Construction Terms M, Construction terminology M
Construction Terms M speaks to construction terminology M and construction phrases.
It is quite simply a list of common home and commercial building construction terminology used by architects, consultants and contractors of all kinds enabling them to speak the same language.
Machine Grading The grading of wood for its structural properties, performed by automated by automated machinery as distinct from visual grading.
Macrofiber Reinforcing In concrete, fibrous reinforcement capable of providing resisitance to drying shrinkage and thermal stresses and in some specialized concretes also capable of acting as primary reinforcing.
Male Any part, such as a bolt, designed to fit into another (female) part. External threads are male.
Mandrel A stiff steel core placed inside the thin steel shell of a sitecast concrete pile to prevent it from collapsing during driving.
Mansard A roof shape consisting of two superimposed levels of hip roofs with the lower level at a steeper pitch than the upper.
Mantel The shelf above a fireplace opening. Also used in referring to the decorative trim around a fireplace opening.
Construction Terms M
Manufactured Home A transportable house that is entirely factory built on a steel underframe supported by wheels and euphemistically referred to as a mobile home.
Manufactured wood A wood product such as a truss, beam, gluelam, microlam or joist which is manufactured out of smaller wood pieces and glued or mechanically fastened to form a larger piece. Often used to create a stronger member which may use less wood. See also Oriented Strand Board.
Manufacturer's specifications The written installation and/or maintenance instructions which are developed by the manufacturer of a product and which may have to be followed in order to maintain the product warrantee.
Marble A metamorphic rock formed from limestone by heat and pressure.
Market value
An estimation of the price that could be obtained for a particular
asset if it were sold in an arm's length transaction on the current market.
Masonry
Stone,
brick, concrete, hollow-tile, concrete block, or other similar building units
or materials. Normally bonded together with mortar to form a wall.
Construction Terms M
Masonry Cement A hydraulic cement made from a blend of Portland cement, lime and other dry admixtures designed to increase the workability of the mortar.
Masonry Opening The clear dimension required in a masonry wall for the installation of a specific window or door unit.
Masonry Unit A brick, stone, concrete, block, glass block or hollow clay tile intended to be laid in mortar.
Masonry Veneer A single wythe of masonry used as a facing over a frame of wood or metal.
Master Format The copyrighted title of a uniform indexing system for construction specifications, as created by the Construction Specifications Institute and Construction Specifications Canada.
Mastic A pasty material used as a cement (as for setting tile) or a protective coating (as for thermal insulation or waterproofing)
Mat Foundation A single concrete footing that is essentially equal in area to the area of ground covered by the building.
Construction Terms M
Mechanics lien A lien on real property, created by statue in many years, in favor of persons supplying labor or materials for a building or structure, for the value of labor or materials supplied by them. In some jurisdictions, a mechanics lien also exists for the value of professional services. Clear title to the property cannot be obtained until the claim for the labor, materials, or professional services is settled. Timely filing is essential to support the encumbrance, and prescribed filing dates vary by jurisdiction.
Mechanical Inspection
A mechanical inspection is an inspection performed by a building
official to check for any discrepancies in the heating and air conditioning
work completed.
Mechanics Lein
A statutory lien created in favor of contractors, laborers and
vendors who have performed work or furnished materials in the erection or
repair of a building.
Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) A fine grained wood fiber and resin panel
product.
Medium Density Overlay (MDO) A medium weight resin treated overlay applied to plywood panels to achieve a smoother more durable face.
Medium Range Sealant A sealant material that is capable of a moderate degree of elongation before rupture.
Meeting Rail The wood or metal bar along which one sash of a double hung, single hung or sliding window seals against the other.
Member An element of a structure such as a beam, girder, column, joist, piece of decking, stud or component of a truss.
Construction Terms M
Membrane A sheet material that is impervious to water or water vapour.
Membrane Fire Protection A ceiling used to provide fire protection to the structural members above.
Metakaolin A white coloured natural pozzolan that enhances appearances, workability and hardened properties of concrete and also called high reactivity metakaolin.
Metal Decking Corrugated metal sheets used as the structural base for floors and roofs in steel frame construction.
Metal lath Sheets of metal that are slit to form openings within the lath. Used as a plaster base for walls and ceilings and as reinforcing over other forms of plaster base.
Metallic Coated Steel Steel sheet coated with zinc or zinc aluminum for improved corrosion resistance.
Metamorphic Rock A rock created by the action of heat or pressure on a sedimentary rock or soil.
Metes and Bounds
An older way of describing land in registered instruments.
Starting at a recognizable point (the meeting of two roads, the corner of a
lot), the description then describes the boundaries of the land by indicating
distances and directions for each boundary (i.e. "South 100 feet" or
"South 73 degrees, five minutes west for a distance of 100 feet"),
returning at the end of the description to the beginning point.
Construction Terms M
Microfiber Reinforcing In concrete, fibrous reinforcement against plastic shrinkage cracking.
Microlam A manufactured structural wood beam. It is constructed of pressure and adhesive bonded wood strands of wood. They have a higher strength rating than solid sawn lumber. Normally comes in l ½" thickness' and 9 ½", 11 ½" and 14" widths.
