Glossary

Glossary of 7847 Property Development Terms

C

C -

• Celsius.
• Centigrade.
• In heat transfer, conduction of a material to the passage of heat; the reciprocal of resistance (C=1/R).
• In seismic design, the numerical coefficient used which represents building acceleration.
• Capacitance.

C Channel - A C shaped steel or aluminium section shaped like a rectangular box with one side removed.

C Clamp - A clamp in the shape of a "C" with jaw capacities usually ranging from 1 to 8 inches used for the securing of wood or metal pieces in a fixed position and for temporary assemblies.

C Clamps - Similar to the vise grip but offers a wider opening. Holds objects in place while sawing or joining. Feature clamp pads that protect the surface and allow for gripping tapered pieces. Ideal for laminating or veneering.

C Stud - A roll formed metal channel stud.

C Switch Isolation - A switch intended for isolating an electric circuit from the source of power. It has no interrupting rating and is intended to be operated only after the circuit has been opened by some other means.

C To C - Abreviation of Centre To Centre.

Cab Elevator - The enclosure in an elevator which carries passengers and freight up or down.

Cabana - A shelter near a swimming pool or beach.

Cabin -

• A small one story dwelling of simple construction.
• A compartment on a ship or aircraft.

Cabinet -

• Case, box, or piece of furniture with sets of drawers or shelves, with doors, primarily used for storage.
• An electrical switch enclosure designed either for surface or flush mounting, and provided with a frame, mat or trim in which swinging doors are hung.
• A single panelboard or group of panel units designed for assembly in the form of a single panel including buses and with or without switches or automatic overcurrent protective devices, or both, for the control of light, heat, or power in a cabinet or enclosure placed in or against a wall or partition and accessible only from the front.

Cabinet Base - Floor mounted cabinet, usually with a counter, sink or appliance installed.

Cabinet Bathroom Vanity - A bathroom cabinet with a lavatory mounted in the counter top.

Cabinet Drawer Guide - A wood strip used to guide the drawer as it slides in and out of its opening.

Cabinet Drawer Kicker - Wood cabinet member placed immediately above and generally at the center of a drawer to prevent tilting down when pulled out.

Cabinet Extinguisher - A case or cupboard having doors which contains a fire extinguishing device.

Cabinet Finish - Protective coatings to provide protection and decorative appearance for exposed portions of wood cabinets.

Cabinet Hardware - Metal and plastic fasteners and connectors used to facilitate the operation and movement of doors, drawers, and shelves in cabinets.

Cabinet Heater - A heating element enclosed in a metal housing, with openings for airflow, usually with a fan for controlling air flow.

Cabinet Kitchen - A case, box, or piece of furniture with sets of drawers or shelves, with doors, primarily used for storage, mounted on walls or floors in a kitchen area.

Cabinet Kitchen - A case, box, or piece of furniture with sets of drawers or shelves, with doors, primarily used for storage, mounted on walls or floors in a kitchen area.

Cabinet Knob - A handle, pull, or rounded protuberance for opening a cabinet door or drawer.

Cabinet Laboratory - A case, box, or piece of furniture with sets of drawers or shelves, with doors, primarily used for storage, used in a place or area for scientific studies or commercial and institutional laboratories and testing facilities.

Cabinet Lavatory - A case, box, or piece of furniture with sets of drawers or shelves, with doors, primarily used for storage, used in a place or area for scientific studies or commercial and institutional laboratories and testing facilities.

Cabinet Monitor - A cabinet whose doors have louvered panels to allow for ventilation, light or finish design.

Cabinet Rasp - The quickest way to remove woodworking stock is with this. Has a round and flat face.

Cabinet Scraper - Available in three basic shapes: rectangular, straight with concave and convex ends, and gooseneck. Works by cutting, not abrading, the wood. Excellent at smoothing wood. Sharpened by burnishers.

Cabinet Transplant Finish - Protective clear or tinted coating to provide protection and decorative appearance for exposed portions of wood cabinets which allows grain of wood to be seen through coating.

Cabinet Wall - The wall to which cabinets are attached or mounted.

Cabinet Wall - Case, box, or piece of furniture which mounts on a wall, commonly with shelves and doors, used for storage.

Cabinetmaker Screwdriver - Features a turned oval beech handle and a blade designed for wood screws. Part of the blade is flattened to handle a wrench if more torque is needed.

Cable -

• A thin, flexible line which carries only tensile forces.
• A bundle of two or more electrical conductors.

Cable Armoured - A factory assembly of insulated conductors inside a flexible metallic covering. It can be run except where exposed to excessive moisture and should not be run below grade. It must always be grounded and uses its armor as an equipment ground. It is difficult to pull out old wires or insert new ones.

Cable Audio - A cable over which the transmission, reception, or reproduction of sound is carried.

Cable Bus - An assembly of insulated cables.

Cable BX - A factory assembly of insulated conductors inside a flexible metallic covering. It can be run except where exposed to excessive moisture and should not be run below grade. It must always be grounded and uses its armor as an equipment ground. It is difficult to pull out old wires or insert new ones.

Cable Camera - A camera that is controlled and activated with coaxial cable.

Cable Camera - A device for the transmission or recording of visual images.

Cable CCTV - Cable that is used for the transmission of closed circuit television.

Cable Coaxial - A cable consisting of two concentric conductors separated by an insulator, used to transmit telephone, television and computer signals.

Cable Communication - A cable fortransmission of telephone, television, and computer signals.

Cable Computer - Coaxial cable which transmits computer signals.

Cable Connector - A device used to connect lengths of cable together into one longer length.

Cable Copper - Insulated, sheathed copper wires conducting power from a source to an electric appliance.

Cable Coupler - A device for connecting two lengths of cable into one longer length.

Cable Fire Alarm - A specific electrical system cable which carries electric current to a warning horn or bell for use in the event of a fire or other catastrophe.

Cable Fitting - Couplings, elbows, tees or unions used to form a junction or connect cable lines together.

Cable Guy - A wire used to secure a tall exterior mast, antenna, or other structure in place.

Cable Lug - A connector for fastening the ends of cable to a terminal.

Cable Man Hole - A vertical access shaft from the surface to the underground, leading to an area for the repair or installation of cable wires.

Cable NM (Non Metallic) - A type of Romex cable (nonmetallic sheathed cable that contains several conductors). The cable, which is flame-retardant, is limited to use in dry locations only and can not be exposed to excessive moisture.

Cable Non Mettalic - A type of Romex cable (nonmetallic sheathed cable that contains several conductors). The cable, which is flame-retardant, is limited to use in dry locations only and can not be exposed to excessive moisture.

Cable Nonmetallic - A type of Romex cable (nonmetallic sheathed cable that contains several conductors). The cable, which is flame-retardant, is limited to use in dry locations only and can not be exposed to excessive moisture.

Cable Quadruplex - Four wire cable.

Cable Receptacle - An interrupting outlet box device installed in an electric supply circuit for the connection of electric cables.

Cable Roof - A circular structure in which the internal stresses of the members are subjected primarily to tensile stresses.

Cable Sheathed - Armoured metal flexible electrical cable; BX cable.

Cable Support - A structure which holds cable lines in place or at a safe overhead height.

Cable Tap Box - A box where public cable service supply lines are connected with a branch to serve a building or structure.

Cable Television - A system of distributing television signals to individual subscribers by use of subterranean cables or overhead wires, rather than by aerials.

Cable Thermostat - A specific electrical system cable which operates an automatic device for regulating the temperature in a room, space, or area.

Cable Tray - Open track for support of insulated cables.

Cable TV - A system of distributing television signals to individual subscribers by use of subterranean cables or overhead wires, rather than by aerials.

Cabriole Leg - A curved furniture leg rounded and swollen at the top and tapered down ending in an ornamental foot.

CAD - Computer Aided Design.

CADD - Computer Aided Design and Drafting.

Cadmium - A bluish white malleable ductile toxic metallic element used in protective platings and in bearing metals.

Cadmium Lithopone - A series of yellows and reds that are permanent to light and resistant to alkalis.

Cadmium Red - Non fading red pigment made from cadmium and selenium metals, heat and alkali resistant.

Cadmium Yellow - Pigment prepared by precipitation from acid solution of soluble cadmium salt with hydrogen sulphide gas; fast to alkalis but not to acids.

Cafe - A small coffee shop or simple restaurant.

Cafeteria - A restaurant where the diners collect their food on a tray and usually pay before eating.

Cage Ladder - A, usually wall-mounted, ladder that has, for safety, a surrounding structure to prevent the climber from falling off.

Cage Ladder - A cage like structure surrounding a wall mounted ladder for safety.

Caging - Metal furring used to enclose pipes, columns, beams or other configurations to be concealed by gypsum board.

Caisson -

• A type of drilled or augured piling.
• A cylindrical, sitecast concrete foundation that penetrates through unsatisfactory soil to rest upon an underlying stratum of rock or satisfactory soil.
• A foundation pier, either circular or rectilinear in plan, usually sunk to rock either by means of gravity, compressed air or by the open-well method.
• A panel sunk below the normal surface in flat or vaulted ceilings.
• A 10" or 12" diameter hole drilled into the earth and embedded into bedrock 3 - 4 feet. The structural support for a type of foundation wall, portch, patio, monopost, or other structure. Two or more sticks of reinforcing bars (rebar) are inserted into and run the full length of the hole and concrete is poured into the caison hole.

Caisson Disease - A sometimes fatal disorder that afflicts workers in a compressed air atmosphere who return to normal air pressure too quickly; decompression sickness; also called The Bends, Air Embolism, or Aerembolism.

Caking - Hard settling of pigment from paint.

Calcareous - Containing calcium or calcium carbonate, chalky.

Calcification - Buildup of calcium carbonate on swimming pool walls and equipment, caused by precipitation of calcium from hard water.

