Building Technology: Doors, Windows, Finishes, Hardware, and Thermal & Moisture Protection

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, materials, hardware, finishes, and waterproofing methods from Divisions 07, 08, 09, and 10 of Building Technology I.

Glass

A hard, brittle, chemically inert substance produced by fusing silica together with a flux and a stabilizer into a mass that cools to a rigid condition without crystallization.

Sheet Glass

Flat glass fabricated by drawing molten glass from a furnace or by forming a cylinder, dividing it lengthwise, and flattening it; fire-polished surfaces are not perfectly parallel, resulting in visual distortion.

Plate Glass

Flat glass formed by rolling molten glass into a plate that is subsequently ground and polished after cooling to provide virtually clear, undistorted vision.

Float Glass

Flat glass manufactured by pouring molten glass onto a surface of molten tin and cooling it slowly to minimize distortion without grinding and polishing; accounts for the majority of flat-glass production.

Annealed Glass

Glass that is cooled slowly during manufacturing to relieve internal stresses.

Heat-Strengthened Glass

Annealed glass that is partially tempered by reheating and sudden cooling, providing about twice the strength of annealed glass of the same thickness.

Tempered Glass

Annealed glass reheated to just below its softening point and rapidly cooled to induce surface compression; has $3$ to $5$ times the resistance to impact and thermal stresses of annealed glass and breaks into pebble-sized particles.

Laminated Glass

Safety glass consisting of two or more plies of flat glass bonded under heat and pressure to interlayers of polyvinyl butyral resin, which retain fragments if broken.

Wired Glass

Flat or patterned glass containing an embedded square or diamond wire mesh to prevent shattering upon breakage or exposure to excessive heat; qualified as a safety glazing material for fire doors and windows.

Patterned Glass

Glass manufactured with a linear or geometric surface pattern formed during the rolling process to obscure vision or diffuse light.

Obscure Glass

Glass with one or both sides acid-etched or sandblasted to obscure vision.

Spandrel Glass

An opaque glass used to conceal structural elements in curtain wall construction, produced by fusing a ceramic frit to the interior surface of tempered or heat-strengthened glass.

Insulating Glass

A glazing unit consisting of two or more sheets of glass separated by a hermetically sealed air space to provide thermal insulation and restrict condensation.

Tinted Glass

Heat-absorbing glass containing chemical admixtures such as iron oxide, cobalt oxide, nickel, or selenium to absorb a portion of radiant heat and visible light.

Reflective Glass

Glass coated with a thin, translucent metallic layer designed to reflect a portion of incoming light and radiant heat.

Low-Emissivity Glass

Glass coated to transmit visible light while selectively reflecting longer wavelengths of radiant heat.

Rough Hardware

Construction hardware meant to be concealed within the structure, such as bolts, nails, screws, spikes, and other metal fittings.

Finish Hardware

Hardware items such as hinges, locks, catches, and handles that possess an exposed finished appearance and serve a functional and decorative purpose.

Common Wire Nail

A cut or wire low-carbon steel nail with a slender plain shank and a medium diamond point, used in general construction work such as framing where finish appearance is unimportant.

Finishing Nail

A slender nail made from finer wire than a common nail, featuring a brad-type head that can be set below the wood surface and easily puttied.

Brad Nail

A small finishing nail of uniform thickness throughout, featuring a head that is almost flush with the sides or projects slightly to one side.

Box Nail

A nail similar to a common nail but thinner, featuring a long shank that may be smooth or barbed.

Casing Nail

A slender nail with a small, slightly flared head used primarily for finish work.

Ring-Shank Nail

A nail featuring a series of ring-like grooves around its shank to increase gripping power.

Clinch Nail

A nail designed so that its protruding point can be hammered and bent over after driving to secure the joint.

Roofing Nail

A short nail with a barbed or ring shank and a comparatively large flat head, used to secure roofing felt or shingles to a roof deck.

