This page gathers the 510 dictionary entries belonging to the domain “Construction”, as labelled by Wiktionary. Each word leads to its full entry: definitions, etymology, pronunciation, examples. Page 1 of 5: from “abreuvoir” to “closed assembly time”.
- abreuvoir noun The joint or interstice between stones, to be filled with mortar.
- abs noun Initialism of all-black stuff: i.e. acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, referring to the black color of the waste water.
- adequately wet adj Of asbestos: made wet for safety reasons, in order to prevent the escape of harmful particles, for example during demolition.
- against the grain prep_phrase Preventing a smooth, level surface from being formed by raising the nap of the wood or causing larger splinters to form ahead of the…
- aged R-value noun thermal resistance value established by using artificial conditioning procedures for a prescribed period of time.
- aggregate noun Crushed stone, crushed slag or water-worn gravel used for surfacing a built-up roof system.
- air admittance vent noun a mechanical sewer vent that allows air to enter into the sewage system but does not allow exhaust of sewer gases, to aid the flow of…
- air-blown asphalt noun Asphalt produced by blowing air through molten asphalt to raise its softening point and modify other properties.
- airspace noun The cavity in a cavity wall containing air for insulation.
- alligatoring noun The cracking of the surfacing bitumen on a bituminous roof or coating on a SPF roof, producing a pattern of cracks similar to an…
- aluminosis noun A structural defect resulting from the degradation of poor quality concrete.
- angle bar noun An upright bar at the angle where two faces of a polygonal or bay window meet.
- angle brace noun A brace across an interior angle of a wooden frame, forming the hypotenuse and securing the two side pieces together.
- apron flashing noun A flashing located at the juncture of the top of a sloped roof and a vertical wall, chimney or steeper-sloped roof.
- architectural concrete noun Concrete that is exposed to view because it forms part of a surface, and may therefore need special attention given to its appearance.
- architectural panel noun A metal roof panel, typically a double standing seam or batten seam; usually requires solid decking underneath and relies of slope to shed…
- as-built noun A drawing showing how a project was actually built as opposed to how it was intended to be built.
- ashlaring noun The short upright pieces between the floor beams and rafters in garrets.
- asphalt shingle noun A shingle manufactured by coating a reinforcing material (felt or fibrous glass mat) with asphalt and having mineral granules on the side…
- backerboard noun Boards used as underlayment for tile, plaster, or other materials.
- backprime verb To apply a layer of primer to the back side of (a surface).
- ballast noun A material, such as aggregate or precast concrete pavers, which employs its mass and the force of gravity to hold single-ply roof membranes…
- balloon frame noun A house frame constructed entirely of small timber. It uses long continuous framing members (wall studs) that run from the sill plate to…
- barleycorn noun A small groove between two moldings.
- barrel vault noun A building profile featuring a rounded profile to the roof on the short axis, but with no angle change on a cut along the long axis.
- barrier board noun noncombustible board stock material of low thermal conductivity placed between two elements of a roof assembly.
- base cap noun A decorative molding that is applied on top of a baseboard molding to create a layered trim and finished look.
- base flashing noun Plies or strips of roof membrane material used to close-off and/or seal a roof at the horizonta-to-vertical intersections. Membrane base…
- baseboard noun A panel or molding between the floor and the interior wall of a structure.
- baseboard heating noun A type of zone heating that uses a series of heating elements along the bottom of a wall to gradually release heat into a room.
- basher noun Before the days of pneumatic rivet guns, the member of a riveting team who hammered the rivet to upset the bucktail to form the field head…
- batching plant noun Usually a set of equipment assembled for the purpose of mixing concrete from raw materials, typically sand or gravel, cement, and water…
- batten noun A plank or strip of wood, or several of such strips arranged side by side, used in construction to hold members of a structure together, to…
- batter rule noun An instrument consisting of a (normally wooden) rule or frame, and a plumb line, by which the batter (slope) of a wall is regulated.
- bead noun A decorative, convex, rounded profile (often a half-circle) cut into an edge or surface of wood, typically defined by a narrow, deep…
- bed noun The horizontal surface of a building stone.
- bedrock noun The solid rock found at some depth below the ground surface.
- bellyscraper noun A piece of earthmoving equipment used to level land and build roads. A heavy equipment machinery with a blade on the bottom and a hopper on…
- bent noun Such a subunit as a component of a barn's framing, joined to other bents by girts and summer beams.
- bentwood noun Lengths of wood that have been made pliable by heating with steam and then bent into the appropriate shape (to make furniture, ships'…
- Bermuda seam noun a metal panel profile featuring a step-down profile that runs perpendicular to the slope of the roof.
- bifold noun A door, window, shutter, or divider consisting of two equal panels hinged together so that it opens by folding the panels against each…
- bifolding adj Having a bifold design, with two equal panels hinged together so as to open by folding the panels against each other.
- birdsmouth noun A notch cut into the underside of a rafter to ensure that it does not move when resting on the wall plate running across the top of a wall…
- biscuit noun A thin oval wafer of wood or other material inserted into mating slots on pieces of material to be joined to provide gluing surface and…
- biscuitry noun The process of inserting biscuits (thin ovals of wood or other material) into mating slots in order to provide a gluing surface.
- blind adj Able to be fixed without access to one end.
