normal; too much causes cracks.
Where you use it
Geotechnical engineers predict and limit settlement, and on site it is monitored with survey points. Differential settlement, when parts of a building settle by different amounts, is the most damaging kind.
Examples
The monitoring shows 12 mm of settlement since the tank was filled.
Those diagonal cracks are typical of differential settlement.
Usage note
In everyday English settlement also means a place where people live (yerleşim yeri) and an agreement that ends a dispute (uzlaşma).
Soil or granular material placed back into an excavation around foundations, pipes or walls after they have been built; also the act of filling it.
Where you use it
Used as a noun and a verb: you backfill a trench, and the backfill is placed and compacted in layers. Specifications say which materials can be used as backfill and how thick each layer may be.
Examples
Don't backfill the trench until the pipe has been pressure tested.
The backfill behind the retaining wall must be free-draining gravel.
Common phrases
backfill material · granular backfill · backfill in layers · compacted backfill
Pressing soil or fill together, usually with rollers or plate compactors, to remove air, make it denser and stronger, and reduce later settlement.
Where you use it
Compaction is specified as a percentage of the maximum dry density from a Proctor test, for example 95%. Site teams carry out compaction in layers and check it with density tests.
Examples
The density test shows only 90% compaction, so the layer has to be rolled again.
Good compaction of the subgrade is essential before the road base is laid.
Common phrases
degree of compaction · compaction test · compaction equipment · achieve compaction · plate compactor
A wall built to hold back soil or water where the ground level changes suddenly, for example beside a road cutting or around a basement.
Where you use it
Retaining walls are designed against overturning and sliding, and they usually need drainage behind them. Types include gravity, cantilever, reinforced soil and anchored walls.
Examples
The retaining wall along the access road started to lean after the heavy rain.
We'll need weep holes in the retaining wall to release the water pressure.
Water held underground in the soil and in cracks in rock. Its upper surface is called the water table.
Where you use it
Site investigations record groundwater levels because they affect excavations, foundations and basements. Where groundwater is high, contractors use dewatering and waterproofing.
Examples
We hit groundwater at three metres, so the pumps are running day and night.
The basement has to be designed for the full groundwater pressure.
Common phrases
groundwater level · high groundwater · groundwater control · water table · dewatering
The study of ground conditions before design, using boreholes, trial pits and field and laboratory tests to find out what the soil and rock are like.
Where you use it
Often shortened to SI or called ground investigation (GI). The results are presented in a geotechnical report that describes the soil layers, groundwater levels and design parameters.
Examples
The site investigation found a layer of soft clay at six metres.
We can't finalise the foundation design until the site investigation report is ready.
Common phrases
ground investigation · site investigation report · geotechnical report · trial pit · carry out a site investigation
A narrow hole drilled into the ground during a site investigation to take soil and rock samples, carry out tests and measure groundwater levels.
Where you use it
Boreholes are drilled, logged and backfilled, and the results appear in borehole logs that show each soil layer with its depth. Standard penetration tests (SPT) are often carried out in them.
Examples
Borehole BH4 shows rock at twelve metres, but BH5 doesn't reach it even at twenty.
They drilled six boreholes across the site for the bridge foundations.
The area where a building, road or other structure is being built, including the work area, storage areas, site offices and access roads.
Where you use it
On the job people simply say 'site': on site, off site, site visit, site office. British English also uses building site, and American English often says job site or jobsite.
Examples
All visitors must report to the gatehouse before entering the construction site.
The construction site will be closed on Sunday for the tower crane inspection.
Usage note
Do not translate 'şantiyede' as 'in the site'. The correct phrase is 'on site': 'I'm on site all day today.'
Common phrases
on site · site office · site visit · site access · site layout
An engineer based on the construction site who makes sure the work is built according to the drawings and specifications, checks quality and solves technical problems day to day.
Where you use it
A typical first job for young civil engineers. The site engineer sets out the works, checks rebar and formwork, coordinates subcontractors and reports to the site manager or project manager.
Examples
Ask the site engineer to check the levels before the blinding is poured.
I worked as a site engineer on a metro project for two years.
Usage note
Turkish 'şantiye şefi' is closer to 'site manager' or 'construction manager' than to 'site engineer'.
Common phrases
junior site engineer · senior site engineer · work as a site engineer · site engineering team
The process of digging out and removing soil or rock to make space for foundations, basements, trenches or tunnels; also the hole that is dug.
Where you use it
Used for both the activity and the hole. Excavations are dug, supported, inspected and backfilled; deep ones need support (shoring) and edge protection. The verb is excavate and the machine is an excavator.
Examples
Excavation for the basement will take about three weeks.
Keep the spoil heaps well back from the edge of the excavation.
