GLOSSARY

This glossary provides definitions of common terms used in home construction, repair, and maintenance. It is intended as a quick reference to foster clearer communication between homeowners, builders and contractors.

All glossary terms are sorted in alphabetical order. Click on the link of a letter below to jump directly to that section.

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

[ A ]

A-Frame
A roof shape with a very steep pitch forming a gable or "A" shape.

Acoustical Tile
Special tile for walls and ceilings made of mineral, wood, vegetable fibers, cork, or metal. Its purpose is to control sound volume, while providing cover

Air duct
Pipes that carry warm air and cold air to rooms and back to furnace or air conditioning system.

Align
The faces of objects that are in line with each other, or when their center-lines lie on the same axis.

Apron
A paved area, such as the juncture of a driveway with the street or with a garage entrance.

Air change
A measure of the rate at which the air in an interior space is replace by outside (or conditioned) air by ventilation and infiltration; usually measured in cubic feet per time interval (hour), divided by the volume of air in the room.

Air conditioner
A device for conditioning air in an interior space. A Room Air Conditioner is a unit designed for installation in the wall or window of a room to deliver conditioned air without ducts. A Unitary Air Conditioner is composed of one or more assemblies that usually include an evaporator or cooling coil, a compressor and condenser combination, and possibly a heating apparatus. A Central Air Conditioner is designed to provide conditioned air from a central unit to a whole house with fans and ducts.

Air exchanger
A device that captures the energy from the exhaust air from a building and transfers it to the supply/fresh air entering the building to preheat the air and increase overall heating efficiency.

Air intakes
Openings or inlets in the house envelope that allow outside air to be brought into the house.

Air register
The grilled opening into a room by which the amount of conditioned air from a furnace or air-conditioner can be directed or controlled; may include a damper.

Air-Source Heat Pump
A type of heat pump that transfers heat from outdoor air to indoor air during the heating season, and works in reverse during the cooling season.

Appliance energy efficiency ratings
The ratings under which specified appliances convert energy sources into useful energy, as determined by procedures established by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Attic
The usually unfinished space above a ceiling and below a roof.

Attic bypass
The pathways through which heated indoor air moves into the attic.

Attic vent
A passive or mechanical device used to ventilate an attic space, primarily to reduce heat buildup and moisture condensation.

Awning Window
A window hinged along the top edge.

[ B ]

Backdrafting
The flow of air down a flue/chimney and into a house caused by low indoor air pressure that can occur when using several fans or fireplaces and/or if the house is very tight.

Backfill
The gravel or earth replaced in the space around a building wall after foundations are in place.

Balcony
A platform projecting from an upper story and enclosed by a railing.

Balusters
Upright supports of a balustrade rail.

Balustrade
A row of balusters topped by a rail, edging a balcony or a staircase.

Ballast
A device used to control the voltage in a fluorescent lamp.

Bargeboard
Board or other decorative woodwork fixed to the edges or projecting rafters of a gabled roof. Sometimes called gingerbread.

Baseboard
A board along the floor against walls and partitions to hid gaps.

Batt/blanket
A flexible roll or strip of insulating material in widths suited to standard spacings of building structural members (studs and joists). They are made from glass or rock wool fibers. Blankets are continuous rolls. Batts are pre-cut to four or eight foot lengths.

Batten
Small thin strips covering joints between wider boards on exterior building surfaces.

Bay Window
A window projecting outward from the wall of a house.

Beam
One of the principal horizontal wood or steel members of a building.

Bearing wall
A wall that supports a floor or roof of a building.

Bell-cast Eaves
A roof which curves, sloping more gently toward the bottom.

Belt-course
A horizontal band similar to but thicker than a string course, marking subdivisions of a building.

Beveled
A stone cut at angles for a more decorative display.

Beveled Wood Ridge
A wood strip that covers the ridge pole; commonly found on wood-shaked roofs.

Bib or Bibcock
A water faucet to which a hose may be attached, also called a hose bib or sill cock.

