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 2 of 5: from “closed-cut valley” to “glass felt”.
- closed-cut valley noun a method of valley application in which shingles from one side of the valley extend across the valley while shingles from the other side…
- cog noun A projection or tenon at the end of a beam designed to fit into a matching opening of another piece of wood to form a joint.
- cog joint noun A type of joint used involving a projection or tenon at the end of a beam and in which the tenon fits into a matching opening in another…
- cold patch noun A mass of semisolid asphalt concrete tamped into potholes in a paved surface to provide a temporary repair, typically used in cold winter…
- compass noun A curved circular form.
- compass plane noun A plane, convex in the direction of its length on the underside, for smoothing the concave faces of curved woodwork.
- composite board insulation noun A rigid board insulation generally composed of perlite or wood fiberboard factory bonded to polyisocyanurate or polystyrene.
- contractee noun The party to a construction contract who is not the contractor; frequently the owner.
- control joint noun A groove which is formed, sawn, or tooled in a concrete or masonry structure to regulate the location and amount of cracking and separation…
- cook noun The member of a hot-rivetting team who heats the rivets in a brazier, see rivet.
- cope noun A covering piece on top of a wall exposed to the weather, usually made of metal, masonry, or stone, and sloped to carry off water.
- cope and stick noun A frame-and-panel joinery technique used to make doors, wainscoting, etc., involving a molded edge with a cut along the inside of the frame…
- counter batten noun vertical wood strips installed on sloped roofs over which horizontal battens are secured. The primary roof covering is attached or secured…
- counterflashing noun Formed metal or elastomeric sheeting secured on or into a wall, curb, pipe or other surface, to cover and protect the upper edge of a base…
- counterlath noun A batten laid lengthwise between two rafters as a bearing for laths laid crosswise.
- course noun A row of bricks or blocks.
- cover noun The distance between reinforcing steel and the exterior of concrete.
- cover board noun An insulation board used over closed cell plastic insulation (e.g., polyisocyanurate) to prevent blistering when used in conjunction with…
- cradle noun A ribbing for vaulted ceilings and arches intended to be covered with plaster.
- cradling noun The framework in arched or coved ceilings to which the laths are nailed.
- craneman noun A crane operator.
- crawl space noun A level, narrow opening underneath the bottom of a building or storey used to give access to pipes, cables and other utilities.
- cross-halving joint noun A joint used for intermediate framework where half the thickness is removed from both pieces of timber where they cross.
- cut and cover noun A method of building a tunnel by digging a trench, constructing tunnel walls therein, and refilling the trench with earth.
- cutback noun Solvent-thinned bitumen used in cold process roofing adhesives, cements and coatings.
- cyclopean adj Fitted together of huge irregular stones.
- dado verb To cut a dado.
- damp proofing noun treatment of a surface or structure to resist the passage of water in the absence of hydrostatic pressure.
- dap noun A notch cut in one timber to receive another.
- davit noun A crane, often working in pairs and usually made of steel, used to lower things over an edge of a long drop off, such as lowering a…
- dead load noun The weight of a structure itself, including the weight of fixtures or equipment permanently attached to it.
- dead weight noun A dead load.
- deadman noun A long object, often a timber or log, buried to serve as an anchor for a wall or for stays.
- design load noun The total load on a structural system for the most severe combination of loads and forces which it is designed to sustain.
- diaphragm noun A floor slab, metal wall panel, roof panel or the like, having a sufficiently large in-plane shear stiffness and sufficient strength to…
- dimensional shingle noun A shingle that is textured, overlayed, or laminated and designed to produce a three-dimensional effect.
- dimit verb To dismiss, let go, or release.
- distributable noun Any of the costs that are not directly associated with a specific account.
- doty adj Suffering from rot, or waterlogged
- double coverage noun Application of asphalt, slate, or wood roofing such that the lapped portion is at least two inches wider than the exposed portion…
- dovetail verb To unite (components) with a dovetail (noun sense 2.1) or similar joint.
- dovetailed adj Having a dovetail joint.
- dowel noun A piece of wood or similar material fitted into a surface not suitable for fastening so that other pieces may be fastened to it.
- dowelling noun A dowel.
- downstrike verb To point (finish a joint) by pressing mortar in at the bottom.
- dozy adj Decaying, rotten, spongy.
- drag noun A steel instrument for completing the dressing of soft stone.
- drip edge noun A metal flashing or other overhanging component with an outward projecting lower edge, intended to control the direction of dripping water…
- dry adj Built without or lacking mortar.
- dry well noun An underground structure (for example, a pit filled with gravel) that disposes of unwanted water (most commonly surface runoff and…
- drying time noun The time required for the loss of volatile components so that the material will no longer be adversely affected by weather conditions such…
- dutchman noun A piece of wood or stone used to repair a larger piece, shaped such that it fills as exactly as possible a void or cavity that is to be…
- dwang noun A horizontal timber (or steel) section used in the construction of a building.