Middle Strip The half span wide zone of two way concrete slab that lies midway between columns.
Milar (mylar) Plastic, transparent copies of a blueprint.
Mild Steel Ordinary structural containing less than three tenths of 1 percent carbon.
Mill Construction The traditional name for a construction type consisting of exterior maonry bearing walls and an interior framework of heavy timbers and solid timer decking also called slow burn construction.
Milling Shaping or planning by using a rotating cutting tool.
Millwork Generally all building materials made of finished wood and manufactured in millwork plants. Includes all doors, window and door frames, blinds, mantels, panelwork, stairway components (ballusters, rail, etc.), moldings, and interior trim. Does not include flooring, ceiling, or siding.
Construction Terms M
Minimum Critical Radiant Flux Exposure A measure of a materials resistance to ignition by the radiant heat of fire and hot gases in adjacent spaces usually applied to flooring materials.
Miter joint The joint of two pieces at an angle that bisects the joining angle. For example, the miter joint at the side and head casing at a door opening is made at a 45° angle.
Model Building Code A code that is offered by a recognized national organization as worthy of adoption by state or local governments.
Modified Bitumen A natural bitumen with admixtures of synthetic compounds to enhance such properties as flexibility, plasticity and durability.
Modified Bitumen Roof Membrane A multi ply bituminous roof membrane made from plies of factory manufactured modified bitumen sheets.
Modular Conforming to a multiple of a fixed dimension.
Modular Green Roof A green roof system in which all components are provided in self contained, easily transported and installed trays or modules.
Construction Terms M
Modular Home A house assembled on the site from boxlike factory built sections.
Modulus of Elasticity An index of the stiffness of a material derived by measuring the elastic deformation of the material as it is placed under stress by the deformation of the material as it is placed under stress by the deformation.
Moisture Barrier A membrane used to resist the migration of liquid water through a floor, wall or roof.
Molding A wood strip having an engraved, decorative surface.
Molding Plaster A fast setting gypsum plaster used for the manufacture of cast ornament.
Moment A force acting at a distance from a point in a structure so as to cause a tendency of the structure to rotate about that point.
Moment Connection A connection between two structural members that is highly resistant to rotation between the members and therefore capable of transmitting bending moments between the connected members, as differentiated from a shear connection which allows slight rotation.
Construction Terms M
Moment Resisting Frame A structural building frame, strengthened to resist lateral forces with moment connections between beams and columns.
Momentum The tendency of a moving body to continue to move in the same direction unless acted on by an outside force.
Monolithic Of a single massive piece.
Monolithic Terrazzo A thin terrazzo toping applied to a concrete slab without an underbed.
Monopost Adjustable metal column used to support a beam or bearing point. Normally 11 gauge or Schedule 40 metal, and determined by the structural engineer.
Mortar A mixture of cement (or lime) with sand and water used in masonry work.
Mortar Cement In masonry, a blend of Portland cement, lime and other additives that produces mortar comparable in its bond strength properties to cement lime mortar.
Mortgage Loan secured by land.
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Mortgage broker A broker who represents numerous lenders and helps consumers find affordable mortgages; the broker charges a fee only if the consumer finds a loan.
Mortgage company A company that borrows money from a bank, lends it to consumers to buy homes, then sells the loans to investors.
Mortgage deed Legal document establishing a loan on property.
Mortgagee The lender who makes the mortgage loan.
Mortgage loan A contract in which the borrower's property is pledged as collateral. It is repaid in installments. The mortgagor (buyer) promises to repay principal and interest, keep the home insured, pay all taxes and keep the property in good condition.
Mortgage Origination Fee A charge for work involved in preparing and servicing a mortgage application (usually one percent of the loan amount).
Mortgagor
The borrower in a mortgage agreement
Construction Terms M
Mortise A slot cut into a board, plank, or timber, usually edgewise, to receive the tenon (or tongue) of another board, plank, or timber to form a joint.
Mortise and Tenon A joint in which a tonguelike protusion (tenon) on the end of one piece is tightly fitted into a rectangular slot (mortise) in the side of the other piece.
Movement Joint A line or plane along which movement is allowed to take place in a building or a surface of a building in response to such forces as moisture expansion and contraction, thermal expansion and contraction, foundation settling and seismic forces.
MPa Megapascal, a unit of pressure equal to 1 meganewton per square meter.
Mudsill Bottom horizontal member of an exterior wall frame which rests on top a foundation, sometimes called sill plate. Also sole plate, bottom member of interior wall frame.
Mud Slab A slab of weak concrete placed directly on the ground to provide a usually temporary working surface that is hard, level and dry.
Mullion A vertical divider in the frame between windows, doors, or other openings.
Muntin A small member which divides the glass or openings of sash or doors.
Muriatic acid Commonly used as a brick cleaner after masonry work is completed.
Mushroom The unacceptable occurrence when the top of a caisson concrete pier spreads out and hardens to become wider than the foundation wall thickness.
Mushroom Capital A flaring conical head on a concrete column.
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