Bleeding
Seeping of resin or gum from lumber. This term is also used in referring to the process of drawing air from water pipes.

Board and Batten
Vertical siding where wood strips (battens) hide the seams where other boards are joined.

Brace
A piece of wood or other material used to form a triangle and stiffen some part of a structure.

Braced Framing
Construction technique using posts and cross-bracing for greater rigidity.

Brick Veneer
Brick used as the outer surface of a framed wall.

Bridging
Small wood or metal pieces placed diagonally between floor joists.

Building Paper
Heavy paper used in walls or roofs to dampproof.

Built-Up Roof
A roofing material applied in sealed, waterproof layers, where there is only a slight slope to the roof.

Butt Joint
Joining point of two pieces of wood or molding.

Buttress
A structure built against a wall to support or reinforce it.

[ C ]

Cantilever
A horizontal projection from a building, such as a step, balcony, beam or canopy, that is without external bracing and appears to be self-supporting.

Capital
The elaboration at the top of a column, pillar, pier or pilaster.

Carriage
The member which supports the steps or treads of a stair.

Casement Window
A window that opens in the manner of a door.

Casing
The trim around a window or door.

Caulking
A material used to seal areas of potential air leakage into or out of a building envelope.

Cavity Wall
A hollow wall formed by firmly linked masonry walls, providing an insulating air space between.

Cement Blocks
Mass produced building blocks made from pouring concrete into a mold.

Chamfer
A beveled edge. (Chamfered Edge: Molding with pared-off corners.)

Chase
A groove in a masonry wall or through a floor to accommodate pipes or ducts.

Chevron
A decorative V-shaped line.

Chimney Cap
Concrete capping around the top of chimney bricks and around the floors to protect the masonry from the elements.

Chimney effect
The tendency of heated air or gas to rise in a duct or other vertical passage, such as in a chimney, small enclosure, or building, due to its lower density compared to the surrounding air or gas.

Circuit breaker
A safety device which opens (breaks) an electric circuit automatically when it becomes overloaded.

Cladding
A term used to describe the siding or materials covering the exterior of a building.

Clapboard
Tapered horizontal boards used as siding, thickest on their bottom edge; each overlaps the one below.

Coffer
A decorative sunken panel in a ceiling, dome, soffit, or vault

Collar Beam
A horizontal beam fastened above the lower ends of rafters to add rigidity.

Column
A slender, upright structure, usually a supporting member in a building.

Compact fluorescent light
A smaller version of standard fluorescent lamps which can directly replace standard incandescent lights. These lights consist of a gas filled tube, and a magnetic or electronic ballast.

Condensation
The process by which water in air changes from a vapor to a liquid due to a change in temperature or pressure; occurs when water vapor reaches its dew point (condensation point); also used to express the existence of liquid water on a surface.

Condenser
The device in an air conditioner or heat pump in which the refrigerant condenses from a gas to a liquid when it is depressurized or cooled.

Coping support or decoration
A flat cover of stone or brick that protects the top of a wall.

Corbelling
Stone or wood projecting from a wall or chimney for.

Corner Bead
A strip of wood or metal for protecting the external corners of plastered walls.

Corinthian
The type of Greek column characterized by simulated acanthus leaves.

Cornice
The uppermost section of moldings along the top of a wall; any molded projection of similar form.

Course
A continuous row of building materials, such as shingle brick or stone.

Cove Lighting
Concealed light sources behind a cornice or horizontal recess which direct the light upon a reflecting ceiling.

Crawl space
A shallow, unfinished space beneath the first floor of a house which has no basement, used for visual inspection and access to pipes and ducts. Also, a shallow space in the attic, immediately under the roof.

Cripples
Cut-off framing members above and below windows.

Cresting
The top line or surface of a structure.

Crown molding
A molding where the wall and ceiling meet; uppermost molding along furniture or cabinetry.

Cupola
A small, dome-like structure, on top of the house.

Cutstone
Large stones cut individually, used for a foundation or wall of a house.

[ D ]

Dado
The zone between a chair rail or lower part of a sill and the baseboard.

