Visual Dictionary

Mullion

Air BarrierAir barriers control air leakage into and out of the building envelope. It also keeps out moisture. The air barrier seals off the envelope from the elements, and if not installed properly it can trap in moisture and present more problems.

Attic VentilationAttic ventilation keeps the cooler and keeps the air in it fresh. The fresh air enters through the soffit vent (1) and exits through the ridge vent (2). A gable vent (3) is a great way to open up the attic for better ventilation in warmer climates. Turbine roof vents (4) help move air, but if the house is not sealed properly these can draw the air conditioned air out of the house.

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BackhoeA backhoe is an excavator whose shovel bucket it attached to a hinged boom and is drawn backward to move earth. Rather like a giant human arm. I believe the width of this bucket was 36”. It was in use so I couldn’t get an exact measurement.

Batter BoardsBatter boards are erected at the corners of a proposed building to specifically locate and show corners and show the height of the foundation wall.

Brick ArchesArch With Keystone

Brick Bonds

Brick Sizes

Engineer Norman: 3½”x2½”x11 5/8” Queen Size:

3”x2¾”x7 5/8”

BulldozerA bulldozer is used to push, shape, or move earth or rock short distances. It is very effective in leveling out the ground of a site.

CladdingEIFS

Wood Shingles: sawn shingles that are a uniform thickness

Wood Boards Stone

Brick

Code Requirements• The IBC says that the window sill

must be a minimum of 24” AFF if the window is 72” or greater from the finish grade. My window is 22” AFF but less than 72” above finish grade, so it still meets code. For egress, a window must be no more than 44” AFF and have a net opening of 5.0 square feet if not above 44” AFF. Net width of the opening cannot be less than 20” and height cannot be less than 24”. My window is 31” wide by 21” tall. It does not meet the egress code because the minimum opening height is not met. So, my window is installed to code, but does not meet the code for egress.

Concrete JointsA control joint is a groove which is formed, sawed, or tooled in a concrete or masonry structure to regulate the location and amount of cracking and separation that occurs while the concrete is curing.An isolation joint is a separation that allows adjoining parts of a structure to move freely from one another, both horizontally and vertically.

Concrete Masonry UnitsA concrete masonry unit (CMU) is a large rectangular block made of cast concrete. They are often used in structural walls and columns and there cells are generally filled with grout to make the wall/columns solid. Typical dimensions are 8”x8”x16” (1) and there is a wider one that is 8”x12”x16” (2). One CMU is equal to three courses of bricks.

The block is three courses, but the courses are a little too thick, so it ended up not quite three courses.

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Decorative Concrete Masonry Units

Doors6 Panel Ext Door: Stile(1), Top Rail(2), Lock Rail(3), Bottom Rail (4), Panel(5) Transom (1) and Sidelight (2)

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Flush Ext Door

A transom is window above a door and can either be operable or not. A sidelight is the vertically framed area of fixed glass to the side of the door. Most often inoperable.

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Electrical ComponentsThe transformer (1) steps down the power from the power lines down the 240v. The service head (2) relays the power to the fuze box within the house. The service head in the picture has a limb over the actual head, and I could not get it off. The meter (3) is for the power company to come and read how much power the house is using. The service box (4) has breakers to the house that divide the power to higher/lower voltage outlets and helps for the servicers and emergency personnel to cut the power if necessary. The duplex receptacle (5) is where the power is put out at 120v for use with small appliances. This receptacle is at my mom’s which is where the other photos were taken.

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Framing Elements1: Anchor Bolt2: Sill Plate3: Floor Joist4: Subflooring5: Sole Plate6: Stud7: Top Plate8: Ceiling Joist9: Rafter10: Roof Decking11: Sheathing12: Stringer

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Front End LoaderA front end loader is an earthmoving machine with a hydraulic scoop in front for lifting and loading earth, rubble, or anything else into vehicles, dumpster, piles, etc. It is useful for clearing a site and getting it ready to be leveled and finished.

Gypsum BoardGypsum board is a wallboard with a gypsum plaster core bonded to layers of paper or fiberboard. It is used instead of plaster or wallboards on the interior of buildings because it is easy and more efficient to put up. It comes in 4’x12’ sheets.

