A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Q Y Z
A
AGGREGATE - Pebbles, shingle, gravel etc., used in the manufacture of concrete and in the construction of "soakaways".
AIRBRICK - Perforated brick used for ventilation, especially to floor voids (beneath timber floors) and roof spaces.
ANAGLYPTA - Embossed lining paper used for walls and ceilings.
ARCHITRAVE - Joinery moulding around window or doorway.
ARTEX - Decorative texture coating for ceilings and walls.
ASBESTOS - Fibrous mineral used in the past for insulation. Can be a health hazard, specialist advice should be sought if asbestos (especially blue asbestos) is found.
ASBESTOS CEMENT - Cement with 10-15% asbestos fibre as reinforcement. Fragile, will not bear heavy weights. Hazardous fibres may be released if cut or drilled.
ASPHALT - Black, tar-like substance, strongly adhesive and impervious to moisture. Used on flat roofs and floors.
B
BALCONY - A platform projecting from a wall, enclosed by a railing or balustrade, supported on brackets or cantilevered out.
BALUSTER - A short post or pillar in a series that supports a rail, thus forming a balustrade, may be curved or straight, generally formed to staircases.
BALANCED FLUE - Common metal device normally serving gas appliances which allows air to be drawn to the appliance whilst also allowing fumes to escape.
BAY, BOW AND ORIEL WINDOWS - These windows project out from the front or side of a house. Oriel windows generally project from an upper storey, supported by brackets. Bay windows are angled/square projections that rise up from the ground. Bow windows are rounded projections often formed of the glass itself.
BACK ADDITION - Rear projecting wing of house.
BALANCED FLUE - Duct through wall takes boiler oxygen from the outside.
BARGE BOARD - Timber fascia to roof verge or gable end.
BARK BORER - A generally harmless form of woodworm found in bark and sapwood.
BATTENS - Thin timber strips, to which tiles and slates are fixed.
BEETLE INFESTATION - (Wood boring insects; woodworm). Larvae of various species of beetle which tunnel into timber causing damage. Specialist treatment normally required. Can also affect furniture.
BENCHING - Smoothly contoured concrete slope beside drainage channel within an inspection chamber. Also known as Haunching.
BINDER - Roof timber running over ceiling joists to provide stiffness.
BIRDSMOUTH - Cut in roof timber to join strut at angle to purlin, rafter to plate.
BITUMEN - Black sticky substance, related to asphalt. Used in sealants, mineral felts and damp-proof courses.
BLACKASH MORTAR - Made using industrial ash instead of sand with cement and lime.
BONDING - Method of laying bricks, i.e. English Bond, Flemish Bond.
BORROWED LIGHT - Window in interior wall transferring light from outer window.
BREEZE BLOCK - Originally made from cinders ("breeze") the term now commonly used to refer to various types of concrete and cement building blocks.
BRESSUMER - Beam spanning opening to support wall above.
BUILDING REGULATIONS - Statutory Local Authority control over building works.
BUILDING SURVEY - Detailed inspection and report (formerly Structural Survey).
C
CALCIUM CHLORIDE - Additive used in concrete which can cause loss of strength.
CALCIUM SILICATE BRICKS - Type of brick prone to thermal cracking.
CANTILEVER - A horizontal projection from a building, such as a step, balcony, beam or canopy, that is without external bracing and appears to be self-supporting.
CAPILLARY ACTION - A process by which dampness can rise through walls and floors and between tiles.
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.
CASEMENT WINDOW - A metal or wooden window that opens outward or inward.
CAVITY WALL - Standard modern method of building external walls of houses comprising two leaves of brick or blockwork separated by gap ("cavity") of about 50mm (2 inches).
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 form, mixed on site and pumped into the cavities where it sets. Can lead to problems of dampness and make replacement of wall-ties more difficult.
- Rockwood: Inert mineral fibre pumped into the cavity.
CESSPOOL - A simple method of drain comprising a holding tank which needs frequent emptying. Not to be confused with Septic Tank.
CHEEK - Side face of roof dormer or bay.
CHIPBOARD - Also referred to as "particle board". Chips of wood compressed and glues into sheet form. Cheap method of decking to flat roofs, floors and (with formica or melamine surface) furniture, especially kitchen units.