Degree day
A unit for measuring the extent that the outdoor daily average temperature (the mean of the maximum and minimum daily dry-bulb temperatures) falls below (in the case of heating, see Heating Degree Day), or falls above (in the case of cooling, see Cooling Degree Day) an assumed base temperature, normally taken as 65 degrees Fahrenheit, unless otherwise stated. One degree day is counted for each degree below (for heating) or above (in the case of cooling) the base, for each calendar day on which the temperature goes below or above the base.

Dentil
A small, tooth-like square block, used in a row as a decorative feature in a cornice.

Dehumidistat
A device used to control relative humidity in a house; used to control the operation of dehumidification devices by turning the device on or off when a specified relative humidity is reached.

Direct gain
The process by which sunlight directly enters a building through the windows and is absorbed and stored in massive floors or walls.

Door threshold
The sill of a door.

Doric
The simplest of the three classical orders of Greek architecture.

Dormer
A window which projects from a sloping roof.

Double hung windows
Windows with an upper and lower sash, each supported by cords and weights (windows pass each other vertically as they open/close)

Double-pane window
A type of window having two layers (panes or glazing) of glass separated by an air space. Each layer of glass and surrounding air space reradiates and traps some of the heat that passes through thereby increasing the windows resistance to heat loss (R-value).

Door Buck
The rough frame of a door.

Dormer
The projecting frame of a recess in a sloping roof.

Double Glazing
An insulating window pane formed of two thicknesses of glass with a sealed air space between them.

Double Hung Windows
Windows with an upper and lower sash, each supported by cords and weights.

Downspout Leader
Downspout A spout or pipe to carry rain water down from a roof or gutters.

Downspout Strap
A piece of metal which secures the downspout to the eaves or wall of a building.

Drip
The projecting part of a cornice which sheds rain water.

Dry Wall
A wall surface of plasterboard or material other than plaster.

Dutch Door
A door divided horizontally in half; the halves may be opened together or individually.

[ E ]

Eaves
The extension of roof beyond house walls.

Efflorescence
White powder that forms on the surface of brick.

Ell
A single-story lean-to wing of a building that usually contains a kitchen or covered porch. Ells were added to many houses with wooden frameworks in New England, and are also common add-ons to Victorians.

Entablature
The area above an entryway in which the transom is contained.

Eyebrow Window
A small, horizontally rectangular window, often located on the uppermost story, aligned with windows below.

[ F ]

Facade
One of the exterior faces (walls) of a building.

Fan-light
A semi-circular or semi-elliptical window with a horizontal sill.

Fascia
A horizontal band or board, often used to conceal the ends of rafters; the front of an object.

Fenestration
The stylistic arrangement of windows in a building.

Fiberglass insulation
A type of insulation, composed of small diameter pink, yellow, or white glass fibers, formed into blankets or batts, or used in loose-fill and blown-in applications.

Fill-Type Insulation
Loose insulating material which is applied by hand or blown into wall spaces mechanically.

Finial
A knob-like ornament.

Fish scale Shingles
A shingle having straight sides and rounded bottoms.

Flashing
Noncorrosive metal used around angles or junctions in roofs and exterior walls to prevent leaks.

Fléche
A slender spire atop a tower (French for 'arrow').

Floor Joists
Framing pieces which rest on outer foundation walls and interior beams or girders.

Flue
A passageway in a chimney for conveying smoke, gases or fumes to the outside air.

Flying Buttress
A detached pier supporting the weight of a wall.

Foam insulation
A high R-value insulation product usually made from urethane that can be injected into wall cavities, or sprayed onto roofs or floors, where it expands and sets quickly.

Footing
Concrete base on which a foundation sits.

Forced air system
A type of heating system in which heated air is blown by a fan through air channels or ducts to rooms.

Forced ventilation
A type of building ventilation system that uses fans or blowers to provide fresh air to rooms when the forces of air pressure and gravity are not enough to circulate air through a building.

Foundation
Lower parts of walls on which the structure is built. Foundation walls of masonry or concrete are mainly below ground level.