Common phrases
bulk excavation · deep excavation · trench excavation · excavation support · excavation works
A large machine that lifts and moves heavy loads using a hook and cables. Tower cranes stay fixed on site, while mobile cranes are brought in when needed.
Where you use it
Cranes are erected, operated and booked for lifts. Every lift needs a lift plan, a crane operator and a banksman or signaller who guides the load. Wind speed limits when a crane can work.
Examples
The tower crane is booked all morning for the steel beams.
We had to stop the crane because the wind was too strong.
Common phrases
tower crane · mobile crane · crane operator · crane lift · lift plan
A formal check of work, materials or equipment to see whether it meets the drawings, specifications and safety rules before the next stage can start.
Where you use it
Contractors request an inspection, usually with an inspection request form; the consultant carries it out and approves or rejects the work. Typical examples are a rebar inspection before a pour and an excavation inspection before blinding.
Examples
We've requested a rebar inspection for 10 a.m.; the pour can start after that.
The scaffolding failed its weekly inspection because two boards were missing.
Common phrases
request an inspection · pass an inspection · site inspection · inspection request · inspection and test plan
An experienced tradesperson who leads a team of workers on site, plans their daily tasks and makes sure the work is done properly and safely.
Where you use it
Each trade may have its own foreman: concrete foreman, steel fixing foreman, formwork foreman. Engineers pass instructions to the foreman, who organises the gang. Some companies prefer the neutral title supervisor.
Examples
Tell the formwork foreman we need two more carpenters on level 5.
The foreman stopped the work when he saw the cracked prop.
Common phrases
general foreman · concrete foreman · site foreman · report to the foreman
A heavy machine with a long arm, a bucket and a rotating cab, used to dig soil, load trucks and lift or move material on site.
Where you use it
Excavators are described by weight (a 20-tonne excavator) and by tracks or wheels. British sites also say digger, and a small one is a mini excavator. Operators use them to dig, load and trim.
Examples
We need a second excavator to keep up with the trucks.
The excavator hit an old water pipe about one metre down.
Usage note
Turkish sites often call several machines 'kepçe'. In English an excavator, a backhoe loader and a wheel loader are different machines.
All the work of moving soil on a site: excavating, transporting, filling, compacting and shaping the ground to the required levels.
Where you use it
A major cost item on road, rail and land development projects. Engineers balance cut and fill to reduce haulage, calculate volumes in cubic metres and plan earthworks around the weather.
Examples
Earthworks will stop for the winter because the clay gets too wet to compact.
The earthworks contractor moved about 200,000 cubic metres of soil.
Usage note
Usually plural: 'the earthworks are finished'.
Common phrases
bulk earthworks · cut and fill · earthworks contractor · earthworks volumes · earthworks plant
The start-up phase of a project, when the contractor brings people, equipment and materials to site and sets up offices, fencing, utilities and welfare facilities.
Where you use it
Mobilization is planned and priced, and it is often paid as a separate item or supported by an advance payment. At the end of the job, demobilization means removing everything. The British spelling is mobilisation.
Examples
Mobilization will take four weeks because the site camp has to be built first.
The contract includes a mobilization advance of ten per cent.
Common phrases
site mobilization · mobilization period · mobilization advance · demobilization
The work of measuring and recording the position, height and shape of land, buildings or other features, or the report and drawings that result from it.
Where you use it
Surveys are carried out before design and during construction: topographic, setting-out, as-built and condition surveys. A surveyor or a survey team does the work. As a verb, you survey a site.
Examples
The survey shows a three-metre level difference across the plot.
We need a condition survey of the neighbouring buildings before the piling starts.
Usage note
In general English a survey is also a questionnaire (anket). The noun is stressed on the first syllable (SUR-vey); the verb is often stressed on the second (sur-VEY).
Common phrases
carry out a survey · survey team · condition survey · survey data · survey control
To mark the exact positions and levels of a building, road or other work on the ground with survey instruments, so that construction starts in the right place.
Where you use it
Engineers set out grid lines, column positions and road centrelines with pegs, nails and paint marks. The noun is setting-out, as in 'setting-out drawing' or 'setting-out error'. American English often says lay out.
Examples
The surveyor will set out the column positions tomorrow morning.
A setting-out error put the whole wall 50 mm off line.
Usage note
In general English 'set out' also means to start a journey, or to present something in writing: 'the contract sets out the payment terms'.
Common phrases
set out the grid · setting-out point · setting-out drawing · set out the centreline
The height of a point above a fixed reference, such as a site benchmark or sea level. It is also the name of the instrument surveyors use to measure heights.
