Glossary

Agglomerated Marble:

Composite manufactured marble made from natural marble.

Asphalt:

Asphaltic concrete mixture for paving of roadways, driveways and walkways.

Attic:

The unfinished and unheated spaces located within the roof assembly above the ceiling and below the roof.

Building Envelope:

Exterior assemblies of a building, including walls and roof, which separate the interior spaces from exterior elements and weather.

Cast-in-Place Concrete:

Concrete work which has been erected in its fluid state into site constructed formwork to be shaped and cured.

CMHC:

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Composite Plastic:

Processed plastic-based products designed for special purposes such as vent piping, water piping and conduits.

Creosote:

Tar-like substance that may accumulate on the inside surface of fireplace chimney vent piping

Drainage Patterns:

Sloped surfaces designed to shed or channel rain water to specified locations for drainage. May apply to lot grading, driveways or roof design.

Fascia:

Flat exterior trim assembly at the end of the roof between the roof finish on top and the soffit beneath. Fascia is usually clad in aluminum.

Finish Carpentry:

Interior finishing carpentry systems including interior doors, baseboards, casings, quarter rounds, wood coves, shelving and capping.

Flashing:

Metal or composite plastic smooth-surfaced drainage system designed to be installed at intersections beneath and behind brickwork and roofing to promote water drainage away from the building.

Floor System:

Structural elements, such as floor joists or engineered floor, to span spaces between beams or walls and covered with subfloor sheathing.

Footings:

Cast-in-place concrete perimeter base which supports the foundation walls and the house structure.

Formwork:

Temporary forms, usually made of wood, constructed at the worksite to hold and shape cast-in-place concrete for footings, foundations and curbs.

Foundation:

Cast-in-place concrete perimeter walls supported by the footings and supporting the building wood frame structure.

GFI:

Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter for specific electrical circuits to reduce the risk of electrical shock caused by a ground fault in electrical tools and appliances.

Grading:

Sloped ground surfaces designed to maintain drainage patterns around buildings and the building lot.

Ground Frost:

Frost and frost action which occurs beneath the ground surface in winter.

Hose Bib:

Sometimes called Lawn Service or Wall Hydrant. The exterior water faucets designed to accept normal garden hose connections.

HRV:

Heat Recovery Ventilator required with some heating systems to assist in control of indoor air quality and humidity levels.

Hygrometer:

Device used to measure relative humidity in air.

HVAC:

Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning systems.

Ice Dams:

Ice ridges that may form on roof edges from freeze and thaw cycles of accumulated snow deposits.

Insulation Baffle:

Device, usually made of styrofoam, installed in attic spaces to maintain air space to soffit venting between roof trusses and ceiling insulation.

Joists:

Heavy lumber (or engineered system) used as the structural Floor System.

Kiln-Dried:

Lumber which has been artificially dried to reduce moisture content to specified levels in order to reduce shrinkage and twisting through the drying period.

Lintel:

Structural component (usually wood) to carry structural loading across and over openings such as windows and doors.

Material Shrinkage:

Shrinkage that occurs in material such as concrete and wood as moisture content is reduced throughout the drying-out period.

Mechanical:

Plumbing, drainage, heating, cooling and ventilation systems in buildings.

Millwork:

Specialty woodwork, such as cabinetwork, including fabricated columns, mantles, railings, etc.

OBC:

Ontario Building Code.

OCHBA:

Ottawa-Carleton Home Builders’ Association.

ONHWP:

Ontario New Home Warranty Program.

PDI:

Pre-Delivery Inspection.

Pins:

Survey markers used by surveyors to layout and establish property lines, set- backs and easements.

Precast Concrete:

Concrete which has been cast, shaped and cured at the factory to be later shipped and erected at the worksite. This can include entry steps.

Rebar:

Reinforcing steel rods sometimes inserted into cast-in-place concrete work and assemblies to increase strength and resist cracking.

Roof Vents:

Venting systems placed through the roof to promote air circulation in the attic.

Sash:

Part of a window assembly which houses the glass and sometimes is the operable component in the window frame.

Siteworks:

Exterior cladding material such as aluminum, vinyl and wood to cover walls.

Soffits:

The underside portion of the roof assembly which overhangs or projects beyond the exterior wall and is usually clad in aluminum with small openings for ventilation.

Sono-Tubes:

Sometimes called Sono-Posts or Piers, are cylindrical forms placed on pads or footings and filled with concrete to form posts or piers.

Studs:

Structural components, usually wood 2×4 or 2×6, to construct the vertical parts of wood frame wall assemblies.

Subfloor:

Interior sheathing material, usually a form of wood product, fastened directly to the upper side of the floor system and under the floor finish assemblies.

Subgrade:

Soils and earth conditions beneath the footings.

Telepost:

Structural Steel Posts equipped with a telescopic adjustment and commonly visible in basements supporting structural beams.

Thermopane:

Commonly used industry term to describe window glass units that are sealed with a vacuum between the glass to reduce temperature transmission.

Trusses:

Wood structures that are factory engineered and constructed to be shipped to the worksite and erected to form major components of the roof assembly.

Unit Pavers:

Usually made of precast concrete and used as patio slabs or interlocking bricks for walkways and patios.

Weep Holes:

Small openings at the bottom course of brickwork to promote drainage of any moisture which may have collected behind the brick finish.

Window Well:

Usually a type of corrugated metal enclosure to retain exterior grade levels where basement windows extend to below exterior grade surfaces.