Self Build Glossary
Abutment - Wall rising above the roof slope, separating roof
sections.
Airbrick - A brick with holes to provide ventilation.
Angle bead - Steel strips fixed to provide a continuous
guide when plastering.
Architrave - A frame fitted around a door or window to hide
the gaps between the lining and wall.
Article 4 - Allows the council, in certain circumstances,
to restrict permitted development rights.
Backland development - Development of land such as back
gardens and private open space, usually found in residential areas.
This type of land is land-locked.
Baluster - Vertical rails supporting a handrail.
Balustrade - Collective term including hand-rail, baluster
rails and sections of step on which they are mounted.
Barge boards - Fixed to the gable end of a roof to protect
the roof timbers against wet and windy weather.
Barge foot - Additional section of timber under or behind
a barge board.
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Base slab - A raft foundation or concrete slab under a structure.
Bat - Usually half the normal length of a common brick.
Batt - A slab of insulation.
Batten - Small section of timber to which sheet materials,
slates and roof tiles are fixed.
Block - Masonry unit, which is larger than a brick and is
designed to improve construction speed.
Blockwork - Wall built with blocks.
Bolster - Hardwood cap placed over a post to increase its
load-bearing capacity.
Brandering - Battening to level ceiling joists prior to
fixing laths.
Butt - To push or fit together.
Buttress - Additional bracing wall or projecting support.
It is often set at right angles to the main wall and usually tapers
towards the top.
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Cant - Angle between two walls, less or greater than a right
angle.
Cantilever - Beam fixed at one end.
Capillary action - The process by which the surface of a
liquid in a very narrow spaces such as porous masonry. Rising damp
is created through this action.
Capital gains tax - Tax payable to the Inland Revenue from
the sale of property or other assets.
Capital growth - The increase in value of a property over
a period of time.
Capped chimney - A sealed chimney, to prevent birds and
rain getting in.
Capstone - Coping on top of a wall.
Carcassing - Timber used in structural sections of a building,
such as roof rafters and floor joists.
Casement - A window hinged on one of its vertical edges.
Casing - Boards fixed in door openings to hide the wall
edges and support the door.
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Cavity - The gap between the internal and external walls
of a building.
Cavity insulation - Ideally fitted when cavity walls are
built with material usually consisting of sheets of expanded polystyrene.
Cavity ties - Galvanised metal fixings used to bond the
external and internal structural walls together.
Cavity tray - A damp-proof crossing the cavity of a wall
at an abutment, rising from the roof side upwards at least 150mm
before passing through the wall.
Ceiling binder - A tie running between the joists or trussed
rafters.
Charge certificate - If there is a mortgage on land, a charge
certificate is issued instead of a 'land certificate' by the Land
Registry.
Chase - Inscribing or cutting a groove into brick, plaster
or other material, usually so that a cable or pipe can be embedded
into it.
Cladding - The outermost weatherproof material fixed to
a wall, designed to be decorative and/ or functional.
Cleared site - A plot of land that is now clear but which
has previously had one or more industrial, manufacturing or other
operations conducted upon it, resulting in potential contamination
of the soil structure.
Completion certificate - A notice issued by the local authority
after the final visit by the building inspector, confirming that
the dwelling complies with building regulations.
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Completion notice - A certificate issued by the architect
to authorise a payment to a main contractor. The completion certificate
establishes the value of retention money to be held over a defects
period and a copy can be sent with the VAT claim, to enable this
to be processed.
Contaminated land - Land with a prior history in which residues
of toxic substances, chemical waste or manufacturing by-products
are contained within the soil structure.
Conveyancing - The legal process involved in buying and/
or selling land or property.
Coping - The topmost part of a wall, often designed with
a sloping surface to throw off rainwater.
Corbel - A projection extending to support a load above
it.
Cornice - A decorative addition to the top and projecting
from the face of an internal or external wall.
Course - A single layer of bricks or blocks.
Covenant - An agreement to do or not do something contained
in a deed. Covenants can be made by the current or any prior owner
of the land, for example to maintain boundary walls or fences.
Coving -The concave decorative moulding that joins a ceiling
to the walls.
Curtilage - a piece of ground (as a garden or courtyard)
within the fence surrounding a house
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Dado - Panels fixed to the lower half of internal walls.
Dado rail - Decorative and/ or functional rails, usually
made from moulded timber, fitted traditionally to internal walls
to protect them from damage by chairs.
Damp-proof course - A waterproof membrane installed in walls
and floors to pre- vent moisture causing damage by rising upwards
through the structure. Also termed 'damp course' or 'DPC'.
DPC - The standard and widely used abbreviation for damp-proof
course.
Dry joint - A brick or timber joint that is not bonded with
mortar or adhesive.
Dry lined - An internal partition or cladding constructed
usually with a timber frame and plasterboard.
Ducting - A system of shafts or tubes designed to carry
and protect cables or pipes.
Dwarf wall - A low wall, for example one constructed to
support joists under the ground floor.
Easement - A legal right to use or cross over land owned
by someone else.
