For purposes of considering the official definitions of the Regulations, those established in the Construction Regulations of the Instituto Nacional de Vivienda y Urbanismo (INVU) that are related to the present regulations shall be used.
a. Masonry (Albañilería): The art of building with stones, bricks, blocks, etc.
b. Alignment (Alineamiento): Line fixed by the Municipality or by the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes, as the limit or maximum proximity of the construction's location with respect to the public road.
c. Alteration (Alteración): Any suppression, addition, or modification that affects a building or work.
d. Building height (Altura de la edificación): Vertical distance above the construction line, between the official floor level and the average level of the roof of the top floor.
e. Front yard (Antejardín): Distance between the property and construction lines, the first of cadastral origin and the second of official definition (MOPT or Municipality); it implies an easement (servidumbre) or restriction for building, without the portion of land thereby losing its condition of private property.
f. Bond (Aparejo): Arrangement of the joints of stone, bricks, blocks, or similar.
g. Apartment (Apartamento): Set of several rooms that, for a specific purpose, occupy all or part of a floor or building, or part of several floors (duplex or triplex solutions).
h. Reinforcement (Armadura): In reinforced concrete, the set of steel bars and hoops tied with wire or welded, forming the concrete reinforcement. In metal or timber constructions, any reticulated element forming part of the structure.
i. Review Authority (Autoridad Revisora): Any governmental or municipal entity involved in the review and approval of the design, or in the inspection during the construction of the works. The authority designated by the Colegio Federado de Ingenieros y de Arquitectos de Costa Rica shall also be understood as a review authority.
j. Base (Base): Layer of duly stabilized material, forming part of the resistant structure of a roadway, path, highway, or floor.
k. Roadway (Calzada): Part of the street intended for vehicular traffic, comprised between curbs, gutters, or drainage ditches.
l. Median (Camellón): Central zone, in avenues with multiple lanes, dividing vehicular traffic. Generally with a curb, like a sidewalk. Can be pedestrian with hard paving, or with vegetation.
m. Load (Carga): Force acting on a structure.
n. Wind load (Carga de viento): Force due to the action of wind.
o. Dead load (Carga muerta): Force due to self-weight (peso propio).
p. Permanent load (Carga permanente): Force caused by the self-weight of a structure and the weight of elements, machines, and equipment permanently attached to it.
q. Seismic load (Carga sísmica): Force due to seismic phenomena.
r. Temporary load (Carga temporal): Variable and transitory load throughout the life of a structure.
s. Live load (Carga viva): Synonym for temporary load.
t. Shell (Cáscara or cascarón): Curved or folded slab of little thickness. Characterized by its capacity to resist three-dimensional loads. This capacity is determined by its geometric shape, its boundary conditions, and the nature of the applied loads.
u. Falsework (Cimbra): Part of the support structure of formwork (encofrado) or formwork (formaleta).
v. Occupancy coefficient (Coeficiente de uso): Factor affecting seismic forces according to the intended use of a building.
w. Reinforced concrete (Concreto armado): Mixture of stone aggregates and cement, with steel reinforcement.
x. Asphalt concrete (Concreto asfáltico): Mixture of stone aggregates and asphalt, the latter used as a binder.
y. Cyclopean concrete (Concreto ciclópeo): Mixture of stone aggregates and cement, including rough stone as the main element within the total volume.
z. Mass concrete (Concreto masivo): Mixture of stone aggregates and cement, without reinforcing steel.
aa. Construction (Construcción): Art of constructing any structure that is fixed or incorporated into land; includes building works, reconstruction, alteration, or expansion involving permanence.
bb. Co-ownership (Copropiedad): Regime existing in cases where two or more persons acquire ownership over the same thing, or a right over the entirety of a property and not over a part thereof.
cc. Purlin (Correa): Resistant element, normally working in bending, serving to fix the roof covering or side cladding material of a building, transmitting loads to the main structure.
dd. Building (Edificación): Construction intended for any activity, be it habitation, work, storage, or protection of goods, etc.
ee. Private-use buildings (Edificaciones de uso privado): Those that neither permanently house a considerable number of people, nor regularly serve as a gathering place for them.
ff. Public-use buildings (Edificaciones de uso público): Those State or private buildings that permanently house, or regularly serve as a gathering place for, a considerable number of people.
gg. Executor (Ejecutor): For the purposes of these Regulations, the engineer, architect, technician, or master builder authorized by the Municipality, who is in charge of the execution—not the planning—of a work.
