Construction Terms Spqrst,
Construction terminology Spqrst
Construction Terms Spqrst speaks to construction terminology Spqrst and construction phrases Spqrst.
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.
Space Truss, Space Frame A truss that spans with two way action.
Spalling The cracking or flaking of the surface of concrete or masonry units caused for example by freeze thaw action, corroding reinforcing, or pointing mortars that are harder and stronger than the mortar deeper in the masonry joint.
Space Heat Heat supplied to the living space, for example, to a room or the living area of a building.
Spacing The distance between individual members or shingles in building construction.
Span The clear distance that a framing member carries a load without support between structural supports. The horizontal distance from eaves to eaves.
Spandrel The wall area between the head of a window on one storey and the sill of a window on the floor above, the area of a wall between adjacent arches.
Spandrel Beam A beam that runs along the outside edge of a floor or roof.
Spandrel Glass Opaque glass manufactured especially for use in spandrel panels.
Spandrel Panel A curtain wall panel used in a spandrel.
Span Rating The number stamped on a sheet of plywood or other wood building panel to indicate how far in inches it may span between supports.
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Spec Home A house built before it is sold. The builder speculates that he can sell it at a profit.
Specifications or Specs A narrative list of materials, methods, model numbers, colors, allowances, and other details which supplement the information contained in the blue prints. Written elaboration in specific detail about construction materials and methods. Written to supplement working drawings.
Spirit Level A tool in which a bubble in an upwardly curving cylindrical glass vial indicates whether a building element is level or not level, plumb or not plumb.
Splash Block Portable concrete (or vinyl) channel generally placed beneath an exterior sill cock (water faucet) or downspout in order to receive roof drainage from downspouts and to divert it away from the building.
Spline A thin strip inserted into grooves in two mating pieces of material to hold them in alignment, a ridge or strip of material intended to lock to a mating groove. In glazing the edge spacer in an insulating glass unit.
Split Jamb A door frame fabricated in two interlocking halves to be installed from the opposite sides of an opening.
Spray Applied Fire Resistive Material (SFRM) Fibrous or cement insulation applied to steel or concrete with a sprayer to provide protection against the heat of fire.
Springwood In wood, the portion of the growth ring comprised of relatively larger less dense cells also called earlywood.
SSP Stressed skin panel.
Square A unit of measure-100 square feet-usually applied to roofing and siding material. Also, a situation that exists when two elements are at right angles to each other. Also a tool for checking this.
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Square-Tab Shingles Shingles on which tabs are all the same size and exposure.
Squeegie Fine pea gravel used to grade a floor (normally before concrete is placed).
Stack (trusses) To position trusses on the walls in their correct location.
Staggered Truss System A steel framing system in which story high trusses, staggered one half bay from one story to the next, support floor decks on both their top and bottom chords.
Stain A coating intended primarily to change the colour of wood or concrete without forming an impervious film.
Stainless Steel A steel alloy silvery in colour with superior corrosion resistance due principally to high chromium and nickel content.
Stair Carriage or Stringer Supporting member for stair treads. Usually a 2 X 12 inch plank notched to receive the treads; sometimes called a "rough horse."
Stair Landing A platform between flights of stairs or at the termination of a flight of stairs. Often used when stairs change direction. Normally no less than 3 ft. X 3 ft. square.
Stair Rise The vertical distance from stair tread to stair tread (and not to exceed 7 ½").
Standard Practices of the Trade(s) One of the more common basic and minimum construction standards. This is another way of saying that the work should be done in the way it is normally done by the average professional in the field.
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Standing and Running Trim Door and window casings and baseboards.
Standing Seam A sheet metal roofing seam that projects at right angles to the plane of the roof.
Static Coefficient of Friction (SCOF) A measure of the slip resistance of a flooring material.
Starter Strip Asphalt roofing applied at the eaves that provides protection by filling in the spaces under the cutouts and joints of the first course of shingles.
Static Vent A vent that does not include a fan.
STC (Sound Transmission Class) The measure of sound stopping of ordinary noise.
Stay A sloping cable used to stabilize a structure.
Steam Curing Aiding and accelerating the setting reaction of concrete by the application of steam.
Steel Iron with a controlled amount of carbon, generally less than 2 percent.
Steel Inspection A municipal and/or engineers inspection of the concrete foundation wall, conducted before concrete is poured into the foundation panels. Done to insure that the rebar (reinforcing bar), rebar nets, void material, beam pocket plates, and basement window bucks are installed and wrapped with rebar and complies with the foundation plan.
Steel Reinforcing Bars Hot rolled, deformed steel bars used to impart tensile strength and ductility to concrete structures, rebar.
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Steel Trowel A metal bladed tool used in the final stages of finishing of a concrete slab.
Steep Roof A roof with sufficient slope to be made waterproof with shingles. In the International Building Code, a roof with a slope of 2:12 (17 percent) or greater.
Step Flashing Flashing application method used where a vertical surface meets a sloping roof plane. 6" X 6" galvanized metal bent at a 90 degree angle, and installed beneath siding and over the top of shingles. Each piece overlaps the one beneath it the entire length of the sloping roof (step by step).