Concrete Nail

A hardened steel nail with a flat countersunk head and a diamond point, designed for driving into concrete or masonry.

Masonry Nail

A hardened steel nail featuring a knurled or fluted shank, specifically used for fastening items to masonry.

Face-Nailing

The method of driving nails perpendicular to the surface face of the material being fastened.

Blind-Nailing

The technique of driving nails in such a manner that the nail heads are concealed from view on the face of the finished work.

Toe-Nailing

The method of driving nails obliquely relative to the surfaces of the pieces being joined.

Screws

Externally threaded metal fasteners with tapered, helically threaded shanks and slotted heads, driven into materials by turning to offer greater holding power than nails.

Lag Screw

A heavy-duty fastener featuring a square head and a thin, coarse-pitched thread.

Bolts

Threaded metal pins or rods with a head on one end and an external thread on the opposite end, designed to pass through predrilled holes and be secured with a nut.

Carriage Bolt

A threaded bolt with a circular head, an oval or flat bearing surface, and a square shoulder under the head to prevent the bolt from rotating when tightened.

Expansion Bolts

Anchor fasteners featuring a split casing or expandable socket that expands mechanically against the sides of a predrilled hole in masonry or concrete when tightened.

Toggle Bolts

Fasteners equipped with two hinged, spring-actuated flanged wings that fold to pass through a predrilled hole and open inside a hollow wall cavity to secure objects.

Washers

Perforated disks made of metal, rubber, or plastic placed under nut or bolt heads to distribute load, prevent leakage, relieve friction, or insulate incompatible materials.

Rivets

Metal pins used to permanently connect structural steel members by inserting a headed shank through aligned holes and hammering the plain end to form a second head.

Adhesives

Substances applied to join two surface materials together through surface attachment.

Butt Hinge

A door hinge attached to the butt edge of a door, consisting of two leaves with knuckles joined together by a pin.

Full Mortise Hinge

A type of butt hinge where both leaves are fully mortised into recesses in the door frame and the edge of the door leaf.

Mortise Lock

A door lock mechanism installed into a rectangular cavity cut directly into the edge of the door leaf.

Latch Bolt

A spring-loaded lock bolt with a beveled edge that automatically retracts when striking a jamb and extends into a notch to hold a door closed.

Dead Bolt

A square-section lock bolt operated manually by a key or thumb turn, providing enhanced security without relying on spring action.

Escutcheon

A protective decorative or functional plate surrounding a keyhole, door handle spindle, or light switch.

Foot Bolt

A hardware locking bolt mounted at the bottom of a door leaf operated by foot press.

Closers

Mechanical devices installed on doors to automatically return them to a closed position after opening and control opening travel distance.

Pivots

Floor- and head-mounted hardware assemblies used as an alternative to hinges for hanging doors.

Panic Hardware

Door latching hardware featuring a horizontal push bar across the door width that disengages top and bottom latches under pressure for rapid emergency egress.

Astragals

Vertical molding members fitted between pairs of double doors to seal the gap, serve as a door stop, or enhance security.

Stucco

A plaster finish consisting of Portland cement, sand, water, and hydrated lime applied in three distinct coats: scratch, brown, and finish.

Rubbed Finish

A concrete surface treatment achieved by grinding the concrete surface $1$ to $2$ days after pouring using carborundum or stone bricks combined with a cement-sand grout.

Brushed Finish

A concrete surface texture produced by scrubbing green concrete with wire or fiber brushes and water to remove surface mortar and expose coarse aggregate.

Tooled Finish

A concrete surface finish achieved by mechanical stone-dressing techniques such as bush hammering on thoroughly hardened concrete.

Sand-Blast Finish

A textured concrete finish produced by blasting hardened concrete surfaces with sharp silica sand or crushed quartz under air pressure.

Exposed Aggregate Finish

A decorative concrete finish created by applying a facing mortar containing selected colored pebbles or screenings against formwork and subsequently exposing them by scrubbing.