Where you use it
Drawings give levels in metres, such as FFL +12.450 (finished floor level). Engineers take, check and transfer levels. 'Level' is also an adjective meaning flat and horizontal, and a floor of a building (level 3).
Examples
Check the top-of-slab level before the concrete gang starts finishing.
The existing ground level is 1.2 m below the finished road level.
Usage note
American drawings often write 'elevation' (EL) for a height, while British drawings use 'level'. Do not confuse this with an elevation drawing, which shows a face of the building.
An electronic surveying instrument that measures horizontal and vertical angles and distances, then calculates the coordinates of points.
Where you use it
The main tool for setting out and checking work on site. It is set up over a known point and aimed at a prism held by an assistant, or used without a prism. Robotic total stations let one person work alone.
Examples
Set up the total station on control point CP3 and check the column positions.
The total station needs calibrating; the readings keep drifting.
Common phrases
set up the total station · robotic total station · prism · control point · total station survey
A fixed point on or near the site whose height is accurately known and which is used as the reference for measuring all other levels.
Where you use it
A temporary benchmark (TBM), usually a steel pin set in concrete, is established for the project and protected from damage. Levels are taken or transferred from the benchmark.
Examples
All levels on this site are taken from the benchmark by the gate.
A truck knocked out the temporary benchmark, so we need a new one checked.
Usage note
In business English a benchmark is a standard for comparison (karşılaştırma ölçütü); on site it is a physical point with a known level.
Common phrases
temporary benchmark · benchmark level · establish a benchmark · check against the benchmark
A reference level or surface from which heights or positions are measured, such as mean sea level or a chosen site datum of 100.000 m.
Where you use it
Drawings state which datum their levels refer to. Mixing up two datums, for example the national datum and a site datum, is a classic cause of setting-out errors.
Examples
All levels on these drawings are relative to site datum, not sea level.
The bridge team used a different datum, so their levels were 0.35 m out.
Usage note
In surveying the plural is usually 'datums'; 'data' is the plural used for information in general.
Common phrases
site datum · national datum · datum level · vertical datum · relative to datum
A survey that records the shape and height of the ground and the position of existing features such as buildings, trees, roads, kerbs and utilities.
Where you use it
Usually the first survey on a new project, which designers use to plan levels, drainage and earthworks. It is delivered as a drawing with spot levels and contours and is often called a topo survey.
Examples
The topographic survey shows a stream that isn't on the old maps.
We need an updated topographic survey before we design the new car park.
Common phrases
carry out a topographic survey · topo survey · spot levels · contours · existing features
Global Navigation Satellite System: the general name for satellite positioning systems such as GPS, Galileo, GLONASS and BeiDou, used to find exact positions on the ground.
Where you use it
Surveyors use GNSS receivers with RTK corrections to reach centimetre accuracy when setting out roads and earthworks, and machines can be guided by it. Many people still say GPS for all these systems.
Examples
We set out the road centreline with a GNSS rover.
GNSS doesn't work well under the viaduct, so use the total station there.
The layered structure of a road, runway or parking area that carries the traffic, usually asphalt or concrete laid over granular base layers.
Where you use it
Engineers design flexible (asphalt) and rigid (concrete) pavements and talk about pavement layers, thickness and condition. In everyday British English, however, a pavement is the footpath beside a road.
Examples
The pavement design assumes 20 million standard axle loads over 20 years.
Heavy trucks have caused rutting in the asphalt pavement.
Usage note
In everyday UK English a pavement is the footpath (kaldırım); in the US it is the road surface, and the footpath is a sidewalk. Engineers in both countries use 'pavement' for the road structure.
A black road-surfacing material made of stone aggregate bound with bitumen. It is laid hot and compacted with rollers.
Where you use it
Asphalt is laid, rolled and tested for thickness and density. The asphalt layers of a road are the base course, the binder course and the surface or wearing course. Informally people say tarmac in the UK and blacktop in the US.
Examples
We can't lay asphalt today; it's raining and the base is wet.
The system of pipes, channels, gullies and ditches that collects rainwater or wastewater and carries it away from a road, building or site.
Where you use it
Engineers design surface water drainage, foul drainage and subsoil drainage. Poor drainage is a common cause of road damage and wet basements. Drainage pipes are laid to a fall, meaning a slope.
Examples
The drainage along the motorway was blocked, so water flooded the carriageway.
The land drainage behind the wall goes in before backfilling.
Common phrases
surface water drainage · drainage pipe · drainage system · foul drainage · subsoil drainage
The natural or prepared soil at the bottom of a road, on which all the pavement layers are built. Its strength largely decides how thick the pavement must be.
Where you use it
Engineers test subgrade strength, often as a CBR value, and may improve weak subgrade by compaction, stabilisation or replacement. The prepared top surface is called the formation level.
