| ARCHITECTURAL DICTIONARY | |||||||||
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A
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| Aa - Am |
| Analogue Detector | A fire Detector which gives electronic signals to represent what it senses, e.g. a data code. The central computer decides if there is a fire |
| Anchor |
1) A primary fixing permanently built
into a structure, to hold components, either directly or through secondary
fixings. Anchor types include expansion
bolts and resin anchors. 2) A secondary fixing made from a short length of angle, or form a steel plate, such as L-shaped clip or metal cleat. Anchors have bolt holes for connections to the primary fixing and the component to be secured |
| Anchor Plate | A steel floor paving, about 305 x 305 mm and 2-3 mm thick, with downward projecting lugs or cross flanges. It is fully bedded in mortar 40 mm thick and is used for very traffic and impact loads |
| Anchorage | A system for securing a component against a force, such as the uplift from a pressurized air house or the tension in a tendon for prestressed concrete |
| Angiosperms | A large group of flowering plants that includes deciduous trees, therefore all hardwoods, but not pine trees. |
| Angle | A change in direction or space between two lines or surfaces such as internal or external angles. |
| Angle Bead, plaster | A thin line of metal trim for protection of the outer arris of a plaster corner against knocks. Large holes in the metal provide bond and are used for nailing. They are plastered over, using bead edge as a permanent screed rail. |
| Angle Block | A small wood block, usually shaped like a right angle triangle, glued and screwed into an angle as a stiffener |
| Angle Brace | A bar fixed across a angle in a frame to stiffen it |
| Angle Cleat | An L-Shaped anchor to hold purlins to a roof truss |
| Angle Closer | A brick cut specially to complete, i.e. close, the bond at the corner of a wall |
| Angle Fillet | A triangular strip or moulding in the corner between two surfaces, often in cement or asphalt. It makes two sharp 45 degree angles |
| Angle Float | A plasterer's tool for shaping an internal corner |
| Angle Grinder | A power tool with a right angle drive, used with rigid abrasive discs, for the hand grinding and cutting of metal or masonry, for which different abrasive wheels are available. |
| Angle Gauge | A template made for setting out or checking angles |
| Angle Joint | A carpentry joint at a corner, not a lengthening joint. |
| Angle Rafter | A hip rafter |
| Angle Section | A steel angle |
| Angle Staff | An angle bead |
| Angle Tie | An angle brace |
| Angle trowel | A plasterer's trowel, either with upturned edges for working internal angles, or vee shaped for working external angles. |
| Angle Valve | A screwdown valve with it's outlet at a right angle to the pipeline |
| Angled Tee | A pipe fitting, such as a junction, with the inlet leg at a shallow angle, used at drain connections |
| Anhydrous | Containing no water, usually from being Calcined by heat e.g. Quicklime |
| Animal Black | Paint Pigment made by heating animal products, such as bone. |
| Annealed Glass | Ordinary sheet glass that has not been toughened |
| Annealing | Softening a metal or glass by heating and slow cooling |
| Annual Ring | One ring of springwood and summerwood added to a growing tree each year. |
| Annunciator | An indicator panel |
| Annular | Shaped like a ring |
| Anodizing | A hard and attractive coating to aluminium. It is used on self finished items such as windows |
| ANSI (American National Standards Institute) | The umbrella body for standardization in the USA |
| Anti-climb Paint | Paint that stays soft and slippery, applied above normal reaching height to drain pipes on the outside of walls |
| Anti-condensation Paint | A coating containing cork dust or vermiculite, put on pipes as insulation and to absorb moisture. It has little effect on really heavy condensation, which needs lagging as well as a vapour barrier and good ventilation. |
| Anti-corrosive Paints | Paints which contain inhibiting pigments to delay corrosion of metal surfaces. Metal Primer for steel is anti-corrosive, but needs to be sealed by the later coats of the complete paint system. |
| Anti-dust Product | A dust Proofer |
| Anti-frost Agent | A frost proofing admixture, or a cold-weather concreting aid |
| Anti-graffiti Treatment | A textured finish with enough small stones to discourage markings with felt pens, lipstick etc. |
| Anti-siphon Trap | A waste trap which resists unsealing, usually by having a deep seal of water in it, achieved by having a lower dip. In the single stack system of internal pipework these traps may save the expense of branch vent |
| Anti-siphonage Pipe | A branch vent |
| Anti-slip Paint | A paint containing hard sand, cork dust or similar material used for finishing wood floors or decks |
| Antistatic Flooring | An electrically conducting floor finish, such as flexible PVC or carpet, that can earth static, used in computer rooms and operating theatres. |
| Anti-sun Glass | Solar control glazing |
