term

Architectural term started by 'W & Y'

Wall Tie - A galvanized iron strip used to tie a veneer wall to its backing wall.

Wainscot - A paneling applied to the lower portion of a wall.

Waste Pipe - The name generally applied to all household drainage pipes.

Water Closet - Commode

Water Table - Similar to a drip cap in function, sometimes found around the perimeter of a house near the ground line.

Architectural term started by 'T-U-V'

Tail Beam - Joist supported by header at both ends, from a header in a floor opening to the sill header.

Terra Cotta - A mixture of sand and baked clay commonly used to make pipe for sewage disposal systems. A mixture of sand and baked clay used to form a shingle used on certain styles of architecture.

Terrazzo - A colorful flooring material made of cement and marble chips or certain stones. After the floor has hardened it is ground and polished to a smooth and durable finish.

Architectural term started by 'S'

Saddle - A small ridged roof designed to carry water away from the back side of a chimney.

Sash - An individual window unit (comprised of rails, stiles, lites, muntins) that fits inside the window frame.

Schematic - An electrical diagram of electrical symbols.

Scuttle - An opening in the ceiling leading to an unfinished half-story.

Septic Tank - A concrete or bituminous- covered metal tank where sewage is digested by bacterial action.

Architectural term started by 'P' & 'Q' &'R'

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

Palladian window - A three part window featuring a large ached center and flanking rectangular sidelights.

Paneling - The lining of a wall with a wainscot.

Parapet - That portion of the wall that extends above the roof (wall surrounding a flat roof).

Parget - Roughest, plaster. (Parging is a colloquial term referring to the application of cement plaster.)

Architectural term started by 'J-O'

Jack Stud - A stud adding to the support of roof rafters.

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 - Wood framing members, usually set 16" apart on center, carefully chosen to support all "live" and "dead" loads.

Keystone - The central, topmost stone of an arch.

Knee Wall - A wall supported by jack studs in half- story construction.

Architectural term started by 'G' & 'H' &'i'

Gable - A triangular area of an exterior wall formed by two sloping roofs.

Gambrel - A roof where each side has two slopes; a steeper lower slope and a flatter upper one; a 'barn roof'. Often found in Colonial revival houses in the "Dutch" style.

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

Girder - A strong, wooden member spanning foundation walls designed to support joist ends.

Architectural term started by 'D'

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

Damper - An adjustable metal plate controlling convection currents in a fireplace.

Dead Load - The weight of things and materials that are always present at the same place in a building.

Deadening Felt - A thin sheet of felt between the sub-floor and the finished floor.

Dental - A molding motif that projects from the edge of a roof line or cornice.

Architectural term started by 'E' & 'F'

Eave - The projecting lower edge of a roof.

Elevation - An orthographic view of some vertical feature of a house. (Front, rear, side, interior elevation)

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

Excavate - To dig out a volume of earth for a basement, footings or foundation.

Expansion Tank - A tank located near the heating plant of a hot water system used to help balance the pressure.

Architectural term started by 'C'

Campanile - Bell tower, often set some distance away from its church.

Canopy - A projection or hood over a door, window, niche, etc.

Cantilever - A projecting elements, such as a beam or porch, supported at a single point or along a single line by a wall or column, stabilized by s counterbalancing downward force around the point of fulcrum.

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

Architectural term started by 'B'

Bailey - Castle courtyard and surrounding buildings.

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

Balloon Framing - A common type of house framing using a box sill and ribband (if a second floor exist).

Baluster - Any of the small posts that make up a railing as in a staircase; may be plain, turned, or pierced.

Balustrade - The combination of railing held up by balusters.

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