hh. Formwork (Encofrado): System of molds intended to support and shape concrete elements while the concrete gains its own strength.
ii. Framework (Enrejado): Synonym for reticulated when referring to open-web structures.
jj. Floor joist system (Envigado): System of beams forming the resistant structure of a mezzanine or a roofing framework.
kk. Scale (Escala): The scale of a plan or map expresses the ratio of length between the features drawn and the actual ones on the earth's surface. In urban planning, the term SCALE is also used as a spatial appreciation of the field of action of certain facts (for example, regional scale, urban scale, etc.) and as the relationship of the human being with the elements of space: human scale.
ll. Ream (Escariar): To round off or enlarge a hole opened in a piece of metal.
mm. Parking spaces (Estacionamientos): Those places (whether in buildings or on lots), public or private, intended for storing vehicles, including bus terminals and taxi garages.
nn. Structure (Estructura): System of elements resistant to the effects of external forces of all types, forming the skeleton of a building or civil work. It receives and transmits loads and stresses to the firm ground.
oo. Shape factor (Factor de forma): Coefficient affecting the basic wind pressure and depending on the general shape of the building and the openings it contains.
pp. Facade (Fachada): The elevation or orthographic projection of a building. Can be front (exterior), lateral, or rear, or interior, when corresponding to internal courtyards.
qq. Lot frontage (Frente de lote): The length along its front demarcation line.
rr. Gravel (Grava): Natural stone, as found in riverbeds and quarries.
ss. Habitable (Habitable): Premises meeting the minimum requirements for safety, hygiene, and comfort.
tt. Habitat (Hábitat): Organization of space for human activities.
uu. Room (Habitación): Space constituted by a single chamber.
vv. Prime coat on roads (Imprimante en calles): Liquid material, generally asphaltic, used to seal the granular soil base before placing the asphalt pavement wearing course.
ww. Building index (Índice de construcción): The quotient resulting from dividing the total square meters of construction by the lot area. Basements and rooftops are excluded from this calculation.
xx. Installation (Instalación): In a building, any system intended for services such as potable water, drainage, electrical power, vertical transport, air conditioning, etc.
yy. Electrical installation (Instalación eléctrica): Set of electrical equipment and materials used to produce, convert, transform, transmit, distribute, or utilize electrical energy.
zz. Exterior sanitary installation (Instalación sanitaria exterior): The system of pipes and accessories, external to the buildings, interconnected to the potable water supply and sewage evacuation networks of a city.
aaa. Interior sanitary installation (Instalación sanitaria interior): The system of pipes and accessories integrating the internal and private potable water supply and sewage evacuation networks of a building.
bbb. Construction line (Línea de construcción): A line generally parallel to the front property line, indicating a distance from it equal to the required front setback or front yard (antejardín).
ccc. Property line (Línea de propiedad): That which demarcates the boundaries of the property in question.
ddd. Lot (Lote): The land delineated from neighboring properties with access to one or more paths or roads. Can be for private, public, or communal use.
eee. Stone masonry (Mampostería): Masonry work constructed with stones, bricks, or blocks and mortar to join them.
fff. Check (Mocheta): Vertical element of small transversal dimension, built of reinforced concrete to confine walls or partition walls. Also, a section of wall of small cross-section remaining on the sides of relatively wide openings in walls.
ggg. Load-bearing wall (Muro de carga): Wall designed and constructed to mainly resist vertical loads.
hhh. Structural wall (Muro estructural): Wall designed and constructed to mainly resist horizontal loads, perpendicular to its plane.
iii. Non-structural wall (Muro no estructural): Wall considered non-resistant and intended solely for enclosing or dividing spaces. Synonym for partition wall (pared).
jjj. Civil work (Obra civil): Work designed and constructed through the applied sciences and technology pertaining to civil engineering.
kkk. Temporary work (Obra provisional): Work of a temporary nature that must be built or installed as a means of transient service, to assist the construction of a permanent work.
lll. Panels (Paneles): Modules into which a flat construction element is divided. Also, flat modular elements for construction, fixed to each other or to the resistant structure of a work by means of suitable devices.
mmm. Face (Paramento): Any of the faces of a wall.
nnn. Partition wall (Pared): Synonym for a non-structural wall, a construction element for enclosing spaces.
ooo. Party wall (Pared medianera): That which serves as separation between buildings, courtyards, or gardens, but belongs to both adjoining owners.
ppp. Structural profile (Perfil estructural): Bar of metal with varied cross-sections, used for the construction of metal structures.
