Visual Dictionary

By: Sarah-Ashley McCall

Air Barrier Paper

A sheet material used as both a vapor retarder and an air barrier. It controls the

infiltration of air into a building.

Attic Ventilation: Allows water to escape and cools the house in the summer by preventing the buildup of solar heat.

Soffit

Attic Ventilation: Ridge Vent

A long, open assembly that allows air to circulate in and out of a gable roof at the ridge.

Attic Ventilation: Gable Vent

Attic Ventilation: Roof Turbine

Backhoe & Front End Loader

Backhoe

A backhoe is a piece of heavy equipment used to dig up soil for excavation, etc.The width of this bucket is 36”

Batter boardsA temporary frame built just outside the corner of an excavation to carry marks that lie on the surface planes of the basement that will be built in the excavation.These batter boards are marking the excavation area for a multi-family residence structure.

Semi-Circular Arch

Jack Arch

Keystone Arch

Centering

Temporary formwork for an arch.

Flemish BondPattern: Alternating stretchers and headers

Running BondPattern: All stretchers

Common BondPattern: Alternating rows of stretchers and full-length headers

Soldier

Stretcher

Rowlock Brick

Sailor Brick

HeaderBrick

Shiners

Utility3 ½”x11 ½”x3 ½”

Modular3 ½”x7 ½”x2 ¼”

BulldozerThis is a piece of heavy equipment used to push soil, gravel, etc. around construction

sights.

Brick Cladding Stone CladdingPattern: Random Ashlar

EFISExterior Insulation and

Finish System

A cladding system that consists of a thin layer of reinforced stucco applied directly to the surface of an insulating plastic foam board. The board, in turn, is adhered or fastened mechanically to the structural or backup wall of the building.

Wood Boards

Wood ShakesA shingle split from a block of wood.

This is an overlapping cladding that encloses the building.

Code Requirements: My Room

Window:22” AFF49” Wide54 ½” Tall

My window is 18.6 sf4’1” x 4’6 ½”This is up to code.

There is an opening height of 27” in my window, which is up to code.

54 ½” Tall

49” Wide

The Window is 22” AFF which is up to code.

Interior Stairs11 ½” + 2 (7 ¼”)=26

The tread is to code, the riser is not.

7 ¼”

11 ½”11 ½”

7 ¼”

Sawed Control JointControl Joint: A joint in the concrete that allows for swelling and shrinking

so that it does not damage the concrete.

Isolation JointThis joint is isolating a column from slab and slab from wall. Isolation joints are used to relieve flexural stresses due to vertical movement of slab-on-grade applications that adjoin fixed foundation elements such as columns, building or machinery foundations, etc.

Brick Coursing

3 brick courses = 1 CMU course

CMU

Concrete Masonry Unit (CMU)A block of hardened concrete, with or without hollow cores, designed to be laid in the same manner as a brick or stone. The typical dimensions are 8”X8”X16”. Concrete blocks create structures that are economical, energy efficient, fire-resistant, and involve minimal maintenance. In addition, concrete masonry allows architectural freedom and versatility.

4” Block

12” Block

Ribbed CMUsplit block

Left Hand DoorThe hallway is on the outside of the door.The bathroom is on the inside of the door.

Right Hand DoorThe hallway is on the outside of the door.The screened in porch is on the inside of the door.

Exterior Flush Door

Panel Door

Panel

Top Rail

lock rail

Stile

bottom rail

SidelightA tall, narrow window

alongside a door

TransomA small window above a door.

Utility Pole Transformer: It provides the final voltage transformation in the electric power distribution grid, stepping down the voltage used in the overhead distribution wires to the level used by the customer.Power Pole

Construction Co. Trailer

Duplex ReceptacleThis is plug where appliances can be connected to access

power.

Meter: This measures power usage for the power company to charge you by.

Service Head: This steps the electricity down from the wires to the consumption level of the home.

Service Panel: This is where individual electrical components can be accessed.

1. Anchor Bolt

2. Sill Plate

3. Floor Joists (2nd Floor) 9. Ceiling Joists (1st Floor)

4. Stringer

5. SubflooringThe loadbearing surface beneath a finish floor.

6. Sole Plate

7. Stud

8. Top Plate

10. RaftersA framing member that runs up and down the

slope of a steep roof.

