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B
Back Nailing:
The practice of nailing roofing felts to the deck
under the overlap, in addition to hot mopping, to prevent
slippage of felts.
Backer
Rod: In glazing, a polyethylene or polyurethane
foam material installed under compression and used to control
sealant joint depth, provide a surface for sealant tooling,
serve as a bond breaker to prevent three-sided adhesion,
and provide an hour-glass contour of the finished bead.
Backfill:
The slope of the ground adjacent to the house.
In any previously excavated area, i.e., the replacement
of excavated earth into a trench around and against a basement
foundation. In carpentry, the process of fastening together
two pieces of board by gluing blocks of wood in the interior
angle.
Backflow:
Movement of water (or other liquid) in any direction
other than that intended.
Backflow
Preventer: A device or means to prevent backflow
into the potable water supply.
Backhand:
A simple molding sometimes used around the outer
edge of plain rectangular casing as a decorative feature.
Backhoe:
Self-powered excavation equipment that digs by
pulling a boom mounted bucket towards itself. It is used
to dig basements and/or footings and to install drainage
or sewer systems.
Backout:
Work the framing contractor does after the mechanical
subcontractors (Heating-Plumbing-Electrical) finish their
phase of work at the rough (before insulation) stage to
get the home ready for a municipal frame inspection. Generally,
the framing contractor repairs anything disturbed by others
and completes all framing necessary to pass a rough Frame
Inspection.
Backsplash:
A raised integral portion of a wall mount sink
or lavatory located at the rear to protect the wall.
Balancing
Damper: Baffle or plate used to control the volume
of flowing air in a confined area.
Balloon
Framing: In carpentry, the lightest and most economical
form of construction in which the studding and corner plates
are set up in continuous lengths from the first floor line
or sill to the roof plate to which all floor joists are
fastened.
Balusters:
Usually small vertical members in a railing used
between a top rail and the stair treads or a bottom rail.
Balustrade:
A railing made up of balusters, top rail, and
sometimes bottom rail, used on the edge of stairs, teal
conies, and
porches.
Barge:
Horizontal beam rafter that supports shorter rafters.
Barge Board:
A decorative board covering the projecting rafter
(fly rafter) of the gable end. At the cornice, this member
is a facie
board.
Barometer:
Instrument for measuring atmospheric pressure.
Barrel
Roof: A roof design which in a cross section is
arched.
Base Flashing:
The upturned edge of a watertight membrane formed
at a roof termination point by the extension of the felts
vertically over the cant strip and up the wall for a varying
distance where they are secured with mechanical fasteners.
Base Molding:
Molding used to trim the upper edge of interior
baseboard.
Base Ply:
An asphalt-saturated and/or coated felt installed
as the first ply with 4 inch laps in a built-up roof system
under the following felts which can be installed in a shingle-like
fashion.
Base Shoe:
Molding used next to the floor on interior base
board. Sometimes called a carpet strip.
Baseboard:
Usually wood or vinyl installed around the perimeter
of a room to cover the space where the wall and floor meet.
A board placed against the wall around a room next to the
floor to properly finish between the floor and the plaster.
Baseboard
Heat: A heating system with the heating unit located
along the perimeter of the wall where the baseboard would
normally be located. It can be either an electric or hot
water system.
Basement
Window Inserts: The window frame and glass unit
that is installed in the window buck.
Basket
Strainer: Basket shaped strainer with holes allowing
water to drain while catching food or other solids. Can
also be closed to fill the sink with water.
Batt Insulation:
Strips of insulation, usually fiberglass, that
fit between studs or other framing.
Batten:
Narrow strips of wood used to cover joints or
as decorative vertical members over plywood or wide boards.
Batten
Plate: A formed piece of metal designed to cover
the joint between two lengths of metal edge.
Batter
Board: One of a pair of horizontal boards nailed
to posts set at the corners of an excavation, used to indicate
the desired level, also used as a fastening for stretched
strings to indicate outlines of foundation walls.
Batter
Boards: Temporary structures that hold strings
used to locate and square the corners of a building.
Bay Window:
Any window space projecting outward from the walls
of a building, either square or polygonal in plan.
Bead:
In glazing, an applied sealant in a joint irrespective of
the method of application, such as caulking bead, glazing
bead, etc. Also a molding or stop used to hold glass or
panels in position.