Examples
The subgrade has a CBR of only 2%, so we'll need a capping layer.
Rain softened the subgrade before the sub-base could be placed.
The steepness of a slope, given as a ratio or a percentage, such as 1 in 20 or 5%. Roads, ramps, drains and roofs all have specified gradients.
Where you use it
Engineers talk about steep, gentle, maximum and longitudinal gradients. For roads and railways the word grade is common, especially in American English, and for drainage pipes people often say fall.
Examples
The ramp gradient must not be steeper than 1 in 12 for wheelchair users.
Heavy trucks slow down on the 6% gradient near the tunnel.
Common phrases
steep gradient · longitudinal gradient · maximum gradient · cross-fall · gradient of 1 in 20
A pipe or box-shaped channel that carries a stream or drainage water under a road, railway or embankment.
Where you use it
Culverts are sized for the expected flood flow, built from concrete pipes or precast box units, and finished with headwalls at each end. Blocked culverts are a common cause of flooded roads.
Examples
The new box culvert will carry the stream under the bypass.
Debris blocked the culvert and the water overtopped the road.
The part of a bridge that forms the road or path surface and carries the traffic, supported by beams, girders, cables or arches.
Where you use it
Engineers design, cast or launch bridge decks and talk about deck width, the deck slab and deck waterproofing. Decks can be concrete, steel or composite (steel girders with a concrete slab).
Examples
The bridge deck is 14 metres wide, with two lanes and a footpath.
We'll pour the bridge deck in three stages to control cracking.
The support at each end of a bridge that carries the deck and holds back the soil of the approach embankment.
Where you use it
Abutments stand on footings or piles and usually include the bearings and wing walls. Engineers check them for both the vertical load from the deck and the horizontal earth pressure behind them.
Examples
The north abutment is founded on rock, but the south one needs piles.
The backfill behind the abutment is placed in thin layers.
An intermediate support of a bridge between its two ends, usually a concrete column or wall that carries the deck loads down to the foundations.
Where you use it
Piers can stand on land or in water, where they need protection from scour. Engineers number them (Pier 1, Pier 2) and talk about pier height, the pier cap and pier foundations.
Examples
Pier 3 is the tallest, at 45 metres above the valley floor.
Divers inspect the river piers for scour every year.
Usage note
In everyday English a pier is also a structure that goes out into the sea, used by boats or for walking (iskele).
Common phrases
bridge pier · pier cap · pier column · river pier · pier foundation
A device placed between a bridge deck and its supports that transfers loads while allowing controlled movement and rotation, for example from temperature changes.
Where you use it
Common types are elastomeric bearings (rubber pads) and pot or sliding bearings. Bearings are installed, inspected and sometimes replaced during a bridge's life. In soil mechanics 'bearing' also appears in bearing capacity and bearing pressure.
Examples
The old bearings had seized, so the deck couldn't expand in summer.
Each girder sits on two elastomeric bearings.
Usage note
In mechanical engineering a bearing is a ball or roller bearing (rulman); on bridges it is a support (mesnet).
A planned gap between two parts of a structure or road that lets them expand and contract with temperature and other movements without cracking.
Where you use it
Used in bridges, long buildings, slabs and pavements. Expansion joints are designed for a movement range, sealed or covered, and checked during maintenance. In buildings a joint may also be sized to work as a seismic joint.
Examples
The expansion joint on the bridge is noisy and needs replacing.
The shopping centre is 180 metres long, so it has two expansion joints.
Common phrases
bridge expansion joint · movement joint · seismic joint · joint sealant · expansion gap
A scaled technical picture of a structure or part of it, such as a plan, section or detail, that shows the builder what to construct and where.
Where you use it
Usually in the plural. Drawings are issued, revised, approved and marked up; each one has a number, a revision and a title block. Drawings stamped 'for construction' are the ones you build from.
Examples
Make sure you are working from the latest drawings; revision C was issued yesterday.
The structural drawings show a 250 mm slab, but the architectural ones show 200.
Usage note
Turkish engineers call a set of drawings 'proje'. In English a 'project' is the whole job, so say 'the drawings' or 'the design' for the sheets.
Common phrases
issue drawings · structural drawings · construction drawings · drawing register · mark up a drawing
A written document that describes the materials, standards, workmanship and testing required for a project. It is used together with the drawings.
Where you use it
Often shortened to 'spec' in speech. Work must comply with or meet the specification, and contractors check the spec before ordering materials. Clauses are quoted by number, such as Clause 5.2.
Examples
The specification requires concrete class C30/37 or higher for all foundations.
These tiles don't meet the specification, so the consultant rejected them.
