Acera (la) - sidewalk (see banqueta)
alambre (el) - wire (a. quemado or a. recocido - black steel tie-wire)
alambrón (el) - 1/4" smooth reinforcing rod, usually bent into anillos
albañil (el) - mason, home-builder
alisar - to make smooth
aljilbe (el) - water cistern (see cisterna)
anclar - to anchor
anillo (el) - ring, bent steel reinforcing stirrup
apisionar -to tamp down
aplanar - to make level
apoyo (el) - support
arena (la) - sand
atravesar - to move across
azulejo (el) - glazed or patterned wall tile (see loseta)
azotea (la) - flat roof
Banco (el) - bench
Banqueta (la) - sidewalk (see acera)
barreta (la) - pry bar, crowbar
bisel (el) - sloped edge as in chamfer or bevel (see chaflàn)
bodega (la) - storage room or closet
boveda (la) - arched brick ceiling
broca (la) - bit (for drill or screwdriver)
brocha (la) - paintbrush
Cadena (la) - reinforcing rods & stirrups for a concrete beam, or the beam itself (see dala)
calafatear - to caulk
calafateo (el) - caulking compound
calar - to drench
carga (la) - load (as in live load, dead load)
carretilla (la) - wheelbarrow
castillo (el) - reinforced concrete post or column
cemento (el) - cement (common - gris, white - blanco)
chaflán (el) - angled surface between two planes, chamfer (see bisel)
charco (el) - puddle
cimbra (la) - concrete form (usually made of wood), cimbrar - to erect formwork
cimiento (el) - foundation footing
cimentación (la) - foundation
cincel (el) - chisel (c. de corte frío - cold chisel)
cisterna (la) - water cistern (see aljilbe)
clavija (la) - peg
clavo - nail
cocina (la) - kitchen
colindancia (la) - adjoining parcel of property
colar - to place or cast (as in concrete); also - strain, filter
colocar - to place, emplace
comedor (el) - dining room
concreto (el) - concrete, a mix of cement, sand, gravel & water (c. armado or c. reforzado - reinforced concrete)
contramarco (el) - casing around a door or window (see marco)
cortadora de disco (la) - angle grinder, cutting tool for masonry & metal ( see esmeriladora)
croquís (el) - sketch or drawing
cuarto de servicio (el) - service room, usually housing laundry facilities, perhaps space for a maid to sleep
cubeta (la) - 5gal bucket (also, a ubiquitous all-purpose stool, tool box, etc)
Dala (la) - concrete beam (d. de cimentación - footing tie beam) (d. de desplante - structural beam); see cadena
desmontar - to clear the land
despintar - to remove paint from a surface
desplantar - to tilt, move out of level
destejado (el) - removal of roof tiles
drenaje (el) - system of waste-water disposal (instalación sanitaria)
Eje (el) - axis or center line
escalera (la) - ladder, stair (e. de extensión - extension ladder; e. de tijera - stepladder)
escarpio (el) - sloping side
escombro (el) - debris, demolition trash
escuadra (la) - right-angle layout tool, carpenter's square
escurrimiento (el) - run-off, drainage
esmeriladora (la) - grinder (e. angular - angle grinder), see also cortadora de disco
estaca (la) - stake
excavar - to dig, excavate
Fuga (la) - leakfusible (el) - fuse (see interruptor)
Grapa (la) - staple
grieta (la) - crack
grifa (la) - crowbar, bending tool
grifería (la) - bath or kitchen taps/faucet fittings
Habitación (la) - bedroom (see dormitorio, recamera)
Impermeabilizante (el) - waterproofing sealant
injectar - to inject
interruptor (el) - circuit breaker (see fusible)
Jardín (el) - garden
jeringa (la) - syringe
Ladrillo (el) - hard brick (see tabique)
lija (la) - sandpaper
lijadora (la) - sander (l. de disco - disk sander)
lima (la) - file
llave (la) - wrench (ll. de perico - crescent wrench, ll.inglesa - pipe wrench)
losa (la) - concrete slab
loseta (la) - glazed or pattered floor tile (see azulejo)
Machimbre (el) - tongue & groove joint
madera (la) - wood
maleza (la) - weeds or undergrowth
mampostería (la) - rubble masonry
marco (el) - frame, around a door or window (see contramarco)
marqesina (la) - skirt-roof, awning, roof overhang (see also volado)
martillo (el) - hammer
ménsula (la) - right-angle (shelf) bracket, corbel
mezcla (la) - mix, ie a batch of cement-aggregate-additives-water you are using at the time
mirador (el) - lookout or viewpoint over the surrounding landscape
mortero (el) - mortar
muro (el) - structural wall (see also pared)
Nivel - level
Obra (la) - a building work (or project) under construction
Pala (la) - shovel
pared (la) - the vertical surface of an interior room
peralte (el) - camber, slight convex curve
pica (la) - pick bar, lance
pico (el) - pickaxe
piedra (la) - rock, stone (p. braza - basalt)
pintar - to paint
plano (el) - plan
plantillo (el) - sole, bottom layer
plomada (la) - plumb bob
plomería (la) - system of potable water supply (instalación hidráulica)
podrido - rotten
proyecto (el) - project (see also obra)
Recamera (la) - bedroom (see also dormitorio, habitación)
ranura (la) - groove
refuerzo (el) - reinforcment
regar - to sprinkle
registro (el) - in-ground sanitary junction/cleanout box with removeable lid
resanador (el) - paste-like filler material for patching wood and plaster surfaces
raspador (el) - scraper
retechado (el) - replacement of a roof
Sala (la) - living room
segueta (la) - hacksaw
sierra (la) - saw (s. circular - skilsaw; s. reciprocante - reciprocating, s.caladora - saber)
soldar - to weld or solder
suelo (el) - soil
Tabique (el) - common, soft brick (only in México; elsewhere - interior partition wall)
tabla (la) - wooden board or plank
taquete (el) - expansion wall anchor or plastic or metal, to hold threaded fastener
taladro (el) - electric drill
tapajuntas (el) - joint over, flashing
techo (el) - roof, ceiling (this can be confusing)
teja (la) - formed clay or concrete roof tile (estilo árabe - colonial barrel tile)
tepetate (el) - soil-cement
terraza (la) - terrace or outdoor uncovered area floored with ceramic tiles
tinaco (el) - rooftop water storage tank
tornillo (el) - threaded screw
tramo (el) - line or route
trazar - to lay out the building outlines
triplay (el) - plywood (even if more than three-ply)
tubo (el) - pipe or tube
tuerca (la) - threaded nut
tumbar - to tear down
Varilla (la) - deformed steel rod, "rebar"
ventana (la) - window
viga (la) - beam, rafter
volado (el) - roof extension providing shade over lower windows
Zanja (la) - ditch
