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 4 of 5: from “persuader” to “sleeper”.
- persuader noun A hammer; any tool used improvisationally to strike a recalcitrant object.
- picture framing noun A square or rectangular pattern of ridges in a roof membrane or covering over insulation or deck joints.
- piledrive verb To use a piledriver on.
- piling rig noun A large crawler track-mounted drill used in foundation projects which require drilling into sandy soil, clay, silty clay, and similar…
- pitching piece noun The horizontal timber supporting the floor of a platform of a stairway, and against which the stringpieces of the sloping parts are…
- plain work noun Smooth stonework without decoration or ornamentation.
- plane verb To smooth (wood) with a plane.
- planer noun A tool which smooths a surface or makes one surface of a workpiece parallel to the tool's bed.
- planning permission noun Legal permission granted by a government authority to construct on one's land, or to change the use of the land.
- plate noun A horizontal framing member at the top or bottom of a group of vertical studs.
- plug noun A block of wood let into a wall to afford a hold for nails.
- pocket-hole noun A type of joinery that involves drilling a hole at an angle in one piece which is then joined to another by a self-tapping screw.
- point verb To repair mortar.
- pomelle noun A specific type of woodgrain in lumber and veneers, also known as "quilted" from the French.
- ponding noun The excessive accumulation of water in low-lying areas, remaining 48 hours after the end of rainfall under conditions ordinarily conducive…
- pop rivet noun A blind rivet; a rivet which can be fixed with access only to the factory head end; after passing the bucktail through the items to be…
- positive drainage noun the drainage condition in which consideration has been made during design for all loading deflections of the deck and additional roof slope…
- positive side waterproofing noun An application where the waterproofing systems and source of hydrostatic pressure are on the same side of the structural element.
- post noun A stud; a two-by-four.
- post and lintel noun A basic building method where strong horizontal elements (lintels) are supported by vertical elements (posts or columns).
- posttension verb To pour concrete first and then stretch the reinforcing strands within it by means of jacks and anchorages.
- pot life noun The period of time a reacting composition remains suitable for its intended processing after mixing with reaction-initiating agents.
- practical completion noun In a construction contract, the point at which the property can be occupied and used. Typically, half of the retention monies are released…
- prestress verb To apply stress to structural components in order to produce a tension that counteracts the loads to which the component is subjected in…
- pretension verb To apply tension to reinforcing strands before concrete is poured in.
- pretensional adj Synonym of pretension.
- prism noun A cutting (“open passage at a level lower than the surrounding terrain, dug for a canal, railway, or road to go through”) or an embankment…
- protected membrane roof noun an insulated and ballasted roofing assembly in which the insulation and ballast are applied on top of the membrane (sometimes referred to…
- pug noun Clay, soil, or other material which has been mixed and worked until flexible, soft, and free from air pockets and thus suitable for making…
- pug mill noun A kind of mill for grinding, mixing, and working clay, either for art or brickmaking. It consists essentially of an upright shaft armed…
- pull verb To obtain (a permit) from a regulatory authority.
- punch noun An extension piece applied to the top of a pile; a dolly.
- quartersaw verb Cut radially (towards the heart of the log), at right angles to the growth rings, for stability or the production of decorative patterns.
- queen noun Ellipsis of queen post.
- quicken verb To shorten the radius of (a curve); to make (a curve) sharper, or (an incline) steeper.
- racking noun A method of asphalt shingle application, whereby shingle courses are applied vertically, up the roof rather than laterally across and up.
- rad noun Clipping of radiator.
- raggle noun A groove or slot, often cut in a masonry wall or other vertical surface, for inserting an inset flashing component such as a reglet.
- ragwork noun A kind of rubblework
- rake noun The sloped edge of a roof at or adjacent to the first or last rafter.
- recover verb To add a new roof membrane or steep-slope covering over an existing one.
- reducer noun A component used to connect two pipes of different bores.
- regrate verb To remove the outer surface of, as of an old hewn stone, so as to give it a fresh appearance.
- rehabilitate verb To restore or repair (a vehicle, building); to make habitable or usable again.
- rejoint verb to fill up the joints of, as stones in buildings when the mortar has been dislodged by age and the action of the weather.
- relish verb To add one or more relishes (noun etymology 2, noun sense 2) to (a tenon, piece of wood, etc.).
- render verb To cover a wall with a layer of plaster.
- reo noun Steel used to reinforce concrete.
- reprise noun In masonry, the return of a moulding in an internal angle.
- reticulated adj Constructed with diamond-shaped stones.