Beam:
A supporting member either of wood or steel. Structural
support member (steel, concrete, lumber) transversely supporting
a load that transfers weight from one location to another.
Bearing
Header: (a) A beam placed perpendicular to joists
and to which joists are nailed in framing for a chimney,
stairway, or other opening. (b) A wood lintel. (c) The horizontal
structural member over an opening (for example over a door
or window).
Bearing
Partition: A partition that supports any vertical
load in addition to its own weight.
Bearing
Point: A point where a bearing or structural weight
is concentrated and transferred to the foundation.
Bearing
Wall: A wall that supports any vertical load in
addition to its own weight.
Bed Molding:
A molding in an angle, as between the over hanging
cornice or eaves of a building and the side walls.
Bed or
Bedding: In glazing, the bead compound or sealant
applied between a light of glass or panel and the stationary
stop or sight bar of the sash or frame. It is usually the
first bead of compound or sealant to be applied when setting
glass or panels.
Bedrock:
A subsurface layer of earth that is suitable to
support a structure.
Bell Reducer:
In plumbing, a fitting shaped like a bell which
has one opening of a smaller diameter used to reduce the
size of the pipe in the line, and the opposite opening of
larger diameter.
Below Grade:
The portion of a building that is below ground
level.
Bent Glass:
Flat glass that has been shaped while hot into
curved shapes.
Bevel:
The angle of the front edge of a door usually
from 1/8" to 2."
Bevel Siding
(or Lap Siding): Wedge-shaped boards used as horizontal
siding in a lapped pattern. This siding varies in butt thickness
from ½ to ¾ inch and in widths up to 12 inches. Normally
used over some type of sheathing.
Bid:
A formal offer by a contractor, in accordance with specifications
for a project, to do all or a phase of the work at a certain
price in accordance with the terms and conditions stated
in the offer.
Bid Bond:
A bond issued by a surety on behalf of a contractor
that provides assurance to the recipient of the contractor's
bid that, if the bid is accepted, the contractor will execute
a contract and provide a performance bond. Under the bond,
the surety is obligated to pay the recipient of the bid
the difference between the contractor's bid and the bid
of the next lowest responsible bidder if the bid is accepted
and the contractor fails to execute a contract or to provide
a performance bond.
Bid Documents:
Drawings, details, and specifications for a particular
project.
Bid Security:
Funds or a bid bond submitted with a bid as a
guarantee to the recipient of the bid that the contractor,
if awarded the contract, will execute the contract in accordance
with the bidding requirements of the contract documents.
Bid Shopping:
A practice by which contractors, both before and
after their bids are submitted, attempt to obtain prices
from potential subcontractors and material suppliers that
are lower than the contractors' original estimates on which
their bids are based, or after a contract is awarded, seek
to induce subcontractors to reduce the subcontract price
included in the bid.
Bidding
Requirements: The procedures and conditions for
the submission of bids. The requirements are included on
documents, such as the notice to bidders, advertisements
for bids, instructions to bidders, invitations to bid, and
sample bid
forms.
Bifold
Door: Doors that are hinged in the middle to allow
them to open in a smaller area than standard swing doors.
Often used for closet doors.
Binder:
A receipt for a deposit to secure the right to
purchase a home at an agreed terms by a buyer and seller.
Bipass
Doors: Doors that slide by each other. Commonly
used as closet doors.
Bird's-Mouth
Cut: A cutout in a rafter where it crosses the
top plate of the wall providing a bearing surface for nailing.
Also called a
heel cut.
Bite:
The dimension by which the framing system overlaps the edge
of the glazing infill.
Bitumen:
Any of various mixtures of hydrocarbons occurring
naturally or obtained through the distillation of coal or
petroleum. (See
Coat Tar Pitch
and Asphalt).
Blankets:
Fiber-glass or rock-wool insulation that comes
in long rolls 15 or 23 inches wide.
Bleeding:
The migration of a liquid to the surface of a
component or into/onto an adjacent material.
Blind Nailing:
Nailing in such a way that the nail heads are
not visible on the face of the work—usually at the tongue
of matched
boards.
Blind Stop:
A rectangular molding, usually ¾ by 1-3/8 inches
or more in width, used in the assembly of a window frame.
Serves as
a stop for storm
and screen or combination windows and to resist air infiltration.