Heat PumpCompressor/evaporatorAir Handling Unit

Heat pump systems are more energy efficient (advantage), but have a higher upfront cost (disadvantage)

InsulationThere are four main types of insulation: batt/blanket, loose fill, foamed, and rigid board. Insulation is typically used to reduce heat transfer, either from the exterior to the interior or vice-versa.

Batt Insulation

Rigid Foam Board

Spray Foam Insulation

LintelLintels are the horizontal member used as finishing piece over an opening. Metal lintels span the distance that masonry could not ordinarily span on a flat plane.

Mortar

This is a running bond. This joint it tooled. The joints are roughly ½”. Chances are that the mortar used is type N. It has additives to change the color.

Oriented Strand BoardOriented strand board (OSB) is a non-veneered, engineered wood product formed by layering strands of wood in specific orientations to make the board stiffer and stronger.

Plumbing

A lavatory is a wash sink and it is typically drained by a 1 ½ inch pipe.

A water closet is a bathroom without a tub/shower. It only has a toilet and sometimes a sink. The toilet is drained by a 3 inch pipe. The sink in this photo is a drop-in sink.

Tubs and showers are installed prior to the finish work on the interior. The framing is put up around the tub/shower. It will later be sealed off when the finish work is done.

This is the vent for the plumbing

PlywoodPlywood is a type of engineered wood panel that is made from thin sheets of veneers that are glued together in alternating orientations. A veneer is a thin sheet of wood that is glued to other layers of veneers or a core.

Lowe’s

Radiant BarrierA radiant barrier inhibits heat transfer by thermal radiation. It is a reflective surface that interrupts the conduction of heat energy in and out of a building. It must have a gap between it and the outside surface.

RebarRebar is to give concrete more strength, mostly tensile strength. The deformation on the surface of the rebar is to give the concrete something to adhere to better.

This is ½” rebar or #4/8

Steep Roof DrainageA gutter (1) is a channel along the eaves of a roof that collects and carries rainwater to a downspout. A downspout (2) is a vertical pipe or conduit that transfers the rainwater from a gutter to the ground in a somewhat controlled flow to the splashblock on the ground. A splashblock (3) is generally a plastic or concrete rectangle at the base of a downspout that the rainwater hits instead of the ground. This reduces the amount of erosion caused by the downspout.

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Steep Roof MaterialsUnderlayment (1) is asphalt saturated felt used beneath roofing to provide additional protection for the deck. FINISH!!!

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Steep Roof ShapesGable Roof Gambrel Roof

Mansard Roof Hip Roof

Steep Roof TermsThe ridge (1) is the peak or horizontal member of a sloping roof. The valley (2) is the low point where two sides that are sloping downward meet. The eave (3) is the edge of the roof, it usually projects beyond the side of the building for weather protection. The rake (4) is the pitch of the roof and is expressed as #” of rise /12” of run. The fascia (5) is a wide band of material covering the ends of roof rafters and generally supports the gutters. The soffit (6) is the material used to cover the underside of the eaves of a roof; it usually has soffit vents for ventilation.

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Stone

Vapor RetarderA vapor retarder is a layer of material or a laminate used to reduce the flow of water vapor into the roof or wall assembly. It is generally placed between the insulation and the outside sheathing (roof deck, OSB, plywood, etc).

WaterproofingWaterproofing is designed to prevent water from sitting against the foundation wall. The foundation wall is not waterproof on its own, and if water gets against it the foundation, basement, or crawlspace can be compromised. It is either liquid applied (painted), loosely applied, or fully adhered to the foundation wall that will be underground.

Weep Hole

Weep holes are small outlets on the exterior of a building left in a masonry wall to allow water that penetrates the masonry to escape. It is generally a head joint that is left un-buttered. Flashing is applied to direct the water out of the weep holes.

Welded Wire FabricWelded wire fabric (WWF) is a heavy wire laid in a grid pattern and welded to form a wire mesh mat. It comes in sheets and rolls and is used to reinforce concrete slabs. It must be suspended on chairs in order to keep it off the ground.

Windows

The window in the upper right is an outswinging casement window. The window has a lock in the left side of the casing and the crank is at the bottom. The window in the upper left is a sliding window.