Eaves - The lowest section of a roof, overhanging a supporting
wall.
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English bond - A method of building walls by laying bricks
together in staggered alternating courses using headers and stretchers.
Escutcheon - A protective plate around a keyhole or door
handle.
Fascia - Boards installed to a roof to protect the ends
of trusses or rafters and on which gutters are attached.
Finial - Ornamental timber section added to the highest
point of barge boards or hanging from stair newels on landings.
Flange - A flat plate at the end of a pipe or beam, through
which a bolted joint can be made.
Flashing - Waterproof material covering joints between walls
and roofs, usually shaped out of lead.
Floating coat - The first coat of thick plaster put on a
wall to cover irregularities.
Floor plate - A plate constructed from steel or timber bedded
in mortar and designed to withstand heavy loads.
Footings - The foundations of a structure.
Footprint - The 'footprint' of the building refers to those
parts within the external walls.
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Formwork - Temporary boards used to keep wet mixtures, such
as concrete, in a particular shape until it sets.
Framed construction - A structure built with a skeletal
frame made of timber or steel, against which a an outer shell is
added (ie brick, block, stucco, siding...).
Freehold - Property held until the end of time.
Gable - Triangular upper part of a wall at the end of a
ridged roof.
Gable end - The gable shaped canopy over a door or window
or a wall topped with a gable.
Hard landscaping - Elements include paths, driveways, garden
walls and patios.
Header - Brick or block laid across a wall to bond together
its two sides. It also means the exposed end part of a brick.
Herringbone strutting - The type of cross bracing used between
floor joists to increase stiffness.
Hip - The sharp edge of a roof from ridge to eaves where
the two sides meet.
Hipped roof - A roof with sloping ends instead of vertical
ones.
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Infill site - The redevelopment of land that has adjacent
buildings, for example along a row of terraced houses where one
has been demolished or where a gap always existed.
Jamb - Vertical side post of a window or doorway.
Joist - A beam that supports a ceiling or floor.
Joist hanger - A fabricated metal slot installed in a wall
to keep a joist securely in position.
Kite - The kite-shaped tread mostly used where stairs turn
a comer.
Land bank - A supply of potential development plots purchased
and retained by builders, which allows them to trade and construct
on a continuous basis by moving on to the next plot as completion
occurs on the current one.
Land certificate - A document issued by the Land Registry
giving details of who owns the land. However, a land certificate
should not be accepted as absolute proof of ownership as it may
be out of date. 'Office copy entries' are accepted by solicitors
to prove ownership.
Land-locked - A plot of land with no independent route providing
access onto it and no obvious means of creating one. Examples include
surplus areas of an owner's private garden.
Lath - A long slender piece of economical timber.
Lath and plaster - Old-fashioned method of plastering a
wall or ceiling using slender timbers to construct a narrow gauge
frame as a base for the wet plaster.
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Leaf - The inner or outer wall of a cavity wall construction.
Leasehold - Land ownership restricted to a number of years
and with conditions written in a lease.
Line-boards - Timber boards laid on the ground and used
to mark out the widths and position of inner and outer walls and
the foundations (setting-out), prior to excavating.
Lintel - Horizontal section of timber, concrete or metal,
installed to the top of a door- way or window opening, designed
to support the structure above.
Massing - The outline of a dwelling's external shape and
form.
Mullion - The vertical sections of material that divide
a window frame into smaller lights.
Newel - The main post supporting the end of a balustrade.
Nog - A wooden peg.
Nogging - Short cross-pieces of timber used to brace studs.
Nose - The extending front edge of a staircase step.
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Office copy entries - Copies of the entries recorded at
the Land Registry proving ownership.
Over-building - The term applies to building a structure
that is inconsistent in size, quality and/ or style with other buildings
nearby or has excessively filled the limited amount of land space
available. Also known as an 'over development'.
P.A.R - Common abbreviation for 'planed all round'. Pane.
A sheet of glass usually framed with timber.
Party wall - A wall shared between two properties, such
as is the case with semi-detached houses.
Pile - A deep foundation. These are formed by creating a
hole deep enough to locate solid sub-soil. The hole is usually filled
with concrete and reinforced or a section of solid steel is installed.
Pink land - Land with a 'residential use class'. The term
is used largely by local authority planners and originates from
the ink colour used to identify residential development areas on
maps and plans.
Pitch - The angle or slope of a roof or staircase.
Planning permission - Authority granted by the local council
for land to be developed or additions made to an existing property,
usually with certain conditions attached.
Plate - A length of timber or steel placed either on top
of a wall to support the roof trusses (a wall plate) or fixed to
a floor so that studs or a timber-framed partition can be installed
(a floor plate).
Precast concrete - Concrete components cast in a factory
or on site prior to being placed in their final positions.
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Profile boards - Boards of about a metre long used to transfer
the plan outline of a building onto the ground. They are held securely
in place by timber stakes. Lines are stretched between saw-cuts
or marks, so the position of a wall can be fixed.