COB - Rural wall construction using rendered earth, clay, straw etc.
CODES OF PRACTICE - Various non-statutory recommendations for use of materials.
COLLAR - Horizontal timber member intended 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. With this form of boiler there is no need for water storage tanks, hot water cylinders etc.
CONCRETE - Cement mixed with course and fine aggregate (pebbles, crushed stone, brick), sand and water in specific proportions. There are three types of concrete: precast, reinforced and prestressed.
CONDENSATION - Arises on any surface when critical dew point is reached.
CONSUMER UNIT - Modern electric switch box with fuses or circuit breakers (fuseboard).
CONVENTIONAL FLUE - Boiler chimney with boiler oxygen taken from room.
CONVERSION - Property now used differently from original layout - especially flats.
COPING - Brick, stone or tile finish to top of parapet wall.
CORBEL - Cantilevered projecting support on face of wall.
CORE SAMPLE - Taken for testing - especially concrete.
CORNICE - Ornamental moulded projection around the top of a building or around the wall of a room just below the ceiling.
COVING - Curved junction between wall and ceiling or (rarely) between ceiling and floors.
CREEP - Spreading and cracking especially to asphalt and leadwork on slopes in sun.
CURTAIN WALLING - Non load bearing thin outer panel wall.
CURTILAGE - Enclosed area of land belonging to dwelling.
D
DADO RAIL - Wooden moulding fixed horizontally to a wall, about 1m (3ft 4in) above the floor, originally intended to protect the wall against damage by chair-backs.
DAMP PROOF COURSE - Course layer of impervious material (mineral felt, pvc etc) incorporated into a wall 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" ands chemical injection.
DEATHWATCH BEETLE - (Xestobium Refovillosum) Series insect pest in structural timbers, usually affects old hardwoods with fungal decay already present.
DETAILING - Flashing upstands and other roof weather sealing.
DISHING - Downward movement to the centre of a floor or roof.
DORMER WINDOW - A window placed vertically in a sloping roof that has a tiny roof of its own. Most often seen in second floor bedrooms.
DOUBLE GLAZING - A method of thermal insulation usually either:
Sealed unit: Two panes of glass fixed and hermetically sealed together, or:
Secondary: In effect a second "window" placed inside the original window.
DRY ROT - (Serpula Lacrymans). A fungus which attacks structural and joinery timbres, often with devastating results. Can flourish in moist, unventilated areas.
E
EASEMENT - Right over adjoining property, e.g. for drainage, light etc.
EAVES - The overhanging edge of a roof.
EFFLORESCENCE - Salt deposits on walls or roof tiles where dampness evaporates.
ENDOSCOPE - Equipment for viewing inside wall cavities etc.
ENGINEERING BRICK - Particularly strong and dense type of brick, sometimes used as a damp-proof course.
EXCLUSION CLAUSES - Parts of reports limiting surveyors liability.
EYEBROW WINDOW - Set into roof slope under curve in tiles.
F
FACADE - Front elevation of building.
FASCIA - A horizontal piece (such as a board) covering the joint between the top of a wall and the projecting eaves; also called fascia board.
FIBREBOARD - Cheap, lightweight board material of little strength, used in ceilings or as insulation to attics.
FILLET - Sealing of joist and corners between surfaces, generally cement mortar.
FINLOCK GUTTERS - Interlocking pre-cast concrete gutters.
FLANK - Side elevation of building.
FLASHING - Building technique used to prevent leakage at a roof joint. Normally metal (lead, zinc, copper) but can be cement, felt or proprietary material.
FLAUNCHING - Contoured cement around the base of chimney pots, to secure the pot and to throw off rain.
FLIGHT - Straight run of stairs.
FLUE - A smoke duct in a chimney, or a proprietary pipe serving a heat-producing appliance such as a central heating boiler.
FLUE LINER - 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.
FLYING FREEHOLD - In England the ownership of airspace over another Freehold.
FLYING SHORE - Temporary support framework between buildings.
FOUNDATIONS - Normally concrete, laid underground as a structural base to a wall: In older buildings may be brick or stone.
FRENCH DOOR - A tall casement window that reaches to the floor and opens like a door.