Calcimine - A white or tinted wash consisting of glue, whiting or zinc white, and water, used primarily on plastered surfaces; a type of tempera.

Calcine -

• To alter composition or physical state by heating.
• To drive off or lose chemically combined water by action of heat thereby altering the chemical and physical characteristics of a material.
• To release part or all of the water of crystallization from gypsum by the application of heat.
• A ceramic mineral or mixture fired to less than fusion for use as a constituent in a ceramic composition.

Calcined - Heated to high temperature in absence of air.

Calcined Board - Gypsum board which has been subjected to excessive heat.

Calcined Gypsum - Gypsum that has been partially dehydrated by heat.

Calcined Gypsum Anhydrous - A cement composed of finely ground, anhydrous, calcined gypsum, the set of which is accelerated by the addition of other materials, used in areas subjected to moisture, a hard, strong finishing plaster that is made from gypsum and maintains a high polish, because of its density, it excels for use in bathrooms and kitchens and is also widely used for the finish coat in auditoriums, public buildings, and other places where walls may be subjected to unusually hard wear or abuse. Also Called Keenes Cement.

Calcium Aluminate Cement - A hydraulic cement in which the principal constituents are calcium illuminates, instead of calcium silicates which comprise the major ingredients of portland cement.

Calcium Carbonite - Earth product obtained from deposits of chalk or dolomite,used as extender pigment.

Calcium Chloride - A chemical used to speed up curing of concrete during damp conditions.

Calcium Dryers - Used widely in combination with other metal driers to convert paint to hard films.

Calcium Gypsum - A dry powder, primarily calcium sulfate hemihydrate, resulting from calcination of gypsum; cementitious base for production of most gypsum plasters, also called Plaster of Paris, sometimes called Stucco.

Calcium Hypchlorite - A chemical compound of chlorine and calcium used as a bacteriacide in swimming pools, available in white granular or tablet form and releases 70 percent of its weight as available chlorine.

Calcium Insulation - A type of insulation, made of hydrated calcium silicate, that can withstand 1200° Fahrenheit and is not affected by moisture.

Calcium Silicate - A sand and lime solution.

Calcium Sulfate -

• The chemical compound CaSO4.
• White inert pigment which provides very little color or opacity.
• A drying agent or desiccant in liquid line driers.

Calculus - A method of computation or calculation in a special notation, the use of algebra to calculate changing quantities.

Calendar Day - Each and every day on the calendar without dction for weekends or holidays.

Calendar Year - A year in time using the actual number of days from January 1 through December 31, (365 days or 366 days if a leap year).

Calendered Papers - Wallpapers with hard finish.

Caliber -

• The internal diameter of a tube.
• The character and capacity of a firm.

Calibrate - To verify the graduations of an instrument and adjust them if necessary.

Calidarium - The room containing the warm bath in Roman baths, also called Thermae.

Caliper -

• A measuring instrument with two legs resembling a divider, for measuring thicknesses, diameters, and distances between surfaces; with in-turned points to measure convex surfaces and out-turned points for measuring internal dimensions.
• The precise measured thickness of gypsumboard.
• The diameter of a tree trunk.

Calipers - These two tools are designed for accurately transferring and measuring outside and inside dimensions. Invaluable to woodturners. The bowlegged caliper is used to measure outside dimensions, with the straight-legged caliper measure inside.

Call In - A power of the Secretary Of State that enable his office to decide on any particular application in lieu of decisions from the local planning authority.

Call System - A communicating device to connect one place with another.

Calliper - An insturment with two legs, one of them sliding, used to measure the thickness of objects.

Calorie -

• Small calorie or gram calorie, used by medical science, the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water one degree Celsius.
• Large calorie or great calorie, used by engineering science, the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water one degree Celsius.
• The quantity of heat needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water one degree Celsius.
• A kilocalorie equals 1,000 calories.

Calorie Gram - Small calorie or gram calorie, used by medical science, the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water one degree Celsius.

Calorie Great -

• Used by engineering science.
• The amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water one degree Celsius.
• A kilocalorie equals 1,000 calories.

Calorie Small - Small calorie or gram calorie, used by medical science, the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water one degree Celsius.

Calorimeter - Device used to measure quantities of heat or determine specific heats.

Caluking Gun - Sealant applied by application through the nozzle of a hand heald tool operating like a gun.

Caluking Gun Consistency - Sealant formulated in a degree of viscosity suitable for application through the nozzle of a caulking gun.

Cam - A projection on a rotating part in machinery, shaped to impart reciprocal or variable motion to the part in contact with it.

Cam Action Clamps - Light and medium duty, as well as veneering, clamping. Cork faces won't mar delicate work. The cam works as a lever to apply varying degrees of pressure.

Camber -

• A deflection that is intentionally built into a structural element or form, usually a beam, to improve appearance or to nullify and offset the deflection of the beam under the effects of loads, shrinkage, and creep.
• A slight rise at the center of a flat arch.

Camber Rod - A tension rod installed under a trussed beam.

Cambium - A thin layer of tissue in a tree between the bark and wood that repeatedly subdivides to form new wood and bark cells.

Came - Slender grooved lead rod used in stained glass windows.

Camera Cable - A camera that is controlled and activated with coaxial cable.

Camera Cable - A device for the transmission or recording of visual images.

Candela - An international unit of luminous intensity.

Candelabra - A branched candle stick or lamp with several lights.

Candelabrum - A branched candle stick or lamp with several lights.

Candelilla Wax - Wax obtained from small shrub grown in Texas and Mexico, softer than Carnuba wax.

Candle -

• An international unit of luminous intensity.
• A unit of wax with a wick that is lit to create light.

Candlepower - The unit of luminous intensity of a light source, expressed in Candelas.

Cane Bolt - An L shaped rod, mounted on a swinging or sliding door or gate, that drops into a pipe sleeve below the floor surface to secure the door or gate.

Cannibalisation - The process of operating an income property by borrowing parts, fixtures, and equipment from vacant spaces.

Cannular - Tubular.

Canopy - An overhanging roof.

Canopy -

• An overhanging shelter.
• An Overhanging Roof.
• A marquee.

Canopy Strip -

• A strip of material, usually treated wood or fiber, with a sloping face used to ease the transition from a horizontal to a vertical surface at the edge of a flat roof, prevents the roofing material from abruptly stopping at the parapet wall and also helps prevent leakage at that juncture.
• A triangular shaped strip of wood used under shingles at gable ends or under the edges of roofing on flat decks.

Cant Strip - A beveled support used at the junction of a flat surface and a vertical surface to prevent bends and/or cracking of the roofing membrane at the intersection of the roof deck and wall. Used with a base flashing to minimize breaking of the roofing felts.

Canted - An extension to the main building. Referred to as canted or splayed when angled back at the side, and squared when perpendicular.

Canted Window - A window extension to the main building. Otherwise referred to as a canted or splayed window when angled back at the side, and squared when perpendicular.

Cantilever -

• A projecting structure, such as a beam, that is supported at one end and carries a load at the other end or along its length.
• A member, such as a beam, that projects beyond a fulcrum and is supported by a balancing member or a downward force behind the fulcrum.
• A bracket or block supporting a balcony or cornice.

Cantilever - A structural shape, beam, truss, or slab, that extends beyond its last point of support.

Cantilever Wall - A retaining wall in which the wall and footing resists earth pressure by cantilever effect.

Cantilevered - To construct as or in the manner of a cantilever.

Cantilevered Beam - A beam that is supported at one end only.

Cantilevered Void - Foundation void material used in unusually expansive soils conditions. This void is trapezoid shaped and has vertical sides of 6" and 4" respectively.

Cantilevering - To construct as or in the manner of a cantilever.

Cap -

• A caplike part or thing; cover, or top.
• An upper limit set on a budget or cost, a ceiling.
• A trim tile with a convex radius on one edge, used for finishing the top of a wainscot or for turning an outside corner, a bullnose.
• The upper member of a column, pilaster, door, cornice molding, and the like.
• A female pipe fitting, solid at one end; used to close off the end of a piece of pipe.
• Masonry units laid on top of finished masonry wall or pier.
• Flashing for tops of parapet walls.
• A maximum allowable increase whether an interest rate, rent or form of payment.

Cap Air - Perforated housing for atomizing air at head of spray gun; also called air nozzle.

Cap And Collar Mortgage - This is a mortgage that has both a top and bottom limit set for the interest rate. It is a very safe and risk free type of mortgage, as you are protected against interest rate rises above a certain point, but you are losing some of the potential gains if interest rates drop.

Cap Base -

• Wood strip applied to the base of a wall to protect wall surface and finish the intersection of wall and baseboard.
• A finish fitting for tile.

Cap Black Iron - A steel fitting, with female threads, which seals the end of a pipe.

Cap Black Iron - A steel fitting, with female threads, which seals the end of a pipe.

Cap Block -

• A solid flat slab usually 2-1/4 inches thick used as capping units for parapet and garden walls
• Also used as a Paving Unit.

Cap Chimney - Concrete capping around the top of chimney bricks and around the floors to protect the masonry from the elements.

Cap Columm - The head or cornice of a pillar or column.

Cap Flashing -

• The portion of the flashing attached to a vertical surface to prevent water from migrating behind the base flashing
• An inverted L shaped metal strip built into a wall to overlap base flashing and make a roof or wall watertight.

Cap Pile - A structural member usually fastened to, and placed on the top of a slender timber, concrete, steel pile, used to transmit loads into the pile or group of piles and to interconnect them.

Cap Post - A fitting which joins the end of a wooden post to a joist or girder connected to the post.

Cap Rate - The rate of interest to be used in the capitalization process, reflecting risk and rates of return on alternative investments.

