Saddle |
A small second roof built behind
the back side of a fireplace chimney to divert water around
the chimney. Also, the plate at the bottom of some—usually
exterior—door openings. Sometimes called a threshold. |
Sack mix |
The amount of Portland cement in a cubic yard
of concrete mix. Generally, 5 or 6 sack is required in a foundation
wall. |
Sales contract |
A contract between a buyer and seller which should
explain: (1) What the purchase includes, (2) What guarantees
there are, (3) When the buyer can move in, (4) What the closing
costs are, and (5) What recourse the parties have if the contract
is not fulfilled or if the buyer cannot get a mortgage commitment
at the agreed upon time. |
Sand float
finish |
Lime that is mixed with sand, resulting in a
textured finish on a wall. |
Sanitary
sewer |
A sewer system designed for the collection of
waste water from the bathroom, kitchen and laundry drains, and
is usually not designed to handle storm water. |
Sash |
A single light frame containing one or more lights
of glass. The frame that holds the glass in a window, often
the movable part of the window. |
Sash balance |
A device, usually operated by a spring and designed
to hold a single hung window vent up and in place |
Saturated
felt |
A felt which is impregnated with tar or asphalt. |
Schedule
(window, door, mirror) |
A table on the blueprints that list the sizes,
quantities and locations of the windows, doors and mirrors. |
Scrap out |
The removal of all drywall material and debris
after the home is "hung out" (installed) with drywall. |
Scratch
coat |
The first coat of plaster, which is scratched
to form a bond for a second coat. |
Screed,
concrete |
To level off concrete to the correct elevation
during a concrete pour. |
Screed,
plaster |
A small strip of wood, usually the thickness
of the plaster coat, used as a guide for plastering. |
Scribing |
Cutting and fitting woodwork to an irregular
surface. |
Scupper |
(1) An opening for drainage in a wall, curb or
parapet. (2) The drain in a downspout or flat roof, usually
connected to the downspout. |
Sealer |
A finishing material, either clear or pigmented,
that is usually applied directly over raw wood for the purpose
of sealing the wood surface. |
Seasoning |
Drying and removing moisture from green wood
in order to improve its usability. |
Self-sealing
shingles |
Shingles containing factory-applied strips or
spots of self-sealing adhesive. |
Semigloss
paint or enamel |
A paint or enamel made so that its coating, when
dry, has some luster but is not very glossy. Bathrooms and kitchens
are normally painted semi-gloss |
Septic system |
An on site waste water treatment system. It usually
has a septic tank which promotes the biological digestion of
the waste, and a drain field which is designed to let the left
over liquid soak into the ground. Septic systems and permits
are usually sized by the number of bedrooms in a house. |
Service
entrance panel |
Main power cabinet where electricity enters a
home wiring system. |
Service
equipment |
Main control gear at the service entrance, such
as circuit breakers, switches, and fuses. |
Service
lateral |
Underground power supply line. |
Setback
Thermostat |
A thermostat with a clock which can be programmed
to come on or go off at various temperatures and at different
times of the day/week. Usually used as the heating or cooling
system thermostat. |
Settlement |
Shifts in a structure, usually caused by freeze-thaw
cycles underground. |
Sewage ejector |
A pump used to 'lift' waste water to a gravity
sanitary sewer line. Usually used in basements and other locations
which are situated bellow the level of the side sewer. |
Sewer lateral |
The portion of the sanitary sewer which connects
the interior waste water lines to the main sewer lines. The
side sewer is usually buried in several feet of soil and runs
from the house to the sewer line. It is usually 'owned' by the
sewer utility, must be maintained by the owner and may only
be serviced by utility approved contractors. Sometimes called
side sewer. |
Sewer stub |
The junction at the municipal sewer system where
the home's sewer line is connected. |
Sewer tap |
The physical connection point where the home's
sewer line connects to the main municipal sewer line. |
Shake |
A wood roofing material, normally cedar or redwood.
Produced by splitting a block of the wood along the grain line.
Modern shakes are sometimes machine sawn on one side. See shingle. |
Shear block |
Plywood that is face nailed to short (2 X 4's
or 2 X 6's) wall studs (above a door or window, for example).
This is done to prevent the wall from sliding and collapsing. |
Sheathing,
sheeting |
The structural wood panel covering, usually OSB
or plywood, used over studs, floor joists or rafters/trusses
of a structure. |
Shed roof |
A roof containing only one sloping plane. |
Sheet metal
work |
All components of a house employing sheet metal,
such as flashing, gutters, and downspouts. |
Sheet metal
duct work |
The heating system. Usually round or rectangular
metal pipes and sheet metal (for Return Air) and installed for
distributing warm (or cold) air from the furnace to rooms in
the home. |
Sheet rock |
Drywall-Wall board or gypsum- A manufactured
panel made out of gypsum plaster and encased in a thin cardboard.
