Building Construction 2: Wood Frame and Light RC Construction

This set covers essential vocabulary for building construction including wood framing systems, wood joints, splicing, masonry terminology, roofing, stairs, and hardware.

Balloon Frame

The lightest form of wood framing in which the studding and corner posts are set up in continuous lengths from the first floor line or sill to the roof plate.

Ribbon (Ribband)

A horizontal member which is housed in the studs of balloon framing and carries joists.

Combination Frame

A modification of the old braced frame using lighter timbers and less mortising and pinning to save material and labor.

Braced Frame (Full Frame)

Heavy, braced wood framing for a structure which uses girts that are mortised into solid posts; the posts are full frame height with one-story-high studs between.

Girt

A horizontal structural member in the framing of a timber-framed house, typically supporting the ends of the ceiling joists and acting as the main horizontal support for the floor or roof above.

Platform Frame

A system of framing where the studs are only one story high and the floor joists for each story rest on the top plates of the story below; also called Western Framing.

Top Plate

The top horizontal member of a frame building to which the rafters are fastened, or the horizontal member at the top of partition studs.

Sole Plate

A horizontal timber which serves as a base for the studs in a stud partition.

Plain Joint (Lap Joint)

A joint used in hasty or temporary construction made by lapping one piece over another and nailing them together.

Butt Joint (End Joint)

A joint made by placing the full thickness of wood directly against a second piece, usually squared and toe-nailed.

Scarf Joint

A joint by which the ends of two pieces of timber are united to form a continuous piece, often beveled, chamfered, or notched before fastening.

Mortise and Tenon Joint

A joint used where great strength it required, made by cutting a hole (mortise) in one piece and a tongue (tenon) in the second piece to fit the hole.

Halved Joint

A joint made by cutting half the thickness of the wood from each piece at the ends to bring the sides flush and maintain a level surface.

Rabbet Joint

A joint made by cutting a shoulder or edge from one piece to receive another, used in window or door frames.

Dado Joint

Similar to a rabbet joint but involving a groove made at right angles to the grain of the other board.

Miter Joint

A finish joint between two pieces at a corner, made by cutting the ends at complementary angles (usually $45^{\circ}$).

Dovetail Joint

A strong, durable joint used for cabinet work made by cutting a pin in the shape of a dovetail to fit a similarly shaped groove.

Coped Joint

A joint used when fitting one piece of moulding at right angles to a second piece.

Shiplap

Wood sheathing whose edges are rabbeted to make an overlapping joint.

Tongue and Groove Joint

A joint formed by the insertion of the tongue of one member into the corresponding groove of another.

Splice

A connection between two or more pieces of timber designed to make the joint as strong as a single timber of equivalent size.

Scab

A short flat piece of lumber bolted, nailed, or screwed to two butting pieces in order to splice them together.

Fishplate

A wood or metal piece used to fasten together the ends of two members with nails or bolts.

Square Splice

A modification of the compression halved splice with an extra notch to prevent slipping, commonly used to resist tension.

Split Rings

Timber connectors made in sizes of $2-1/2$, $4$, and $6\,\text{in}$ diameter used for heavy construction.

Shear Plate

A structural connector that lies flush with the timber surface when installed, used singly or in pairs for timber-to-metal or timber-to-timber connections.

Wythe

A continuous vertical section of a wall that is one masonry unit in thickness.

Grout

Mortar containing a considerable amount of water so it can be poured or pumped into joints, spaces, and cracks.

Cement Mortar

A plastic mixture made by mixing portland cement, sand, and water.

Type M Mortar

High strength mortar recommended for reinforced masonry below grade with a compressive strength of $\mathrm{2500\,psi\,(17,238\,kPa)}$.

Type S Mortar

Medium-high-strength mortar used where bond and lateral strength are critical, with a compressive strength of $\mathrm{1800\,psi\,(12,411\,kPa)}$.

Type N Mortar

Medium-strength mortar for general use in exposed masonry above grade with a compressive strength of $\mathrm{750\,psi\,(5,171\,kPa)}$.

Stretcher

A masonry unit laid horizontally with its length in the direction of the face of the wall.

Wall Footing (Strip Footing)

A strip of reinforced concrete wider than the wall which distributes the load to the soil.

Dowel-bar reinforcement

Short, steel reinforcing bars extending approximately equally into two abutting pieces of concrete to increase joint strength.

Stiffener Column

A reinforced concrete column located at the intersections of CHB walls or at regular intervals (about $3\,\text{M}$) to provide vertical support.

Bond-beam block

A hollow concrete masonry unit with depressed portions to form a continuous channel for reinforcing steel and grout.

Lintel

A horizontal structural member over an opening, such as a door or window, which carries the weight of the wall above it.

Grade Beam

Part of a foundation system that supports the exterior wall of the superstructure and bears directly on column footings.

Pier

A column designed to support a concentrated load or a thickened wall section providing lateral support.

Isolated Footing

The individual spread footing supporting a freestanding column or pier.

Modulus of Elasticity

The ratio of unit stress to the corresponding unit strain in an elastic material subject to strain below its elastic limit.

Slenderness Ratio

The ratio of a column's effective length to its least radius of gyration.

