|
Navigation
Home
Info
Services
Photos
Glossary
A - D
E - I
J - M
N - R
S - Z
Call Us
973
839-9716
Email
Families
Kids ready for college?
CollegeHelp.info
Save your Kids' Lives
Homeowners
Lowest Mortgage Rates
Mortgage Calculator
Helpful Web Links
The Timber Beam News
Neighborhoods
Ringwood Borough
Wanaque Borough
Lakeland Regional High School
Emergency
NJ Homeland
National Homeland
F E M A
NJ State Police
Red Cross
Ready.gov
|
Uncle Al's Home Improvements
"Helping Young Couples and Senior Citizens Maintain High Value In Their Homes"
| |
|
|
Glossary of Common Terms S T U V W X Y Z |
| Saddle Tee |
|
A fitting used to tap into a water line without having to open the line. Usually used for refrigerator water supplies. |
| Sanitary Fitting |
|
Any of several connectors used to join drain-waste-vent lines. Their design directs waste downward. |
| Sanitary Sewer |
|
Underground drainage system that carries liquid and solid waste to a treatment plant. |
| Scratch Coat |
|
The first coat of mortar or plaster, roughened or scratched so the next coat will stick to it. |
| Sealer |
|
A protective coating applied to wood, metal, and driveways to help preserve it and keep moisture out. |
| Septic Tank |
|
Underground tanks that collect and separate liquid and solid wastes, diverting the liquid waste onto a drainage field. |
| Service Entrance |
|
The access point where electric power enters a home. |
| Service Panel |
|
The main fuse or circuit breaker box in a home. |
| Set |
|
The time during which mortar or concrete hardens. |
| Setback |
|
The minimum distance between side and rear property lines and any built structure, as determined by local building codes. |
| Setting Nails |
|
Driving the heads of nails slightly below the surface of the wood to allow for a putty filler to hide the holes. |
| Sewer Drain |
|
That part of the drainage system that carries liquid and solid waste from a dwelling to a sanitary sewer, septic tank, or cesspool. |
| Short Circuit |
|
A condition that occurs when two hot wires or a hot and neutral wire contact each other. |
| Site Plan |
|
A plan showing the location of a new building project on a piece of property along with the planned
landscaping and access. |
| Skirt or Skirting |
|
Horizontal pieces of lumber installed around the perimeter of a deck to conceal the area below the decking. Skirting may be made of solid boards, either vertical or horizontal, or of lattice to allow for air movement. |
| Slump |
|
The wetness of a concrete or mortar mix; the wetter the mix, the more it spreads out, or slumps. |
| Small-appliance Circuit |
|
Usually has only two or three 20-amp receptacle outlets. |
| Soffit |
|
Covering attached to the underside of eaves or a staircase or the extension from cabinets to the ceiling. |
| Softwood |
|
Lumber derived from coniferous trees, such as pine, fir, cedar, or redwood. |
| Soil Stack |
|
A vertical drainpipe that carries waste toward the sewer drain. The main soil stack is the largest vertical drain line of a building into which liquid and solid waste from branch drains flow. |
| Soldering |
|
A technique used to produce watertight joints between various types of metal pipes and fittings. Solder, when reduced to a molten form by heat, fills the void between two metal surfaces and joins them together. |
| Solder-less Connectors |
|
Screw-on or crimp-type connectors used to join wires together. |
| Solvent-welding |
|
A technique used to produce watertight joints between plastic pipes and fittings. Chemical 'cement' softens mating surfaces temporarily and enables them to meld into one. |
| Spalling |
|
The cracking or flaking that develops on a concrete surface. |
| Span |
|
The distance across beams, joists, or decking boards between supporting structures. |
| Stop or Shut-off Valve |
|
The fitting installed in a water supply line near a fixture, that lets you shut off the water supply to one fixture without interrupting service to the rest of the system. |
| Storm Sewer |
|
An underground drainage network designed to collect and carry water from gutters and leaders away from the home. |
| Stretcher |
|
A brick or stone laid parallel to the face of a wall so that only its long side
is showing; a usually horizontal tie beam or brace serving to support or extend a framework. |
| Strike |
|
The process of finishing a mortar joint with a special tool. |
| Stringer |
|
A diagonal board used to support treads and risers on a stairway. Stringers are usually made of 2x12's. |
| Stripping |
|
Removing insulation from wire or sheathing from cable; removing a finish from wood surfaces. |
| Stucco |
|