- blind rivet noun A rivet which can be fixed with access only to the factory head end; most commonly a pop rivet fitted by passing the bucktail through the…
- blister noun An enclosed pocket of air, which may be mixed with water or solvent vapor, trapped between impermeable layers of felt or between the…
- blockout noun A void that is deliberately not filled with concrete, so that it can be used to insert something else such as pipework.
- blowing agent noun An expanding agent used to produce a gas by chemical or thermal action, or both, in the manufacture of hollow or cellular materials.
- blowout noun The damage done to the exit side of a drilled hole or sawn edge when no sacrificial backerboard is used during the drilling or sawing: the…
- bluetop noun A stake or other marker set into the subgrade to indicate the desired grade elevation.
- boast verb To dress, as a stone, with a broad chisel.
- bond verb To lay bricks in a specific pattern.
- bond timber noun A wooden beam integrated into masonry walls in order to strengthen the structure by tying sections together longitudinally.
- bone verb To sight along an object or set of objects to check whether they are level or in line.
- boot noun A flexible cover of rubber or plastic, which may be preformed to a particular shape and used to protect a shaft, lever, switch, or opening…
- borrow noun A borrow pit.
- boss up verb To modify a corner in sheet lead to avoid leaving a hole in the angle.
- bottle house noun A structure, often a folk art construction or an eco-friendly dwelling, built primarily using glass or plastic bottles bound together with…
- bottle trap noun A bottle-like reservoir that fits the pipe below a drain and collects waste.
- boule noun A through-sawn log with the slices restacked in the order and orientation they originally had in the log, usually with waney edges.
- boxing noun Casing.
- brace up verb To strengthen with bracing material.
- breakthrough noun The penetration of a separating wall or the remaining distance to an adjacent hollow (a crosscut in mining) or between two parts of a…
- breezer noun A vertical pipe attached to a septic system's distribution pipe that rises above the ground to provide ventilation.
- broach noun A broad chisel for stone-cutting.
- broom verb To improve the embedding of a membrane by using a broom or squeegee to smooth it out and ensure contact with the adhesive under the…
- browning noun A smooth coat of brown mortar, usually the second coat, and the preparation for the finishing coat of plaster.
- buck verb To press a heavy, shaped bucking bar against the bucktail of a rivet, while the opposite end (the rivet factory head) is hammered by a…
- bucking bar noun A heavy bar held against the bucktail of a solid rivet, which has been heated if necessary to soften it, and passed through the items to be…
- buckle noun An upward, elongated displacement of a roof membrane, frequently occurring over deck joints or insulation, which may indicate movement of…
- buhl noun A particularly decorative piece of brass or other material, used as inlay in furniture or other works.
- buildable adj Suitable for building on.
- builder's remedy noun A legal mechanism in the United States where, if a municipality fails to comply with state laws regarding the development of new housing, a…
- building site noun The site, the place where a building is located, is currently under construction, or shall be constructed (including structures other than…
- built-up roof noun A continuous, semi-flexible roof membrane, consisting of multiple plies of saturated felts, coated felts, fabrics or mats assembled in…
- bullnose noun A rounded ceramic trim, especially in masonry and ceramic tile.
- butment noun The mass of stone or solid work at the end of a bridge, by which the extreme arches are sustained, or by which the end of a bridge without…
- butment cheek noun The part of a mortised timber surrounding the mortise, and against which the shoulders of the tenon bear.
- butt noun A kind of hinge used in hanging doors, etc., so named because it is attached to the inside edge of the door and butts against the casing…
- butt hinge noun A kind of hinge used in hanging doors, lid, covers, etc.; so named because fastened on the edge of the door, which butts against the frame…
- butt joint noun A joint formed by adjacent, separate section of material, such as where two neighboring pieces of insulation abut.
- button punch noun indenting two or more thicknesses of metal that are pressed against each other to prevent slippage between the metal.
- callow adj Of a brick: unburnt.
- cant strip noun a beveled strip used under flashings to modify the angle at the point where the roofing or waterproofing membrane meets any vertical…
- cantilever noun A beam anchored at one end and projecting into space, such as a long bracket projecting from a wall to support a balcony.
- cap flashing noun Flashing, usually composed of metal, used to cover or shield the upper edges of the membrane base flashing; wall flashing can also be used…
- carpenter's pencil noun A pencil specifically designed for the requirements of a carpenter: oval shape makes it less likely to roll away, and thick graphite…
- cartridge noun A replaceable valve assembly within a faucet or shower fixture that regulates the flow and temperature of the water.
- carving knife noun A knife used to pare, cut, and smooth wood.
- cat's-paw noun A small crowbar with a handle at a right angle to a blade with a V-shaped notch, principally used by carpenters to remove nails.
- caul noun A strip or block of wood used to distribute or direct clamping force.
- caulk verb To apply caulking to joints, cracks, or a juncture of different materials.
- channel noun A structural member with a cross section shaped like a squared-off letter C.
- chimney flashing noun A strip of material around the base of a chimney, traditionally lead and sometimes including a short length of flue, that prevents…
- cladding noun A weatherproof, insulating or decorative covering fixed to the outside of a building.
- clear noun Full extent; distance between extreme limits; especially; the distance between the nearest surfaces of two bodies, or the space between…
- closed assembly time noun The time elapsing between the closed contact of an assembly of glued joints until application or full pressure.