Floor Joist

One of a series of parallel beams of timber, RC, or steel used to support floor and ceiling loads with the widest dimension oriented vertically.

Girder

A principal beam of steel, reinforced concrete, or timber used to support concentrated loads at isolated points.

Bridging

A brace or system of braces placed between joists to stiffen them and distribute the load.

Sleepers

Horizontal timbers laid on a concrete slab or ground to which flooring is nailed.

Parquet Flooring

Inlaid wood flooring usually set in simple geometric patterns.

Stud

An upright post or vertical structural member which acts as the supporting element in a wall or partition.

Cripple

A structural element shorter than usual, like a stud above a door opening or below a window sill.

Clapboard (Bevel Siding)

Wood siding applied horizontally and overlapped, thicker along the lower edge than the upper.

Dolly Varden Siding

Bevel siding that is rabbeted along the lower edge to receive the upper edge of the board below it.

Rustic Siding (Drop Siding)

Exterior wall cladding where boards are tongued and grooved or rabbeted and overlapped to interlock.

Plywood

A manufactured board made of an odd number of veneer sheets glued together with grains at right angles.

Fiberboard

Finishing material made from vegetable fibers like corn or sugarcane stalks, often used as ceiling finish for insulation.

Gypsum Board

A non-combustible building board with a gypsum core used in dry wall construction without plaster.

Dry Wall Construction

Construction using dry materials like gypsum board or plywood without the application of plaster or mortar.

Ceiling Strap

A strip of wood nailed to the underside of floor joists or rafters from which a ceiling is suspended.

Ridge

The horizontal line of intersection at the top between two sloping planes of a roof.

Valley

The intersection of two inclined roof surfaces toward which rainwater flows.

Gable

The triangular portion of wall enclosing the end of a pitched roof from ridge to eaves.

Eave

The overhanging lower edge of a roof.

Soffit

The underside of an overhanging roof eave.

Gambrel Roof

A roof which has two pitches on each side; known as a Mansard Roof in Great Britain.

Common Rafters

The main rafters extending from a wall plate to a ridge board or beam to support roof sheathing.

Collar Ties

Members that unite two opposing rafters at a point below the ridge, usually in the upper third of the rafter length.

Jack Rafter

Any rafter shorter than the full length of the roof slope, such as one meeting a hip or valley.

Truss

A structure composed of members in a triangular arrangement to constitute a rigid framework.

King Post

A vertical member extending from the apex of inclined rafters to the tie beam.

Howe Truss

A truss with horizontal chord members and web members where verticals take tension and diagonals take compression.

Fink Truss

A symmetrical truss in the form of three isosceles triangles used for supporting large sloping roofs; also called a Belgian or French truss.

Riser

The vertical face of a stair step.

Tread

The horizontal surface of a stair step.

Stair Formula

The proportional formula for stair layout defined as $T + R = 45\,\text{cm}$ ($18\,\text{in}$).

Stringer

The inclined board which supports the end of the steps in a staircase.

Baluster (Banister)

A short vertical member used to support a stair handrail.

Newel-post

A tall, ornamental post at the head or foot of a stair supporting the handrail.

Nosing (Nose)

The prominent, usually rounded, horizontal edge of a tread that extends beyond the riser.

Hollow Core Flush Door

A door with a framework of stiles and rails encasing a honeycomb core of corrugated fiberboard.

Mullion

A vertical member separating windows, doors, or panels set in series.

Sash

The framework of a window that holds the glass; it may be fixed, sliding, or pivoted.

Apron

A flat piece of trim located immediately beneath the stool of a window sill.

Muntins

The vertical members holding the edges of windowpanes within a sash.

Jalousie Window

A $100\%$ ventilating window with horizontal glass or wood louvers that pivot simultaneously.

Glazier's Point

Metal points that hold a glass pane in a sash until the face putty has hardened.

Putty

A compound of whiting and linseed oil used to secure windowpanes or patch woodwork defects.

Glazing Tape

A preformed ribbon of synthetic rubber used in glazing to form a watertight seal between glass and frame.

Setting Blocks

Blocks of lead or synthetic rubber placed under the lower edge of a glass unit to support it within a frame.

United Inches

The sum of one length and one width of a rectangular glass pane measured in inches.

Face Clearance

The distance between the face of a glass unit and the nearest face of its frame or stop.

Bite

The amount of overlap between the edge of a glass pane and a window frame or stop.

Skylight

A horizontal glazed opening in a roof designed to allow daylight to enter an interior space from above.

Dormer

A projecting structure built out from a sloping roof housing a vertical window or louver.

Rake

The inclined projecting edge of a sloping roof.

Shed Roof (Lean-to)

A roof shape having only one sloping plane.

Stool

The flat piece upon which a window shuts down, or a narrow shelf fitted across the lower part of the inside of a window opening.

Architrave

The casing that surrounds a window or doorway, especially when it is continuous with the same profile.

Plinth Block

A block used to terminate a jamb casing above the floor.

United Inches

The sum of one length and one width of a rectangular glass pane or unit measured in inches.

Edge Blocks

Synthetic rubber blocks placed between the side edges of a glass pane and a frame to center it and limit lateral movement.