Usually 1/2" thick and 4' x 8' or 4' x 12' in size. The
'joint compound'. 'Green board' type drywall has a greater resistance
to moisture than regular (white) plasterboard and is used in
bathrooms and other "wet areas". |
Shim |
A small piece of scrap lumber or shingle,
usually wedge shaped, which when forced behind a furring strip
or framing member forces it into position. Also used when
installing doors and placed between the door jamb legs and
2 X 4 door trimmers. Metal shims are wafer 1 1/2" X 2"
sheet metal of various thickness' used to fill gaps in wood
framing members, especially at bearing point locations. |
Shingles |
Roof covering of asphalt. asbestos, wood, tile,
slate, or other material cut to stock lengths, widths, and thickness'. |
Shingles,
siding |
Various kinds of shingles, used over sheathing
for exterior wall covering of a structure. |
Short circuit |
A situation that occurs when hot and neutral
wires come in contact with each other. Fuses and circuit breakers
protect against fire that could result from a short. |
Shutter |
Usually lightweight louvered decorative frames
in the form of doors located on the sides of a window. Some
shutters are made to close over the window for protection. |
Side sewer |
The portion of the sanitary sewer which connects
the interior waste water lines to the main sewer lines. The
side sewer is usually buried in several feet of soil and runs
from the house to the sewer line. It is usually 'owned' by the
sewer utility, must be maintained by the owner and may only
be serviced by utility approved contractors. Sometimes called
sewer lateral. |
Siding |
The finished exterior covering of the outside
walls of a frame building. |
Siding,
(lap siding) |
Slightly wedge-shaped boards used as horizontal
siding in a lapped pattern over the exterior sheathing. Varies
in butt thickness from _ to _ inch and in widths up to 12". |
Sill |
(1) The 2 X 4 or 2 X 6 wood plate framing member
that lays flat against and bolted to the foundation wall (with
anchor bolts) and upon which the floor joists are installed.
Normally the sill plate is treated lumber. (2) The member forming
the lower side of an opening, as a door sill or window sill. |
Sill cock |
An exterior water faucet (hose bib). |
Sill plate
(mudsill) |
Bottom horizontal member of an exterior wall
frame which rests on top a foundation, sometimes called mudsill.
Also sole plate, bottom member of an interior wall frame. |
Sill seal |
Fiberglass or foam insulation installed between
the foundation wall and sill (wood) plate. Designed to seal
any cracks or gaps. |
Single hung
window |
A window with one vertically sliding sash or
window vent. |
Skylight |
A more or less horizontal window located on
the roof of a building. |
Slab, concrete |
Concrete pavement, i.e. driveways, garages, and
basement floors. |
Slab, door |
A rectangular door without hinges or frame. |
Slab on
grade |
A type of foundation with a concrete floor which
is placed directly on the soil. The edge of the slab is usually
thicker and acts as the footing for the walls. |
Slag |
Concrete cement that sometimes covers the vertical
face of the foundation void material. |
Sleeper |
Usually, a wood member embedded in concrete,
as in a floor, that serves to support and to fasten the subfloor
or flooring. |
Sleeve(s) |
Pipe installed under the concrete driveway or
sidewalk, and that will be used later to run sprinkler pipe
or low voltage wire. |
Slope |
The incline angle of a roof surface, given as
a ratio of the rise (in inches) to the run (in feet). See also
pitch. |
Slump |
The "wetness" of concrete. A 3 inch
slump is dryer and stiffer than a 5 inch slump. |
Soffit |
The area below the eaves and overhangs. The underside
where the roof overhangs the walls. Usually the underside of
an overhanging cornice. |
Soil pipe |
A large pipe that carries liquid and solid wastes
to a sewer or septic tank. |
Soil stack |
A plumbing vent pipe that penetrates the roof. |
Sole plate |
The bottom, horizontal framing member of a wall
that's attached to the floor sheeting and vertical wall studs. |
Solid bridging |
A solid member placed between adjacent floor
joists near the center of the span to prevent joists or rafters
from twisting. |
Sonotube |
Round, large cardboard tubes designed to hold
wet concrete in place until it hardens. Sound attenuation-
Sound proofing a wall or subfloor, generally with fiberglass
insulation. |
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. |
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. |
|
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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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 _"). |
Static vent |
A vent that does not include a fan. |
STC (Sound
Transmission Class) |
The measure of sound stopping of ordinary noise. |
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. |
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). |
Stick built |
A house built without prefabricated parts. Also
called conventional building. |
Stile |
An upright framing member in a panel door. |
Stool |
The flat molding fitted over the window sill
between jambs and contacting the bottom rail of the lower sash.
Also another name for toilet. |
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. |
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. |
Structural
floor |
A framed lumber floor that is installed as a
basement floor instead of concrete. This is done on very expansive
soils. |
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. |