Cap Sheet - The top sheet of roofing in a built up roof, usually made of organic or inorganic fibers, saturated and coated on both sides with a bituminous compound and factory coated with mineral granules, mica, talc, iliminite, asbestos, or other inorganic fibers, or similar material.

Cap Sheets - In roofing, one to four plies of felt bonded and top coated with bitumen that is laid over an existing roof as a treatment for defective roofs.

Cap Welded - A fitting that is fastened by welding to seal the end of a pipe.

Capacitance -

• Property of a nonconductor, condenser or capacitor, that permits storage of electrical energy in an electrostatic field, a measure of this is the farad.
• Property of an electric circuit which tends to oppose a change in voltage.

Capacitance Sensor - A sensor which shows a devices ability or hold or store electrical energy.

Capacitive Reactance - The opposition or resistance to an alternating current as a result of capacitance, expressed in ohms.

Capacitor -

• A device which introduces capacitance into an electric circuit.
• Type of electrical storage device used in starting and/or running circuits on many electric motors.

Capacitor Monitor - Single phase induction motor with an auxiliary starting winding connected in series with a condenser (capacitor) for better starting characteristics.

Capacitor Start Motor - Motor which has a capacitor in the starting circuit.

Capacity -

• The ability to contain or receive.
• The maximum amount that can be accommodated or contained.
• Refrigeration rating system; usually measured in Btu per hour or watts (metric).
• The requirements of a lender that indicate borrowers physical and financial ability to proceed with a project and be able to withstand any reasonable loss.

Capacity Bearing - Allowable bearing capacity; the maximum allowable load on a structural element.

Capacity Thermal - The quantity of heat needed to warm a collector up to its operating temperature.

Cape - An extension to a footpath in order to narrow road width.

Cape Chisel - Tool used to clean out mortar joints on brick.

Capillarity - The action by which the surface of a liquid where it is in contact with a solid, as in a capillary tube, is elevated or depressed depending on the relative attraction of the molecules of the liquid for each other and for those of the solid.

Capillary - A tube with a small bore.

Capillary Attraction -

• The force of adhesion between a solid and a liquid in capillarity.
• In brazing, the phenomenon by which adhesion between the molten filler metal and the base metals, together with surface tension of the molten filler metal, distributes the filler metal between the properly fitted surfaces of the joint to be brazed.

Capillary Break - A slot or groove intended to create an opening too large to be bridged by a drop of water, and thereby to eliminate the passage of water by capillary action.

Capillary Movement - Movement of underground water in response to capillary attraction.

Capillary Space - In cement paste, any space not occupied by anhydrous cement or cement gel, air bubbles, whether entrained or entrapped, are not considered as part of the cement paste.

Capillary Tube - Throttling device used to maintain correct pressure difference between high side and low side in refrigerating mechanism. Capillary tubes are sometimes called choke tubes.

Capillary Water - Underground water held above the water table by capillary attraction.

Capital - This is the amount of money that you invest in property or another vehicle such as an ISA or which is lent to you by a bank or some other creditor.

Capital -

• The money or other assets with which a company starts in business and uses in operation.
• The head or cornice of a pillar or column, also called Column Cap.
• A city serving as the seat of government.
• The amount of money that you invest in property or another vehicle such as an ISA or which is lent to you by a bank or some other creditor.

Capital And Interest Mortgage - The monthly payment of your mortgage which is made up of principal and interest payments.

Capital Appreciation - An increase in the value of your investment or property over a period of time, meaning that you have generated some degree of a return on the money you forked out.

Capital Column - The uppermost member of a column crowning the shaft and taking the weight of the slab, beam, or girder.

Capital Employed - This represents the amount of a company's share capital, reserves and debt that it is currently using to fund its activities and is a value on its balance sheet.

Capital Gain - The gain in the sale or disposition of a capital asset.

Capital Gain Or Loss - The gain or loss in the sale or disposition of a capital asset.

Capital Improvement - Work performed on a property that enhances value.

Capital Loss - The loss in the sale or disposition of a capital asset.

Capital Stock - The total amount invested in the business by the owner in exchange for shares of common stock at par value.

Capitalisation -

• The process of determining the capital value of a real property investment by relating its annual income to an assumed capitalization rate; for example, a property with an annual income of £12,000 and a capitalization rate of 8 percent would have a capitalized value of £150,000 (Income/Capitalization Rate = Capitalized Value).
• Total of financial resources available to the business.

Capitalisation Rate - The rate of interest to be used in the capitalization process, reflecting risk and rates of return on alternative investments.

Capped Rate Mortgage - As with all variable rate mortgages, the rate follows the lender's SVR up and down, the difference with this type of mortgage is that the rate is guaranteed not to go above the level at which it is 'capped'. This type of mortgage is popular in times of steadily rising interest rates.

Capping - The upper member of a column, pilaster, door cornice, moulding, or fireplace.

Carbide Bit - Tool used to drill holes in brick or block.

Carbide Tipped - Extremely hard steel pieces with sharp cutting edges fastened to cutting tools such as saw blades, and router bits.

Carbon -

• A nonmetallic element found native, as in the diamond and graphite, or as a constituent of coal, petroleum, and asphalt, of limestone and other carbonates, and of organic compounds.
• When combined with iron, forms various kinds of steel; in solid form, it is used as an electrode for arc welding.
• As a mould, it will hold weld metal; motor brushes are made from carbon.

Carbon Activated - Specially processed carbon used as a filter-drier; commonly used to clean air; pulverized carbon treated to be especially adsorbent.

Carbon Arc Cutting - An arc cutting process wherein the severing of metals is effected by melting with the heat of an arc between a carbon electrode and the base metal.

Carbon Arc Welding - An arc welding process wherein coalescence is produced by heating with an electric arc between a carbon electrode and the work and no shielding is used, pressure may or may not be used and filler metal may or may not be applied.

Carbon Black - Jet black, non bleeding pigment, made by burning natural gas in insufficient supply of air.

Carbon Dioxide -

• Compound of carbon and oxygen (CO2) which is sometimes used as a refrigerant.
• Refrigerant number is R-744.

Carbon Filter - Air filter using activated carbon as air cleansing agent.

Carbon Monoxide - Carbon monoxide is colorless, odorless gas resulting from the incomplete combustion of hydrocarbon fuels. Carbon monoxide interferes with blood's ability to carry oxygen to the body's tissues and results in numerous adverse health effects.

Carbon Monoxide - A colourless, odorless toxic gas, CO, a product of incomplete burning of carbon.

Carbon Steel - Low carbon or mild steel.

Carbon Tetracholride - Colourless nonflammable and very toxic liquid used as a solvent, it should never be allowed to touch skin and fumes must not be inhaled.

Carbonate Base Lead - A type of white lead pigment.

Carbonation - A process which naturally occurs on the outer layers of concrete. Carbonation can adversely affect metal reinforced concrete causing fracturing.

Carbonising Flame - An oxygen fuel gas flame.

Carbonite Calcium - Earth product obtained from deposits of chalk or dolomite,used as extender pigment.

Carborundum - A compound of carbon and silicon used as an abrasive.

Carcass - The case or box of a piece of furniture, it is the rough framework and structure of the item.

Card Access Control - An entry device that is operated by a small magnetized plastic card, similar to a credit card.

Carillon - A set of bells sounded either from a keyboard or manually.

Carnuba Wax - A hard wax obtained from species of palm grown mostly in Brazil.

Carpenter - A craft worker skilled in woodwork, especially of the structural kind.

Carpenters Level - A hand tool consisting of a wood or metal bar with spirit levels attached, used for establishing plumbness and levelness of construction members.

Carpenters Pencil - Rectangular shaped pencil, about 1/4" X 1/2", with a 1/16" X 3/16" lead.

Carpenters Saw - A wood saw which is powered by hand, commonly called a Carpenters Saw or Wood Saw.

Carpentry Finish -

• The finish woodwork installation such as base, casing, doors, stairs, paneling
• All woodwork installed after plastering or drywall.
• The hanging of all interior doors, installation of door molding, base molding, chair rail, built in shelves, etc.

Carpentry Rough - The preliminary framing, boxing, and sheeting of a wood frame building.

Carpet - General designation of fabric constructions which serve as soft floor coverings, especially those which cover the entire floor and are fastened to it, as opposed to rugs; see also Woven, Tufted, Knitted, Punched, and Flocked carpets.

Carpet Acrylic - A carpet made from acrylic fiber composed of synthetic polymers.

Carpet Axminster - One of the four basic weaves used in making carpets; woven on an Axminster loom, the pile tufts in this weave are mechanically inserted and bound to the back in a manner similar to the hand knotting of Oriental rugs, making possible almost unlimited combinations of colours and patterns.

Carpet Base -

• Vinyl or rubber base attached to the wall with adhesive and installed as a finish for carpeting.
• A base made of carpeting serving the same purpose.

Carpet Carved - A pattern formed when certain tufts are eliminated or pile yarns drawn tightly to the back to form a specific design in the face of the carpet, the result simulates the effect of hand carving; also called Carved Carpet.

Carpet Cushioning - A jute, felt ,hair, foam, or plastic rubber underlayment installed under carpeting to increase underfoot comfort, to absorb pile crushing forces and to rce impact sound transmission, also called Cushioning, Lining, or Underlay

Carpet Knitted - Carpet made on a knitting machine by looping together backing, stitching and pile yarns with three sets of needles, as in hand knitting.

Carpet Lining - A jute, felt ,hair, foam, or plastic rubber underlayment installed under carpeting to increase underfoot comfort, to absorb pile crushing forces and to rce impact sound transmission, also called Cushioning, Lining, or Underlay.

Carpet Plate - A thin piece of ornamental metal that the rough edges of carpet is connected to at doorways or at the junction of carpet to another flooring material to form a clean ending point.

