Glossary
Select a letter or scroll through the entire glossary.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
ABOVE GRADE
A term applied to any part of a structure or site feature that is above
the adjacent finished ground level.
ACTIVATED CARBON
A form of carbon made porous by special treatment making it capable of
absorbing various odours and vapours.
ACTIVE SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM
A system which requires the importation of energy from outside of the
immediate environment: eg, energy to operate fans and pumps.
ADOBE
A sun dried, unburned brick of clay (earth) and straw used in
construction. Within the United States, adobe is used primarily in the
Southwest.
AEROSOL
A gaseous suspension of small particles of a liquid or a solid.
AGGREGATE
A coarse material, such as gravel, broken stone or sand, with which
cement and water are mixed to form concrete. Crushed stone is usually
designated as coarse aggregate and sand as fine aggregate.
AIR BARRIER
A material carefully installed within a building envelope assembly to
minimize the uncontrolled passage of air into and out of a dwelling.
AIR CHANGE PER HOUR (ACH)
A unit that denotes the number of times a house exchanges its entire
volume of air with outside air in an hour. This is generally used in two
ways: 1) under natural conditions and 2) under a 50 Pascal pressure
difference.
AIR FILM
The layer of air next to a surface, such as a glass pane, which offers
some resistance to heat flow.
AIR LEAKAGE
The uncontrolled flow of air through a component of the building
envelope itself, when a pressure difference is applied across the
component. Infiltration refers to inward flowing air leakage and
exfiltration refers to outward flowing air leakage.
AIR SEALING
The practice of sealing unintentional gaps in the building envelope
(from the interior) in order to reduce uncontrolled air leakage.
AIRWAY
The space left between roof insulation and roof decking to allow free
movement of air.
ALBEDO
The reflectance of solar radiation for a given surface is referred to as
the albedo rate.
ALTERATION
Any building change that does not alter the total volume.
ANCHOR BOLTS
The bolts securing a wooden sill plate to a concrete or masonry floor or
wall.
ANGLE OF INCIDENCE
The angle that the sun''s rays make with a line perpendicular to a
surface. The angle of incidence determines the percentage of direct
sunshine intercepted by a surface.
ATTIC OR ROOF SPACE
The space between the top floor ceiling and roof, and between a dwarf
partition and sloping roof.
ATTIC VENTILATORS
The screened openings in houses provided to ventilate an attic space.
They are located in the soffit area as inlet ventilators and in the
gable end or along the ridge as outlet ventilators. They can also
consist of power-driven fans used as an exhaust system. See also LOUVER.
AWNING
A shading device on a metal frame mounted on the outside of the window.
AWNING WINDOW
A top hinged sash.
AZIMUTH
The angular distance between true south and the point on the horizon
directly below the sun.
B
BACKDRAFTING (FLOW REVERSAL)
The reverse flow of chimney gases into the building through the
barometric damper, draft hood, or burner unit. This can be caused by
chimney blockage or it can occur when the pressure differential is too
high for the chimney to draw.
BACK FILL
The material used to re-fill an excavation around the outside of a
foundation wall or pipe trench.
BALLOON FRAMING
A method of wood-frame construction in which the studs extend in one
piece from the foundation sill to the top plate supporting the roof.
BASEBOARD
A molded board placed against the wall around a room next to the floor
to conceal the joint between the floor and wall finish.
BASE COURSE
In masonry, the first or bottom course of brick or other masonry units.
BASEMENT
The lower storey of a building, below or partly below ground level.
BATTEN
A narrow strip of wood used to cover joints between boards or panels.
BATTER BOARD
The boards set at right angles to each other at each corner of an
excavation, used to indicate the level and alignment of the foundation
wall.
BAY WINDOW
A window which projects outside the main line of a building.
BEAM
A horizontal structural member, usually wood, steel or concrete,
supported at two or more points but not throughout its length.
BEAM POCKET
A notch formed at the top of a wall to receive and support the end of a
beam.