Blister:
An enclosed raised spot evident on the surface
of a building. They are mainly caused by the expansion of
trapped air,
water vapor, moisture
or other gases.
Block Out:
To install a box or barrier within a foundation
wall to prevent the concrete from entering an area. For
example,
foundation walls
are sometimes "blocked" in order for mechanical
pipes to pass through the wall, to install a crawl space
door, or
to depress the
concrete at a garage door location.
Blocked
(Door Blocking): Wood shims used between the door
frame and the vertical structural wall framing members.
Blocked
(Rafters): Short 2x4s used to keep rafters from
twisting, and installed at the ends and at mid-span.
Blocking:
In carpentry, the process of fastening together
two pieces of board by gluing blocks of wood in the interior
angle.
Blow Insulation:
Fiber insulation in loose form used to insulate
attics and existing walls where framing members are not
exposed.
Blue Prints:
Architectural plans for a building or construction
project, which likely include floor plans, footing and foundation
plans,
elevations, plot
plans, and various schedules and or details.
Blue Stain:
A bluish or grayish discoloration of the sapwood
caused the growth of certain mold like fungi on the surface
and in the
interior of a piece,
made possible by the same conditions that favor the growth
of other fungi.
Blue Stake:
Also Utility Notification. When a utility company
(telephone, gas, electric, cable TV, sewer and water, etc)
comes to the
job site and locates
and spray paints the ground and/or installs small flags
to show where their service is located underground.
Board and
Batten: A method of siding in which the joints
between vertically placed boards or plywood are covered
by narrow
strips of wood.
Board Foot:
The volume of a piece of wood measuring 12 inches
square and in inch thick. A piece of lumber 1/2" thick
and 6
inches wide and
24 inches long is equal to one board foot.
Boards:
Yard lumber less than 2 inches thick and 2 or
more inches wide.
Bodied
Linseed Oil: Linseed oil that has been thickened
in viscosity by suitable processing with heat or chemicals.
Bodied oils
are obtainable
in a great range in viscosity from a little greater than
that of raw oil to just short of a jellied condition.
Boiled
Linseed Oil: Linseed oil in which enough lead,
manganese or cobalt salts have been incorporated to make
the oil harden
more rapidly when
spread in thin coatings.
Bolster:
A short horizontal timber or steel beam on top
of a column to support and decrease the span of beams or
girders.
Bond Breaker:
A substance or a tape applied between two adjoining
materials to prevent adhesion between them.
Bond or
Bonding: An amount of money (usually $5,000-$10,000)
which must be on deposit with a governmental agency in order
to secure a contractor's
license. The bond may be used to pay for the unpaid bills
or disputed work of the contractor. Not to be
confused with a
performance bond. They are an insurance policy which guarantees
proper completion of a project. Such bonds
are rarely used
in residential construction.
Bond Plaster:
In addition to gypsum, bond plaster contains 2-5%
lime by weight and chemical additives which improve the
bond
with dense non-porous
surfaces such as concrete. It is used as a base coat.
Bonding
Strip (Electrical): A thin strip of metal inside
armored or BX cable. This strip is meant to back up the
primary ground.
Boom:
A truck used to hoist heavy material up and into place,
to put trusses on a home or to set a heavy beam into place.
Boston
Ridge: A method of applying asphalt or wood shingles
at the ridge or at the hips of a roof as a finish.
Bottom
Chord: The lower or bottom horizontal member of
a truss.
Bottom
Plate: The 2x4s or 6s that lay on the subfloor
upon which the vertical studs are installed. Also called
the sole plate.
Bow:
A curve, bend, warping or other deviation from flatness
in glass or wood.
Box Cornice:
A cornice completely closed with trim work.
Brace:
An inclined piece of framing lumber applied to
wall or floor to stifled the structure. Often used on walls
as temporary
bracing until framing
has been completed.
Bracing:
Ties and rods used for supporting and strengthening
various parts of a building used for lateral stability for
columns and
beams.
Brake Metal:
Sheet metal that has been bent to the desired
configuration.
Branch
Circuit (Electrical): Wiring that runs from a
service panel or sub-panel to outlets. Branch circuits are
protected by fuses or
breakers at the
panel.
Breaker
Box: A metal box that contains circuit breakers
or fuses that control the electrical current in a home.