Common phrases
technical specification · comply with the specification · performance specification · specification clause · out of spec
A drawing that shows a building or site from directly above, as if cut horizontally, with its walls, columns, rooms and dimensions.
Where you use it
Each floor has its own plan: ground floor plan, first floor plan, roof plan, foundation plan. A site plan shows the whole plot. Something seen from above is 'shown on plan' or 'in plan'.
Examples
The foundation plan shows the pile positions and pile cap sizes.
In plan the building is L-shaped, with the core in the corner.
Usage note
'Plan' also means an intention or a schedule. On site, the time plan is 'the programme' in British English and 'the schedule' in American English.
Common phrases
floor plan · site plan · foundation plan · roof plan · plan view
A drawing that shows a structure as if it had been cut vertically along a line, revealing its heights, layers and internal parts.
Where you use it
Section lines on a plan are marked with letters, such as A–A, and arrows show the viewing direction. Engineers also talk about a beam's cross-section, the shape you see when you cut straight across it.
Examples
Section B–B shows the basement wall and the waterproofing layers.
The typical cross-section of the road is on drawing RD-104.
The ratio between the size of something on a drawing and its real size. At 1:100, one centimetre on paper represents one metre on site.
Where you use it
Scales are written 1:50, 1:100 or 1:500 and read 'one to fifty'. Drawings are drawn to scale or marked NTS (not to scale), and details use larger scales such as 1:10 or 1:5.
Examples
Don't scale off this drawing; use the written dimensions.
The site plan is at 1:500 and the details are at 1:20 scale.
Usage note
Scale also means size or extent: 'a large-scale project' is a big project, not a drawing at a large scale.
Common phrases
drawn to scale · not to scale · scale bar · at a scale of 1:100 · large-scale detail
A new, changed version of a drawing or document, marked with a letter or number such as Rev B so that everyone knows which version is current.
Where you use it
Each revision is recorded in the revision table with a date and a short description, and changes are often circled with a revision cloud. Older revisions are marked superseded.
Examples
Revision D of the foundation drawing moves two piles; please check your setting-out.
The steel was fabricated to an old revision, so the connections don't fit.
Usage note
In British schools 'revision' also means studying again before an exam.
Request for information: a formal written question from the contractor to the designer or engineer when drawings or specifications are unclear, missing or in conflict.
Where you use it
RFIs are raised, numbered, tracked in an RFI log and answered by an agreed date. A late response can delay the work and may support a claim for extra time.
Examples
I've raised an RFI because the beam sizes on the two drawings don't match.
We're still waiting for a response to RFI 087 about the stair detail.
Common phrases
raise an RFI · respond to an RFI · RFI log · RFI response · submit an RFI
A detailed drawing prepared by the contractor, fabricator or supplier showing exactly how an item, such as steelwork, rebar or facade panels, will be made and installed.
Where you use it
Shop drawings are prepared from the design drawings, submitted for approval and only then used for fabrication. Reviewers stamp them approved, approved with comments, or rejected.
Examples
The steel fabricator has sent the shop drawings for the roof trusses.
We can't order the curtain wall until the shop drawings are approved.
A drawing updated at the end of construction to show what was actually built, including all changes and the final positions and dimensions.
Where you use it
Usually plural: as-built drawings, or simply as-builts. They are part of the handover documents and are needed later for maintenance and alterations. Contractors mark changes on drawings in red as the work progresses.
Examples
The client won't release the retention until we submit the as-built drawings.
On the as-built drawing the drain is two metres from where the design showed it.
The amount by which a dimension, level or position is allowed to differ from the value on the drawing, such as ±10 mm.
Where you use it
Specifications set tolerances for setting out, verticality, flatness and steel fabrication. Work is within tolerance or out of tolerance, and ±10 mm is spoken as 'plus or minus ten millimetres'.
Examples
The column is 15 mm out of plumb, which is outside the tolerance.
Precast panels have tight tolerances, so the anchors must be set out accurately.
Common phrases
within tolerance · out of tolerance · tight tolerance · construction tolerances · tolerance of ±5 mm
Building Information Modelling: creating and managing a shared digital 3D model of a building or infrastructure project that holds both geometry and data about every element.
Where you use it
Designers and contractors work in BIM to coordinate disciplines, run clash detection, take off quantities and plan sequences. Requirements are set in a BIM execution plan, and the ISO 19650 series is the main international standard.
Examples
The BIM model showed a clash between the duct and the main beam.
Our BIM coordinator updates the federated model every Friday.
Usage note
American English spells it Building Information Modeling, with one l.
Common phrases
BIM model · BIM coordinator · clash detection · BIM execution plan · federated model
Personal protective equipment: the items workers wear to protect themselves from injury, such as a hard hat, safety boots, a high-visibility vest, gloves and goggles.
