A Homeowner's Glossary
Confused by design, decorating, landscaping and remodeling terms?
We created this handy glossary page to help you keep track of what's what.
- Arcing ~ Simply, the flow of electricity from one conductor to another; however, dangerous arcing occurs when the current flows outside the normal or expected path. Dangerous arcing (serious fire hazard) can be caused by poor workmanship or damage to your wiring caused by a nail or screw or other physical damage, or deteriorated wiring due to age, heat, water or sunlight, etc. Arcing, which can create flashes, flames and a crackling sound, can occur behind your walls, but also in appliances, extension cords, and floor and table lamps.
- Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI) ~ Sometimes called the "breaker with a brain," an AFCI is fire protection technology that works just like a regular circuit breaker but also electronically detects arcing and will disconnect the power before the arc starts a fire. For new construction and significant remodeling, the AFCI is now required for all circuits leading to bedrooms. For homeowners with older wiring for whom rewiring is not an option, your electrician might recommend replacing certain breakers with the AFCI.
- Collar tie ~ A board (usually a 1 x 6, 1 x 8, or 2 x 6) that connects opposing rafters below the ridge of a roof to keep the rafter from spreading.
- Flashing ~ Weatherproof shielding used at joints in the roof, usually around the base of the chimney where it meets the roof, and around the base of pipes that protrude from the roof. The flashing deflects and directs water away from the joint. Valley Flashing seals the joint between the back of the dormer and the roof. Flashing is often, but not always made of metal, either copper or aluminum. It can also be made of rubber or synthetic composites.
- Flat roof ~ A roof that does not have rafters; instead, the ceiling joists of the top story support the roofing. For other roof styles, see Gabled roof, and Hip roof.
- Framing ~ The "bones" of your house, or the "skeleton" that supports your walls and roof. Older ranch houses are likely to have lumber framing. If the house is solid brick, stone or concrete block, you may see only reinforcement framing. The most common type of framing is platform, where the subfloor of the first story extends all the way to the outside edge of the foundation and forms -- you guessed it -- a platform on which the walls of the house rest. Other types of framing include balloon, and post-and-beam, and steel.
- Gabled roof ~ The most common roof design, with two planes that meet at a central peak, sloping down to the building's long walls. The triangular section at each end is called a gable, giving this roof style its name. For other roof styles, see hip roof, and flat roof.
- Green building ~ "The practice of increasing the efficiency with which buildings and their sites use and harvest energy, water, and materials, and reducing building impacts on human health and the environment, through better siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal -- the complete building life cycle." Definition from Wikipedia's Green building page.
- Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI)
~ An electrical safety device that automatically (and instantly) de-energizes
(shuts down) a circuit if it senses a "leak" in current from
the circuit. Electrical code requires the use of GFCI outlets in bathrooms,
kitchens, garages, outdoor receptacles, and any place where you could
come into contact with a grounded surface and an electrical appliance.
You can readily identify a GFCI outlet by the presence of a"test"
and a"reset" button.
- Hip roof ~ Similar to the gabled roof design, except that all four sides of the roof are sloped.
- Joists ~ They usually occur in plurals: these are the horizontal framing members that form your floors and ceilings.
- Linoleum ~ A term sometimes used interchangably with resilient flooring, linoleum is actually a specific type of flooring, not much seen, these days, made from linseed oil, rosin, powdered cork and pigments that are pressed into a burlap or canvas backing.
- Newel ~ This is the post at the bottom of your stairs that the stair railing connects to.
- Open Ground ~ This means somebody installed a "grounded" outlet (three-pronged), but the cable serving the outlet still contains only two wires, a hot and a neutral, and no ground wire. The three-pronged outlet gives the appearance of an upgrade but the outlet is not really grounded. Bad news.
- Oriented Strand Board (OSB) ~ An engineered wood product that comes as structrual panels, structural insulated panels, and flooring I-joists. The panels are a competitive and economical alternative to plywood sheathing and underlayment. Because OSB is engineered, it is available in a variety of panel sizes, surface textures and densities, and in a variety of different thicknesses, with variable strength, and rigidity. It's competitively priced and can be used in new construction and renovation. The Structural Board Association claims OSB has no measurable offgassing and can be recycled.
- Parquet ~ available in either finished or unfinished, this is a type of wood block comprised of a number of small pieces arranged in an attractive design, attached to a paper backing or wire splines. Usually glued down.
- Quarter round ~ A common type of
moulding. It has three sides: flat on two sides and rounded on the third.
It's often used between a baseboard and the floor, or bewteen larger pieces
of moulding.