- earthmoving adj Designed to move large quantities of earth or rubble for civil engineering or building purposes.
- earthscraper noun Synonym of bellyscraper (“a piece of heavy equipment”).
- edge venting noun The practice of providing regularly spaced or continuously protected openings along a roof edge or perimeter, used as part of a ventilation…
- edgebanding noun Veneer or laminate of the same type of material as used for the surface of furniture and with width matching standard thicknesses of such…
- efflorescence noun An encrustation of soluble salts, commonly white, deposited on the surface of stone, brick, plaster, or mortar; usually caused by free…
- English bond noun In bricklaying, an arrangement of bricks such that one course has the short sides of the bricks (headers) facing outwards, and the next…
- entrench verb To dig or excavate a trench; to trench.
- expansion joint noun A structural separation between two building elements that allows free movement between the elements without damage to the system.
- eyebar noun A straight bar, usually of metal, with a hole or "eye" at each end to allow it to be fixed to other components.
- eyebrow noun A dormer, usually of small size, whose roof line over the upright face is typically an arched curve, turning into a reverse curve to meet…
- facadism noun a method where the facade is designed and/or constructed independently of the remainder of the rest of the building.
- factory head noun The head formed when a rivet is manufactured, as opposed to the shank (or bucktail), the end of which will be upset to form the field head…
- fallback noun A reduction in bitumen softening point, sometimes called refluxing or overheating, in a relatively closed container.
- fascine noun Originally a cylindrical bundle of small sticks of wood, and now often a bundle of plastic pipes, bound together, and used for…
- feather verb To finely shave or bevel an edge.
- feathering strip noun One of the tapered wood filler strips placed along the butt ends of old wood shingles to create a relatively smooth surface when reroofing…
- field head noun The head formed by upsetting the bucktail of a rivet after it is inserted through the materials to be connected, as opposed to the factory…
- field seam noun A splice or seam made in the field (not factory) where overlapping sheets are joined together using an adhesive, splicing tape, or heat or…
- fill soil noun Soil used for filling, that is, found within or contemporaneously placed within a cavity, or a supply of soil for use as fill.
- fillet noun A heavy bead of waterproofing compound or sealant material generally installed at the point where vertical and horizontal surfaces meet.
- final setting time noun Of concrete, the time elapsed between the moment that water is added to the cement, and the moment when the paste has completely lost its…
- finger joint noun A joint, usually glued, in which multiple integral protrusions are fit into mating slots, used especially for manufacturing long moldings.
- finisher noun A construction machine used to smooth a newly constructed road surface.
- firestop noun A fire block.
- fishmouth noun A half-cylindrical or half-conical shaped opening or void in a lapped edge or seam, usually caused by wrinkling or shifting of ply sheets…
- flapper noun A flapper valve.
- flashing noun Components used to weatherproof or seal roof system edges at perimeters, penetrations, walls, expansion joints, valleys, drains and other…
- flashing collar noun an accessory flashing used to cover and/or seal soil pipe vents and other penetrations through a roof (sometimes referred to as roof jack…
- flat lock noun a method of interlocking metal panels in which one panel edge is folded back on top of itself and the other panel is folded under, after…
- fleece noun Mat or felts composed of fibers, sometimes used as a membrane backer.
- Flemish bond noun In bricklaying, an arrangement of bricks such that each course consists of alternate bricks having their short sides (headers) and long…
- flood test noun the procedure in which a controlled amount of water is temporarily retained over a horizontal surface to determine the effectiveness of the…
- floor noun A structure formed of beams, girders, etc, with proper covering, which divides a building horizontally into storeys/stories.
- flush verb To fill in (joints); to point the level; to make them flush.
- fly in noun A method of application for roll materials by which the dry sheet is set into the bitumen or adhesive applied to the roof surface.
- footplate noun A timber in a wood frame that distributes a concentrated load.
- formboard noun A board or slab that serves as a mold for poured concrete.
- frame up verb To erect the initial walls and roof of (a new building).
- framing hammer noun A form of a claw hammer used for heavy wood construction, particularly house framing and concrete formwork.
- free-hanging adj Hanging clear of other objects and without support from other objects.
- frowey adj Working smoothly or without splitting.
- fur verb To level a surface by applying furring to it.
- galletting noun The insertion of flint fillets into the joints of masonry.
- gather noun The soffit or under surface of the masonry required in gathering. See gather.
- general contractor noun A contractor hired to manage a project and to hire subcontractors. (If a customer serves as their own general contractor then this means…
- girthweld noun A circumferential weld that joins two cylindrical sections, such as pipes or pressure vessels, by welding around their perimeter. Girth…
- glass felt noun glass fibers bonded into a sheet with resin and suitable for impregnation with asphalt in the manufacture of bituminous waterproofing…