Architectural and Engineering Glossary

G

Ganged Form

Prefabricated panels which are joined to make a much larger unit,for convenience in erecting,stripping,and reusing;usually braced with wales,strong backs,or special lifting hardware.

Gangway

1.A platform or boardwalk erected over an unfinished building section to provide access for men and materials carriers.2.British term for aisle.

Ganister

A product made by mixing ground quartz with a bonding material such as fireclay. 

Gantry

A framework,usually of heavy timbers,to support building equipment or to provide a working platform.
 

Gantry Crane

A revolving crane,positioned atop a movable pedestal that travels along tracks;can reach a more extensive area of a construction site than a stationary crane of similar size.

Gap

An opening,as in a wall;an open joint.

Gap Grading

A particle size distribution for material such as an aggregate in which particles of certain intermediate sizes are substantially absent.

Gap-filling Glue

A glue used to join surfaces which cannot be closely fitted together.

Gap-graded Aggregate

Aggregate having a particlesize distribution characterized by gap grading.

Gap-graded Concrete

Concrete which contains gap graded aggregate.

Gar.

Abbr. for garage.

Garage

1.Building or part thereof where motor vehicles are kept. 2.Place for repairing and maintaining such vehicles.Also see attached garage,detached garage.

Garage Door

See overhead door.

Garbage

Animal and vegetable waste from restaurants,hotels,markets,and like installations;contains up to 70% moisture and up to 5% incombustible solids.Also see refuse,rubbish,and trash.

Garbage Chute

See refuse chute and gravity type refuse chute.

Garbage Disposal Unit

Same as waste disposal unit.

Garçonnière

A bachelor apartment.In French Vernacular architecture,a bachelor’s residence that is separate from the main house.

Garden

A plot of ground used principally for growing vegetables,fruits,or flowering and/or ornamental plants.

Garden Apartment

1.Ground floor apartment with access to a garden or other adjacent outdoor space. 2.Two or three story apartment buildings with communal gardens,generally located in the suburbs.

Garden Arch

An archway in a garden,often of lattice construction,that serves as a decorative structure on which to grow vines, roses,or other climbing plants.

Garden City

A residential development having parking areas;esp.planned to provide considerable open space that is well planted with trees and shrubs.

Garden Flat

Same as garden apartment.

Garden House

A structure for shelter in a garden,usually small.

Garden Tile

Structural ceramic units made in molds and placed as stepping stones through a garden or patio.

Garden Wall Bond

See English garden wall bond,Flemish garden wall bond,mixed garden wall bond.

Garden Wall Cross Bond

In brickwork,a bond in which a course of headers alternates with a course consisting of a header followed by three stretchers.

Garderobe

1.See wardrobe.2.A small bed room or study. 3.Euphemism for a latrine in medieval buildings.

Garetta

Same as garretta.

Gargoyle

A waterspout projecting from the roof gutter of a building,often carved grotesquely.

Garland

An ornament in the form of a band,a wreath,or a festoon of leaves, fruits,or flowers. 

Garland Drain

A shallow ditch or trench for draining surface or subsoil water before it reaches an excavation.
 

Garner

Same as granary.

Garnet

A mineral having many varieties in color and constituents but the same general chemical formula,with an isometric crystal structure.

Garnet Hinge

Same as cross garnet hinge.

Garnet Paper

An abrasive paper coated with finely powdered garnet;used in finishing and polishing surfaces.

Garret

1.Space within a roof structure;some times called an attic.2.A room,usually with sloping ceilings,just beneath the roof of a house.

Garreting

See galleting.

Garric Bolt

A tempered steel device having a wedge shaped termination that is fitted into a dovetailed recess in a stone block or other masonry unit for the purpose of lifting it;similar to,but smaller and stronger than,a lewis bolt.

Garrison House

1.An early fortified house generally constructed of stone or hewn logs,commonly with a second story overhang;commonly fitted with loopholes;provided a family with a safe haven of refuge in times of emergency and served as a one family dwelling in times of peace.2.A modern term sometimes applied to any Colonial Revival house having an overhanging second story.

Garth

The open courtyard of a cloister, often a lawn.

Gas Burner

One or more holes through which a combustible gas flows and burns.

Gas Checking

A wrinkling in a paint or varnish finish which,as it sets,is exposed to burnt coal gas.

Gas Concrete

Lightweight concrete  produced by developing voids by means of gas generated within the unhardened mix (usually  from the action of cement alkalies on aluminum powder used as an admixture).Also see aerated concrete and foamed concrete.

Gas Distribution Piping

All piping from the house side of the gas meter to the consumer service pipes used to supply fuel or illumination to a building.

Gas Flow Meter

An instrument for measuring the velocity or volume of flowing gases.

Gas Furnace

A furnace which uses gas as a fuel. 

Gas Main

The line from the public utility which supplies gas to the consumer service pipes.

Gas Metal Arc Welding

An arc welding process in which coalescence is produced by heating with an arc between a consumable electrode (of filler metal) and the work.

Gas Meter

A mechanical instrument for measuring the amountof gas volume passing a givenpoint. 

Gas Meter Piping

The piping from the gas service line valve to the outlet of the gas meter regulator in a building.