- Rafters ~ The primary structural members of a gabled roof, angled to form the slope of the roof. The rafter tops are cut on the diagonal so they'll fit flush against the ridge; the bottoms are notched to fit flush against the top plate. Collar ties connect the opposing sides of each rafter beneath the ridge to keep the rafters from spreading.
- Reducer strips ~ Flooring strips that create a transition between two types of flooring at different elevations, for example between the wood floor in your living room and the tile in your kitchen, or the ceramic tile in your bathroom and the wood or laminate flooring in your hallway.
- Resilient flooring ~ We used to just call it "linoleum," but linoleum is actually a specific type of flooring, not much seen, these days, made from linseed oil, rosin, powdered cork and pigments that are pressed into a burlap or canvas backing. Typically, today, resilient flooring is made from vinyl or vinyl composition and comes in sheets or tiles in a breathtaking array of colors and patterns and textures. Tiles can come with dry or adhesive backing. Better resilient flooring has excellent scuff resistance, and a high-density foam backing for a cushy feel underfoot.
- R-Value ~ Describes how a material resists the flow of heat through it. Good to know if you're shopping for insulation. Batts and rolls of insulation will typically have a R-Value printed right on the facing (often brown paper attached to the roll or batt that allows you to handle the material easier and more safely). The higher the R-Value, the more energy efficient the insulation.
- Screeds ~ Also called sleepers, these are lengths of 2x4 lumber embedded in mastic to which strip or plank flooring is attached.
- Sheathing ~ There are two types of sheathing: structural, and non-structural. Structural sheathing (often but not always plywood) is nailed to the studs, provides rigidity to the overall structure, and provides a nailing base for the siding. Instead of plywood, you'll sometimes see oriented strand board (OSB), waferboard, or exterior grade gypsum board. Non-structural sheathing does not add strength but does improve the wall's insulation value. Depending on what it is, it can be added either under or over structural sheathing. Materials commonly used for non-structural sheathing include ridid foam or cellulose fiber panels. These can be applied to wood or masonry or, sometimes, over existing siding before adding new siding.
- Spacers ~ A must-have if you're laying ceramic tile floor, placing spacers at the corners of your tiles ensures you maintain an even gap between all of your tiles. Spacers are removed before you apply your grout.
- Studs ~ Also called Wall Studs. These vertical members form structural support for interior and sometimes exterior walls. Depending on the age of the house and local housing codes, the studs may be found 12", 16", or even 24" on center. Studs have traditionally been made of wood, either 2 x 4 or 2 x 6 dimensional lumber (but don't be surprised when you get out your trusty ruler and measure them to find they do not measure exactly either of those; they haven't measured up since the middle of last century); however, steel studs are used in some construction now.
- Toilet, macerating ~ A toilet that uses a rapidly rotating cutting blade to liquefy human waste and toilet paper. The waste is then mixed with flushing water and pumped into a sanitary sewer or septic system as a fine slurry. Macerating toilets are used where a conventional gravity flow installation is not workable, such as where the main drainpipe is too far away or the toilet will be situated below the drain line (i.e. garages, basements). Macerating toilets use very little water (less than 2 gallons) per flush.
- Top plate ~ The board nailed to the tops of the studs.
- Truss framing ~ In some houses, trusses are used in place of rafters for the roof. If you're thinking of installing a skylight, never cut a truss! Doing so will weaken your roof structure. Your skylight will need to be installed so as to bridge the truss.
- Valley Flashing ~ Flashing applied to the joint between the back of a dormer and the roof.
- Vent ~ Not the same thing as a vent pipe. A vent is basically a hole in your roof that allows air to pass through your attic. If you have a crawl space under your house, you will typically find vents in your foundation that allow air to pass through the crawl space.
- Underlayment ~ A smooth, flat surface that goes under your new flooring. A good underlayment will provide a good nailing surface for new hardwoods, and it can give firm support to heavier flooring materials like ceramic tile. Usually exterior grade plywood, either 1/2" or 3/4", depending on the flooring (with heavier plywood recommended for supporting heavier flooring materials), but if superior moisture resistance is needed, you'll find cement board underlayment recommended. Certain types of flooring can be installed directly to or over concrete; but depending on the type of flooring you're interested in, you may need to consider whether the concrete is sealed and/or whether you're going to need a moisture barrier, adhesives, or screeds.
- U-value ~ This is an energy efficiency rating for windows (including skylights). Also used for exterior doors. Not to be confused with R-value.
- We'll be right back with more!