BY: MATT JONES

Visual Dictionary

Air Barrier Paper

This air barrier paper is a plastic-like material. However, it has certain fibers in it that allow moisture to escape from the inside of the wood behind it to the outside wall. It also created to block any air infiltration, hence, air barrier paper.

Attic VentilationAttic ventilation is needed to allow heat to escape from the house. We all know heat rises and during the summer and the heat needs to get out of the house so the house won’t be 100 degrees. Certain types of ventilation allow that heat to escape.

Ridge Vent

Gable Vent

Attic Ventilation

Soffit Ventilation

Roof Turbine

Backhoe

A backhoe is a hydraulic excavating machine consisting of a tractor having an attached hinged boom, with a bucket with movable jaws on the end of the boom. It is used to remove earth from the top surface in order to start a foundation at a lower elevation. The backhoe featured here has a bucket width of 4 feet.

Batter Boards

Batter boards are a temporary frame built just outside the corner of an excavation to carry marks that lie on the surface planes of the basement that will be built in the excavation.

The boards behind me in this photograph were actually the batter boards, but the frame would be set up like this concrete formation.

Segmental Arch

Brick Arches

Roman Arch

Brick Arches

Brick Arches

Roman Arch with a Keystone

Brick Bonds

Flemish Bond

The courses alternate between stretchers and headers

Brick Bonds (cont.)

Running Bond

The courses consist of stretchers but every row is offset to not let the mortar lines match up.

Stretcher

HeaderRowlock Soldier

Brick Sizes15 1/2”

2 1/4”

These bricks are extremely long and don’t have much height to them. Since none of the names in book match this brick size, the closest one would Norman.

Brick Size est.:3 5/8” x 2 ¼” x 11 5/8” .

Brick Sizes

7 ½”

2 ¼”

These bricks are examples of Modular brick size.

Brick Size: 3 ½” x 2 ¼” x 7 ½”

Bulldozer

A bulldozer is a heavy, driver-operated machine for clearing and grading land, usually having continuous treads and a broad hydraulic blade in front. As the definition states, this piece of equipment is used to excavate tree stumps, rocks, and earth in order to smooth the jobsite’s land.

Brick EIFS

Cladding

Stone (Random Rubble) Wood Boards

Cladding (cont.)

Cladding (cont.)

Wood Shakes

I’m guessing these are wood shakes because there is no standard size to them and they do not line up perfectly like shingles do.

Window Code Stair Code

Code Requirements

42 ½”

7 ½”

1”

Window Code Stair Code

Since my window is below 72 inches in height, the regulation of a 24 inch widow sill is not required. It also raises to 24 ½ inches and the width of it is 35 ¼ inches. Therefore, my window meets the residential code handbook.

The stairs meet the code in all aspects. The stair is 42 ½ inches in length, 11 inches for each tread, it rises 7 ½ inches, and the nose only overhangs an inch. According to the handbook all of these are acceptable to the code.

Code Requirements

Concrete Joints

Control Joints are intentional, linear discontinuity in a structure or component, designed to form a plane of weakness where cracking can occur in response to various forces so as to minimize or eliminate cracking elsewhere in the structure.

Concrete Joints

Isolation Joints are concrete joints that are separate from another state of concrete joint. For example this column has an isolation joint for more support but the foundation will be laid over it too. This joint is isolated from the slab.

Concrete Masonry UnitAlso known as a CMU, a concrete masonry unit is a block of hardened concrete, with or without hardened cores, designed to be laid in the same manner as brick or stone; a concrete block. Its sizes vary but the most common used in construction is 8”.

1 3

Concrete Masonry Unit 12”

It also comes in 12”,10”, 6” and 4” sizes too. All of them are 16” long and are all nominal measurements. They are used to support rebar running up the side of a building or to be the main support wall of a building.

Concrete Masonry Unit

4”

Decorative Concrete Masonry Unit

Split Block

Decorative Concrete Masonry Unit

Ribbed Blocks

Doors

Flush Door

Doors (cont.)

Top Rail

Panel

Stile

Lock Rail

Bottom Rail

Doors (cont.)

Transom

Sidelight

Transformer Box Service Head

The transformer box controls the current of electricity running into a building. It changes the voltage of the current as well.

A service head transfers electricity through wires into a building from an outside source such as power lines.

Electrical Components

Meter Service Panel

Meters count the usage of electricity throughout a building. Most of them count kilowatts per hour to bill the consumer.

The service panel is like a fuse box for the house. Sometimes the power may go out and people have to “flip the breaker” for the electricity to reset.

Electrical Components (cont.)

Duplex Receptacle

Duplex receptacles are also known as outlets or plug-ins. They are used to give an electric current to certain pieces of equipment that require electricity in order to work.