Sticking The cementing together of defects in marble slabs.
Stick Built A house built without prefabricated parts. Also called conventional building.
Stick System A metal curtain wall system that is largely assembled in place.
Stiffener Plate A steel plate attached to a structural member to support it against heavy localized loading or stresses.
Stiff Mud Process A method of molding bricks in which a column of damp clay is extruded from a rectangular die and cut into bricks by fine wires.
Stile An upright framing member in a panel door.
Stirrup A vertical loop of steel bar used to reinforce a concrete beam against diagonal tension forces.
Stirrup Tie A stirrup that forms a complete loop as differentiated from U stirrup which has an open top.
Stool The flat molding fitted over the window sill between jambs and contacting the bottom rail of the lower sash.
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Stop Box Normally a cast iron pipe with a lid (@ 5" in diameter) that is placed vertically into the ground, situated near the water tap in the yard, and where a water cut-off valve to the home is located (underground). A long pole with a special end is inserted into the curb stop to turn off/on the water.
Stop Order A formal, written notification to a contractor to discontinue some or all work on a project for reasons such as safety violations, defective materials or workmanship, or cancellation of the contract.
Stops Moldings along the inner edges of a door or window frame. Also valves used to shut off water to a fixture.
Stop Valve A device installed in a water supply line, usually near a fixture, that permits an individual to shut off the water supply to one fixture without interrupting service to the rest of the system.
Storm Sash or Storm Window An extra window usually placed outside of an existing one, as additional protection against cold weather.
Storm Sewer A sewer system designed to collect storm water and is separated from the waste water system.
Story That part of a building between any floor or between the floor and roof.
Story Pole A strip of wood marked with the exact course heights of masonry for a particular building used to make sure that all the leads are identical in height and coursing.
Straightedge To strike off the surface of a concrete slab using screeds and a straight piece of lumber or metal, as a noun, a long, straight item used to perform straight edging, test the flatness of a surface or trace a straight line.
Strain Deformation under stress, expressed as a ratio of the change in length over original length.
Stress Force per unit area.
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Stress Skin Panel (SSP) A panel consisting of two face sheets of wood, metal or concrete bonded to perpendicular spacer ribs or framing members such that the panel can act as a composite structural panel.
Stretcher A brick or masonry unit laid in its most usual position with the broadest surface of the unit horizontal and the length of the unit parallel to the surface of the wall.
Striated Textured with parallel scratches or grooves.
Strike The plate on a door frame that engages a latch or dead bolt.
String, Stringer A timber or other support for cross members in floors or ceilings. In stairs, the supporting member for stair treads. Usually a 2 X 12 inch plank notched to receive the treads
Strip Flooring Wood flooring consisting of narrow, matched strips.
Stripping Removing formwork from concrete, sealing around a roof flashing with layers of bitumen.
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Structural Bond The interlocking pattern of masonry units used to tie two or more withes together in a wall.
Structural Composite Lumber Substitutes for solid lumber made from wood veneers or wood fiber strands and glue also called engineered lumber.
Structural Floor A framed lumber floor that is installed as a basement floor instead of concrete. This is done on very expansive soils.
Structural Glazed Facing Tile A hollow clay masonry unit with glazed faces.
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Structural Grade Plastic Lumber (SGPL) Lumber like plastic members reinforced with glass fibers and formulated to be roughly as strong as conventional solid wood.
Structural Insulated Panel (SIP) A panel consisting of twp face sheets of wood panel bonded together by plastic foam core.
Structural Lightweight Aggregate Lightweight aggregate with sufficient density and strength for use in structural concrete.
Structural Mill The portion of a steel mill that rolls structural shapes.
Structural Silicone Flush Glazing Glass secured to the face of a building with strong, highly adhesive silicone sealant to eliminate the need for any metal to appear on the exterior of the building.
Structural Standing Seam Metal Roofing Sheets of folded metal that serve both as decking and as the waterproof layer of a roof.
Structural Terra Cotta Molded components often highly ornamental made of fired clay, designed to be used in the facades of buildings.
Structure Enclosure Joint A connection designed to allow the structure of a building and its cladding or partitions to move independently.
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Stub, Stubbed To push through.
Stucco Refers to an outside plaster finish made with Portland cement as its base.
Stud A vertical wood framing member, also referred to as a wall stud, attached to the horizontal sole plate below and the top plate above. Normally 2 X 4's or 2 X 6's, 8' long (sometimes 92 5/8"). One of a series of wood or metal vertical structural members placed as supporting elements in walls and partitions.
Stud Framing A building method that distributes structural loads to each of a series of relatively lightweight studs. Contrasts with post-and-beam.
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Stud Shoe A metal, structural bracket that reinforces a vertical stud. Used on an outside bearing wall where holes are drilled to accommodate a plumbing waste line.
Styrene Butadiene Styrene (SBS) A copolymer of butadiene and styrene used as a modifier in polymer modified bitumen roofing.
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