Where you use it
Heard at every site gate and in every safety induction. People wear, issue and check PPE, and signs say 'PPE must be worn beyond this point'. It is uncountable: 'my PPE', not 'my PPEs'.
Examples
No one goes past the gate without full PPE.
The safety officer stopped two workers because their PPE was incomplete.
Common phrases
wear PPE · full PPE · PPE requirements · issue PPE · PPE check
A strong plastic helmet that protects the head from falling objects and knocks. On most sites it must be worn at all times outside the offices and welfare areas.
Where you use it
Also called a safety helmet, especially in British documents. Hard hat colours often show a person's role on site, but the colour code varies from company to company.
Examples
Put your hard hat on before you leave the site office.
Visitors get a white hard hat and a hi-vis vest at the gate.
Common phrases
wear a hard hat · hard hat area · safety helmet · chin strap
A temporary framework of metal tubes and platforms put up around or inside a building so that workers can reach high areas safely.
Where you use it
Scaffolding is erected, inspected, tagged and dismantled by trained scaffolders, and a green tag usually means it is safe to use. 'Scaffolding' is uncountable; one structure is 'a scaffold'.
Examples
The scaffolding on the east facade will come down next week.
Nobody uses the scaffolding until it has been inspected and tagged.
Usage note
Turkish 'iskele' also means a landing stage for boats; in English that is a 'pier' or 'jetty', never 'scaffolding'.
Common phrases
erect scaffolding · dismantle scaffolding · scaffolding inspection · scaffold tag · mobile scaffold
A careful review of a task or work area to identify hazards, judge how likely and how serious harm could be, and decide on control measures; also the document that records this.
Where you use it
Required before most site activities. Risk assessments are carried out, written, reviewed and signed, and workers are briefed on them. They are often submitted together with a method statement as RAMS.
Examples
The risk assessment for the roof work doesn't cover the fragile skylights.
We have to update the risk assessment now that the crane position has changed.
Common phrases
carry out a risk assessment · task risk assessment · review the risk assessment · control measures · RAMS
A document that explains step by step how a particular task will be carried out safely, including the sequence, equipment, people and controls.
Where you use it
Contractors and subcontractors submit method statements to the consultant for approval before work such as lifting, excavation or demolition. Workers sign to show they have read and understood them.
Examples
The consultant rejected our method statement for lifting the bridge beams.
Please send the method statement and risk assessment by Thursday.
Common phrases
submit a method statement · approved method statement · method statement for · RAMS
Any work where a person could fall a distance and be injured, such as work on scaffolding, ladders or roofs, or near open edges and excavations.
Where you use it
Falls from height are one of the leading causes of deaths in construction, so working at height is tightly controlled with guardrails, harnesses, permits and training. The phrase 'work at height' is also common.
Examples
Anyone working at height must clip their harness to an anchor point.
Working at height on the roof is suspended until the wind drops.
Common phrases
work at height · working at height training · fall protection · safety harness · fall arrest
A short, informal safety meeting on site, usually at the start of a shift, about one specific hazard or task, such as lifting operations or hot weather.
Where you use it
Foremen, supervisors or safety staff give or deliver toolbox talks in five to fifteen minutes, and attendance is recorded on a signed sheet. Topics often follow a recent incident or near miss.
Examples
Today's toolbox talk is about working safely near the excavator.
After the near miss, the safety officer gave a toolbox talk on dropped objects.
Common phrases
give a toolbox talk · deliver a toolbox talk · toolbox talk record · daily toolbox talk
Barriers such as guardrails, toe boards and mesh panels placed along the open edges of slabs, roofs, stairs and excavations to stop people and materials from falling.
Where you use it
Edge protection is installed before work starts near an edge and must not be removed without permission. It usually consists of a top guardrail, an intermediate rail and a toe board.
Examples
The edge protection on level 7 was removed for a delivery and never put back.
Edge protection around the lift shaft has to be in place before the formwork crew arrives.
Common phrases
install edge protection · temporary edge protection · guardrail · toe board · edge protection system
A formal written authorisation needed before high-risk work, such as hot work, entry into a confined space or electrical work, confirming that the hazards are under control.
Where you use it
A permit to work is requested, issued, signed and closed out for a specific task, place and time. It is often shortened to PTW, and people also talk about a hot work permit or an excavation permit.
Examples
You need a permit to work before you start welding in the plant room.
The permit to work expired at 5 p.m., so the team had to stop.
Common phrases
issue a permit to work · hot work permit · confined space permit · permit to work system · close out a permit
An unplanned event that could have caused injury or damage but did not, such as a tool falling close to a worker without hitting anyone.
