Tom Philbin

The Illustrated Dictionary of Building Terms

Tom Philbin

McGraw-Hill

Introduction

ABS Acronitrile butadiene styrene. A type of plastic used to make plumbing pipe. See also WATER PIPE.

AC acoustical tiles

acoustical tiles admixture

adobe BRICK made by drying in the sun rather by oven burning as is done with standard bricks

off when they migrate to the surface. See also EFFLORESCENCE.

alkyd Synthetic resin used in the making of PAINT and other coatings. It is solvent thinned and used in both interior and exterior paint.

approved Term used to indicate that a particular installation has been found to be in line with required regulations (the BUILDING CODE) by a governing

Anchor bolt

arcade 1. A vaulted place, open at one end of both sides, an arched opening or recess in a wall. 2. A series of ARCHES either open or closed with MASONRY supported by COLUMNS or PIERS.

Cracking is usually the problem this is normally caused by poor preparation of the bed in which gravel is laid. Water goes under the base, freezes and moves the asphalt. When asphalt moves it cracks.

Asphalt roofing shingles

Attic Baller

Airway

Attic ventilator

Awning

backbrush To apply paint or stain with roller 01 spray, and then work it into the surface with a brush.

Backfill

PRESSURE and quicker than a standard ballcock. It can be installed in most toilets.

balloon framing

balloon framing bargeboard

Baluster

simple: bathing was dangerous to your health.

Batten

Batts are usually filled with fiberglass in glass fiber form and resemble cotton candy Indeed, some children have eaten. MINRERAL WOOL popular in the 1950s and 1960s, was supplanted by fiberglass filled batts because mineral wool soaks up moisture, reducing or negating its insulative value. Insulation is the same quality good or bad. The defining factor is the R VALUE of the insulation. The higher the better, the belter the material is. Fiberglass generally has an R-value of 3.7 per inch of thickness: and mineral wool, a 3.

Batter boards

beam Beams are used where solid strength is required such as supporting a load over an opening or floors.

black Iron iron with no harsh on it. It is actually gray black color.

Typical block

An architectural block

Blocks help strengthen joists

bluestone bond

bond box

box

box boxing out

Weatherproof box with cover

+ suitable for all types FITTINGS regardless material of which they are actually made. Brass is connected to rou plumbing.

brick

brick BTU

buck FRAMING around an opening in a wall.

Built-up roof

bulkhead BX

BX

cabinet head Decorative molding piece t h a t r u n s horizontally across the top of a door frame or ARCHITRAVE. Not many of today's homes feature cabinet heads, b u t in older buildings they were quite well featured, and made of carved and tooled woods.

cap carriage bolt

carriage bolt cast iron

cast iron caulking cord

cavity wall cedar shingles (siding)

cedar shingles (siding) * cement

cement board central heating system

central heating system ceramic tile

ceramic tile chalking

chalking chimney

chimney cinder block

circuit

circuit clapboard

clapboard cleanout

clear cold weather concreting

collar beam composite wall

compressive strength condensation

Concrete block segmental retaining wall system

Heavy wall conduit

construction drawings contact c e m e n t

continuous beam core

corner bead cornice

cornice counterflashing

countersink countertop

countertop course

cove crawl space

crazing cricket

crimp - curing

current cycle

dado 1. Woodworking JOINT consisting of a slot and a corresponding section that fits into the slot. 2. The lower half or partial section of a wall. This section is often panelled. The word derives from the Italian word "die," the part of a pedestal between the base and the CORNICE.

deadbolt lock

deadbolt lock deck

deck deed restrictions

deflection dimples

disposal tile field door

door

door

door doorstop

doorstop doughnut

doughnut drain

drain (drainage) tile drops

drop siding drywall

drywall

drywall dwarf wall

DWV system

DWV system

ears 1. On KITCHEN CABINETS, projecting pieces of wood on the sides that allow the cabinet to be trimmed to fill a space totally. 2. Projecting metal ear-like tabs on electrical boxes that allow installion of the BOX without it falling through the wall opening. Also known as plaster ears. If necessary, they can be clipped off. See illustration on following page.

eave efflorescence

egg-and-dart molding encumbrances

end grain environmental codes

EPS forms European cabinets

European cabinets excavation line

exhaust fan exterior

facade The front of a building. Facade is normally used to describe buildings bigger or more elegant than a home.

face grain

face grain faucet

faucet filler block

fillet fittings

fittings fixture

fixture flapper ball

flashing flat roof

flat roof foliated

footcandle footlambert

footlambert forms

foundation frame

frame framing fastener

framing fastener

framing fastener fuse

fuse

fuse

gable The portion of the ROOF above the line of a double-sloped roof. Gables occur at the ends of a building. The standard gable end is two straight peaked sides, but there are other style buildings that are different to some degree although they have the same basic gable shape.

g a l v a n i c a c t i o n GFCI

gingerbread glass

glaze coat grain

grain green wire

green wood grounds

grouted masonry gutter

gutter gypsum

gypsum gypsum lath

H-clip Metal clip Into which adjacent edges of plywood are Inserted to hold them in alignment.

hanger bolt hardwood

hardwood heart-wood

heels hinge

hinge hip

hip rafters holiday

Hinge: Self-closing hinge / 1

Hinge: soss hinge hip rafters Rafters In a HIP ROOF that extend diagonally from the corner of the plate to the RIDGE. hip roof A ROOF that rises by inclined planes from all four sides of a building.