Carpet Sculptured - A pattern formed when certain tufts are eliminated or pile yarns drawn tightly to the back to form a specific design in the face of the carpet, the result simulates the effect of hand carving.

Carpet Strip - Wood strip, with a curved or projecting surface, used to finish intersection of base and floor.

Carpet Tack - A small tack used for attaching carpeting to wood floors.

Carpet Tile - Carpet that comes in sheets or small squares and is installed with the use of adhesives.

Carpet Underlay - A jute, felt ,hair, foam, or plastic rubber underlayment installed under carpeting to increase underfoot comfort, to absorb pile crushing forces and to rce impact sound transmission, also called Cushioning, Lining, or Underlay

Carport - An open sided shelter with a roof for a car, usually beside a house.

Carrel - A small cubicle for an individual reader in a library.

Carrene -

• Refrigerant in Group One (R-11.
• chemical combination of carbon, chlorine and fluorine.

Carriage - The member which supports the steps or treads of a stair.

Carriage Bolt - A threaded bolt with a round smooth head and a square neck directly under the head to prevent rotation.

Carrier Channel - The main supporting metal members used in the construction of suspended ceilings.

Carrier Fixture - A mounting frame built into a wall to support a plumbing fixture.

Carrying Channels - The heaviest integral supporting member in a suspended ceiling, carrying channels, or main runners, are supported by hangers attached to the building structure, and in turn, support various grid systems and furring channels or rods to which lath is fastened.

Cartouche - An ornamental frame.

Cartridge -

• Any of various small containers, holding a supply of material for a larger device into which it is inserted.
• Disposable element containing filtering media and used in some pool filters.

Cartridge Extinguisher - The cylindrical container of a fire prevention apparatus which contains the chemicals used in the suppression of fire.

Cartridge Filter - A swimming pool filter which operates through a disposable cartridge, these are of two general types. the surface or area type where the suspended matter is removed at the surface and the depth type in which the interstices vary from large to small in depth.

Carved Carpet - A pattern formed when certain tufts are eliminated or pile yarns drawn tightly to the back to form a specific design in the face of the carpet, the result simulates the effect of hand carving.

Carved Door - A door that has been finished with either factory or hand cutting onto its surface to improve its appearance.

Cascade Sequence -

• In welding, a combined longitudinal and buildup sequence wherein weld beads are deposited in overlapping layers
• In manual shielded metal arc welding a backstep sequence is normally used. See Block Sequence and Buildup Sequence.

Cascade System -

• Arrangement in which two or more refrigerating systems are used in series.
• Uses the evaporator of one machine to cool the condenser of another machine.
• Produces ultra low temperatures.

Case Joint - A type of joint used in cabinetmaking in which the two pieces are butted together at an angle and fastened by dowels.

Case Mould - Plaster shell used to hold various parts of a plaster mould in correct position; also used with gelatin and wax moulds to prevent distortions during pouring operation.

Case Refrigerated - A storage case kept cold by a mechanical device. For use to store perishable items.

Casein - Protein obtained from milk, soluble in alkaline water solution; casein is used extensively in the manufacture of water paints.

Casein Glue -

• An adhesive substance composed of casein (the curd of milk), lime, and sodium salt
• It comes as dry powder to which water is added.

Casein Paint - Paint in which casein solution has replaced the binder.

Casement - A window in which the sash opens with hinges and pivots on an axis along the vertical line of the frame.

Casement Frames And Sash - Frames of wood or metal enclosing part or all of the sash, which may be opened by means of hinges affixed to the vertical edges.

Casement Sash And Frames - Frames of wood or metal enclosing part or all of the sash, which may be opened by means of hinges affixed to the vertical edges.

Casement Window - A window with mechanisms to open on side or top hinges.

Casework - Assembled cabinetry or millwork.

Cash - Actual notes and coins which can always be accessed and therefore be used as a claim to goods and services. For this reason cash is deemed to be then most liquid form of money.

Cash Accounting - A method of keeping accounting records in which income is recorded when actually received and expenses are recorded when cash is paid out, also called Cash Basis.

Cash Back - A cash payment that you receive upon completing a mortgage. The cash-back can be in the form of a fixed amount or on a percentage of the mortgage, whichever is dictated in the mortgage agreement.

Cash Basis - A method of keeping accounting records in which income is recorded when actually received and expenses are recorded when cash is paid out, also called Cash Accounting.

Cash Buyer - A person or persons who do not require a mortgage in order to buy a house and who do not have a property to sell. Other cash buyers are those with a mortgage arranged and no property to sell or those who have already sold their property.

Cash Deficit - In relation to a loan, this is money still owed and the end of the repayment period of an interest only mortgage.

Cash Flow - The actual cash income after all cash outlays and reserves have been dcted from the gross income.

Cash Flow Statement - Statement in the Annual Accounts that indicates all the sources of cash, both from internal activities and from external sources of finance, and how this has been used for trading, capital preservation, investment and taxation purposes for the financial period.

Cash Surplus - In relation to a loan, this is money left, over and above the level required to pay off the debt.

Casing - The trim around a window or door.

Casing -

• The wood finish pieces surrounding the frame of a window or door, or the finished lumber around a post or beam.
• A cylindrical steel tube used to line a drilled or driven hole such as a well or caisson.

Casing Bead - Metal or wood molding used to separate different materials, used as an edge or used around openings to provide a stop.

Casing Door - The timber lining of a door opening.

Casing Ranch - An architectural style of exposed millwork enclosure of cased beams, posts, pipes, and the exposed molding or lining around doors and windows.

Casing Trim - Metal or wood material that is attached around windows and doors to act as the decorative finish.

Casino -

• A small summerhouse.
• A building or room used for gambling or other amusements.

Cassiterite - An inorganic mineral of the tetragonal form used as a source of tin and tin oxide, SnO2.

Cast - Inclination of one color to look like another; for example, sulphur is yellow with a greenish cast.

Cast In Place - Mortar or concrete which is deposited in the place where it is required to harden as part of the structure, as opposed to precast concrete.

Cast In Place Concrete - Concrete that is poured in its intended location at a site.

Cast Iron - Iron with a high carbon content, which cannot, because of the percentage of carbon, be classified as steel.

Cast Iron Wheel Guard - Lineal component placed at intersection of wall and horizontal surface to restrain wheels of vehicles from coming close to wall surface, protecting it from vehicular damage.

Cast Stone - Concrete cast in molds for ornamental use in construction.

Castellated Beam - A steel, wide flange section whose web has been cut along a zigzag path and reassembled by welding in such a way as to create a deeper section.

Casting - Something cast in a mould, like cast iron or cast aluminium.

Casting Bed - A form in which precast concrete units are constructed.

Casting Mould - Use of gelatin, wax, or plaster molds to make plaster ornamentation

Casting Plaster - A fast setting gypsum plaster that is used to anchor marble to walls, see Gypsum Moulding Plaster.

Casting Solid - Forming castings by introducing a body slip into a porous mold which usually consists of two major sections, one section forming the contour of the inside of the ware and allowing a solid cast to form between the two mold faces.

CAT Standard - These are a set of standards proposed by the government aimed at ensuring a certain level of standard amongst financial products such as mortgages and ISAs. Whilst they are a sign that a lender or provider is a reputable business and offers products that are of a certain quality, a CAT mark does not ensure that a product is the most suitable one for you.

Catalogue - This provides details of the properties for sale at an auction.

Catalyst - A substance that initiates a chemical reaction and enables it to proceed under different conditions (as at a lower temperature ) than otherwise possible.

Catch - A piece of hardware for fastening a door, window, or cabinet door.

Catch Basin - A receptacle for catching water runoff from a designated area; usually a shallow concrete box with a grating and a discharge pipe leading to a plumbing or stormwater system.

Catchments Area - An area surrounding a school in which you must live for your children to be eligible to attend.

Catenary - The curve assumed by a completely flexible string or cable loaded only by its own weight.

Catface - Blemish or rough depression in the finish coat of plaster caused by variations in base coat thickness.

Cathode - In a fluorescent lamp, a wire coil inside the end of the lamp that acts as the terminal for an electric arc.

Cathode -

• The negative electrode in an electrolytic cell.
• The positive terminal of a primary cell such as a battery.

Cathode Ray Tube - A high vacuum tube in which cathode rays produce a luminous image on a fluorescent screen.

Catwalk - A narrow walkway, such as used in an attic for access.

Caulk -

• The application of sealant to a joint, crack or crevice.
• A compound used for sealing that has minimum joint movement capability; sometimes called low performance sealant.

Caulk Butyl - Caulking that is made from various synthetic rubbers derived from butanes.

Caulk Masonry - A resilient material applied where masonry work butts against other materials to seal cracks or openings.

Caulking -

• Flexible material used to seal a gap between two surfaces e.g. between pieces of siding or the corners in tub walls.
• To fill a joint with mastic or asphalt plastic cement to prevent leaks.

Caulking Compound - A soft, plastic material used for sealing joints in buildings and other structures where normal structural movement may occur, retains its plasticity for an extended period after application, available in forms suitable for application by gun and knife and in extruded preformed shapes.

Caulking Dispenser - A device, usually hand powered, which dispenses liquid caulking into joints and seams.

Caulking Gun - A device, usually hand powered, which dispenses liquid caulking into joints and seams.

Caulking Sealant -

• The application of sealant to a joint, crack or crevice.
• A compound used for sealing that has minimum joint movement capability; sometimes called low performance sealant.

Cause Indemnification - Provision in a contract in which one party agrees to be financially responsible for specified types of damages, claims, or losses.

Caustic Line - Lime.

Caveat - A warning or proviso.

Caveat Emptor - Let the buyer beware. A warning that the buyer purchases at its own risk.

Cavetto - A quarter hollow molding, the converse of a quarter round.