Where you use it
Workers are encouraged to report near misses so that the causes can be removed before an accident happens. Safety statistics count near misses alongside incidents and lost-time injuries.
Examples
There was a near miss this morning when a pallet slipped off the forklift.
Please report every near miss, even if nobody was hurt.
Common phrases
report a near miss · near-miss report · near-miss reporting · investigate a near miss
A company or person that agrees, under a contract, to carry out construction work for a client for an agreed price and within an agreed time.
Where you use it
The main contractor (general contractor in the US) runs the whole site and hires subcontractors. In contracts the word often starts with a capital letter: 'the Contractor shall...'.
Examples
The contractor has asked for two more weeks to finish the facade.
We were the main contractor on the hospital project, with about forty subcontractors.
Common phrases
main contractor · general contractor · appoint a contractor · contractor's obligations · design-and-build contractor
A company hired by the main contractor, not by the client, to do one part of the work, such as piling, steelwork, electrical installation or plastering.
Where you use it
Used constantly in site meetings and programmes. Main contractors appoint, manage and pay subcontractors; one chosen by the client is a nominated subcontractor. The verb is subcontract.
Examples
The waterproofing subcontractor won't start until the basement walls are dry.
The person or organisation that orders and pays for a construction project. Many standard contracts call the client the Employer or the Owner.
Where you use it
Used in meetings, reports and emails: the client approves designs, gives instructions through its representative and pays the contractor. In public works the client is a government body such as a ministry or a municipality.
Examples
The client wants to add a basement car park, so the foundations will change.
We need the client's approval before we order the facade panels.
Usage note
In FIDIC contracts 'the Employer' means the client, not the company you work for. Turkish 'işveren' covers both meanings, so check the context.
A document that lists every item of work in a project with its quantity and unit, such as cubic metres of concrete or tonnes of rebar, so that contractors can price it.
Where you use it
Usually shortened to BoQ or BOQ. Quantity surveyors prepare it from the drawings; contractors price it when they tender, and later it is used to value progress payments and variations.
Examples
The bill of quantities shows 1,200 cubic metres of concrete for the foundations and basement.
Please price every item in the bill of quantities and return it with your tender.
Usage note
Turkish 'metraj' is the measuring of quantities; in English that activity is 'quantity take-off' or 'measurement', and the priced list is the bill of quantities.
Common phrases
price the bill of quantities · priced bill of quantities · BoQ item · prepare a bill of quantities
A formal offer from a contractor to carry out a project for a stated price, or the competitive process in which a client invites such offers.
Where you use it
Clients invite tenders; contractors prepare, submit, win or lose them. The documents are the tender documents, and the deadline is the tender closing date. As a verb, contractors tender for a project. American English usually says bid.
Examples
We submitted our tender for the motorway junction yesterday.
Five contractors were invited to tender for the hospital.
Common phrases
submit a tender · win a tender · tender documents · invitation to tender · tender price
A payment made to the contractor during the project, usually every month, for the value of work completed so far, minus retention and earlier payments.
Where you use it
The contractor submits a monthly payment application; the engineer or quantity surveyor measures the work and certifies the amount. In FIDIC contracts the document is an Interim Payment Certificate (IPC).
Examples
The March progress payment was delayed because the client disputed the earthworks quantities.
Our cash flow depends on getting progress payments on time.
Usage note
Turkish 'hakediş' is translated as progress payment, interim payment or payment certificate, depending on the contract.
A formal written instruction from the client or engineer that changes the work in the contract, for example by adding, removing or altering an item.
Where you use it
Often shortened to VO. Variations are instructed, valued and agreed, and they can change both the contract price and the time for completion. American contracts call it a change order.
Examples
We won't build the extra ramp without a signed variation order.
Variation order 14 adds a second lift to the core.
Common phrases
issue a variation order · value a variation · variation claim · change order
The stage when the contractor formally passes the completed works, keys, documents and responsibility to the client.
Where you use it
Teams prepare for handover months ahead: snagging, testing and commissioning, operation and maintenance manuals and as-built drawings must be ready. In contracts it is linked to practical completion or the taking-over certificate.
Examples
Handover of the first tower is planned for the end of June.
The client won't accept handover until the fire alarm has been fully tested.
Usage note
Write the noun as one word (handover) and the verb as two words (hand over the keys).
A construction professional who manages costs: measuring quantities, preparing bills of quantities, valuing completed work and variations, and agreeing the final account.
Where you use it
Often called a QS. The client and the contractor may each have their own quantity surveyors. The title is common in the UK, Ireland, the Gulf, Africa and Asia; in the US similar work is done by cost estimators and cost managers.