11. Roof Decking

12. Sheathing

Front End Loader: Heavy equipment piece used on construction sites.

Primarily used to load material such as recycled material, rock, sand, wood chips, etc. into or onto another type of

machinery. It is different from a bulldozer because this loads, bulldozers push. Backhoes are for digging.

High Impact Gypsum BoardAn interior facing panel consisting of a gypsum core sandwiched between paper faces.

Air Handling Unit: Takes in air, cools and dehumidifies the air, and distributes it in the interior space. Advantage: Rapid Response TimeDisadvantage: Noisy

Heat Pump: Extracts heat from outdoor air up to 30 degrees F.Advantage: More efficient in mild climates.Disadvantage: Inefficient below 30 degrees F.

Compressor

Insulation: Insulating material in the cavities of walls to retard the passage of heat and cold to and from the building.

Batt Insulation

Foam Insulation

Loose-Fill Insulation

Rigid Board Insulation

Brick LintelLintel: Carries the weight of the

structure above it across openings.Metal Angle

Troweled Joint

Type S Mortar3/8” Mortar JointUsed on a Bank

Tooled JointType S Mortar3/8” JointUsed on a Church

Oriented Strand Board

A building panel composed of long sheets of long shreds of wood fiber (not veneer) oriented in specific directions and bonded together under pressure.

Water Closet3” Pipe Below

Lavatory1 ½” Pipe DiameterA fixed bowl or basin with running water and drainpipe for washing

Shower

Interior VTRThis plumbing vent keeps the pressure equal in the pipes so that a vacuum does not suck the water out of P-traps , which would let sewage gas back into the home.

Exterior VTRThe plumbing vent goes out through the roof to let

the gas out into the atmosphere.

Kitchen SinkUndermount

PlywoodA wood panel composed of an odd number of layers of wood veneer bonded together under pressure.

Veneer: A thin layer, sheet, or facing.

Rebar#8 RebarThe purpose of the deformations on the rebar are to help bind the concrete and rebar together.

Gutter: A channel that collects rainwater and snowmelt at the eave of a roof.

Downspouta vertical pipe used to drain rainwater from a roof

Underlayment: A layer of waterproof material such as building felt between roof sheathing and roofing. This protects the building from precipitation before roofing is applied.

Clay Tile Roof

Metal Shingle RoofShingle: A small unit of water-resistant material nailed in overlapping fashion to render a sloping roof watertight.

Preformed Metal RoofA roof made of metal panels that requires no special equipment for installation on-site. Made of long sheets of galvanized or aluminized steel.

Gable Roof

Hip Roof

Mansard Roof

Gambrel

Valley: When two roofing planes meet at the bottom of their pitch to form a valley.

Ridge: This is where the sloped sides of a roof meet at the top of the roof.

Rake: The inclined portion of a cornice. These are typically found on gable roofs.

Fascia: Horizontal band or board that runs along the eaves of a roof, protects the rafters.

Eave: The part of a roof which projects out from the side wall, projecting the edge of the roof.

Soffit: The exposed undersurface of any exterior overhanging section of a roof eave. It helps ventilate the attic.

Building Without A Fascia

Coursed Ashlar

Random Ashlar

Random Rubble

Vapor RetarderPut on the warm in winter side of the insulation. This retards the passage of water vapor.

Waterproofing: Liquid or sheet material applied to the exterior of a basement wall or floor to resist the intrusion of water under hydrostatic pressure.

Fully Adhered

Weep Hole

Control Joint

A small opening whose purpose is to permit drainage of water that accumulates inside a building component or assembly.

A joint in the brick coursing that allows for swelling of the brick so that it does not damage the cladding.

Welded Wire Fabric12” x 12” grid

Gliding Window

Gliding windows are named this way because they slide open from left to right or vice versa.

Casement WindowThese windows open outward by a crank located on the sill.

Double-Hung Window

This window is called double-hung because the top pane or the bottom pane can be open without the other pane being open as well.