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L
Labor Hour:
A standard in which one person's labor is performed
in one hour.
Ladder,
Fixed: A ladder which is permanently attached
to a building.
Laminated
Glass: Two or more lights of glass permanently
bonded together with one or more inter-layers.
Laminated
Shingles: Shingles that have added dimensionality
because of extra layers or tabs, giving a shakelike appearance.
May also be called
"architectural shingles" or "three-dimensional
shingles."
Laminating:
Bonding together two or more layers of materials.
Landing:
A platform between flights of stairs or at the
termination of a flight of stairs.
Lap:
To extend one material partially over another; also, the
distance so extended.
Lap Cement:
An asphalt-based cement used to adhere overlapping
plies of roll roofing.
Lateral
(Electric, Gas, Telephone, Sewer and Water): The
underground trench and related services (i.e., electric,
gas, telephone,
sewer and water
lines) that will be buried within the trench.
Lath:
A building material of wood, metal, gypsum, or insulating
board that is fastened to the frame of a building to act
as a plaster
base.
Lath and
Plaster: The most common wall finish prior to
the introduction of drywall. Thin wood strips (lath) were
nailed onto the
framing as a base
for the sand/lime plaster.
Lattice:
A framework of crossed wood or metal strips.
Lavatory:
Bathroom or washroom sink.
Leach field:
A method used to treat/dispose of sewage in rural
areas not accessible to a municipal sewer system. Sewage
is
permitted to be
filtered and eventually discharged into a section of the
lot called a leech field.
Lead:
A malleable metal once extensively used for flashings.
Lead Based
Paint: Lead is a highly toxic metal that was used
for many years in products found in and around our homes.
Lead
may cause a range
of health effects, from behavioral problems and learning
disabilities, to seizures and death. Children 6 years
old and under are
most at risk, because their bodies are growing quickly.
Leader:
See Downspout.
Lean-To
Roof: The sloping roof of a building addition,
having its rafters or supports pitched against and supported
by the
adjoining wall
of a building.
Ledger
Strip: A strip of lumber nailed along the bottom
of the side of a girder on which joists rest.
Let-In
Brace: Nominal 1 inch-thick boards applied into
notched studs diagonally.
Level:
Term use to describe any horizontal surface whereby
all sides are at the same elevation.
Level (Carpenter's
Level): A tool used to check for level.
Level Payment
Mortgage: A mortgage with identical monthly payments
over the life of the loan.
Leveling
Rod: A rod with graduated marks for measuring
heights or vertical distances between given points and the
line of sight of
a leveling instrument.
They are longer than a yardstick and are held by a surveyor
in a vertical position.
Lien:
An encumbrance that usually makes real or personal property
the security for payment of a debt or discharge of an
obligation.
Light:
Space in a window sash for a single pane of glass.
Also, a pane of glass.
Limit Switch:
A safety control that automatically shuts off
a furnace if it gets too hot. Most also control blower cycles.
Lineal
Foot: A unit of measure for lumber equal to 1
inch thick by 12 inches wide by 12 inches long. Examples:
1" x 12" x 16' = 16
board feet, 2"
x 12" x 16' = 32 board feet.
Lintel:
A horizontal structural member that supports the
load over an opening such as a door or window.
Liquated
Damages: A monetary amount agreed upon by two
parties to a contract prior to performance under the contract
that
specifies what
a either party owes the other if that party defaults under
the contract.
Liquid-Applied
Membrane: Generally applied to cast-in-place concrete
surfaces in one or more coats to provide fully-adhered
waterproof membranes
which conform to all contours.
Lite:
(Not the beer!) Another term for a pane of glass. Also spelled
"light" in industry literature.
Live Load:
Loads produced by use and occupancy of the building
or other structure and do not include construction or
environmental loads
such as wind load, snow load, ice load, rain load, seismic
load, or dead load.
Load Bearing
Wall: A wall which is supporting its own weight
and some other structural elements of the house such as
the roof
and ceiling structures.
Loan:
The amount to be borrowed.
Loan to
Value Ratio: The ratio of the loan amount to the
property valuation and expressed as a percentage; e.g. if
a borrower is
seeking a loan
of $200,000 on a property worth $400,000 it has a 50% loan
to value rate. If the loan were $300,000, the LTV would
be 75%. The higher
the loan to value, the greater the lender's perceived risk.
Loans above normal lending LTV ratios may require
additional security.
Lookout:
A short wood bracket or cantilever to support
an overhang portion of a roof or the like, usually concealed
from view.
Loose Laid:
In roofing, a membrane "laid loosely,"
i.e. not adhered, over a roof deck or Burm.
Lot:
A parcel of ground with boundaries determined by the county.
Louver:
An opening with a series of horizontal slats arranged
so as to permit ventilation but to exclude rain, sun. light,
or vision.
See also Attic
Ventilators.
Low-Slope
Application: Method of installing asphalt shingles
on roof slopes between 2 and 4 inches per foot.
Lumber:
The product of the sawmill and planing mill not
further manufactured other than by sawing, re-sawing, and
passing
lengthwise through
a standard planing machine, crosscutting to length, and
matching.
Lumens:
Unit of measure for total light output. The amount
of light falling on a surface of one square foot.
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