| Anti-theft glass | Security glazing that delays access through a window for a short time, such as 10 mm thick laminated glass. This type of glass is not bullet resistant |
| Anti-vibration Mounting | A flexible pad (often rubber) for mechanical equipment to prevent transmission of equipment noise to the fabric of the building. |
| Apartment | A flat or a similar dwelling |
| Appliance Ventilation Duct | A ducted Flue |
| Applicator |
1) A tool used for placing adhesive, plasters etc 2) Someday trained to place special coating, sealing etc. |
| Appraisal | The examination and testing of building materials or processes and the assessment of their suitability for a particular use, often as a step towards approval. |
| Apprentice | A young person who agrees to work under a skilled master on a small pay for a given number of years in order to learn a craft |
| Apprenticeship | The time served by an apprentice, according to a written agreement called the indenture |
| Approval | Approval to build, alter or demolish that is obtained from the local development authority. |
| Approximate Quantities | Preliminary bills of quantities used where the extent of the work is difficult to measure. |
| Appurtenant Works | All labour and materials required for the satisfactory completion of a job, which are included even if not described in detail in an item |
| Apron | A horizontal or vertical panel, e.g. the inside wall behind a window spandrel, a fascia, or a flat in front of a dormer. |
| Apron Flashing | A one piece L-shaped flashing usually on the lower side of a chimney |
| Apron Lining | Joinery casing over the vertical face of a stair well |
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Apse
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1) Semicircular
recessed end to a church sanctuary or chapel. |
| Arbitration | When a dispute over a building contract has reached deadlock, both parties may agree to its settlement by an arbitrator named in the condition of contract. Arbitrators may call expert witnesses, but evidence is not taken under oath |
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Arcade
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1)
A walk arched over: a covered passageway lined with slopes on both sides. 2) Corridor of arches on piers or columns. |
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Arch
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A curved structure so built that the stones or other component parts support each other by mutual pressure and can sustain a load, of the foot, the part from head to toes of the body structure, normally having an upward curve. |
| Arch Bar | A flat steel bar or an angle to carry the bricks of a window arch |
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Archeology
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A knowledge of ancient art, customs, the science that studies the extinct relics of ancient times. |
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Architect
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One who designs designs buildings and supervises their erection. |
| Architectural Concrete | Concrete with a textured surface, either direct finish or the result of surface treatment after forms are stripped. |
| Architectural Drawings | Contract documents prepared by the architect, showing the layout and details of the work of the new building. |
| Architectural Metalworks | Decorative or ornamental metalwork, such as gates, railings, staircases, balustrades, screens and ducts |
| Architectural Sections | Drawn, extruded or folded shapes made of aluminium or stainless steel, used as decorative trim around the outside of windows, the porches of industrial or commercial buildings. |
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Architrave
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1) Lowest of the three main parts of an entablature. Also, the moulded frame around a door or window.Collective name for the jambs, lintels and other parts surrounding the door or window. 2) Joinery trim which is planted to cover the small gap between a door frame (or jamb lining) and the wall finishing. It has mitred joints and may be fixed with nails or architrave adhesive. |
| Architrave Bead | Metal trim used as a stop bead for plaster, fixed to the wall beside a door and a window opening and covered by the architrave |
| Architrave Block | A block at the foot of a door architrave against which the skirting board also fits |
| Architrave Trunking | A hollow architrave to carry wiring in skirting trunking across a door opening |
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Archway
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An arched or vaulted passage. |
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Arena
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Part of the ancient amphitheatre strewed with sand and used for the combats of gladiators and wild beasts. |
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Arena
Stage
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A
stage which can have the audience all around it.