Hip roof holiday A missed spot in painting sometimes known as a "Sunday" or "vacation." A holiday may also be a missed spot when tarring a roof or foundation. Originally, a holiday was a spot missed when tarring boats. I Sack In 1785, it was defined in Grose's Dictionary of Vulgar Terms U.N "pari of any .ship's bolloin, k:/'l uncovered in paying II,"

holiday housed string

Today it is quite commonly used by painters to describe missed spots. The term likely arose from the idea of a holiday being a gap of a sort. Beware artificial light Painters say that holidays proliferate when one attempts to paint in artificial light. Such illumination just does not allow one to see well, and many a painter lias seen this evidence rl it- mornina alter a paint job at niahl. honey Slang for solid h u m a n waste. Trucks that haul waste are known as
"honey trucks." See also SEPTIC TANK.

honeycomb CONCRETE filled with voids. This sometimes occurs when concrete is poorly mixed or not "puddled." hopper window Window that swings up and down to open and close. horn Opening in toilet where wastes are discharged. horsefeathers Fill-in pieces used when preparing a roof for new roofing material. The existing roof TABS will be curled up. The roofer will clip these off, and fill them in with nailing them on. This, then, will supply a flat surface for the new roofing material. hot stuff Hot BITUMEN. hot wire In an electrical installation, the wire that carries the current coming into the product.
Automatically grounded when connected to box Bonding strip

White (neutral)

Hot wire housed string Stair stringers out of which grooves are cut on the inside and into which the ends of TREADS and RISERS are secured. Wedges and glue are often used to help hold the members in the grooves.

Assembled stair

Housed string

humidifier hydraulic lime (hydrated lime)

I beam A steel BEAM with a cross section resembling the letter I. I beams are used to support long spans such as basement beams or over wide openings, such as a double garage door, when wall and roof loads are Imposed. See also LVL.

insulation

jack rafter Rafter that spans the distance from the wall plate to a hip, or from a valley to a ridge.

jamb block junction box

junction box

kerf A saw cut. keys PLASTER that has seeped through lath and hardened, forming keys that hold the plaster in place.

kitchen cabinet kraft paper

lacing Interweaving roof shingles at intersections.

lath lavatory

lavatory lightning arrester

lightning arrester * listed

live load low voltage

lug sill lumber

lumber LVL

LVL

macadam A paving material made of compacted small stone. Macadam was named after its Scottish inventor, J o h n McAdam, who combined it with tar and called it TARMAC.

masonry cement mildew

mildew modular

modular masonry unit molding

molding mortar

mortar mortar joint finish

mortar joint finish mullion

muntin muriatic acid

nail Pointed metal rod with a head, used for fastening a wide variety of materials.

nail

nail

National Electric Code notch

nosing * notch

O.C. On center. The measurement of spacing for elements such as STUDS, RAFTERS, and JOISTS from the center of one member to the center of the next.

one by overhead service

packing Fibrous material used to help make a FAUCET leakproof. pad stone 1. A LINTEL. 2. A large stone placed under a BEAM or GIRDER to help support weight.

paint panel clip

paneled construction parging

parging patio door

patio door pilot light

pitch

plastlc luminate platform framing

platform framing plug

plug-in-strip plumbing

ply polyurethane

polyurcthane potable

pot life pressure-treated lumber

pressure-treated lumber purlin

putty putty coat

quarry tile Tile made from shale, clay, or earth, resulting In an unglazed tile with color throughout.

rabbet A rectangular, longitudinal groove on the corner edge of a board or plank.

ranger receptacle

receptacle resilient flooring

resilient flooring

resilient flooring reveal

ribband ridge frame construction

ridge frame construction roof

roof

roof roofing

roofing routing

saddle 1. The beveled board across a doorway. 2. Two sloping surfaces meeting in a horizontal ridge, used between the back side of a chimney or other vertical surface, and a sloping roof. Saddles are also called CRICKETS.

scoring screw

screw

screw screw tek

screw tek self-siphoning

septic tank setback

sewer shims

shiplap shoring

short circuit siding

siding

siding skim coat

skimcoat skylight

skylight slope

slope solderless connectors

solderless connectors stain

stain

stain

stain stick built

stoop strawberry

stretcher strip flooring

strip flooring switch

switch

switch

switch

tab

See ROOFING.

tearoff texture 1-11

thermal shock timber framing

tin trap

trap tread

trim tub

tub Tyvek

U bolt Bolt shaped like the letter U.

underlayment UV

valley Intersection of sloped roof sections.

valve

valve vapor migration

variance vitreous china

vitreous china voltage drop

waferboard A type of structural flakeboard made of compressed, wafer-like wood particles or flakes (as opposed to strands) bonded together with phenol resin. Waferboard is a relatively new material.

waste water closet

water closet water pipe

water pipe water pressure

water pressure weatherstripping

weatherstripping wet wall

whip winding stair

window

window windshake

windshake wiring

wiring wythe

yard A cubic yard of concrete. This is the basic measure of concrete. yellow hat A wire connector. These devices are different colors according to the size wires they can handle.

z bar Wire from 4" to 6" long, shaped in the letter Z and used to tie the interior and exterior walls of a CAVITY WALL together.

Cover Design: Stickles Associates Cover Photo: Bender & Bender