Jargon used by Builders and Surveyors
Aggregate
Broken stone, gravel or sand used with cement to form concrete.
Aggregates may be coarse or fine and are often used in the construction of
"soakaways".
Airbrick
A perforated brick built into a wall for the purpose of providing air
for ventilation purposes. Used for instance, to ventilate the underside of a
wooden floor or a
roof space.
Architrave
A moulding around a doorway or window opening. It usually covers the
joints between the flame and the wall finish, thus hiding any shrinkage gaps
which may occur.
Asbestos
Material used in the past for insulation. Can sometimes be a health
hazard - specialist advice should be sought if asbestos (especially blue
asbestos) is found.
Asbestos cement
Cement mixed with 15% asbestos fibre as reinforcement. Fragile -
will not usually bear heavy weights. Hazardous fibres may be released if cut or
drilled.
Asphalt
Black, tar-like substance, designed to be impervious to moisture. Used
on flat roofs and floors. See "Verge Board".
Barge board
See Verge board.
Balanced flue
Common metal device normally serving gas appliances which allows
air to be drawn to the appliance whilst also allowing fumes to escape.
Baluster
A post or vertical pillar supporting a hand rail or parapet rail.
Balustrade
A collective name for a row of balusters or other infilling below a
hand rail on a stair or parapet.
Beetle infestation
Wood boring insects e.g. woodworm. Larvae of various species
of beetle can tunnel into timber causing damage. Specialist treatment normally
required. Can also affect furniture.
Benching
Shaped concrete slope beside drainage channel within an inspection
chamber. Also known as "haunching".
Bitumen
Black, sticky substance, similar to asphalt. Used in sealants, mineral
felts and damp-proof courses.
Bond
The regular arrangements of bricks or stones in a wall so that the units
may be joined together. The principal types of "bond" used in domestic
construction being
English, Flemish, header, stretcher, diagonal or garden watt bond.
Breeze block
Originally made from clinker cinders or ("breeze") - the term now
commonly but incorrectly used to refer to various types of concrete and cement
building blocks.
Carbonation
A natural process affecting the outer layer of concrete. Metal
reinforcement within that layer is liable to early corrosion, with consequent
fracturing of the concrete in some cases.
Casement window
A window composed of hinged, pivoted or fixed sashes.
Cavity wall
Traditional modern method of building external walls of houses
comprising two leaves of brick or blockwork usually separated by a gap
("cavity") of about 50mm.
Cavity wall insulation
Filling of wall cavities by one of various forms of
insulation material
Beads: Polystyrene beads pumped into the cavities. Will easily fall out
if the wall is broken open for any reason.
Foam: Urea formaldehyde foam, mixed on site,
and then pumped into the cavities where it sets. Can lead to problems of
dampness and make
replacement of watt-ties more difficult.
Fibreglass: Theft mineral fibre pumped into the
cavity.
Cavity wall tie
A twisted piece of metal or similar material bedded into the
inner and outer leaves of cavity walls intended to strengthen the wall. Failure
by corrosion
can result in the wall becoming unstable - specialist replacement ties are then
required.
Cesspool
A simple method of drain comprising a holding tank which needs frequent
emptying. Not to be confused with "septic tank".
Chipboard
Often referred to as "particle board". Chips of wood compressed and
glued into sheet form. Cheap method of decking to flat roofs, floors and (with
Formica or
melamine surface) furniture, especially kitchen units.
Cleaning eye
Sometimes known as an 'access eye' or 'rodding eye'. An opening in
a drain or ventilation pipe, covered by a plate, the removal of which allows
the drain to be
rodded to clear blockages.
Cob
Walling of damp earth sometimes mixed with cement, rammed without
reinforcement into a formwork. This cheap method of walling has in the past
been practiced
mainly in East Anglia and the West of England.
Collar Beam
A horizontal tie beam of a roof, which is joined to opposing rafters
at a level above that of the wall plates.
Collar
Horizontal timber member designed to restrain opposing roof slopes.
Absence, removal or weakening can lead to roof spread.
Combination boiler
Modern form of gas boiler which activates on demand usually
within a pressurised system. With this form of boiler there is no need for
water storage
tanks, hot water cylinders etc.
Coping
Usually stone or concrete, laid on top of a wall as a decorative finish
and designed to stop rainwater soaking into the wall.
Corbel
Projection of stone, brick, timber or metal jutting out from a wall to
support a weight above it.
Cornice
A large moulding at the junction between an inside wall and a ceiling.
Can also include a moulding at the top of an outside wall designed to project
and throw
raindrops clear of the wall.
Coving
Curved junction between wall and ceiling.
Dado rail
A wooden moulding fixed to the wall or capping panelling and forming
the top most part of a dado. Originally designed to avoid damage to the wall
where people or
furniture brushed against it.
