MEEF - Middle East Engineering - Glossaries - Architecture - previous page


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Saddle - A small ridged roof designed to carry water away from the back side of a chimney.

Sash - An individual window unit (comprised of rails, stiles, lites, muntins) that fits inside the window frame.

Schematic - An electrical diagram of electrical symbols.

Scuttle - An opening in the ceiling leading to an unfinished half-story.

Septic Tank - A concrete or bituminous- covered metal tank where sewage is digested by bacterial action.

Shaft - A long, slender part of a pillar that adds support to an overhanging structure.

Sheathing - A covering over the structural frame of a building, onto which the cladding is attached.

Shed - A roof type with one high pitched plane covering the entire structure.

Shingles - Wood, asphalt, or other material that is applied in small sections as an outside covering on roofs of exterior walls to convey the run off of water.

Ship lap - A board siding with joints cut out of the board allowing pieces to fit together with no overlapping.

Shutter - A movable cover for a window used for protection from weather and intruders.

Shutter Dogs - Small metal structures used to hold the shutters against the wall.

Siding - The finished covering on the outside of non masonry walls of houses and buildings. Shingles, wood siding, aluminum siding, vinyl siding, stucco, etc.

Sidelights - Windows on either side of a door.

Sill - A horizontal piece forming the bottom frame of a window or door opening.

Site - The section of town or general location in which your building lot is located.

Skylight - A window in a roof to give light to a loft or room without other lighting.

Slate - A roof material made from a hard, fine-grained rock that cleaves into thin, smooth layers.

Sleepers - Joist set in concrete to provide nailing strips for flooring.

Sliding Window - A window that opens by sliding large panes from one side to the other.

Smoke Chambers - The are immediately above the damper and smoke shelf of a fireplace in the chimney.

Smoke Shelf - A shelf at the base of the smoke chamber that provides proper smoke circulation within this chamber above the fireplace in the chimney.

Soffit - The underside of a member such as a beam or arch, or of an eave, overhang, dropped ceiling, etc. (Same as bed board)

Solar Orientation - The relationship of room to the sun's light.

Sole - The horizontal wooden member supporting wall studs.

Spandrel - The part of a porch facade that reflects the balustrade.

Spanish Clay Tile - A roofing material made from clay soil into red brick; common to Mediterranean Revival houses.

Specifications - A document that takes up where drawn plans leave off. This includes quantity and quality of material and a general description of how the work should be done and what will be included.

Spire - The pyramidal structure soaring from a tower or roof a church.

Square - A unit of measure equal to 100 square feet. Three square of shingles, for example, will cover 300 square feet of wall or roof area.

Stairwell - The enclosure of a stairway.

Stile - The vertical sides of a window sash.

Steel Siding - Heavy siding material which remains very durable and weather resistant.

Stool - The inside window sill.

Story - A horizontal division of a building, from the floor to the ceiling above it.

String-course - Similar to a belt-course but thinner; a horizontal band or molding marking architectural subdivisions, such as stories.

Stringer - The board nailed to the exterior wall sheathing to support returns. The diagonal supporting members for treads and riser, also called horses.

Striking Joints - The act of forming the mortar at the joints of brick, stone , or tile construction for the purpose of decoration.

Stucco - A mixture of cement, sand, lime and water spread over metal screening or chicken wire or wooden lath on wooden walls to form the exterior covering of and exterior wall.

Stud - A vertical wood support in a frame wall.

Sub-floor - A floor beneath the finish floor designed to strengthen the bearing surface and prevent dust from passing through floors.

Surround(s) - The molding which outlines an object or opening.

Swiss Cap - A decorative furnace cap that exhales smoke by spinning.

Symmetrical - When two halves of an object are mirror images of each other