Style Guide: Homebuilding (Home Building?) Terminology

A style guide is a set of standards to follow when creating and working with content. Some of the most widely-used style guides include the MLA Style Manual and the Chicago Manual of Style.

Industry terminology is a standard component of a corporate style guide. In the homebuilding industry, there are numerous ways to write and use common terminology (probably true of most industries). The following is an abbreviated list of just some of these debatable terms. My favored versions are on the left.

• Home vs. House
• Homebuilding vs. Home building
• Homebuilder vs. Home builder
• Homeowner vs. Home owner
• Homebuyer vs. Home buyer
• Backerboard vs. Backer board
• Blown-in insulation vs. Blown in insulation
• Crawlspace vs. Crawl space
• On-site vs. Onsite
• Low-E vs. Low E
• Slab-on-grade foundation vs. Slab on grade foundation
• Watertight vs. Water tight
• Through-wall flashing vs. Through wall flashing
• Thin-set mortar vs. Thin set mortar
• Unfaced batt vs. Un-faced batt
• Whole-house approach vs. Whole house approach
• Shingle-style vs. Shingle-fashion
• Shingle-style vs. Shingle style
• Weatherstripping vs. Weather stripping
• Housewrap vs. House wrap

Advice for Writers

What is the best advice for writers? Good advice can come from lots of different places, but it's what rings true to you that matters most.

"Read a lot, write a lot." - Stephen King, On Writing (Pocket, 2001)

King's advice is succinct, clear, hard to forget, and most of all, it rings true. To be a serious writer, King says, you should do these two things above all others.