Architectural and Engineering Glossary
B
A system of measuring lumber:In the US the term board foot is used;in many countries using the SI system of units,the term board metre is used.
A unit of cubic content used in measuring lumber,equal in volume to an area of 1 square metre having a thickness of 25 millimeters.
In Britain,a unit of electrical energy consumption equal to 1 kilowatt hour.
A measuring device for finding the number of board feet in a board without calculation.
A sheathing of board,usually tightly spaced,but some roof constructions use open spacing between boards.
On the exterior walls of a building,a series of horizontal wood boards that serve as a finish and as weatherproofing.See siding.
Premium Product & Services
Best products and services from our partners
A batten door.
An exterior wall of a building of wood frame construction having boards commonly applied horizontally,although vertically positioned boards are found occasionally.
Boards used as sheathing.
The process of nailing boards on the outer frame of a house,as a facing.
A joist to which floor boarding is nailed.
A high school or elementary school which has living accommodations for its students.
A walkway made of boards or planks,often a promenade along a shore or beach.
To dress or shape stone roughly,usually with a broad chisel.
A type of ashlar masonry having a boasted surface.
A dressed (usually by hand) stone surface showing roughly parallel narrow chisel grooves,not uniform in width and not carried across the face of the stone.
A flat,steel mason’s chisel used in the dressing of stone.
In designing stonework,a drawing indicating the general outline within which a mason can work.
See scenery wagon.
Same as flying scaffold.
Same as barge spike.
A structure for storing boats when not in use;generally built at the water’s edge,often partly over the water;sometimes has provisions for social activities.
A seat supported by slings attached to a suspended rope,designed to accommodate one workman in a sitting position.
Same as plumb bob.
See bobeche.
The collar fitted to a lamp holder as on a chandelier and from which glass prisms may be suspended.
Abbr.for “Building Officials and Code Administrators.”
A national building code in the United States prepared by the Building Officials and Code Administrators International.Address:4051 W.Flossmoor Road,Country Club Hills,IL 60478.Also see Uniform Building Code.
In early Russian architecture,a wooden roof whose peak has the shape of a horizontal cylinder with the upper side surface extending into a pointed ridge.
In Indian architecture,the capital of a column.
Linseed oil which has been thickened in viscosity by processing with chemicals or heat;the viscosity may vary from raw lin seed oil to almost a gel.
Physical injury,sickness,or disease sustained by a person.Also see personal injury.
The principal volume of a building,such as the nave of a church.
The best quality bricks made in a kiln.
1.In painting,the final coat on a surface.2.Same as undercoat.
A process in French polishing for building up the thickness of the finish by numerous applications of varnish,rubbing each one smooth and level.
Wet,soft,and spongy ground,where the soil is composed mainly of decayed and decaying vegetable matter.
A synonym for outhouse.
A plant which lives continuously in wet soil,but not in stagnant water.
On a theater stage,a hanger for an overhead track,from which scenery,flats,or panels are suspended.
A wet run of material at the bottom of an excavation or under the sheeting of an excavation.
Any oil,but esp.linseed oil,which has been partially polymerized by heating at about 500F (260C) together with driers to promote rapid drying.
A closed vessel in which a liquid is heated or vaporized by the direct application of heat to the outside of the vessel.
Insurance specifically written to cover steam boilers and other pressure related equipment in a building.
Same as blow-off.
A vessel designed to receive the discharge from a boiler blow off out let where the discharge is cooled to a temperature low enough to permit its safe entry into the drainage system.
A chemical added to water in a boiler to prevent corrosion,foaming,or the formation of boiler scale.
An automatically controlled valve for maintaining a desired amount of water in a boiler.
A unit of measurement of the power of a steam boiler;equivalent to the evaporation of 34.5 lb of water per hour into dry saturated steam from and at 212F.
The covering of thermal insulation around a boiler.