A finish composed of two or more layers of mortar, white or colored, applied to either indoor or outdoor walls to provide texture. |
| Stud |
|
A small knob, nail head, or rivet fixed in and slightly projecting from a surface; an upright post in the framework of a wall for supporting sheathing, lath, wallboard, or similar material. |
| Sub-panel |
|
A smaller, secondary fuse or circuit breaker box. |
| System Ground |
|
A conductor which provides the neutral or grounded wire a path to earth. It is attached to the main water pipe and to a rod driven into the ground. |
| Tailpiece |
|
The part of a plumbing fixture drain that connects the drain outlet and the trap. |
| Taper |
|
The gradual and uniform decrease in the width or thickness of a board. |
| Taping |
|
The process of covering drywall joints with paper tape and joint compound. |
| Tee |
|
A T-shaped fitting used to tap into the center of a straight run of pipe at a 90-degree angle for the purposes of beginning a branch line. |
| Three-four-five Method |
|
An easy, mathematical formula to check whether a corner of a large area is square. Measure 3 feet along one side and 4 feet along the other. If the corner is square, the diagonal distance between those two points will equal 5 feet. |
| Three-way Switch |
|
Used to operate a light from two locations. |
| Throw Mortar |
|
Placing mortar using a trowel. |
| Time-delay fuse |
|
A fuse that does not blow during the momentary overload that happens when an electric motor starts up. If the overload continues, this fuse blows, like any other. |
| Toenail |
|
Driving a nail at an angle to hold together two pieces of material, usually studs in a wall. |
| Tongue-and-groove |
|
A joint made using boards that have a projecting tongue on one edge and a corresponding groove on the opposite edge. |
| Tongue-and-groove Joint |
|
A joint made using boards that have a projecting tongue on the end of one member and a corresponding groove on the other member into which the tongue fits. |
| Top Plate |
|
The topmost horizontal element of a stud-frame wall. |
| Transformer |
|
A device that reduces or increases voltage. In home wiring, transformers step down current for use with low-voltage equipment such as thermostats and doorbell systems. |
| Trap |
|
The part of a fixture drain that creates a water seal to prevent sewer gases from penetrating a home's interior. Codes require that all plumbing fixtures be trapped. |
| Travelers |
|
Two of the three conductors that run between switches in a three-way installation. |
| Tread |
|
In a staircase, the horizontal platform you step on. |
| Tuck-pointing |
|
The process of refilling old masonry joints with new mortar. |
| Uniform Plumbing Code |
|
A nationally recognized set of guidelines prescribing safe plumbing practices. Local codes take precedence over this when the two differ. |
| Union |
|
A fitting used in runs of threaded pipe to facilitate disconnecting the line without having to cut it. |
| Vapor Barrier |
|
A waterproof membrane in a floor, wall, or ceiling that blocks the transfer of condensation to the inner surface. |
| Veneer |
|
A thin layer of decorative wood laminated to the surface of a more common wood. |
| Vent |
|
The vertical or sloping horizontal portion of a drain line that permits sewer gases to exit the house. Every plumbing fixture in a house must be vented. |
| Vent Stack |
|
The upper portion of a vertical drain line through which gases pass through the roof directly to the outside. The main vent stack is the portion of the main vertical drain line above the highest fixture connected to it. |
| Wall Box |
|
A rectangular enclosure for receptacles and switches. |
| Warp |
|
Any of several lumber defects caused by uneven shrinkage of wood cells. |
| Water Hammer |
|
A loud noise caused by a sudden stop in the flow of water, which causes pipes to repeatedly hit up against a nearby framing member. |
| Water Supply System |
|
The network of pipes and fittings that transports potable water under pressure to fixtures and other water-using equipment and appliances. |
| Weep Holes |
|
Openings made in mortar joints to facilitate drainage to reduce water build up. |
| Wet Wall |
|
A strategically placed cavity (usually a 2x6 wall) in which the main drain/vent stack and a cluster of supply and drain-waste-vent lines are housed. |
| Whaler |
|
A doubled 2x4 secured to the outside of a concrete form to strengthen it against the pressure of the concrete as it is poured. |
| Wye |
|
A Y-shaped drainage fitting that serves as the starting point for a branch drain supplying one or more fixtures. |
| Yard |
|
A unit of volume in which ready-mix concrete is sold; equal to 1 cubic yard (27 cubic feet). |
|
|