- ridge course noun The last or top course of roofing materials, such as tile, roll roofing, shingles, etc. that covers the ridge and overlaps the intersecting…
- ridge tile noun A curved or bent tile specifically designed to cover the apex or ridge of a pitched roof, where two roof planes converge.
- ridge vent noun A vent located at the ridge of the roof that allows the escape of warm and/or moist air from the attic area or rafter cavity; it is usually…
- ringhead noun A cutting tool or assembly that consists of a circular head which houses multiple cutting knives or blades arranged in a ring formation.
- rip verb To cut wood along (parallel to) the grain.
- ripping noun Wood that has been ripped (cut parallel to the grain).
- ripsaw noun A saw that is designed to cut wood along its grain, i.e. to rip, to execute a rip cut.
- riser noun A vertical part of a step on a staircase.
- rive verb To use a technique of splitting or sawing wood radially from a log (e.g. clapboards).
- riveter noun A person whose job is to rivet.
- rod verb To reinforce concrete with metal rods.
- rodding noun The process of reinforcing concrete with metal rods.
- roof assembly noun an assembly of interacting roof components including the roof deck, vapor retarder (if needed), insulation and roof covering.
- roof curb noun A raised frame used to mount mechanical units (such as air conditioning or exhaust fans), skylights, etc. on a roof.
- rooter noun A blade for producing a narrow groove in a piece of wood.
- rosehead noun A conical drillbit that has radiating blades.
- run noun Horizontal dimension of a slope.
- saddle verb To cut a saddle-shaped notch in (a log or other piece of wood) so it can fit together with other such logs or pieces; also, to fit (logs or…
- salamander noun A portable stove used to heat or dry buildings under construction.
- sand jack noun A type of jack from which sand can be released gradually in small quantities when lowering something into position.
- sandwich shell noun A structure consisting of a core (which can be foam or solid, honeycomb, web, corrugated or truss) sandwiched between two thinner outer…
- sandwich theory noun A theory describing the behaviour of a beam, plate, or shell consisting of three layers: two facesheets and one core.
- scant noun A block of stone sawn on two sides down to the bed level.
- screed verb To use a screed to produce a smooth, flat surface of concrete, plaster, or similar material; also (generally) to put down a layer of…
- screen wall noun a nonstructural wall erected around units or curbs on a roof. Typically the framing consists of girts with a wood or metal covering…
- scribe verb To cut (something) in order to fit it closely to an irregular surface, as a baseboard to a floor which is out of level, a board to the…
- scuttle noun A hatch that provides access to the roof from the interior of a building.
- sealant noun A mixture of polymers, fillers, and pigments used to fill and seal joints where moderate movement is expected.
- seam noun A joint formed by mating two separate sections of materials.
- self-build adj Supplied in kit form, for construction by the owner.
- set verb To lower into place and fix solidly, as the blocks of cut stone in a structure.
- set fair verb To provide a smooth, finished surface on plaster after roughing in.
- shark fin noun An upward curled felt side lap or end lap.
- shaving horse noun A device that allows a woodworker to sit astride it while it clamps onto a piece of wood which is being worked.
- sheet rock noun Prehardened plaster of Paris (gypsum) sold in large panels and used as a wall surface in building construction.
- shift noun The extent, or arrangement, of the overlapping of plank, brick, stones, etc., that are placed in courses so as to break joints.
- shoot verb To plane straight; to fit by planing.
- shop head noun A factory head; the head formed when a rivet is manufactured
- shutter noun A panel used to contain freshly poured concrete, which is usually removed when the concrete hardens.
- shuttering noun Formwork.
- sideform noun A process for setting concrete which uses forms to confine the concrete to the desired width.
- sidewalk superintendent noun A passer-by or other person who watches and possibly advises work at a construction project from a sidewalk or other vantage point.
- sill noun A threshold; horizontal structural member of a building near ground level on a foundation or pilings, or lying on the ground, and bearing…
- single-ply membrane noun Roofing membranes that are field applied using just one layer of membrane material (either homogeneous or composite rather than multiple…
- single-ply roof noun A roof system in which the principal roof covering is a single layer of flexible membrane often thermoset or thermoplastic.
- sinker noun A sinker nail, used for framing in current construction.
- sister verb To strengthen (a supporting beam) by fastening a second beam alongside it.
- skirting board noun A panel, normally made of wood, between the floor and the interior wall of a structure, or placed in a position that is subject to repeated…
- slab noun A poured-concrete foundation for a building.
- sleeper noun A structural beam in a floor running perpendicular to both the joists beneath and floorboards above.