Cavitation - Localized gaseous condition or partial vacuum that is found within a liquid stream, caused by mechanical force, as in a pump impeller, or in fluids at high velocities.

Cavity - The airspace between two leaves of a cavity wall.

Cavity Bridge - When the space between the out and inner leaf of brickwork is bridged, spanning across the cavity airspace, causes damp patches to occur on inner face of cavity walls, usually caused by old mortar build up on walls.

Cavity Tray - A shaped damp roof course at the lintel of a door or window which allows moisture to escape through weepholes.

Cavity Wall - A wall formed of two thicknesses of masonry with a space between them.

Cavity Wall Anchor - A metal device mounted on a masonry wall used to secure other attachments or masonry to an existing or back up wall.

Cavity Wall Tie - Small metal pin embedded into a cavity wall to increase its strength.

CB Ratio -

• The ratio of the weight of water absorbed by a masonry unit during immersion in cold water for 24 hours to weight absorbed during immersion in boiling water for 5 hours.
• An indication of the probable resistance of brick to freezing and thawing.
• Also called saturation coefficient.

CC &R - Covenants, conditions, and restrictions.

CCA (Chromate Copper Arsenate) - A pesticide that is forced into wood under high pressure to protect it from termites, other wood boring insects, and decay caused by fungus.

CCJ (County Court Judgement) - A legal debt order filed against someone and handed out by a County Court for non payment of a debt.

CCTV Cable - Cable that is used for the transmission of closed circuit television.

CD Circuit - A circuit where electricity flows in one direction only, at a constant rate.

CDX - A grading system mark for plywood which means. grade C and D, exterior glue.

CDX Plywood - Plywood used in exterior applications that is graded C and D, for sheathing.

CE (Civil Engineer) - CE is an abbreviation for Civil Engineer.

Cedar - An aromatic durable softwood, genus Cedars, of the pine family.

Cedar Closet - A closet that is lined with thin pieces of cedar wood, used for its fragrance and its ability to repel insects.

Cedar Deck -

• A flat floored roofless area adjoining a structure constructed of cedar wood
• A platform serving as a structural element constructed of cedar wood.
• Planks for flooring, from cedar, usually 2" nominal thickness.

Cedar Shake - A shingle made by splitting a block of cedar along its grain and thereby creating a shingle which may be used for roofing or siding, also called Handsplit Shingles.

Cedar Shingle - A roofing material made of durable pinewood.

Cedar Siding - Boards milled from cedar wood, used for the finish covering on the exterior walls of a building or structure, used for its appearance and resistance to moisture and aging.

Ceiling - The top level of something. A ceiling offer would be the top offer, a ceiling price would be the top price and a ceiling interest rate would be the top interest rate.

Ceiling Access Door - A hinged door or loose fitting panel that allows for admittance to an attic.

Ceiling Barrel - A rounded or semi circular ceiling.

Ceiling Blocking - Wood pieces installed between ceiling joists and rafters to provide nailing surfaces for finishing ceiling materials.

Ceiling Diffuser - A mechanical device through which warm or cold air is blown into an enclosure, for the purpose of to distributing conditioned air.

Ceiling Framing - Wood or metal pieces which form the rough framing of ceilings.

Ceiling Furring - Wood or metal strips applied to a ceiling or rafter to make the ceiling or rafter level, provide a nailing surface, or create an air space.

Ceiling Grille - A grating, screen, or louvered panel that allows air into a ventilating duct.

Ceiling Heater - An electric heater installed in a ceiling, often in a bathroom.

Ceiling Insulation - Loose, blown in material or fiberglass rolls that are in installed at the ceiling plane.

Ceiling Joist - One of a series of parallel framing members used to support ceiling loads and supported in turn by larger beams, girders or bearing walls. Also called roof joists.

Ceiling Lath - Sheets of expanded metal, gypsum or in older structures, wood lath, which are attached to a ceiling to provide a plaster base.

Ceiling Mortar - Extra rich wall mortar.

Ceiling Moulding - Molding that is used to form a projection at the top of a wall.

Ceiling Painting - The actual physical process of applying paint, either by brush, roller, or spray gun to the ceiling section of a structure.

Ceiling Plenum - Space below the flooring and above the suspended ceiling that accommodates the mechanical and electrical equipment and that is used as part of the air distribution system.

Ceiling Price - The maximum price that an informed buyer would pay to purchase or lease property.

Ceiling Removal - The demolition and removal of ceiling materials in order to replace or remodel.

Ceiling Sound Transmission Class - A measure of friction in sound transmission via plenum path between two rooms.

Ceiling Suspended - A ceiling that is suspended below an existing ceiling and is connected to that overhead structural member of surface.

Cell -

• Any void space.
• A single room in a prison or jail.
• The anatomical units of plant tissue, including wood fibers, vessel members, and other elements of diverse structure and function.
• One of the hollow openings in building tile or cement blocks.
• In electrical raceways, a single, enclosed tubular space in a cellular metal floor member, the axis of the cell being parallel to the axis of the metal floor member.

Cellar - Basement, below ground.

Cells Photovoltaic - Semi conductor devices that convert solar energy into electricity.

Cellular Concrete -

• A lightweight product consisting of portland cement, cement pozzolan, cement sand, lime pozzolan or lime sand pastes, or pastes containing blends of these ingredients and having a homogenous void or cell structure, attained with gas forming chemicals or foaming agents.
• For cellular concretes containing binder ingredients other than or in addition to portland cement, autoclave curing is usually employed, also called Foam Concrete or Gas Concrete.

Cellular Decking - Metal floor or roof deck panels made of steel sheets corrugated and welded together in such a way that hollow longitudinal cells are created within the panels.Deck which during construction supports wet concrete and construction loads, but after concrete cures does not perform structural function in completed construction, deck also is fabricated of two sheets to form linear voids.

Cellular Raceway - The hollow spaces of cellular metal floors, together with suitable fittings, that are used as enclosures for electrical and telephone conductors.

Cellulose -

• The carbohydrate that is the principal constituent of wood and forms the framework of the wood cells.
• An organic substance obtained from the cotton plant and used as raw material in the manufacture of paints and other materials.

Cellulose Acetate - A binder made by chemical reaction of acetic acid on cellulose (cotton linters).

Cellulose Insulation - Ground up newspaper that is treated with a fire retardant.

Cellulose Nitrate - A binder made by chemical reaction of nitric acid on cellulose (cotton linters), also called Nitrocellulose or Pyroxylin.

Celotex - Black fibrous board that is used as exterior sheathing.

Celsius - International thermometric scale where 0.01 degrees represents the triple point of water and 100 degrees the boiling point; similar to Centigrade.

Celsius Temperature Scale - The temperature scale used in metric system in which the freezing point of water is 0° and the boiling point is 100°, see Celsius.

Cement - A building material made by grinding calcined limestone and clay to a fine powder, which can be mixed with water and poured to set as a solid mass or used as an ingredient in making mortar or concrete.

Cement Air Entrained - Concrete containing an admixture that produces microscopic air bubbles in the concrete; used to improve workability and freeze resistance.

Cement Air Entraining - A portland cement with an admixture that causes a controlled quantity of stable, microscopic air bubbles to form in the concrete during mixing.

Cement Alumina - Used in high early strength concrete.

Cement Aluminous - A hydraulic cement in which the principal constituents are calcium illuminates, instead of calcium silicates which comprise the major ingredients of portland cement. (See calcium aluminate cement).

Cement Anchoring - Grout used in sleeves to anchor tubing in place.

Cement Asbestos - A material composed of portland cement, fine aggregate, and asbestos fibers, it is formed into flat and corrugated building boards used for roofing and siding, pipes and fittings, and water tanks.

Cement Asphalt - A fluxed or unfluxed asphalt specially prepared as to quality and consistency for direct use in the manufacture of asphalt pavements.

Cement Asphlatic - High quality, thoroughly controlled hot mixture of asphalt cement and well-graded, high quality aggregate, thoroughly compacted into a uniform dense mass.

Cement Autoclaved Aerated - A factory-produced building stone; precast, lightweight concrete, in the form of large building blocks, panels, or planks; made of closed cell concrete steam cured in a pressurized autoclave.

Cement Base Paint - A paint composed of portland cement, lime, pigment, and other modifying ingredients, sold as dry powder to be mixed with water for application.

Cement Beam - A horizontal structural member which transversely supports a load and transfers the load to vertical members, made of a composite material consisting of sand, coarse aggregate, cement and water.

Cement Beveled - An angle in concrete or inclination of any line in concrete or concrete surface that joins another.

Cement Block - A hollow concrete masonry unit constructed of a composite material consisting of sand, coarse aggregate, cement, and water.

Cement Blocks - Mass produced building blocks made from pouring concrete into a mould.

Cement Board - An adhesive used to bond pieces of wood together.

Cement Body Tiles - Tiles with the body made from a mixture of sand and portland cement, the surface may be finished with portland cement, spheroids of marble, or other materials.

Cement Colour - Coloured powdered or liquid pigments added to a mix to integrally colour concrete.

Cement Content - The quantity of cement contained in a unit volume of concrete or mortar, ordinarily expressed as pounds, barrels, or bags per cubic yard.

Cement Factor - The number of bags or cubic feet of cement per cubic yard of concrete, see Cement Content.

Cement Fiber - A threadlike structure added to cement to stiffen and strengthen it.

Cement Fiber Board - A prefabricated concrete building sheet that is compressed and bonded.

Cement Gel - The colloidal, glue like, material that makes up the major portion of the porous mass of which hydrated cement paste is composed.

Cement Grout -

• A cementitious mixture of portland cement, sand or other ingredients, and water which produces a uniform paste used to fill joints and cavities between masonry units.
• A thin mortar used for pointing up and finishing joints between tile units.