Damp Proof course
Layer of impervious material (mineral felt, pvc etc) incorporated into a wall and designed to prevent dampness rising up the wall or lateral dampness around windows, doors etc. Various proprietary methods are available for damp-proofing existing walls including "Electro-osmosis" and chemical injection.
Deathwatch beetle (Xestobiunz Rufovllosum)
Extremely serious insect pest which
attacks structural timbers. Usually effects old hardwoods with fungal decay
already present.
Double glazing
A method of thermal insulation usually either
Sealed unit: Two
panes of glass fixed and hermetically sealed together
Secondary: In effect a second
"window" positioned inside the original window.
Double hung sash window
A window in which the opening lights slide vertically
within a cased frame, counter balanced by weights supported on sash cords which
pass over pulleys in the frame.
Dry rot (Serpula Lacrynzans)
A very serious form of fungus which attacks
structural and joinery timbers, often with devastating results. Can flourish in
moist, unventilated areas.
Eaves
The overhanging edge of a roof.
Efflorescence
Powdery white salts crystallized on the surface of a wall as a
result of moisture evaporation.
Engineering brick
Particularly strong and dense type of brick, often used as a
damp proof course in older buildings.
Fibreboard
Cheap, lightweight board material of little strength, used in
ceilings or as insulation to attics.
Flashing
Building technique designed to prevent leakage at a roof joint.
Normally metal (lead, zinc, copper) but can be cement, felt or proprietary
material.
Flaunching
A cement mortar weathering on the top of a chimney stack surrounding
the base of the chimney pots to throw off the rain and thus prevent it from
saturating the
stack.
Flue
A smoke duct in a chimney, or a proprietary pipe serving a heat producing
appliance such as a central heating boiler.
Flue Lining
Metal (Usually stainless steel) tube within a flue - essential for
high output gas appliances such as boilers. May also be manufactured from clay
and built into
the flue. Other proprietary flue liners are also available.
Foundations
Normally concrete, laid underground as a structural base to a wall;
in older buildings these may be brick or stone.
Frog
An indention, usually V shaped in the bedding face of the brick to reduce
its weight. "Frog down" or "Frog up" are the generally accepted ways of
describing how the
brick are laid.
Gable
Upper section of a wall, usually triangular in shape, at either end of a
ridged roof.
Ground Heave
Swelling of clay sub-soil due to the presence of moisture: can
cause an upward movement of foundations in extreme cases.
Gulley
An opening into which rain and waste water are collected before entering
the drain.
Gutter
A channel along the eaves of a roof or the edge of a path for the removal
of rainwater.
Hardcore
Broken bricks or stone which, consolidated, are used as a foundations
in extreme cases.
Haunching
See "Benching". Also term used to describe the support to a drain
underground.
Hip
The external junction between two intersecting roof slopes.
Hip tile
A saddle shaped or angular tile fitting over the intersection of those
roofing tiles which meet at a hip.
In situ
"In position" - applied to work done in the position where it is finally
required, e.g. concrete may be precast in sections which are later taken to the
position where
they are required or it may be cast 'in situ'.
Inspection chamber
Commonly called the "man-hole": access point to a drain
comprising a chamber (of brick, concrete or plastic) with the drainage channel
at its base and
a removable cover at ground level.
Jamb
Vertical side face of a doorway or window.
Key
The roughness of a surface which provides a bond for any application of
paint, plaster, rendering, tiles etc or spaces between laths or wire meshes
which provide a
grip for plaster.
Landslip
Downhill movement of unstable earth, clay, rock etc often following
prolonged heavy rain or coastal erosion, but sometimes due to sub-soil having
poor cohesion.
Lath
Thin strip of wood used in the fixing of roof tiles or slates, or as backing
to plaster.
Lintel
A horizontal beam over a door or window opening usually carrying the load
of the wall above. Often lintels can be partially or completely hidden from
view.
Longhorn Beetle (Hylotrupe Bajulus)
A serious insect pest mainly confined to the
extreme south-east of England, which can totally destroy the structural
strength of wood.
LPG
Liquid Petroleum Gas or Propane. Available to serve gas appliances in areas
without mains gas. Requires a storage tank.
Mortar
Mixture of sand, cement, water and sometimes lime used to join stones or bricks.
Mullion
Vertical bar dividing individual lights in a window.
Newel
Stout post supporting a staircase handrail at top and bottom. Also, the
central pillar of a winding spiral staircase.
Oversite
Rough concrete below timber ground floors.
Parapet
Low wall along the edge of a roof, balcony etc.
Parapet Gutter
A timber gutter of rectangular cross-section usually provided with a flexible metal or other impervious lining. Used behind a parapet or sometimes at a valley.
Pier
A vertical column of brickwork or other material, used to strengthen the
wall or to support a weight.
