Jargon Buster
If you don't know your purlin from your pointing, our jargon-busting glossary of builders' terms should help.
A to G - H to Z
Architrave - Moulding round opening such as door or window
Arris - Sharp external angle - usually 90 degrees
Baluster - Alternative term for Banister
Barge Board - Wide board fitted on edge of tiles following the slope
of the roof
Bead - Small convex moulding
Bib Tap - Tap fed by horizontal supply - as in a garden tap
Blown or Live - Plaster that has lost its bond with the wall
Bond - Arrangement of bricks to ensure stability of brickwork
Buttress or Pier - Thickening of wall to form a vertical projection
to strengthen it
Cavity Wall - Usual construction for external walls comprising an
inner and outer leaf with a space between for insulation
Cistern - Tank for storing water - usually located in the attic
Cleat - cable fixing for phone wire, etc
Coping - Protective finish to the top of a wall
Corbelling - Successive projecting courses of brickwork
Cove or Cornice - Moulding around room at junction of wall and
ceiling
Dado Rail - Horizontal moulding part way up a wall
Deal - Term for piece of square-sawn softwood
Distemper - Wall paint made from water, pigment and glue
(traditional)
Drip - Moulding or groove in overhanging member to prevent water
creeping back
Eaves - Overhang of roof beyond wall below
Efflorescence - Unsightly powdery white salts brought to surface of
brickwork
Flashing - Metal sheet used to deflect water at junction between roof
and wall
Flat Arch - An arch that is almost completely horizontal
Flaunching - Cement mortar filler round the top of a chimney stack
Flue - Tube conveying smoke or fumes from fireplaces or appliances
Flush Door - Door with completely flat faces
Footlifter - Wedge used to lift boards for nailing to wall
Formation Level - The deep point in an excavation for a drive or path
Frog - Indent on bed face of a brick
Gauged Brickwork - Fine brickwork with very thin joints
Gable or Verge - Upper part of an outer wall at the end of a pitched
roof
Glazing Bar - Thin bar shaped to receive pane of glass
Gravity Fed System - Central heating system that circulates water by
gravity and water expansion .
Can't find what you're looking for?
More terminology & definitions in our
builders glossary.
If you have any queries at all please don't hesitate to call us on
telephone: 01832 293 635
Alternatively, you can email us for more
information.