Cement Gypsum Keene - Material used to obtain a smooth finish coat of plaster, for use over gypsum plastic base coats only and in areas not subject to moisture. It is the hardest plaster

Cement High Early - A portland cement sold as Type III sets up to its full strength faster than other types.

Cement Keene - A white finish plaster that produces an extremely durable wall. Because of its density, it excels for use in bathrooms and kitchens and is also used extensively for the finish coat in auditoriums, public buildings, and other places where walls may be subjected to unusually hard wear or abuse.

Cement Keenes - A cement composed of finely ground, anhydrous, calcined gypsum, the set of which is accelerated by the addition of other materials, used in areas subjected to moisture, a hard, strong finishing plaster that is made from gypsum and maintains a high polish, because of its density, it excels for use in bathrooms and kitchens and is also widely used for the finish coat in auditoriums, public buildings, and other places where walls may be subjected to unusually hard wear or abuse, also called Anhydrous Calcined Gypsum.

Cement Masonry - A hydraulic cement for use in mortars for masonry construction, containing one or more of the following materials. portland cement, portland blast furnace, slag cement, portland pozzolan cement, natural cement, slag cement or hydraulic lime, and in addition usually containing one or more materials such as hydrated lime, limestone, chalk, calcereous shell, talc, slag, or clay, as prepared for this purpose.

Cement Mixtures -

• Rich - 1 part cement 2 parts sand 3 parts coarse aggregate. Used for concrete roads and waterproof structures.
• Standard - 1 part cement parts sand, 4 parts coarse aggregate. Used for reinforced work floors, roofs, columns, arches, tanks, sewers, conduits, etc.
• Medium - 1 part cement, 2 1/2 parts sand, 5 parts coarse aggregate. Used for foundations, walls, abutments, piers, etc.
• Lean - 1 part cement, 3 parts sand, 6 parts coarse aggregate. Used for all mass concrete work, large foundations, backing for stone masonry, etc. Mixtures are always listed Cement to Sand to Aggregate

Cement Mortar - A mixture of cement, lime, sand, or other aggregates, and water, used for plastering over masonry or to lay block, brick or tile.

Cement Paste - The mixture of portland cement, water, pozzolans and other admixtures, if any, and air which surround the aggregates in concrete, also called the matrix.

Cement Plaster -

• Plaster having portland cement as its binder, used on exterior surfaces or in damp areas.
• Gypsum plaster made to be used with the addition of sand for basecoat plaster.
• Also called Neat or Hardwall plaster.

Cement Portland - Cement made by heating clay and crushed limestone into a brick and then grinding to a pulverized powder state.

Cement Ratio Water - The proportion of water to portland cement, the number of gallons of water per 94 pound sack of cement, only a small amount of water is needed to hydrate the cement and complete the chemical reaction, all additional water is for workability only and too much of which will weaken the concrete or mortar.

Cement Types -

• Type I Normal - is a general purpose cement suitable for practically all uses in residential construction but should not be used where it will be in contact with high sulfate soils or be subject to excessive temperatures during curing.
• Type II Moderate is used where precaution against moderate sulfate attack is important, as in drainage structures where sulfate concentrations in groundwater's are higher than normal.
• Type III High Early Strength is used when high strengths are desired at very early periods, usually a week or less. It is used when it is desirable to remove forms as soon as possible or to put the concrete into service quickly.
• Type IV Low Heat is a special cement for use where the amount and rate of heat generated during curing must be kept to a minimum. The development of strength is slow and is intended in large masses of concrete such as dams.
• Type V Sulfate Resisting is a special cement intended for use only in construction exposed to severe sulfate action, such as western states having soils of high alkali content.

Cement Water Ratio - The strength of a concrete mixture depends on the water cement ratio. The water and cement form a paste. If the paste is made with more water, the concrete becomes weaker. Traditionally, concrete mixes have been identified in terms of the ratio of cement to fine aggregate to coarse aggregate. For example, the ratio 1:2:4 refers to a mix which consists of 1 cu. ft. of cement, 2 cu. ft. of sand and 4 cu. ft. of gravel. Cement and water are the two chemically active elements in concrete and when combined, form a paste or glue which coats and surrounds the particles of aggregate and upon hardening binds the entire mass together.

Cement Waterproof - Portland cement to which waterproofing agents, such as surface repellents, have been added at time of blending materials at the mill.

Cementing - In roofing, a solidly mopped application of hot asphalt, cold liquid asphalt compound, hot coaltar pitch, or other cementing material.

Cementitious - Having cementing properties, usually used with reference to inorganic substances, such as portland cement and lime.

Cementitious Material - A component material of plaster, mortar, or concrete which when mixed with water provides plasticity necessary for placement, upon subsequent setting or hardening it serves to bind aggregate particles together into a rigid heterogeneous mass.

Cementitious Topping - A compound that is capable of setting like concrete when applied on a concrete base to form a floor surface.

Cenotaph - A tomb or monument erected in honour of a person or group of persons whose remains are elsewhere.

Center Punch Automatic - Allows one-handed operation by pressing down on the tool and a spring-loaded mechanism strikes a blow. More precise than using a hammer and punch.

Centesimal Measure -

• Division into hundredths.
• Division of the circle into 400 grads.

Centigrade - Thermometric scale where 0 degrees represents the freezing point of water and 100 degrees the boiling point. Similar to Celsius.

Centimeter - A metric unit that equals one hundredth of a meter or 10 millimeters and is equivalent to 2.54 inches.

Centipose - A metric unit of viscosity.

Central Heating - Heating, usually in the form of radiators, which is supplied centrally form a boiler to all parts of a house.

Central Inverter - A device for converting direct current into alternating current by mechanical or electronic means.

Central System - A system of conditioning air supplied to various areas or space, serviced by the same source of heat or cooling, all equipment in central systems is indoors except air cooled condensers, evaporative condensers, and cooling towers.

Centre -

• The middle point of a line, circle, or sphere, equidistant from the ends or from any point on the circumference or surface
• A pivot or axis of rotation.
• A place or group of buildings forming a central point in a district or city.
• A temporary structure to support the arch while it is being built, see Centreing.

Centre Hung Sash - A sash that pivots on pins in the middle of the sash stiles and sides of the window frame to allow access for cleaning from the inside.

Centre Hung Sash - A sash hung on its centres so that it swings on a horizontal axis.

Centre Matched - A joint made by a tongue (a rib on one edge of a board) that fits into a corresponding groove in the edge of another board to make a tight flush joint. Typically, the sub floor plywood is Tongue & Grooved (T & G).

Centre Of Gravity - The point at which the weight of a body may be considered to act, center of mass.

Centre Pole - Column in center of spiral stair which supports stair treads.

Centre Punch - A hand punch consisting of a short steel bar with a hardened conical point at one end used for marking the centers of holes to be drilled.

Centreing -

• The middle point of a line, circle, or sphere, equidistant from the ends or from any point on the circumference or surface
• A pivot or axis of rotation.
• A place or group of buildings forming a central point in a district or city.
• A temporary structure to support the arch while it is being built, see Centreing.

Centreing Shims - Small blocks of synthetic rubber or plastic used to hold a sheet of glass in the center of its frame.

Centreline - A real or imaginary line that is equidistant from the sides of some object, it is usually represented on drawings as a line of alternate dots and dashes.

Centrifugal - Away from the center, opposite from centripetal.

Centrifugal Compressor - Pump which compresses gaseous refrigerants by centrifugal force.

Centrifugal Force - An apparent force that acts outwards on a body moving about a center.

Centrifugal Force - A force that keeps a body moving about a center from flying outwards.

Centrifugal Laboratory - A laboratory apparatus using centrifugal force for separating substances of different densities, for removing moisture, or for simulating gravitational effects.

Centrifugal Pump - A pump which draws water into the center of a high speed impeller and forces the fluid outward with velocity and pressure.

Centripetal - Towards the center, opposite from centrifugal.

Ceramic Adhesive - Used for bonding tile to a surface; rubber solvents; rubber- and resin-based emulsions used as adhesives.

Ceramic Adhesive - Used for bonding tile to a surface, rubber solvents, rubber and resin based emulsions used as adhesives.

Ceramic Colour Gaze - An opaque colored glaze of satin or gloss finish obtained by spraying the clay body with a compound of metallic oxides, chemicals and clays, it is burned at high temperatures, fusing glaze to body, making them inseparable.

Ceramic Insulator - A device made of ceramic non conductive material which is used in electrical installations.

Ceramic Mosaic Tile - An unglazed tile formed by either the dust-pressed or plastic method, usually 1/4 to 3/8 in. (6.4 to 9.5 mm) thick, and having a facial area of less than 6 in, usually mounted on sheets approximately 2 by 1 ft. (0.3 by 0.6 m) to facilitate setting, ceramic mosaic tile may be of either porcelain or natural clay composition and may be either plain or with an abrasive mixture throughout.

Ceramic Process - The production of articles or coatings from essentially inorganic, nonmetallic materials, the article or coating being made permanent and suitable for utilitarian and decorative purposes by the action of heat at temperatures sufficient to cause sintering, solid-state reactions, bonding, or conversion partially or wholly to the glassy state.

Ceramic Tile - A man-made or machine-made clay tile used to finish a floor or wall. Generally used in bathtub and shower enclosures and on counter tops.

Ceramic Veneer Adhesion Type - Thinner sections of ceramic veneer, held in place by adhesion of mortar to unit and to backing; no metal anchors are required.

Ceramic Veneer Anchor Type - Thicker sections of ceramic veneer held in place by grout and wire anchors connected to backing wall.

Ceresin - A hydrocarbon wax which possesses considerable flexibility.

Certificate Architect - Obtainable when NHBC guarantee is not available for a new house.