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Architecture
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Art and science of building. |
| Arm |
1) The outreach arm of a lighting column or a bracket for caring light fittings 2) The dipper arm of a backhoe or similar excavator |
| Armour | Mechanical Protection such as steel steeling on a fire door |
| Armoured Cable | An electrical cable with stainless steel strip or galvanized wire wound over the conductors and insulation, often with an outer plastics sheath (or serving) for main distribution supply and buried feeders. |
| Array | A repetitive series of similar components |
| Arris | The edge at a corner or angle, particularly of finishing such as joinery or plasterwork. A sharp arris in hardwood can cut a person's skin and its prone to damage, as is any paint applied over it, which becomes thin from surface tension. Arrises are unusually eased or penciled rounded. |
| Arris Gutter | A V shaped wooden Yankee Gutter |
| Arris-wise, Arris-ways | Diagonal with reference to laying bricks, slates or tiles or sawing timber |
| Arrow diagram | A programme on which activities are represented by arrows, joined to show their sequence and logical relationships, usually worked out by the critical path method. The length of each arrow could be time scaled to show activity duration, with the head and the tail of each arrow being at an event. Arrow Diagrams are used on site for detailed planning or as an basis for simpler bar charts |
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Art
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Human skill as opposed to natural agency, skill, knack acquired by study and practice, taste and skill; artistary. |
| Articulation |
1) A hinge or pin joint in a framework to allow angular movement, instead of continuity 2) An event on an arrow diagram where several activities meet |
| Artificial |
1) Synthetic fibres and reconstituted materials (e.g. Marble) 2) Of finishing, an imitation of an expensive material using a cheap one |
| Artificial Ageing | Accelerated weathering |
| Artificial Aggregate | Nearly all light weight aggregates except pumice, but sometimes also blast furnace slag and clinker |
| Artificial Stone | Cast Stone |
| As drawn wire | Steel Wire that has been hardened by being drawn through a die, without further treatment. It is used for reinforcement fabric |
| As dug aggregate | Quarry material that has not been crushed or screened, but loaded directly for delivery |
| Asbestos | A mineral crystal consisting of thin, tough fibre like textile, which can withstand high temperatures when pure. |
| Asbestos encapsulation | In place treatment of sprayed asbestos with a durable and impact resistant coating to seal in the asbestos fibres, used in cases where asbestos removal is impractical |
| Asbestos free Boards | Building Boards with fibre reinforcement and a binder such as calcium silicate or cement |
| Asbestos Removal | Specialist work for removing asbestos placed in buildings. |
| As-built Drawings | A record Drawing made by the builder after works have been completed and showing the effects of all drawing revisions |
| Ashlar | Walls or facings of stonework laid in courses of evenly dressed stone with thin joints about 3mm thick, which should be raked out 20mm and pointed during cleaning down. |
| Ashlering | A low wall usually about 1 Mt high, in the side of an attic, from the floor to part way up the sloping ceiling, often in blockwork |
| Asphalt | A mixture of bitumen and sand, clay or other inert mineral filler, such as limestone. It is hard at normal temperatures, but flows stiffly when heated |
| Asphalt Mixer | A machine for heating and mixing asphalt before laying |
| Asphalt Roofing | Membrane roofing made with two or three coats of asphalt work, sometimes taken to include bitumen-felt roofing |
| Asphalt work | A specialist trade that uses mastic asphalt for tanking, asphalt roofing and waterproofing |
| Assembly | Putting together several components or elements or the resulting set or unit |
| Assembly gluing | Constructional gluing on site, particularly of timber work or joinery units that were factory fabricated by primary gluing |
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Astragal
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1) A small semicircular moulding or bead encircling a column. 2) A glazing Bar, especially overhead 3) A strip of timber or metal fixed to the edge of a door leaf to cover the gap between it and the door frame and to improve security or reduce noise and draughts |
| Atomisation | A very fine pulverization of a liquid, as in spray painting or a boiler rotary cup burner |
| Atrium | A tall internal courtyard with a glazed roof that lets in daylight, often used in multistory hotels with balcony access. |
| Attached Column | A structural column partly projecting from a wall, as does a pilaster. It is therefore partly engaged |
| Attendance | Plant and equipment provided by the main contractor, or builder's work in connection done for other trades working on site, usually sub contractors. It can be general attendance or special attendance |
| Attenuation | A reduction in sound level during transmission from one place to another, often through a wall or duct work |
| Attenuator | A silencing unit in air conditioning ductwork to reduce transfer of equipment noise, mainly from fans into a occupied space or to an exterior |
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Attic
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A low storey above the cornice that terminates the main part of an elevation, a room in the roof of a house. |
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Auger
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A carpenter's tool used for boring holes in wood. |
| Autoclave | A pressure vessel for treatment using steam at high temperature and pressure e.g. for curing calcium silicate bricks or aerated concrete |
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Automatic
Sprinkler System
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An arrangement of piping and sprinklers, designed to operate automatically by the heat of fire and to discharge water upon that fire and which might also simultaneously give audible alarm. |
| Auto-suppression system | An automatic fire extinguishing system which is activated by fire detectors |
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Avenue
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The main approach to a country house usually bordered by trees, a double row of trees, a street, means of access or attainment. |
| Awl | A small tool with a plain pointed steel shaft and a straight handle, mainly used as a scriber for marking hard surfaces |
| Awning | An external blind of fabric, such as canvas, that can be put up for protection against sun or rain |
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Axanometric
Projection
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Geometrical drawing in three dimensions. |
| Axe | A bricklayer's hammer |
| Axed Work | A bush hammered finish |
| Axminster Carpet | Patterned carpet with cut wool pile woven into the backing |
| Aa - Am |