Property register - One of the three parts of a land or
charge certificate describing the property and rights associated
with it.
Purlin - Positioned half-way up the slope of a roof, purlins
are timber beams installed to support the rafters.
Raft - A firm slab, usually made from concrete, designed
to spread the weight of a structure on soft ground.
Rafter - Timbers that form the main part of the roof frame
going from the wall plate up to the ridge.
Ranging rod - Section of timber marked to identify the position
of brick and block courses or any other part of the construction
- basically a measuring stick.
Ransom strip - A small strip or area of land needed to be
crossed to access to the building land. The land is owned by a third
party who will demand money to allow access over the strip or for
its purchase.
Reinforced concrete - A process of installing steel rods
inside concrete beams to help them withstand stress along their
length without collapsing.
Reject - Materials that do not come up to the required standard,
for example, 'reject engineering brick'.
Reserved matters - The fine detail required following approval
of outline planning permission. The aspects include design, layout,
access, orientation and landscaping of the dwelling.
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Retrospective design - An interior scheme that reflects
the immediate past and uses colours, materials and objects pertinent
to that period.
Ridge - The topmost line of the roof.
Ridge tile - Preformed angled tile covering the apex of
the roof.
Roll-over relief - A way of delaying the payment of capital
gains tax by reinvesting profit from the sale of one business asset
to another.
Sarking - Boards placed between the rafters and the roof
(sometimes called the 'soffit').
Screed - A thin level layer of material usually applied
to floors.
Section 106 agreement - A binding agreement regarding matters
linked to the pro- posed development, made between the council and
a developer when planning permission is granted.
Septic tank - A tank constructed or manufactured to accept
sewerage when no mains system is available.
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Setting-out - The use of profile line-boards to mark a plan
on the ground.
Signing off - Formal completion of the dwelling.
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Sleeper wall - A wall to support the ground floor, usually
honeycombed in construction to provide ventilation.
Snagging - When a builder attends the site to resolve outstanding
matters after the main construction has been completed.
Soffit - The underside of an architectural element, for
example an arch or the eaves.
Soft landscaping - Topsoil, plants, shrubs and trees.
Soleplate - A substantial horizontal section of timber or
metal, fixed to the floor slab.
Stamp duty - A duty payable on certain documents involved
in the transfer of land and property ownership. The liability falls
on the buyer.
Stanchion - A vertical supporting beam usually made from
steel.
Stretcher - Brick or block laid lengthways in a wall.
String or stringer - One of the parallel boards supporting
the treads
Structural indemnity insurance - Insurance policy usually
required by mortgage lenders that guarantees the dwelling against
structural defects for a specified term after completion.
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Staged mortgage - Mortgage for self-builders - funds are
released in stages (usually between three and seven) as the house
is constructed.
Strip foundation - Concrete filled trenches to support a
building.
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Strut - An upright roof timber connected to the rafter above
it or sloping to connect another post to the rafter.
Stud - One of the smaller uprights in the framing of the
walls of a building to which sheathing, paneling, or laths are fastened
Tabling - The term used when roof verges are capped with
stone slabs.
Tanalised timber - Timbers used in construction, typically
for floor joists, which have had tanalith-oxide preservative driven
into their cellular structure under pressure.
Tandem garage - A garage long enough for two vehicles to
park one behind the other.
Taper relief - A sliding-scale allowance for capital gains
tax available from April 1998 based on the principle that the longer
a property is owned the less tax is payable.
Tie-beam - The main horizontal roof beam just above the
wall that connects the bases of rafters.
Title deeds - Legal documents proving ownership of a property.
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Trussed - Timber planks framed together to bridge a space.
Tree preservation order - Made under the Town and Country
Planning Act 1990 by the local planning authority to protect trees
of importance for amenity, landscape and nature conservation.
Turnkey - A self-build 'turnkey project' is one that is
entirely managed by an individual or a company (such as an architect
or timber frame company), with your own involvement limited to providing
funds and design guidelines.
Underpinning - The installation of strong foundations underneath
primary foundations when the latter have failed or have been found
to be inadequate to support the structure above.
UPVC or PVC-U - A type of stable plastic used in the manufacture
of double-glazed window frames, doors and cladding. The letters
'PVC' stands for Poly Vinyl Chloride, which is a chemical compound
of chlorine, carbon and hydrogen. The components of PVC originate
from the naturally occurring raw materials of petroleum, or natural
gas and common salt. The 'u' stands for unplasticised, (sometimes
called unmodified), and it means that the material has not been
softened by the addition of chemicals known as plasticisers.
Use class - Designation of land use by the local authority,
for example as 'residential'. The 'use class' determines how specific
plots of land can be developed, if at all.
Vendor - The person selling land or property.
Verge - The edge of a roof at the gable.
Wall tie - A galvanised metal tie used to bond the inner
and outer walls of a cavity wall together.
Winders - Triangular stair treads sometimes used when a
staircase turns a comer.
Yield - The annual return on property investment expressed
as a percentage.
Zero rated - Non VAT able items
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