FRIEZE - Decorated band along the upper part of an interior wall.
FROG - A depression imprinted in the upper surface of a brick, to save clay, reduce weight and increase the strength of the wall. Bricks should always be laid frog uppermost.
G
GABLE - Upper section of a wall, usually triangular in shape, at either end of a ridged roof.
GALVANIC CORROSION - Galvanised steel tanks rust in presence of lead and copper.
GRAVITY CIRCULATION - No pump, wide bore pipework for heating and hot water.
GROUND HEAVE - Swelling of clay sub-soil due to absorption of moisture, or tree removal: can cause an upward movement in foundations.
GROUT - Filling for joists or cracks, especially in tiling.
GULLIES - Exterior drains into which waste and storm water discharges.
H
HALF TIMBERING - A method of construction featuring walls built in timber framework with the spaces filled in by plaster or brickwork. Often some of the exposed planks are laid at an angle to create a pattern.
HAUNCHING - See Benching. Also term used to describe the support to a drain underground.
HEADER - A brick laid in a wall so that only its end appears on the face of the wall. To add a varied appearance o brickwork, headers are alternated with "stretchers", bricks laid full length on their sides.
HERRINGBONE WORK - Stone, brick or tile work in which the components are laid diagonally instead of horizontally forming a distinct zigzag pattern along a wall face.
HIP - The external junction between two intersecting roof slopes.
HIPPED ROOF - A roof with sloped instead of vertical ends.
HAC - High Alumina Cement. Additive used in concrete to speed hardening, cases loss of strength especially in damp conditions.
HARDCORE - Broken brick, stone, concrete etc.
HOGGIN - Hardcore used as infilling material beneath solid floors etc.
HONEYCOMB WALL - Bricks laid with gaps between to allow ventilation (sleeper wall).
HOPPERHEAD - Funnel to collect water at top of downpipe/wastepipe.
I
INFILL - Hardcore, rubble or other such material used to bring the ground floor level on a sloping site, prior to laying of a solid concrete floor level.
INSPECTION CHAMBER - Commonly called "manhole". 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.
INTERCEPTOR - Trap in drain to prevent foul air entering from sewer.
INVERT - Bottom of manhole or drain.
INTERSTITIAL CONDENSATION - Trapped moisture in timber frame walls and flat roofs, double glazing.
J
JAMB - Side part of a doorway or window.
JOIST - Horizontal structural timber used in flat roof, ceiling and floor construction. Occasionally also metal.
K
KING POST - Single central upright in traditional roof truss system.
L
LOGGIA - A gallery open on one or more sides, sometimes pillared. It may also be a separate structure, usually in a garden.
LAMINATION - Splitting away of surface of tiles etc. (delamination).
LANDSLIP - Downhill movement of unstable earth, clay, rock etc., often following prolonged heavy rain or coastal erosion, but sometimes due entirely to sub-soil having little cohesive integrity.
LATH - Thin strip of wood used in the fixing of roof tiles or slates, or as a back to plaster.
LATH AND PLASTER - Traditional ceiling and stud wall plaster on thin wooden strips.
LINTEL - Horizontal structural beam of timber, stone, steel or concrete placed over window or door openings.
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 as storage tank.
M
MADE GROUND - Potentially difficult sites infilled with hardcore or rubbish.
MANSARD ROOF - This roof is flat on top, sloping steeply down on its sides, thus appearing to enclose the top storey, usually tiled.
MANTLEPIECE - The wood, brick, stone or marble frame surrounding a fireplace.
MAISONETTE - A dwelling on more than one level, part of a larger building, usually having its own independent ground floor access point.
MICROBORE HEATING - Narrow diameter pipework connected by manifolds.
MINERAL FELT - Common flat roof covering with fairly short life.
MOISTURE METER - Measures electrical conductivity and hence dampness.
MONITORING - Observing crack damage over time using tell-tales, studs or similar.
MONO-PITCH - Roof with only one slope.
MORTAR - Mixture of sand, cement, lime and water, used to join stones or bricks.
MOTORISED VALVES - Electrically controlled flow in heating and hot water pipes.
MOVEMENT JOINTS - In walls and floors to allow for expansion and contraction.
MULLION - Vertical bar dividing individual lights in a window.