Framing
The rough lumber of a house-joists, studs, rafters, and beams.

Frieze
A band with designs or carvings along a wall or above doorways and windows.

Furring
Thin wood, or metal applied to a wall to level the surface for lathing, boarding, or plastering, to create an insulating air space, and to damp proof the wall.

Fuse
A short plug in an electric panel box which opens (breaks) an electrical circuit when it becomes overloaded.

[ G ]

Gable
The triangular part of a wall under the inverted "v" of the roof line.

Gambrel Roof
A roof with two pitches, designed to provide more space on upper floors. The roof is steeper on its lower slope and flatter toward the ridge.

Gazebo
A small summerhouse or pavilion with a view, or a belvedere on the roof of a house.

Geothermal Heat Pump
A type of heat pump that uses the ground, ground water, or ponds as a heat source and heat sink, rather than outside air. Ground or water temperatures are more constant and are warmer in winter and cooler in summer than air temperatures. Under the proper conditions, geothermal heat pumps can operate more efficiently than "conventional" or "air source" heat pumps.

Girder
A main member in a framed floor supporting the joists which carry the flooring boards. It carries the weight of a floor or partition.

Glass Block
A window type formed by a compilation of small translucent cubes of glass.

Glazing
Fitting glass into windows or doors.

Golden mean
Section d'Or refers to a geometric proportion in a composition. The actual definition of golden section is a line that is divided so that the smaller part of the line is to the larger part of the line as the larger part is to the whole line. This usually turns out to be a ratio of 8:13 and is visible in many works of art and architecture.

Grade Line
The point at which the ground rests against the foundation wall.

Green Lumber
Lumber which has been inadequately dried and which tends to warp or "bleed" resin.

Grounds
Pieces of wood embedded in plaster of walls to which skirtings are attached. Also wood pieces used to stop the plaster work around doors and windows.

Gusset
A brace or bracket used to strengthen a structure.

Gutter
A channel at the eaves for conveying away rain water.

[ H ]

Hardwood
The close-grained wood from broad-leaved trees such as oak or maple.

Headers
Double wood pieces supporting joists in a floor or double wood members placed on edge over windows and doors to transfer the roof and floor weight to the studs.

Heat pump
An electricity powered device that extracts available heat from one area (the heat source) and transfers it to another (the heat sink) to either heat or cool an interior space or to extract heat energy from a fluid.

Heat recovery ventilator (HRV)
A device that captures the heat from the exhaust air from a building and transfers it to the supply/fresh air entering the building to preheat the air and increase overall heating efficiency.

Heel
The end of a rafter that rests on the wall plate.

Hipped Roof
A roof which slopes to the eaves on all sides; a roof without gables.

Hip
The external angle formed by the juncture of two slopes of a roof.

Hot air furnace
A heating unit where heat is distributed by means of convection or fans.

Hydronic heating systems
A type of heating system where water is heated in a boiler and either moves by natural convection or is pumped to heat exchangers or radiators in rooms; radiant floor systems have a grid of tubing laid out in the floor for distributing heat. The temperature in each room is controlled by regulating the flow of hot water through the radiators or tubing.

[ I ]

Ionic
The type of Greek column characterized by scroll-like decorations.

[ J ]

Jalousies
Windows with movable, horizontal glass slats angled to admit-ventilation and keep out rain. This term is also used for outside shutters of wood constructed in this way.

Jamb
The vertical members of a window or door frame.

Jenkins-head Roof
A gabled roof with its apex truncated by a small hipped roof.

Joist
A small rectangular sectional member arranged parallel from wall to wall in a building, or resting on beams or girders. They support a floor or the laths or furring strips of a ceiling.

[ K ]

Keystone
The central, topmost stone of an arch.

Kiln-Dried
Artificial drying of lumber, superior to most lumber that is air dried.

King-Post
The middle post of a truss. Large, heavy screws, used where great strength is required, as in heavy framing or when attaching ironwork to wood.