Breaker
Panel: The electrical box that distributes electric
power entering the home to each branch circuit (each plug
and switch)
and composed of
circuit breakers.
Breeze
Way: A roofed, open-sided passageway connecting
two structures, such as a house and a garage.
Brick Ledge:
Part of the foundation wall where brick (veneer)
will rest.
Brick Lintel:
The metal angle iron that brick rests on, especially
above a window, door, or other opening.
Brick Mold:
Trim used around an exterior door jamb onto which
siding butts.
Brick Tie:
A small, corrugated metal strip (1"x6"-
8" long) nailed to wall sheeting or studs. They are
inserted into the grout mortar
joint of the veneer
brick, and hold the veneer wall to the sheeted wall behind
it.
Brick Veneer:
A facing of brick laid against and fastened to
the sheathing of a frame wall or tile wall construction.
Bridging:
Small wood or metal members that are inserted
in a diagonal position between the floor joists at midspan
to act as
both tension and
compression members for the purpose of bracing the joists
a spreading the action of loads.
Broker:
One that acts as an agent for others, as in negotiating
contracts, purchases, or sales in return for a fee or commission.
Browncoat:
The coat of plaster directly beneath the finish
coat. In three-coat work, the brown is the second coat.
BTU:
A measure of the capacity of a heating or cooling system.
Abbreviation of British Thermal Unit. The amount of heat
energy
required to raise
the temperature of one pound of water through a change of
one degree Fahrenheit.
Bubbling:
In glazing, open or closed pockets in a sealant
caused by release, production or expansion of gasses.
Buck:
Often used in reference to rough frame opening members.
Door bucks used in reference to metal door frame.
Buckling:
The bending of a building material as a result
of wear and tear or contact with a substance such as water.
Builder's
Risk Insurance: Insurance coverage on a construction
project during construction, including extended coverage
that
may be added for
the contract for the customer's protections.
Building
Brick: Brick for building purposes not especially
treated for texture or color, formerly called "common
brick." It is stronger
than face brick.
Building
Code: Minimum local or state regulations established
to protect health and safety. They apply to building design,
construction, rehabilitation,
repair, materials, occupancy and use. Community ordinances
governing the manner in which a home
may be constructed
or modified.
Building
Paper: A general term for papers, felts and similar
sheet materials used in buildings without reference to their
properties
or uses. Generally
comes in long rolls.
Building
Permit: Written authorization from the city, county
or other governing regulatory body giving permission to
construct or
renovate a building.
A building permit is specific to the building project described
in the application.
Built-Up
Beam (or Girder): Beam (or girder) created by
sistering or "scabbing" two or more pieces of
lumber together.
Built-Up
Roof: A roofing composed of three to five layers
of asphalt felt laminated with coal tar, pitch, or asphalt.
The top is finished
with crushed slag
or gravel. Generally used on flat or low-pitched roofs.
Bull Nose
(Drywall): Rounded drywall corners.
Bullfloat:
A tool used to finish and flatten a slab. After
screeding, the first stage in the final finish of concrete,
smoothes and levels
hills and voids
left after screeding. Sometimes substituted for darbying.
A large flat or tool usually of wood, aluminum or
magnesium with
a handle.
Bundle:
A package of shingles. There are 3, 4 or 5 bundles
per square.
Bushing:
A pipe fitting for joining pipes with different
diameters. A bushing is threaded on the inside and outside.
Butt Glazing:
The installation of glass products where the vertical
glass edges are without structural supporting mullions.
Butt Joint:
The junction where the ends of two timbers or
other members meet in a square-cut joint.
Butterfly
Roof: A roof assembly, which pitches sharply from
either side toward the center.
Buttering:
In glazing, application of sealant or compound
to the flat surface of some member before placing the member
in
position, such
as the buttering of a removable stop before fastening the
stop in place.
Butyl:
Type of non-curing and non-skinning sealant made
from butylene. Usually used for internal applications.
Buy Down:
A subsidy (usually paid by a builder or developer)
to reduce monthly payments on a mortgage.
BX Cable:
Armored electrical cable wrapped in galvanized
steel outer covering. A factory assembly of insulated conductors
inside a flexible metallic covering. It can be run anywhere
except where exposed to excessive moisture. It should not
be run below grade. It must always be grounded and uses
its armor as an equipment ground. It is difficult to pull
out old wires or insert new ones.
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