N
NAIL SICKNESS - Rusting of nails used to fix slates to roof battens.
NATIONAL HOUSE BUILDING COUNCIL - Issues 10 year NHBC certificates.
NEWEL - Stout post supporting a staircase handrail at top and bottom. Also, the central pillar of a winding or spiral staircase.
NO-FINES CONCRETE - Cast concrete in shuttering with no sand aggregate.
NOGGINS - Horizontal timber between studs in timber-framed wall construction.
NOSING - Outer top corner of step or sill.
O
ONE-PIPE HEATING - All water passes in and out of each radiator in turn.
OVERSAILING - Course of brick or stone projecting out from face of wall.
OVERSITE - Rough concrete below timber ground floors: the level of the oversite should be above external ground level.
P
PARAPET - Low all along the edge of a flat roof, balcony etc.
PARQUET FLOORING - Flooring of hardwood strips laid in patterns of a wood subfloor or concrete.
PATIO - Paved recreation area, usually to the rear of the property.
PEDIMENT - Low pitched gable above a portico or similar feature above doors in homes or windows. Generally stonework, rendered brickwork.
PERGOLA - A covered walk in a garden, usually formed by a double row of posts or pillars with joists above and covered by climbing plants.
PILASTER - A shallow pier or a rounded/rectangular column projecting only slightly from a wall. Primarily decorative.
PORCH - The roofed entrance to a house.
PORTICO - A roofed entrance to a house that is columned like a temple front.
PREFABRICATION - The manufacture of whole buildings or components cast/assembled in a factory or off-site before placed in position.
PANTILES - Flattened S-shaped interlocking tiles.
PARTY WALL - Each owner owns half with rights in respect of the other half.
PEBBLE DASH - Cement mortar render with brown pebble or similar pebble finish.
PEGTILES - Old handmade tiles held by wooden pegs on battens.
PILES - Foundation of concrete columns sunk into ground, can be steel.
PITCHED ROOF - Sloping (rather than flat) and covered with tiles, slates etc.
PLASTERBOARD - Chips and plaster sandwiched between 2 sheets of cardboard.
PLATE - Horizontal timber on wall to spread load of joists, rafters etc.
PLINTH - Widening at base of wall, often rendered.
PLUMB - Vertical (out of plumb/loss of plumbness - leaning/bowing, distorted).
PONDING - Lying water on flat roofs, hardstandings where constructed of inadequate falls.
PURLIN - Roof timber running sideways across slope and supporting rafters.
Q
QUOINS - The dressed stones at the corners of buildings, usually laid so their faces are alternatively large and small. Usually in contrasting colour of brick or stonework from the rest of the wall. Common in Georgian houses.
QUEEN POST - Two off-centre uprights used in traditional roof truss system.
R
RADON - A radioactive gas usually associated with granite rock, subsoils.
RAFTER - A sloping roof beam, usually timber, forming the carcass of a roof.
RENDERING - Vertical covering of a wall either plaster (internally) or cement (externally) sometimes with pebble-dash, stucco or Tyrolean textured finish.
RETAINING WALL - Supports ground to the rear of the wall, may provide support to structures, prevents landslip.
REVEALS - The side faces of a window or door opening.
RIDGE - Horizontal top to a pitched roof, usually covered with ridge tiles.
RISER - The vertical part of a step or stair.
RISING DAMP - Moisture soaking up a wall from below ground, by capillary action causing rot in timbers, plaster decay, decoration failure etc.
ROOF SPREAD - Outward bowing of a wall caused by the thrust of a badly restrained roof carcass. (See Collar).
ROLLED STEEL JOIST - RSJ used as a lintel to structural openings
ROTATION OF FOUNDATION, FLOOR OR LINTEL - Tilting or overturning movement around axis.
ROUGH CAST - Cement render application to give rough uneven finish.
S
SASH WINDOW - A window formed with sashes or sliding frames running in vertical grooves.
SCREED - Final, smooth finish of a solid floor; usually cement, concrete or asphalt.
SCRIM - Hessian type material used to seal joints in plasterboard.
SEPTIC TANK - Tank drain installation whereby sewage decomposes through bacteriological action, which can be slowed down or stopped altogether by the use of chemicals such as bleach, biological washing powders etc.