qqq. Geometric Profile (Perfil Geométrico): Layout of a terrain, road, dam, etc., on the vertical plane.
rrr. Self-weight (Peso propio): Weight of the construction elements, structural or non-structural, to be considered in the calculation of works.
sss. Rough stone (Piedra Bruta): Gravel, generally large in size compared to concrete aggregates.
ttt. Habitable rooms (Piezas habitables): The premises intended for living rooms, offices, studies, dining rooms, and bedrooms.
uuu. Non-habitable rooms (Piezas no habitables): Those intended for kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, storage rooms, garages, and corridors.
vvv. Floor (Piso): In a building, a level platform serving as a floor surface and to support furniture. First floor is the one at ground level; a one-story building is one with a single level. Floor is known as the set of rooms limited by determined horizontal planes in a multi-story building.
www. Planner (Planificador): The engineer, architect, technician, or master builder in charge of the planning—not the execution—of a work. Planning is considered the design, calculation, and elaboration of the respective project plans.
xxx. Cadastral plan (Plano catastrado): Official plan of a piece of land, duly registered in the Dirección de Catastro Nacional, defining its shape, area, boundaries, and orientation.
yyy. Precast elements (Precolados): Refers to concrete structural elements, cast outside their final position and subsequently placed in it.
zzz. Basic wind pressure (Presión básica del viento): Value of the pressure exerted by the wind as a function of the square of its speed, on any surface.
aaaa. Owner (Propietario): For the purposes of the Regulations, the natural or legal person exercising dominion over real estate through public deed.
bbbb. Burr (Rebaba): Projection of non-useful, leftover material, on the edges or surface of an element.
cccc. Repair (Reparación): Renewal of any part of a work, to leave it in equal or better conditions than the original.
dddd. Plastering (Repello): Coating of a wall with cement mortar, lime, or similar materials, to improve its surface for aesthetic or protective purposes.
eeee. Setbacks (Retiros): The open, unbuilt spaces comprised between a structure and the boundaries of the respective property.
ffff. Front setback (Retiro frontal): Equivalent term to front yard (antejardín).
gggg. Side setback (Retiro lateral): Open, non-buildable space comprised between the side boundary of the property (lot) and the nearest part of the physical structure (construction).
hhhh. Rear setback (Retiro posterior): Open, non-buildable space comprised between the rear boundary of the property (lot) and the nearest part of the physical structure (construction).
iiii. Risk (Riesgo): Contingency or probability of an accident, damage, or harm.
jjjj. Projection (Saledizo): Part that protrudes from a wall. Overhang.
kkkk. Semi-basement (Semisótano): Space of a building partially below ground level and that can be ventilated and illuminated directly and naturally.
llll. Easement (Servidumbre): Restriction to the dominion of a property, established for public benefit or for that of another property.
mmmm. Public gathering place (Sitio de reunión pública): Included under this heading are: 1) Entertainment halls (theaters, cinemas, concert halls or conference halls, and similar); 2) Social centers (casinos, cabarets, bars, restaurants, dance halls, and similar); 3) Sports buildings (stadiums, gymnasiums, racetracks, bullrings, and similar); 4) Temples or places of worship.
nnnn. Overload (Sobre carga): Load exceeding that assumed for design purposes.
oooo. Basement (Sótano): Space of a building below ground level and that cannot receive direct and natural illumination and ventilation.
pppp. Subbase (Subbase): Part of the resistant structure of a street, path, or highway, generally composed of a layer of granular, compacted material, placed on the subgrade and below the base.
qqqq. Subgrade (Subrasante): Surface of the terrain of a street, path, or highway, duly stabilized, on which the subbase or the base of the pavement will be placed.
rrrr. Soil/Floor (Suelo): Any unconsolidated material composed of different solid particles, with included gases or liquids. In construction, the word is normally applied to the supporting ground of works. In architecture, also used as a synonym for floor (piso).
ssss. Partition (Tabique): Thin, non-resistant vertical element, serving as interior division or exterior enclosure of the rooms of a building.
tttt. Pedestrian way (Vía peatonal): That used mainly for pedestrians, excluding vehicular use.
uuuu. Public road (Vía pública): All land of public domain and common use, which by provision of the administrative authority is destined for free transit in accordance with planning laws and regulations.
vvvv. Dwelling (Vivienda): Any fixed or mobile premises or enclosure, constructed, converted, or arranged, used for housing purposes for people, permanently or temporarily.
wwww. Green zones (Zonas verdes): Free areas, grassed or wooded, for communal public use, destined for recreation.