BEARING
The part of a joist, rafter, truss or beam which actually rests on its
support and the area of the support on which it rests.
BEARING PARTITION
A partition that supports any vertical load in addition to its own
weight.
BEARING WALL
A wall that supports any vertical load in addition to its own weight.
BERM
A man-made mound or small hill of earth.
BEVEL
The sloping surface formed when two surfaces meet at an angle which is
not a right angle.
BEVEL SIDING
Any boards tapered to a thin edge and used as exterior wall covering.
BLIND-NAILING
The practice of nailing so that the nailheads are not visible on the
face of the work - usually at the tongue of matched boards.
BLOCKING
The short pieces nailed between major framing members to act as
fire-stops or provide a nailing surface.
BOARD
Any lumber less than nominally 51 mm (2 inches) thick and wider than 100
mm (4 inches).
BOTTOM PLATE
The lower horizontal member of a wood-frame wall nailed to the bottom of
the wall studs and to the floor framing members.
BRACE
A diagonal framing member fastened to major horizontal and vertical
members to provide a triangle and thereby stiffen the framing.
BREAKING JOINTS
The manner of laying masonry units so as to avoid vertical joints in
adjacent courses from lining up. Also the distribution of joints in
boards, flooring, lath and panels so no two adjacent end-joints are
directly in line.
BRICK MOLDING
A standard milled wood trim piece to cover the gap between the window
frame and masonry.
BRICK VENEER
A facing of brick tied to a wood frame or masonry wall, serving as a
wall covering only and carrying no structural loads.
BTU
An abbreviation for British Thermal Unit; the heat required to increase
the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit.
BUILT-UP ROOF
A roof covering composed of three or more layers of roofing felt or
fibreglass saturated with coal, tar or asphalt. The top is finished with
crushed stone, gravel or a cap sheet. Generally used on flat or
low-pitched roofs.
BUTT-JOINT
Any joint made by fastening two members together without overlapping.
C
CANT STRIP
A triangular-shaped piece of lumber used around the perimeter of flat
roofs or at the junction of a flat deck and a wall to prevent cracking
of the roofing which is applied over it.
CASEMENT WINDOW
A frame which contains a sash hinged at the side to open in or out.
In-swinging are French in origin while out-swinging are from England.
CASING
A form of molded trim used around window and door openings.
CAULKING
The practice of sealing a joint in a building.
CENTRE-HUNG SASH
A sash that pivots on pins in the middle of the sash stiles and sides of
the window frame to allow access for cleaning from the inside
CHECKING
The fissures that appear with age in many exterior paint coatings, at
first superficial, but which in time may penetrate entirely through the
coating. They may also appear in siding or lumber.
CHIMNEY FLUE
A passage housed in a chimney through which smoke and gases are carried
from a fuel burning appliance, fireplace or incinerator to the exterior.
CLERESTORY
An outside wall of a room or building, carried above an adjoining roof
and pierced with windows.
COLLAR BRACE (COLLAR TIE)
A horizontal piece of lumber used to provide intermediate support for
opposite roof rafters, usually located in the middle third of the
rafters. Also called collar beam or collar tie.
COLUMN
A vertical free-standing load-carrying member.
COMBINATION DOORS OR WINDOWS
The combination doors or windows used over regular openings. They
provide winter insulation and summer protection and often have
self-storing or removable glass and screen inserts. This eliminates the
need for handling a different unit each season.
COMBUSTIBLE AND NON-COMBUSTIBLE MATERIALS
Within the range of temperatures that may occur in a building either
normally or under fire conditions, materials are classified as
combustible or non-combustible. The term non-combustible is generally
applied to materials of construction which conform to National Standard
of Canada. CAN4S114-78, Standard Method of Test for Determination of
Non-Combustibility in Building Materials. Scarborough,Ontario:
Underwriters Laboratories of Canada, 1980.
COMBUSTION AIR
The air required to provide adequate oxygen for ...
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