Certificate For Payment - A written document forwarded to the general contractor by the architect, engineer, or owner approving payment for work completed.

Certificate Of Completion - The Council or Local Authority approval for the alterations done under a building warrant.

Certificate Of Insurance - A certificate provided by the general contractor verifying that he has obtained the required insurance for the project; the certificate is issued by the insurance company or its agent and confirms the existence of the insurance, the coverage, and its expiration date.

Certificate Of Lawful Development (LDC) - This is a certificate issued by a local planning authority to a developer that addresses two areas:

• A proposed development that does not need local planning authority permission to progress with the development.
• A proposed development that has already taken place that either did not need local planning authority permission or took place so long ago that it is immune or exempt from current planning permission regulations.

Certificate Of Occupancy - A document stating that a building is approved for occupancy. The building authority issues the Certificate of Occupancy

Certificate Of Substantial Completion - A written document forwarded to the general contractor by the architect, engineer, or owner indicating that the project is substantially complete, this document initiates the time period for the final payment to the contractor.

Certified Cheque - A depositors cheque guaranteed for payment by the bank.

Cessation Of Work - The ending of work on a construction project without completion.

Cesspool - A subterranean container for temporary storage of septic tank effluent while it soaks into the adjoining soil.

CFC - Chlorofluorocarbon.

CFC (Chlorofluorocarbon) - Common reference to Chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants which are currently banned from manufacture and are being removed from use and replaced by new refrigerants with less environmental impact.

CFM - Cubic feet per minute.

CFM (Cubic Feet Per Minute) - The measure of volume of air. When testing systems, find the CFM by multiplying the face velocity times the free area in square feet. The face velocity is the amount of air passing through the face of an outlet or return. Free area is the total area of the openings in the outlet or inlet through which air can pass.

CFS - Cubic feet per second.

CGL Insurance - Comprehensive General Liability Insurance.

Chain - The scenario that occurs when the seller needs the sale of their house to occur before they can complete the purchase of another property. The same situation may exist for others in the chain. As a result, the whole chain can collapse if one link breaks.

Chain - A flexible series of connected metal links, to support a load.

Chain Binders - In carpet making, yarns running warpwise (lengthwise) in the back of the carpet, binding all construction yarns together; the chain binder runs alternately over and under the weft binding and filling yarns, thereby pulling the pile yarn down and the stuffer yarns up for a tightly woven construction.

Chain Breaker - A person or company who buys a property to in order to allow a chain of sales to proceed.

Chain Hoist Door - A chain in a grooved pulley or sheave with a chain hook used to hoist a large door.

Chain Link Fence - A fence made of a wire mesh fabric.

Chain Property - Occurs when a seller needs the sale of their house to occur before they can complete the purchase of another property. This can be the situation for many people in the chain, all relying on the sale of their current home. The whole chain can collapse if one buyer is unable to sell their home and a link breaks causing a knock on effect. Always check what your buyer and seller's positions are. First time and cash buyers do not have these problems.

Chain Saw File Spiral Cut - Featuring a special spiral-cut pattern, this file cuts faster than standard, round chain saw files.

Chain Trencher - A self propelled machine with blades attached to a continuous chain, used to excavate trenches.

Chain Warp - In carpet making, zigzag warp yarn that works over and under the shot yarns of the carpet, binding the backing yarns together.

Chair -

• A separate seat for one person, usually with four legs and a back.
• A device used to support reinforcing bars while concrete is being poured.

Chair Bath - A wheelchair type chair used for taking baths or showers.

Chair Beam - A wire seat or support for reinforcing bars designed to maintain their location while concrete for a beam is poured around them.

Chair Boatswains - A trapeze like seat that is slung from rigging to support a worker.

Chair Bosuns - A trapeze like seat that is slung from rigging to support a worker.

Chair Hydrotherapy - A device for the immersion of a medical patient in water.

Chair Rail - Interior trim material installed about 3 - 4 feet up the wall, horizontally.

Chair Rail - A wood molding separating the dado or wainscot from the upper wall; usually at a convenient height to prevent chair backs from abrading the wall.

Chair Reinforcing - Metal supports made of fabricated wire, made to hold reinforcing steel in place until concrete is poured.

Chair Shower - A wheelchair type chair used for taking baths or showers.

Chalet -

• A Swiss alpine dwelling with exposed structural elements and wide roof overhangs on front and sides.
• A small suburban house or bungalow, in the chalet style, particularly with a broad roof overhang.

Chalk -

• A form of natural calcium carbonate.
• A lump of soft limestone used by carpenters for impregnating a snap line.
• >A crayon for marking materials on a construction site or in a workshop.

Chalk Board - Panel for writing on with chalk or liquid chalk.

Chalk Line - A string that has been covered with chalk that allows a long visible line to be left on the surface after the string is stretched and snapped against the surface of the area where the line is to be left, usually used on hardened concrete surfaces.

Chalk Rail - A trough mounted under a chalkboard to store chalk and erasers and to catch the chalk dust.

Chalk Reel - A carpenters implement consisting of a string reel and chalk in a container, used as a method of chalking a snap line and storing the string.

Chalkboard - Panel for writing on with chalk or liquid chalk.

Chalking -

• The decomposition of a paint film into a loose powder on the surface.
• Mild chalking, accompanied by satisfactory color retention in tinted paint, is considered a desirable characteristic.
• Heavy chalking which washes off to leave an unprotected surface is highly undesirable
• Before recoating a heavily chalked surface, all of the chalk should be removed by vigorous brushing.
• The dusty powdering on an asphalt roof surface that is subject to ultraviolet degradation.

Chamber -

• A room or space.
• A bedroom.

Chamber Air - A short piece of pipe about 10 long, installed above the hot and cold valves of fixtures such as sinks, lavatories, and clothes washers which traps a column of air intended to cushion the rush of water as the valve is closed and prevents water hammer.

Chamber Anechoic - A room or building that is free from echoes and reverberations.

Chambers Air - Pressure absorbing devices that eliminate water hammer. They should be installed as close as possible to the valves or faucet and at the end of long runs of pipe.

Chamfer - A bevelled edge.

Chamfer Strip - An insert that is triangular or curved, placed in an inside corner to produce a rounded or flat beveled edge at the right angle corner of a construction membe, also called Chamfering Strip.

Chamfered Edge - Molding with pared off corners.

Chamfering - The preparation of a contour other than for a square groove weld on the edge of a member for welding.

Chamfering Strip - An insert that is triangular or curved, placed in an inside corner to produce a rounded or flat beveled edge at the right angle corner of a construction member, also called Chamfer Strip.

Chandelier - An ornamental branched hanging fixture for several candles or electric light bulbs.

Change Of Air Method - A method of calculating the quantity of infiltration air into a building.

Change Of State - Condition in which a substance changes from a solid to a liquid or a liquid to a gas caused by the addition of heat, or the reverse, in which a substance changes from a gas to a liquid, or a liquid to a solid, caused by the removal of heat.

Change Order -

• An order to change the work to be performed under a construction contract.
• An order usually given by an owner to a prime contractor or a by prime contractor to a subcontractor
• A revision in the contract documents after the execution of the owner contractor contract.

Change Trailer - A temporary vehicle that is used by personnel on a jobsite.

Channel Block -

• A concrete masonry unit with a solid bottom and sides but no ends or webs, for use in a lintel.
• A hollow unit with web portions depressed less than 1-1/4 inches to form a continuous channel for reinforcing steel and grout.

Channel Closure Strip - A U shaped resilient strip used to close openings in metal panels and flashing.

Channel Glazing - The installation of glass products into U-shaped glazing channels. The channels may have fixed stops; however, at least one glazing stop on one edge must be removable.

Channel Z Furring - A Z formed metal channel for mechanically attaching gypsum board and insulation material on masonry walls.

Channels Carrying - The heaviest integral supporting member in a suspended ceiling, carrying channels, or main runners, are supported by hangers attached to the building structure, and in turn, support various grid systems and furring channels or rods to which lath is fastened.

Charcoal Activated - Specially processed carbon used as a filter-drier; commonly used to clean air; pulverized carbon treated to be especially adsorbent.

Charge - The term used for the security that the lender relies on when granting a mortgage.

Charge Brochure - Most estate agents charge extra for printing a brochure for a property, although some agents subtract brochure costs from their final fee.

Charge Certificate - An official document issued by the Land Registry to the owner of a registered charge as proof of ownership. It includes a copy of the register and the original charge.

Chart Bar - A simple construction schling technique which graphically shows the starting and finishing times for the various tasks which make up a job.

Chartered Institute Of Arbitrators (CIA) - Official body covering complaints relating to surveyors who are members of the RICS and ISVA professional bodies. Any complaints which cannot be rectified directly with the surveyor in question should be referred here.

Chase - A framed enclosed space around a flue pipe or a channel in a wall, or through a ceiling for something to lie in or pass through.

Check Rails - Meeting rails sufficiently thicker than a window to fill the opening between the top and bottom sash made by the parting stop in the frame of double-hung windows. They are usually beveled.

Checking - The process of small cracks appearing over time on exterior pain surfaces.

Checkrails - Meeting rails sufficiently thicker than a window to fill the opening between the top and bottom sash made by the parting stop in the frame of double-hung windows. They are usually beveled.

Chemical Bond - The bond produced by cohesion between separate laminates of similar crystalline materials, based on formation and subsequent interlocking of crystals. The adherence of one plaster coat to another or to the base which implies formation of interlocking crystals or fusion between the coats or to the base.

Chemical Injection Grouting - Leak repair technique usually used below grade in cracks and joints in concrete walls and floors that involves injection of sealant (usually urethane) that reacts with water to form a seal.

Cheque Certified - A depositors cheque guaranteed for payment by the bank.

Cheque Depositors - A depositors cheque guaranteed for payment by the bank.

