Sec. 53.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Contract price" means the cost to the owner for any part of construction or repair performed under an original contract.

(2) "Improvement" includes:

(A) abutting sidewalks and streets and utilities in or on those sidewalks and streets;

(B) clearing, grubbing, draining, or fencing of land;

(C) wells, cisterns, tanks, reservoirs, or artificial lakes or pools made for supplying or storing water;

(D) pumps, siphons, and windmills or other machinery or apparatuses used for raising water for stock, domestic use, or irrigation; and

(E) planting orchard trees, grubbing out orchards and replacing trees, and pruning of orchard trees.

(3) "Labor" means labor used in the direct prosecution of the work.

(4) "Material" means all or part of:

(A) the material, machinery, fixtures, or tools incorporated into the work, consumed in the direct prosecution of the work, or ordered and delivered for incorporation or consumption;

(B) rent at a reasonable rate and actual running repairs at a reasonable cost for construction equipment used or reasonably required and delivered for use in the direct prosecution of the work at the site of the construction or repair; or

(C) power, water, fuel, and lubricants consumed or ordered and delivered for consumption in the direct prosecution of the work.

(5) "Mechanic's lien" means the lien provided by this chapter.

(6) "Original contract" means an agreement to which an owner is a party either directly or by implication of law.

(7) "Original contractor" means a person contracting with an owner either directly or through the owner's agent.

(8) "Residence" means a single-family house, duplex, triplex, or quadruplex or a unit in a multiunit structure used for residential purposes that is:

(A) owned by one or more adult persons; and

(B) used or intended to be used as a dwelling by one of the owners.

(9) "Residential construction contract" means a contract between an owner and a contractor in which the contractor agrees to construct or repair the owner's residence, including improvements appurtenant to the residence.

(10) "Residential construction project" means a project for the construction or repair of a new or existing residence, including improvements appurtenant to the residence, as provided by a residential construction contract.

(11) "Retainage" means an amount representing part of a contract payment that is not required to be paid to the claimant within the month following the month in which labor is performed, material is furnished, or specially fabricated material is delivered. The term does not include retainage under Subchapter E.

(12) "Specially fabricated material" means material fabricated for use as a component of the construction or repair so as to be reasonably unsuitable for use elsewhere.

(13) "Subcontractor" means a person who has furnished labor or materials to fulfill an obligation to an original contractor or to a subcontractor to perform all or part of the work required by an original contract.

(14) "Work" means any part of construction or repair performed under an original contract.

(15) "Completion" of an original contract means the actual completion of the work, including any extras or change orders reasonably required or contemplated under the original contract, other than warranty work or replacement or repair of the work performed under the contract.

Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 3533, ch. 576, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1984. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 526, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 889, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.