Home-job glossary
What home-job terms mean, with definitions quoted from primary sources and the dates they were read.
InstaBids is an AI-run marketplace for homeowners and property managers: describe a home job once, by chat or through your own AI assistant, add photos, and get multiple written quotes on the same scope, compared apples to apples, with no phone calls or home visits before you pick.
- Describe it onceBy chat, or through your own AI assistant, and add photos.
- Post it and send itContractors bid in writing on that scope.
- Compare line by lineEvery quote is written against the same scope.
- You chooseContact details stay hidden until you pick and they confirm.
For your AI assistant
MCP connector · REST API · plain HTMLHand any of these to your assistant and it can help you write this job's request; you send the request yourself. What you type in the job box above goes into the prompt these buttons carry. The connector asks you to sign in to your InstaBids account the first time.
- MCP connector URL
https://instabids.ai/api/agent/mcp - Agent API (OpenAPI)
https://instabids.ai/openapi.json - Start-request link
https://instabids.ai/intake?from=glossary-hub&page_type=glossary&job=home+project&utm_source=us&utm_medium=page&utm_campaign=glossary - Prompt for any AI, with your job
- ChatGPTOpens with the prompt
- ClaudeOpens with the prompt
- GrokOpens with the prompt
- GeminiCopies the prompt, then opens
Every page is plain HTML. Steps for every assistant: add to your assistant.
Terms
Each term page quotes its definition word for word from a government agency, a building code or another primary source, with a link to the source and the date it was read.
- ADU (accessory dwelling unit)
- Arborist
- Excavation
- General contractor
- Hardscaping
- Pergola
- Hardie board siding
- Home appraisal
- Land survey
- Lawn aeration
- Mold remediation
- Radon mitigation
- Retaining wall
- Structural engineer
- Asbestos removal
- Crawl space encapsulation
- Gutter guards
- Stump grinding
- Bed bug treatment
- Driveway sealcoating
- Home staging
- Hydro excavation
- Post-construction cleaning
- Reupholstery
- Sod installation
- Storm shelter
- Upholstery cleaning
- Water damage restoration
- Concrete resurfacing
- Home inspection
- HVAC maintenance
- Pool resurfacing
- Septic inspection
- Septic pumping
- Termite inspection
- Whole-house surge protector
- Drywall
- French drain
- GFCI outlet
- Mini-split
- Shiplap
- Soffit
- Stucco
- Sump pump
- Wainscoting
- Water softener
- Backflow preventer
- Caulking
- Crown molding
- Dormer
- Ductwork
- Egress window
- Hydroseeding
- Subfloor
- TPO roofing
- Xeriscaping
- Dethatching
- Drip edge
- Knob and tube wiring
- Load-bearing wall
- Polymeric sand
- Reverse osmosis system
- Roof flashing
- Tuckpointing
- Stamped concrete
- Standing seam metal roof
- Attic baffles
- Foundation underpinning
- Seismic retrofit
- Backwater valve
- Blown-in insulation
- Chimney liner
- Gutter apron
- Lath and plaster
- Luxury vinyl plank
- Pier and beam foundation
- Radiant floor heating
- Roof underlayment
- Sewer cleanout
- Cornice
- Door jamb
- Grout
- OSB
- Plaster
- Plywood
- R-value
- Swale
- Baseboard
- Cabana
- Carport
- Forced-air heating
- Gable roof
- Plenum
- Pole barn
- Wall stud
- Window sash
- Ball valve
- Built-up roof
- Dutch door
- Evaporator coil
- Expansion tank
- Galvanized pipe
- Gambrel roof
- Gate valve
- Chair rail
- Quartz countertops
- Return air vent
- Roof sheathing
- Roof truss
- Seawall
- Slab foundation
- Smart thermostat
- Soffit vent
- Backsplash
- Ceramic tile
- Electrical conduit
- Electrical panel
- Epoxy grout
- Pot filler
- Refrigerant
- Rough-in plumbing
- Three-season room
- Cellulose insulation
- Design-build
- Eggshell paint finish
- EV charger
- Finish carpentry
- Frameless cabinets
- Landscape architect
- Parging
- Permeable pavers
- Picket fence
- Artificial turf
- Beadboard
- Blower door test
- Toe kick
- Whole house fan
- Window well
- Awning window
- Popcorn ceiling
- Range hood
- King stud
- Lap siding
- LVL beam
- MERV rating
- Mudjacking
- P-trap
- Pressure washing
- Quarter round
- AFUE
- Gabion wall
- In-law suite
- Inset cabinets
- Laminate countertops
- Post-tension slab
- Radiant barrier
- Solar inverter
- Thermal bridging
- Vinyl siding
- Closed cell spray foam
- Cultured stone
- Dutch lap siding
- Four-season room
- I-joist
- Knockdown texture
- Mineral wool insulation
- Paver patio
- ABS pipe
- Chain link fence
- Flat roof
- Forestry mulching
- Laminate flooring
- Lead abatement
- Microinverter
- Recessed lighting
- Solar panels
- Bamboo flooring
- Cement board
- Fireplace insert
- Flagstone
- Geothermal heat pump
- Glazier
- Overseeding
- Roof pitch
- Vent stack
- Cathedral ceiling
- Coffered ceiling
- Curbless shower
- Engineered hardwood
- Ledger board
- Rain garden
- Shear wall
- Anode rod
- Cool roof
- Door casing
- Gunite pool
- Net metering
- Shower pan
- Bathroom vanity
- Brick veneer
- Catch basin
- Hip roof
- Insulated concrete forms
- PEX pipe
- Porcelain tile
- Rain chain
- Shoe molding
- Waterfall countertop
- Collar tie
- Composite decking
- Corbel
- EPDM roofing
- Picture window
- Roof valley
- Smoke detector
- Thermostatic mixing valve
- Three-way switch
- Zero-clearance fireplace
- Air handler
- Dimmer switch
- Quartzite
- Slab leak
- Butler's pantry
- Helical piers
- Walk-in shower
- Chimney chase
- Hydronic heating
- Muntins
- Pest control
- Purlin