Kneewall
A wall usually about 3 to 4 feet high located that is placed in the attic of a home, anchored with plates between the attic floor joists and the roof joist. Sheathing can be attached to these walls to enclose an attic space.

[ L ]

Lag-Screws or Coach-Screws
Large, heavy screws, used where great strength is required, as in heavy framing or when attaching ironwork to wood.

Lally Column
A steel tube sometimes filled with concrete, used to support girders or other floor beams.

Lath
One of a number of thin narrow strips of wood nailed to rafters, ceiling joists, wall studs, etc. to make a groundwork or key for slates, tiles, or plastering.

Lattice
A grille created by criss-crossing or decoratively interlacing strips of material.

Leaching Bed
Tiles in the trenches carrying treated wastes from septic tanks.

Leaded Window
A window decorated by artistic inserts of lead.

Ledger
A piece of wood which is attached to a beam to support joists.

Lintel
The top piece over a door or window which supports walls above the opening; a horizontal crosspiece over an opening.

Load-Bearing Wall
A strong wall capable of supporting weight.

Louver
An opening with horizontal slats to permit passage of air, but excluding rain, sunlight and view.

Louver Vent
An opening fitted with a series of sloping slats arranged to admit light and air but shed rain.

Low-E coating
A coating applied to the surface of the glazing of a window to reduce heat transfer through the window.

Lighting, Can
True can lights are uplights, sitting on the floor in a can-like fixture, or mounted on a spike or even in the ground for plants or outdoors.

Lighting, Recessed
Recessed lighting, often called "pot lights in Canada and "can lights" (see above) in the U.S., is comprised of fixtures mounted above the ceiling so as to appear flush with it. These downlights use narrow spotlights or "spots", or wider-angle floodlights or "floods", which are both bulbs with their own reflectors. They may also have their own reflector built-in to the fixture, so that they can take regular and less-expensive bulbs. Either type can be incandescent, fluorescent, HID or LED, though only incandescents or LEDs make narrow-enough spots.

Lighting, Sconce
A wall-mounted fixture, particularly one that shines up and sometimes down as well.

Lighting, Torchiere
An uplight usually intended for general lighting. It is usually a floor lamp but may be wall-mounted like a sconce.

Lighting, Track
A master transformer feeds all of the fixtures on the track or rod with 12 or 24 volts, instead of each having its own. There are traditional spots and floods, as well as other small hanging fixtures. Track lighting was popular at one point because it was much easier to install then recessed lighting, and individual fixtures are decorative and can be easily aimed at a wall. It has regained some popularity recently in low-voltage tracks, which often look nothing like their predecessors because they do not have the safety issues that line-voltage systems have, and are therefore less bulky and more ornamental in themselves.

A modified version of this is cable lighting, where lights are hung from or clipped to bare metal cables under tension.

[ M ]

Mansard
A roof type with two slopes on each of the four sides, the lower slope being steeper than the other; capped off with a cupola, typically Victorian.

Masonry
Walls built by a mason, using brick, stone, tile or similar materials.

Modillion
A bracket supporting the upper part of a composite or Corinthian cornice.

Molding
A strip of decorative material having a plane or curved narrow surface prepared for ornamental application. These strips are often used to hide gaps at wall junctures.

Moisture Barrier
Treated paper or metal that retards or bars water vapor, used to keep moisture from passing into walls or floors.

Mullion
Slender framing which divides the lights or panes of windows.

[ N ]

Newel
The upright post or the upright formed by the inner or smaller ends of steps about which steps of a circular staircase wind. In a straight flight staircase, the principal post at the foot or the secondary post at a landing.

Nosing
The rounded edge of a stair tread.

Niche
A recess in a wall to place various decorations.

[ O ]

Obelisk
An Egyptian monument with a tall, tapering shaft of stone with a pyramidal top.

Oriel
A box-like window projecting from the wall of a house.

Overhang
A building element that shades windows, walls, and doors from direct solar radiation and protects these elements from precipitation.

[ P ]

Palladian
A motif having three openings, the center one being arched and larger than the other two.

