Test Your Skills With Our Construction Quiz

A building might be demolished because it is too old and unsafe for occupation. Alternatively, the owner might have a building torn down simply to rebuild on the same lot.

Solar energy comes from photovoltaic solar panels. This is an increasingly popular option for powering homes.

The walls inside a house are considered "load-bearing" or "non-bearing." The former means they support the weight of the floor above them or the roof. This makes a difference when you want to knock out a wall to create a larger open space.

This makes sense, when you think about it -- a curtain is used as a flimsy divider, like in fitting rooms at a clothing store. So a curtain wall in a house is just for privacy or decoration, not to support the weight of the roof.

Wall studs are vertical pieces of lumber that are part of the wall. Even if you're not involved in construction, you've probably dealt with these when hanging pictures, a flat-screen TV or similar. Hooks for heavy loads must screwed into a stud, not into drywall.

Hey, is this really sensitive terminology? It's 2018, you know!

These are a bit like the scales at a doctor's office -- when the bubble of air in the clear tube is perfectly centered, the object it rests on is horizontally level. If it's off to one side or the other, you've got some corrective work to do.

Drywall commonly covers the wall studs of interior walls and the joists of ceilings. It is easier to use than traditional wet plaster.

Vinyl siding is easy to maintain and cost-effective. However, it is not a great insulator.

In building, a firewall slows the spread of a fire, just as the name indicates. In cybersecurity, it keeps blackhats from getting through to your data.

Ultimately, this determination is made by an inspector from the city or county in which the building is located. But all parties working on a building, like an electrician or architect, have an interest in making sure that it is up to code.

Building codes generally apply to safety. Whether you can keep pets, and how many, is dependent on an HOA or neighborhood association. City ordinances can come into play, too -- for example, if a pet owner is "hoarding" -- but that's not the same as a building code.

This mouthful is commonly abbreivated to "GFCI." It disconnects (or "interrupts") the circuit when the flow of electricity is unbalanced, presenting a shock hazard.

A party wall is one you share with a neighbor, not a roommate. It sounds festive, but many people find them irritating, especially when they don't block sound well.

The origin of the term "flashing" is unknown. It is applied around joints in a building's construction, around chimneys, et cetera.

Intumescent paint expands and becomes less dense when exposed to high heat. This slows the progress of a fire.

Gypsum is formally called calcium sulfate dihydrate. It is also used as a fertilizer.

Shiplap siding is commonly seen in single-family homes. It creates many vertical rows of wood, in which each board slightly overlaps the board below it.

A ball-peen hammer is commonly used in metalwork. It's easily recognized by its spherical head.

The word "basement" might have tipped you off that this is something under the house. The foundation is key to a safe and stable house, so architects and contractors put a lot of care into creating it.

Joists are part of the framing process, like studs and rafters. They can be made of wood or metal.

Grout is to tile as mortar is to bricks. You see it between the gaps of tiles in kitchens and bathrooms.

As the name indicates, it's water that causes a chemical reaction among the dry ingredients in hydraulic cement. Hydraulic cement is not very susceptible to water damage after it dries, and is therefore desirable in wet conditions.

Although Portland cement is durable in wet conditions, it isn't named for the famously rainy city in Oregon. It was named for its similarity to "Portland stone," found in England.

Stucco is a very durable building material. But it's most often applied over plain brick or other basic, unattractive building materials because of its appealing texture. Stucco has even used in art, often in the Middle East.

Flooring materials have gotten more diverse in recent decades, with wood laminate, concrete, bamboo and more on the shelves of housing-supply stores. But asphalt remains mostly an outdoor products, used on driveways.

Rebar is a steel bar, often with rifling around it, that shores up concrete and masonry work. It has better tensile strength (ability to bear loads that lengthen or stretch, not compress) than concrete, so the two work well together.

Rammed earth construction uses natural materials like soil, lime or gravel, compressed into bricks or similar, placed in a temporary frame, and tamped down. Rammed earth buildings have been found on six of the Earth's seven continents (the exception being Antarctica).

"Solar gain" is passive energy -- it's heat gained from the sun without use of solar panels. Maximizing windows on the north side of a building and putting fewer on the south side uses solar gain to help heat a building in the colder months. (At least, in the northern hemisphere. In the Southern, it'd be reversed).

The chuck is the "mouth" of the drill. You widen it to insert the base of a drill bit, then tighten it until it grips the drill bit firmly.

You don't have to work in construction to have heard the words "door jamb." These are the sides of the door, and need to be carefully constructed so there's a good fit, without excess space that can cause drafts.

Straw-bale building is actually eco-friendly, low-cost, a great insulator and not susceptible to fire. However, in damp conditions, rot is a possibility -- so plans have to be made with care.

These resemble door-stops, but are usually thinner. They're used to prop up or level something that's off-balance.

Grading comes very early in the construction process. Before anything else happens, the ground under the foundation has to be level.

Batter boards are guides for the lines of twine that mark the boundaries of the foundation. It is usually the next step after the site is cleared and graded.