Key Vocabulary
Here are some of the key terms that you should know to help you have a better understanding of the chemistry in building materials. Click the button to see the entire construction dictionary and all of its definitions.
Chip Board: A manufactured wood panel made out of 1"- 2" wood chips and glue. Often used as a substitute for plywood in the exterior wall and roof sheathing. Also called OSB (Oriented Strand Board) or wafer board.
Footer: Continuous 8" or 10" thick concrete pad installed before and supports the foundation wall or mono-post.
Foundation: The supporting portion of a structure below the first-floor construction, or below grade, including the footings.
Insulation: Any material high in resistance to heat transmission that, when placed in the walls, ceiling, or floors of a structure, and will reduce the rate of heat flow.
Joist: Wooden 2 X 8's, 10's, or 12's that run parallel to one another and support a floor or ceiling, and supported in turn by larger beams, girders, or bearing walls.
Load Bearing Wall: Includes all exterior walls and any interior wall that is aligned above a support beam or girder. Normally, any wall that has a double horizontal top plate.
Rafter: Lumber used to support the roof sheeting and roof loads. Generally, 2 X 10's and 2 X 12's are used. The rafters of a flat roof are sometimes called roof joists.
Shingles: Roof covering of asphalt. asbestos, wood, tile, slate, or other material cut to stock lengths, widths, and thicknesses.
Slab: Concrete pavement, i.e. driveways, garages, and basement floors.
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, and 8' long; One of a series of wood or metal vertical structural members placed as supporting elements in walls and partitions.
Sole Plate: The bottom, horizontal framing member of a wall that's attached to the floor sheeting and vertical wall studs.
Treated Lumber: A wood product which has been impregnated with chemical pesticides such as CCA (Chromated Copper Arsenate) to reduce damage from wood rot or insects. Often used for the portions of a structure which are likely to be in contact with soil and water. Wood may also be treated with a fire retardant.
Truss: An engineered and manufactured roof support member with "zigzag" framing members. Does the same job as a rafter but is designed to have a longer span than a rafter.