Granolithic Finish

A floor topping composed of $1$ part Portland cement, $1$ part sand, and $1$ part finely crushed stone, sometimes incorporating corundum for non-slip properties.

Terrazzo

A durable floor and wall finish made from a mixture of marble chip aggregates, cement matrix, and water that is poured, cured, and ground to a smooth finish.

Cement Tile

A precast floor surfacing unit made by pressing a plastic mixture of cement, sand, and mineral oxide color pigments into molds.

Ceramic Tile

Small surfacing units produced from clays or mixtures of clay and ceramic materials and fired at high temperatures.

Unglazed Tiles

Ceramic tiles that have a homogenous composition throughout and derive their color and texture directly from the body materials.

Glazed Tiles

Ceramic tiles featuring an impervious glassy surface layer fused onto the tile face during firing.

Quarry Tiles

Unglazed floor tiles made from natural clays or shales using the plastic extrusion method, offering high resistance to wear, moisture, and staining.

Pavers

Un-pasted unglazed floor tiles with a facial area of $6\text{ sq. in.}$ or greater, similar in composition to ceramic mosaic tiles and built for heavy floor service.

Resilient Flooring

A class of manufactured floor coverings available in tile or sheet forms, including vinyl, asphalt, rubber, linoleum, and cork.

Asphalt Tile

A resilient floor tile composed of a thermoplastic binder, asbestos or mineral fibers, inert fillers, and pigments formed hot under pressure.

Linoleum

A resilient waterproof floor covering made of a wearing layer of oxidized linseed oil, wood or cork flour, fillers, and resins bonded to a backing material.

Strip Flooring

Wood flooring composed of tongue-and-groove boards measuring $6\text{ in.}$ or less in face width.

Plank Flooring

Wood flooring composed of square-edged boards measuring $8\text{ in.}$ or more in width, typically face-nailed.

Parquet Tile Flooring

Wood flooring consisting of pre-assembled square units made of wood veneers or geometric strip patterns set in adhesive or nailed.

Acoustic Tile

Ceiling and wall surfacing tiles made from cellulose, mineral wool, or glass fibers designed to reduce room sound reflections through absorption.

Paint

A liquid mixture of a solid pigment and a fluid vehicle applied to surfaces to form an opaque protective or decorative film.

Varnish

A transparent liquid coating consisting of resins dissolved in drying oil or volatile solvent that cures by oxidation or solvent evaporation to a hard glossy finish without pigments.

Shellac

A transparent spirit finish made by dissolving refined seed lac (exuded by resinous insects) in alcohol, used primarily as an undercoat or sealer.

Lacquer

A fast-drying synthetic clear or pigmented finish that cures by solvent evaporation, requiring specific thinners and sealers.

Chalking

A paint wearing characteristic marked by progressive surface dusting and film thinning.

Alligatoring

An advanced paint film failure characterized by deep, coarse surface cracks resembling alligator hide, caused by applying a hard finish over a soft undercoat.

Storm Spotting

A paint finish defect marked by irregular discoloration occurring after heavy rainstorms due to rain absorbing atmospheric nitrates and peroxides.

Blistering

A paint defect characterized by swelling and bubbles across the film, caused by trapped moisture pressure behind the coating.

Impermeability

The property of concrete or mortar that prevents the passage or flow of water through its internal pores and voids.

Absorption

The property of concrete or mortar to draw in liquid water into its microscopic capillary voids.

Membrane Waterproofing

A waterproofing system created by completely surrounding concrete structures with continuous layers of tar paper, asphalt felt, or pitch membranes.

Asphalt Emulsions

Waterproof coatings made of microscopic asphalt particles dispersed in water with a mineral colloid agent, forming a breathable weatherproof film upon water evaporation.

Cutback Asphalts

Waterproofing compounds composed of petroleum asphalts dissolved in a volatile solvent filled with mineral fillers and fibers.

Bituminous Cement

A black, hydrocarbon-based sealant substance used to fill joints, cracks, and built-up roofing assemblies.