Examples
The quantity surveyor is checking our claim for the extra excavation.
I started as a junior quantity surveyor in a contractor's office in Doha.
Usage note
A quantity surveyor is not a land surveyor (harita mühendisi): the job is about quantities and money, not measuring the ground.
A percentage, often around 5%, held back from each payment to the contractor and released later as security that defects will be put right.
Where you use it
Retention is deducted, held and released, often half at completion and half at the end of the defects liability period. Main contractors also hold retention on their subcontractors' payments.
Examples
Retention of 5% is deducted from every progress payment.
The second half of the retention will be released after the defects period.
A set period after completion, often 12 months, during which the contractor must come back and repair any defects in the work at its own cost.
Where you use it
Abbreviated DLP. At the end of it the remaining retention is released and the works are finally accepted. In FIDIC contracts the same idea is called the Defects Notification Period.
Examples
The roof leak appeared during the defects liability period, so the contractor fixed it free of charge.
The defects liability period ends in March, so let's do a final inspection in February.
Common phrases
during the defects liability period · end of the defects period · make good defects · defects notification period
A list of small defects and unfinished items, such as scratched paint or missing sealant, that the contractor must fix before or soon after handover.
Where you use it
The client's team walks the building and prepares a snag list, and the contractor closes out the snags one by one. The activity is called snagging. American English says punch list.
Examples
The snag list for the third floor has over 200 items.
We'll walk the apartments with the client on Tuesday and agree the snag list.
Common phrases
prepare a snag list · close out snags · snagging inspection · punch list
Extra time added to the contract completion date because of delays the contractor is not responsible for, such as client changes or exceptional weather.
Where you use it
Abbreviated EOT. The contractor submits an EOT claim with evidence, often a delay analysis of the programme. If it is granted, the contractor is protected from delay damages for that period.
Examples
We've claimed a six-week extension of time because of the late design changes.
The engineer granted an extension of time for the flooding in January.
Common phrases
claim an extension of time · grant an extension of time · EOT claim · delay analysis
Ten questions from this glossary. Pick the right meaning for each term and see your score.
How to learn civil engineering & construction vocabulary
Learn each English term next to the Turkish site word you already use: formwork and kalıp, rebar and donatı, concrete cover and paspayı, level and kot, progress payment and hakediş.
Read real project documents every week, such as specifications, method statements, site reports and the general notes on drawings, and notice phrases like 'shall comply with', 'prior to pouring' and 'subject to approval'.
Practise saying numbers and units out loud: 1:50 is 'one to fifty', ±5 mm is 'plus or minus five millimetres', 30 MPa is 'thirty megapascals' and C30/37 is 'C thirty thirty-seven'.
Learn the verbs that go with each noun, because site English is built on them: pour a slab, strip formwork, raise an RFI, issue a drawing, submit a method statement, certify a payment.
Check whether your project follows British or American usage and stay consistent: snag list or punch list, variation or change order, tender or bid, programme or schedule.
Frequently asked questions
How can I learn construction English quickly?
Study by topic rather than alphabetically, and learn each word together with the words it is used with ('pour a slab', 'raise an RFI', 'certify a payment'). Read real project documents in English, such as specifications, method statements and site reports, and reuse the new words in your own emails and reports. Short daily practice works better than occasional long sessions.
Which civil engineering terms should I learn first?
Start with what you will hear on site in the first weeks: the main structural elements (beam, column, slab, foundation), concrete and rebar work (formwork, pour, curing, cover), site roles (contractor, subcontractor, foreman), basic safety words (PPE, risk assessment, method statement) and drawing vocabulary (plan, section, revision). The first tier of this list covers exactly these.
How do you say hakediş, metraj and şantiye şefi in English?
Hakediş is usually a progress payment or interim payment, and the document is a payment certificate (in FIDIC contracts, an Interim Payment Certificate). Metraj as an activity is quantity take-off or measurement, and the priced list of items is a bill of quantities. Şantiye şefi is closest to site manager in British English and superintendent or construction manager in American English.
Is construction English different in the UK and the US?
The technical core is the same, but many site and contract words differ: tender and bid, variation and change order, snag list and punch list, programme and schedule, storey and story, and pavement and sidewalk for the footpath beside a road. Spelling differs too: metre/meter, mobilisation/mobilization, centreline/centerline. Follow the language of your contract and stay consistent.
Why is English so important for civil engineers in Turkey?
Turkish contractors build roads, airports, hospitals and housing in many countries, and international projects run in English: contracts such as FIDIC, design codes such as the Eurocodes, specifications, correspondence and meetings. Many large projects in Turkey also involve international consultants, lenders and software, so reading and writing technical English is part of everyday work.