SETTLEMENT - General disturbance in a structure showing as distortion in walls, cracking etc, possibly a result of structural failure. Sometimes of little current significance.
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.
SHIPLAP - Weatherboarding of tongued and grooved planking.
SILL - The lower horizontal part of a window frame. Materials may vary, generally timber or stone, can be tiled.
SKYLIGHT - A window set into a roof or ceiling to provide extra lighting.
SLEEPER WALLS - See honeycomb walls.
SNAGGING - Minor building works to be finished off after practical completion.
SNAP HEADERS - Cut bricks to outer skin of cavity wall or rounded bays.
SOAKAWAY - Arrangement for disposal of rainwater, utilising graded aggregate laid below ground.
SOAKER - Sheet metal (usually lead, copper or zinc) at the junction of a roof with a vertical surface of a chimney stack, adjoining wall etc. Associated with flashings which should overlay soakers.
SOFFIT - The under-surface of eaves, balcony, arch etc.
SOIL STACK (Soil & Vent Pipe) - Main vertical drain pipe for WC and other waste water, generally foul.
SOLDIER ARCH - Bricks laid vertically on end above window or door opening.
SOLID FUEL - Heating fuel, normally coal, coke or one of a variety of proprietary fuels.
SPALLING - Breaking of surface of tiles or bricks, often associated with frost.
SPANDREL - Space above and to the sides of an arch; also the space below a staircase.
STANCHION - Vertical support beam, generally steel today.
STRETCHER - Brick laid sideways.
STRINGS - Sloping framework supporting ends of treads to staircase.
STRUCTURAL SURVEY - See Building Survey.
STRUT - A roof timber, generally sloping between rafter and binder/ceiling joist.
STUCCO - A sturdy type of plaster, used on exterior walls, often spread in a decorative pattern.
STUD PARTITION - Lightweight, sometimes non-load bearing wall construction comprising a framework of timber faced with plaster, plasterboard or other finish.
SUBFRAME - Outer part of a window fixed directly to the wall.
SUBSIDENCE - Ground movement, generally downward, possibly a result of mining activities or clay shrinkage.
SUBSOIL - Material below top soil on which foundations rest.
SULPHATE ATTACK - Chemical reaction, activated by water, between tricalcium aluminate and soluble sulphates. Can cause deterioration in brickwork and concrete floors.
T
TANKING - Waterproofing of cellar walls and floors.
TELLTALE - Glass or calibrated indicator fixed over crack to check movement.
TERRACOTTA - Fired but unglazed clay, used mainly for floor and roof tiles.
TERRAZZO - A sturdy floor finish of marble chips mixed with cement mortar. These are generally polished.
THERMO-PLASTIC TILES - Common 1950's floor covering before vinyl tiles.
THRESHOLD - Sill to an exterior door opening
TIE BAR - Inserted in buildings subject to movement with end plates on walls, generally flank walls.
TIMBER FRAMED HOUSES - Built with load bearing timber, generally brick faced.
TINGLES - Metal clips to re-fix slipped slates.
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.
U
UNDERPINNING - Method of strengthening weak foundations whereby a new, stronger foundation is placed beneath the original.
V
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, cooking, breathing etc., and to assist in prevention of condensation.
Floors: Necessary to avoid rot, especially Dry Rot; achieved by airbricks near to 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 a roof, especially over a gable.
VERGE BOARD - Timber, sometimes decorative, placed at the verge of a roof; also known as barge board.
VERTICAL DAMP PROOF COURSE - Used at change in level and in basements and adjacent to window and door openings.
W
WALL PLATE - Timber placed at the eaves of a roof, to take the weight of the roof timbers.
WALL TIE - Galvanised steel fixing linking inner and outer cavity skins or external cladding to timber framework.
WEATHER BOARD - Horizontal overlapping to timber planks as an external wall finish.
WEEPHOLES - Drainage within brickwork, generally cavities.
WET ROT - Fungal attack to woodwork, especially exterior softwood joinery.
WOODWORM - Colloquial term for beetle infestation: usually intended to mean Common Furniture Beetle (Anobium Punctatum): by far the most frequently encountered insect attack in structural and joinery timbers.
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