Parging
A rough coat of mortar applied over a masonry wall as protection or finish; may also serve as a base for an asphaltic waterproofing compound below grade.

Parquet Floor
Wood flooring laid to form geometric patterns.

Pediment
A low triangular gable above a cornice, topped by raking cornices and ornamented.

Pendant
A bulbous, knob-like ornament which hangs downward.

Pent Roof
A small roof protruding from a facade, separating stories.

Perimeter heating
A term applied to warm-air heating systems that deliver heated air to rooms by means of registers or baseboards located along exterior walls.

Picture Window
One single, large window pane that does not open from either side.

Pier
A vertical, non-circular masonry support, more massive than a column.

Pillar
Similar to but more slender than a pier, also non-circular.

Pilaster
A projection or the foundation wall used to support a floor girder or stiffen the wall; a rectangular vertical member projecting only slightly from a wall, with a base and capital as will a column.

Pitch
The angle of slope of a roof.

Plasterboard (See Dry Wall)
Gypsum board, used instead of plaster.

Plates
Pieces of wood placed on wall surfaces as fastening devices. The bottom member of the wall is the sole plate and the top member is the rafter plate.

Plenum
A chamber which can serve as a distribution area for heating or cooling systems, generally between a false ceiling and the actual ceiling.

Ply Cap
A plain shaped molding, 1/4 rounded to provide a smooth edge along the baseboard.

Pocket door
A door which slides open into cavities within walls, seeming to disappear when open.

Pointing
Treatment of joints in masonry by filling with mortar to improve appearance or protect against weather.

Portico
A roof, generally gabled, supported on columns, usually more elaborate than a porch.

Post-And-Beam Construction
Wall construction in which beams are supported by heavy posts rather than many smaller studs.

Prefabrication
Construction of components such as walls, trusses, or doors, before delivery to the building site.

[ Q ]

Quoin
A stone or block reinforcing or accenting the corners of a building.

[ R ]

Rabbet
A groove cut in a board to receive another board.

Radiant Heat
Coils of electricity, hot water or steam pipes embedded in floors, ceilings, or walls to heat rooms.

Radiant floor
A type of radiant heating system where the building floor contains channels or tubes through which hot fluids such as air or water are circulated. The whole floor is evenly heated. Thus, the room heats from the bottom up. Radiant floor heating eliminates the draft and dust problems associated with forced air heating systems.

Rafter
One of a series of structural roof members spanning from an exterior wall to a center ridge beam or ridge board.

Reinforced Concrete
Concrete strengthened with wire or metal bars.

Ridgeboard
A decorative board standing on edge, along the ridge of a roof.

Ridge Pole
A thick longitudinal plank to which the ridge rafters of a roof are attached.

Riser
The upright (vertical) piece of a stair step, from tread to tread.

Roof Sheathing
Sheets, usually of plywood, which are nailed to the top edges of trusses or rafters to tie the roof together and support the roofing material.

Rubble
Masonry construction using stones of irregular shape and size.

Rusticated Stone
Stonework, sometimes roughly finished, distinguished by having the joints deeply sunk.

[ S ]

Sandwich Panel
A panel with plastic, paper, or other material enclosed between two layers of a different material.

Sash
The movable part of a window-the frame in which panes of glass are set in a window or door.

Scotia
A concave molding.

Scuttle Hole
A small opening either to the attic, to the crawl space or to the plumbing pipes.

Seepage Pit
A sewage disposal system composed of a septic tank and a connected cesspool.

Septic Tank
A sewage settling tank in which part of the sewage is converted into gas and sludge before the remaining waste is discharged by gravity into a leaching bed underground.

Shakes
Handcut wood shingles.

Sheathing (See Wall Sheathing)
The first covering of boards or material on the outside wall or roof prior to installing the finished siding or roof covering; a covering over the structural frame of a building, onto which the cladding is attached.

Shed
A roof type with one high pitched plane covering the entire structure.

Shim
Thin tapered piece of wood used for leveling or tightening a stair or other building element.