Electrical Components (cont.)

Framing Elements

Framing Elements

1. Anchor Bolt

7. Top Plate

6. Stud

2. Sill Plate

5. Sole Plate

4. Subflooring

10. Rafters

3. Floor Joist 9. Ceiling Joist

8. Stringer

11. Roof Decking

12. Sheathing

Front End Loader

A front end loader is a machine that is used to help excavate a jobsite by either removing dirt or flattening the ground. It differs from a backhoe and a bulldozer because it is like a combination of both of them. It can dig into the earth like a backhoe, but it can also smooth the land out like a bulldozer.

Gypsum Board

Gypsum board is an interior facing panel consisting of gypsum core sandwiched between paper faces. It is also called drywall or plasterboard.

The unit circled with red is the compressor and the unit circled with orange is the air handling unit. The compressor has a fan that moves outside air across heating or cooling coils in the house. The air handling unit contains the coils that control the temperature. One advantage to this system is a quick response time and one disadvantage is it’s very noisy and needs to be away from bedroom windows.

Heat Pump

Batt/ Blanket Insulation Loose Fill

Insulation(used to reduce the heat flow through a building)

Foamed Rigid Board

Insulation (cont.)

Lintel

A lintel is a beam that carries the load of a wall across a window or door opening.

Steel

Raked Mortar Concave Mortar

Raked joints are tooled and I think mortar type S was used on this house. The mortar was starting to weather which means it’s not a strong weatherproof mortar.

Concave joints are tooled as well and I think type N mortar was used for the weathering and support for this building.

Mortar

Oriented Strand Board

Oriented Strand Board (OSB) is a nonveneered panel producted used for sheathing during construction. It is made of long shredded wood particles that is constructed into three to five layers. The layers are alternated facing each other so the grains go against each other for more durability.

Plumbing

Lavatory

Lavatory drain pipes are usually 1 ½ inches in diameter.

Plumbing

Water Closet

Most water closets are drained by a 3 inch pipe.

This kitchen sink is a drop-in sink.

Plumbing (cont.)

These vents give air flow to the non-pressurized pipes in the house to allow draining due to atmospheric pressure.

Plumbing (cont.)

PlywoodPlywood is a wood panel composed of an odd number of layers of wood veneer bonded together under pressure. The layers are laid on each other with the grain perpendicular to the previous layer and glued together.

Radiant Barrier

The radiant barrier is reflecting heat from the roof back to the outside of the building.

RebarThe rebar here is ½ inch diameter rebar and is referred to as #4 rebar. The purpose of the deformations in rebar is for better grip within the concrete when it dries. It will have a stronger hold if the rebar is grooved for concrete to form around it.

Gutter- A channel that collects rainwater and snowmelt at the eave of a roof.

Downspout- A vertical pipe for conducting water from a roof to a lower level

Splash block- A small precast block of concrete or plastic used to divert water at the bottom of a downspout

Steep Roof Drainage

Steep Roof Drainage

Gutter

Downspout

Splashblock

Steep Roof Materials

Underlayment is a layer of waterproof material between roof sheathing and roofing. It keeps the water off of the wood sheathing and is also known as “tar” paper.

Clay Tiles

Steep Roof Materials

Metal Panel Roof

Metal panels are usually fabricated with aluminized or galvanized steel with long lasting polymeric coatings. They also require no specialized equipment on the jobsite.

Steep Roof Materials

Wood Shakes

Steep Roof Shapes

GambrelGable

Steep Roof Shapes

Hip Roof

Steep Roof Shapes

Mansard Roof

Steep Roof TermsValley

Eave Soffit

Rake

Ridge

Steep Roof Terms

No Fascia

Fascia

Random Rubble Coursed Rubble

Stone

Random Ashlar Coursed Ashlar

Stone

Vapor RetarderA vapor retarder is a layer of material intended to obstruct the passage of water vapor through a building assembly. It is normally placed on the bottom side of insulation to prevent the water coming into the ceiling.

Waterproofing

Waterproofing is another barrier to prevent water from coming in the house. It is laid in between the foundation wall and air barrier paper and is normally found around the base of a house. This particular type is loosely laid.

Weep Hole

A weep hole is a small opening whose purpose is to permit drainage of water that accumulates inside a building component.

Welded Wire Fabric

Personally I couldn’t find welded wire fabric on a jobsite, however it is a grid of steel rods that are welded together, used to reinforce a concrete slab.

This is a double hung window because both windows can raise and lower.

This is a hopper window because it opens inward and is hinged on the bottom.

Windows

This is a casement window because it is hinged on the side and it opens up to the outside.

Windows (cont.)