Plasterboard
Stiff "sandwich" of plaster between coarse paper. Now in widespread
use for ceilings and walls.
Pointing
Outer edge of mortar joint between bricks, stones etc.
Powder post beetle (Bostrychide or Lyctidae family of beetles)
A relatively
uncommon pest which can, if untreated, cause widespread damage to structural
timbers.
Purlin
Horizontal beam in a roof upon which rafters rest.
Quoin
The external angle of a building; or specifically, bricks or stone blocks
forming that angle.
Rafter
A sloping roof beam, usually timber, forming the carcass of a roof.
Random rubble
Basic early method of stone wall construction with no attempt at
bonding or coursing.
Rendering
Vertical covering of a wall either plaster (internally) or cement
(externally), sometimes with pebbledash, stucco or Tyrolean textured finish.
Reveals
The side faces of a window or door opening.
Ridge
The highest part or apex of a roof, usually horizontal.
Ridge tile
A specially shaped tile for covering and making weather tight the
ridge of a roof. These tiles may have a rounded or angular cross - section.
Riser
The vertical part of a step or stair.
Rising damp
Moisture soaking up a wall from below ground, by capillary action
which can cause rot in timbers, plaster decay, decoration failure etc.
Roof spread
Outward bowing of a wall caused by the thrust of a badly restrained
roof framework (see "collar").
RSJ
Frequently used abbreviation for a rolled steel joist.
Screed
Final, smooth finish of a solid floor; usually cement, concrete or asphalt.
Septic tank
Drain installation whereby sewage decomposes through the action of
bacteria, which can be slowed down or stopped altogether by the use of
chemicals such as
bleach, biological washing powders etc.
Settlement
All properties settle to some extent, and this can show as cracking
and/or distortion in walls. Very often minor settlement is not of great
significance to the
building as a whole.
Sewer
A large, underground pipe or drain used for conveying waste water and
sewage. The Local Authority is usually responsible for the sewers, which
collect the effluent
from various drains, the drains being the responsibility of the land owners.
Shakes
Naturally occurring cracks in timber; in building timbers, shakes can
appear quite dramatic, but strength is not always impaired.
Shingles
Small rectangular slabs of wood used on roofs instead of tiles, slates etc.
Soakaway
A pit, filled with broken stones etc below ground to take drainage from
rainwater pipes or land drains and allow it to disperse.
Soaker
Piece of flexible metal fitted to interlock with slates or tiles and make
a water tight joint between a wall and a roof or at a hip or valley. Stepped
flashings are
used over the soakers at a joint against a wall.
Soffit
The underside of an arch, beam, staircase, eaves or other feature of a
building.
Soil pipe
A vertical pipe conveys sewage to the drains. Its upper end it usually
vented above the eaves.
Solid fuel
Heating fuel, normally wood, coal or one of a variety of proprietary
fuels.
Spandrel
Space above and to the sides of an arch; also the space below a staircase.
Stopcock
A valve on a gas or water supply pipe which is used to cut off the
supply.
Stud partition
Lightweight, sometimes non loadbearing wall construction
comprising a framework of timber faced with plaster, plasterboard or other
finish.
Subsidence
Ground movement, generally downward, possibly a result of mining
activities or failure of the subsoil.
Sub-soil
Soil lying immediately below the top-soil.
Sulphate attack
Chemical reaction, activated by water, between tricalcium
aluminate and soluble sulphates which can cause deterioration in brick walls
and concrete
floors.
Tie bar
Metal bar passing through a wall, or walls in an attempt to brace a
structure suffering from structural instability.
Torching
Mortar applied on the underside of roof tiles or slates to help prevent
moisture penetration. Not necessary when a roof is underdrawn with felt.
Transom
Horizontal bar of wood or stone across a window or top of door.
Tread
The horizontal part of a step or stair.
Trussed rafters
Method of roof construction utilising prefabricated triangular
framework of timbers. Now widely used in domestic construction.
Underpinning
Method of strengthening weak foundations whereby a new, stronger
foundation is placed beneath the original.
Valley gutter
Horizontal or sloping gutter, usually lead-or-tile--lined, at the
internal intersection between two roof slopes.
Ventilation
Necessary in all buildings to disperse moisture resulting from
bathing, cooling, breathing etc, and to assist in prevention of condensation.
Floors:
Necessary to avoid rot, especially dry rot; achieved by airbricks near to the
ground level.
Roofs: Necessary to disperse condensation within roof spaces; achieved either
by airbricks
in gables or ducts at the eaves.
Verge
The edge of the roof, especially over a gable or around a dormer window or
skylight.
Verge board
Timber, sometimes decorative, placed at the verge of a roof; also
known as "barge board".
Wall plate
Timber placed at the eaves of a root designed to take the weight of
the roof timbers and coverings.
Wall tie
See 'cavity wall tie'.
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