Shingles
Pieces of wood, asbestos or other material used as an overlapping outer covering on walls or roofs.

Shiplap
Boards with rabbeted edges overlapping; siding Boards of special design nailed horizontally to vertical studs with or without intervening sheathing to form the exposed surface of outside walls of frame buildings.

Shutter
A movable cover for a window used for protection from weather and intruders.

Shutter Dogs
Small metal structures used to hold the shutters against the wall.

Sill Plate
The lowest member of the house framing resting on top of the foundation wall. Also called the mud sill.

Skirtings
Narrow boards around the margin of a floor; baseboards.

Slab
Concrete floor placed directly on earth or a gravel base and usually about four inches thick.

Sleeper
Strip of wood laid over concrete floor to which the finished wood floor is nailed or glued.

Soffit
The visible underwide of structural members such as staircases, cornices, beams, a roof overhang or eave.

Softwood
Easily worked wood or wood from a conebearing tree.

Soil Stack
Vertical plumbing pipe for waste water.

Spandrel
The part of a porch facade that reflects the balustrade.

Spanish Clay Tile
A roofing material made from clay soil into red brick; common to Mediterranean Revival houses.

Spire
The pyramidal structure soaring from a tower or roof a church.

String-course
Similar to a belt-course but thinner; a horizontal band or molding marking architectural subdivisions, such as stories.

Stringer
A long, horizontal member which connects uprights in a frame or supports a floor or the like. One of the enclosed sides of a stair supporting the treads and risers.

Studs
In wall framing, the vertical members to which horizontal pieces are nailed. Studs are spaced either 16 inches or 24 inches apart.

Subfloor
Usually, plywood sheets that are nailed directly to the floor joists and that receive the finish flooring.

Sump
A pit in the basement in which water collects to be pumped out with a sump pump.

Swale
A wide shallow depression in the ground to form a channel for storm water drainage.

Swiss Cap
A decorative furnace cap that exhales smoke by spinning.

Symmetrical
When two halves of an object are mirror images of each other.

[ T ]

Threshold
A horizontal piece forming the bottom frame of a door opening.

Tie
A wood member which binds a pair of principal rafters at the bottom.

Tile Field
Open-joint drain tiles laid to distribute septic tank effluent over an absorption area or to provide subsoil drainage in wet areas.

Toenail
Driving nails at an angle into corners or other joints.

Tongue-And-Groove
Carpentry joint in which the jutting edge of one board fits into the grooved end of a similar board.

Transom
A small window just above a door.

Trap
A bend in a water pipe to hold water so gases will not escape from the plumbing system into the house.

Tread
The horizontal portion of a step, usually with a rounded edge , or 'nosing' which overhangs the riser.

Truss
A combination of structural members usually arranged in triangular units to form a rigid framework for spanning between load-bearing walls.

[ V ]

V-Type Ridge Cover
A series of clay shingles used to cover the ridge pole on tile and slate roofs.

Valley
The depression at the meeting point of two roof slopes.

Vapor Barrier
Material such as paper, metal or paint which is used to prevent vapor from passing from rooms into the outside walls.

Veneer
A thin facing of finishing material.

Venetian Window
A window with one large fixed central pane and smaller panes at each side.

Vent damper
A device mounted in the vent connector that closes the vent when the heating unit is not firing. This traps heat inside the heating system and house rather than letting it draft up and out the vent system.

Vent Pipe
A pipe which allows gas to escape from plumbing systems.

Verge
The edge of tiles, slates or shingles, projecting over the gable of a roof.

[ W ]

Wainscoting
The lower three or four feet of an interior wall when lined with paneling, tile or other material different from the rest of the wall.

Wall Sheathing
Sheets of plywood, gypsum board, or other material nailed to the outside face of studs as a base for exterior siding.

Weather Stripping
Metal, wood, plastic or other material installed around door and window openings to prevent air infiltration.

Weep Hole
A small hole in a wall which permits water to drain off.

Window sill
The flat piece of wood at the bottom of the window frame.

GLOSSARY

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