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.

Ampere - The rate of flow of electricity through electric wires.

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

B

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

Balusters - Upright supports of a balustrade rail.

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

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

Batt - Insulation in the form of a blanket, rather than loose filling.

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

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.

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.

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.

Bx Cable - Electricity cable wrapped in rubber with a flexible steel outer covering.

Cantilever - A projecting beam or joist, not supported at one end, used to support an extension of a structure.

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

Casement - A window sash that opens on hinges at the vertical edge.

Casing - Door and window framing.

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

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

Chair Rail - Wooden molding on a wall around a room at the level of a chair back.

Chamfered Edge - Molding with pared-off corners.

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

Chimney Breast - The horizontal projection-usually inside a building-of a chimney from the wall in which it is built.

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

Cistern - A tank to catch and store rain water. Clapboard - A long thin board, thicker on one edge, overlapped and nailed on for exterior siding.

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

Coping - Tile or brick used to cap or cover the top of a masonry wall.

Corbel - A horizontal projection from a wall, forming a ledge or supporting a structure above it.

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

Cornice - Horizontal projection at the top of a wall or under the overhanging part of the roof.

Course - A horizontal row of bricks, cinder blocks or other masonry materials.

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.

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 upperand 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.

E

Eaves - The extension of roof beyond house walls.

Efflorescence - White powder that forms on the surface of brick.

Effluent - Treated sewage from a septic tank or sewage treatment plant.

Fascia - A flat horizontal member of a cornice placed in a vertical position.

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

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

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.

Footing - Concrete base on which a foundation sits.

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.

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.

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.

Glazing - Fitting glass into windows or doors.

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.

Heel - The end of a rafter that rests on the wall plate. Hip Roof - A roof that slants upward on three or four sides.

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

I- No Terms 

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 - An upright surface that lines an opening for a door or window.

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 - No Terms

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

M

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

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.

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.

P

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.

Pilaster - A projection or the foundation wall used to support a floor girder or stiffen the wall.

Pitch - The angle of slope of a roof.

Plasterboard - 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.

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

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. 

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.

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.

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

Riser - The upright 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.

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 - The first covering of boards or material on the outside wall or roof prior to installing the finished siding or roof covering.

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.

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.

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.

T

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.

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 part of a stair step.

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

U

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.

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

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.

Z - No Terms