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 cabi-
net 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 "va-

cation." A holiday may also be a missed spot when tarring a roof or foun-
dation.
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 artifi-
cial 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 con-
crete 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 ma-
terial. 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 open-
ings, 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 meet-
ing 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 phe-
nol 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 inte-
rior and exterior walls of a CAVITY WALL together.
Cover Design: Stickles Associates
Cover Photo: Bender & Bender