Chevron - A decorative V-shaped line.

Chief Rent - An annual charge on freehold property found in certain parts of Britain. The chief rent is payable by the freeholder in perpetuity although the amount cannot be increased.

Chiller Absorption - A system similar to a vapor compression chiller with the exception that it does not use a compressor, but uses thermal energy (low pressure steam, hot water, or other hot liquids) to produce the cooling effect

Chiller Water Cooled - A piece of equipment that produces chilled water for circulation through a building and used for cooling.

Chimney - A passage through which smoke and gases escape from a fire or furnace; a flue.

Chimney Breast - The structure of a chimney throughout a property from the floor through to roof levels.

Chimney Brick - Brick, chosen for the specific use in the construction of chimneys, because of its ability to withstand high temperatures without cracking.

Chimney Cap - Concrete capping around the top of chimney bricks and around the floors to protect the masonry from the elements.

Chimney Flue - A passage housed in a chimney through which smoke and gases are carried from a fuel burning appliance, fireplace or incinerator to the exterior.

Chimney Head - The part of the chimney extruding from the roof upwards.

Chimney Pot - A metal or earthenware extension of a flue above the top of a chimney.

Chimney Stone - A flat stone at the top of the Chimney Head and below the Chimney Pot.

China Belleek - A highly translucent whiteware composed of a body containing a significant amount of grit and normally having a luster glaze.

China Clay - Refractory clay consisting essentially of minerals of the kaolin group and which fires to a white or nearly white colour, also called Kaolin.

Chink - To install fibreglass insulation in all exterior doors, window frames, wall corners, and small gaps in the exterior wall.

Chip Board - Small wood shavings and chippings compressed and compressed using glue. Provides a cheap material for flooring and often found in kitchen surfaces and units.

Chipboard - Small wood shavings and chippings compressed and compressed using glue. Provides a cheap material for flooring and often found in kitchen surfaces and units.

Chips - Stone or gravel that has been crushed into smaller chips.

Chips Biscuit - Glazed over chips on the edge or corner of the body of a tile.

Chips Gravel - Gravel or stone that has been crushed into smaller chips

Chips Stone - Stone or gravel that has been crushed into smaller chips.

Chisel Bevel Edge - For use in fine cabinetry work; features a chrome-vanadium steel blade and double-hooped boxwood handle. Boxwood is considered to be the best wood for tool handles because of strength and shock-absorbing qualities.

Chisel Cape - Tool used to clean out mortar joints on brick.

Chisel Cold - A stone-cutting tool that has an integral handle and blade made of steel. The handle is struck by a hammer to cut material. It can cut sheet metal, remove rivets, bolts, nails or cut away ceramic tiles adhered to a surface.

Chisel Construction - Designed for rough carpentry, framing and construction. Made of a single piece of hand-forged alloy steel.

Chisel Corner - Used for cutting clean, sharp inside corners. Perfect for the serious woodworker and tool collector.

Chisel Dog Leg - Skewed blades are ideal for trimming joint work in furniture making and for undercutting.

Chisel Electrician - All-steel tool used primarily for ripping up old wood strip flooring. Used to notch house framing for installing cable and electrical boxes.

Chisel Firmer - Designed for heavy-duty work such as timber framing. The heavy blade can keep the chisels from flexing under heavy work loads or from mallet blows. Ideal for cutting and fitting joints in hardwoods, paring and fitting.

Chisel Flooring - All-steel tool used primarily for ripping up old wood strip flooring. Used to notch house framing for installing cable and electrical boxes.

Chisel Hook - Features a harpoon-like tip for light finishing cuts on delicate pieces and hard-to-reach areas.

Chisel Mortise - Has a straight, non-beveled edge, unlike a standard chisel. Designed to take a heavy pounding and prying.

Chisel Paring - The design allows you to make light finishing cuts with the blade flat on the stock, even when working in the middle of a wide board.

Chisel Plane - Excellent for removing glue and trimming work. Features a blade that extends in advance of the body, so the plane can be used to reach the farthest corner of a joint to get it clean

Chisel Swan Neck Mortise - This unusual-looking tool is extremely helpful in smoothing out the bottom of mortises. The curved blade is used like a lever to scrape the mortise bottom flat.

Chiselled - A stone shaped by a sharp-edged hand tool.

Chloride Calcium - A chemical used to speed up curing of concrete during damp conditions.

Chlorine Available - Free or combined chlorine used to disinfect pool water.

Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) - Common reference to Chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants which are currently banned from manufacture and are being removed from use and replaced by new refrigerants with less environmental impact.

Choke Tube - Throttling device used to maintain correct pressure difference between high side and low side in refrigerating mechanism. Capillary tubes are sometimes called choke tubes.

Chop Saw - The power alternative to the miter box, miter saws are great for basic crosscuts for lumber and trim. Although not capable of bevelled or compound-angle cuts, they are simpler to use, durable and less expensive than compound or sliding compound miter saws.

Chord Bottom - The bottom member in a truss.

Chromate Copper Arsenate (CCA) - A pesticide that is forced into wood under high pressure to protect it from termites, other wood boring insects, and decay caused by fungus.

Chromate Zinc - Metal priming pigment with important rust inhibitive properties, Zinc Yellow

Chuck - An attachment to hold work or a tool in a machine, lathe chucks and drill chucks are examples.

CIA (Chartered Institute Of Arbitrators) - The official body covering complaints relating to surveyors who are members of the RICS and ISVA professional bodies. Any complaints which cannot be rectified directly with the surveyor in question should be referred here.

Cinder Block - A block made of ash and cement that is used in construction.

Circuit - The path of electrical flow from a power source through an outlet and back to ground.

Circuit AC - The flow of current through a conductor first in one direction then in reverse. It is used exclusively in residential and commercial wiring because it provides greater flexibility in voltage selection and simplicity of equipment design.

Circuit Alternating Current - The flow of current through a conductor first in one direction then in reverse. It is used exclusively in residential and commercial wiring because it provides greater flexibility in voltage selection and simplicity of equipment design.

Circuit Appliances Branch - Circuits supplying energy either to permanently wired appliances or to attachment plug receptacle, that is appliance or convenience outlets, or to a combination of permanently wired appliances and additional attachment plug outlets on the same circuit, such circuits to have no permanently connected lighting fixtures not a part of an appliance.

Circuit Branch -

• That portion of a wiring system extending beyond the final automatic overcurrent protective device, excluding any thermal cutout or motor running overload protective device that is not approved for short circuit protection.
• A circuit supplying several localized electrical outlets from a single breaker.

Circuit Breaker - A device which looks like a switch and is usually located inside the electrical breaker panel or circuit breaker box. It is designed to:

• Shut of the power to portions or the entire house.
• To limit the amount of power flowing through a circuit (measured in amperes).
• 110 volt household circuits require a fuse or circuit breaker with a rating of 15 or a maximum of 20 amps.
• 220 volt circuits may be designed for higher amperage loads.

Circuit CD - A circuit where electricity flows in one direction only, at a constant rate.

Circular Saw - A voracious tool, the portable circular saw is critical to any building or framing project because it can cut lumber quickly, with power and with accuracy.

Circulation - That part of a room or building required for movement of people from place to place.

Cistern - A tank to catch and store rain water.

Civil Engineer (CE) - CE is an abbreviation for Civil Engineer.

Cladding - A term used to describe the siding or materials covering the exterior of a building.

Cladding Wall - Exterior wood or metal building siding.

Clalorie Large -

• Used by engineering science.
• The amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water one degree Celsius.
• A kilocalorie equals 1,000 calories.

Clamp Band - For clamping round, oval and odd-shaped pieces. Features a nylon band and ratchet mechanism. The clamp is tightened by turning a handle. Can be adapted into a multi-angle (or corner) clamp by adding corner blocks, with the nylon band running through the blocks and final pressure added by the handle. Ideal for frames and objects with corners.

Clamp Bar - A variation of the C-clamp with a disconnecting sliding jaw that allows the user to reverse the clamp and use it as a spreader

Clamp Beam - A device which holds a horizontal structural member to a vertical member.

Clamp BX - A clamping device to hold BX cable firmly in place against a wooden or metal member.

Clamp C - A clamp in the shape of a "C" with jaw capacities usually ranging from 1 to 8 inches used for the securing of wood or metal pieces in a fixed position and for temporary assemblies.

Clamp Fixtures Pipe - Long reaching fixtures attached to a pipe, that, once positioned, are tightened by turning a handle. Only pipe length limits capacity. Ideal for joining boards to make wider panels.

Clamp Frame - Uses corner blocks and long-threaded rods with sliding speed nuts to assemble square, rectangular and other oddly-shaped work pieces. Ideal for frames and objects with corners.

Clamp Ninety Degree Corner - For accurate 90-degree joints, allows for gluing and nailing while the pieces are secure. Can be screwed to a bench top.

Clamp Spring - Ideal for holding mitered corners, each jaw has tiny teeth that grip and hold angled work pieces, irregular moldings and tough-to-clamp joints. The "paperclip" of the workshop, ideal for small work and light pressure.

Clamp Three Way Edging - Used to apply and repair moldings, decorative trim and edging. C-clamp design with a third screw that applies right angle pressure to the edge.

Clamp Toggle - Clamps which can be attached to a base or table to hold work.

Clamp Vise Grip Hold Down - Squeezes objects together to promote bonding.

Clamps Cam Action - Light and medium duty, as well as veneering, clamping. Cork faces won't mar delicate work. The cam works as a lever to apply varying degrees of pressure.

Clamps Quick Action - A workshop favorite designed for easy operation, the lower jaw slides easily on a bar and locks securely in position under the slightest pressure.

Clamps Squeeze - Light duty clamps applied with one hand with an automatic advancing squeeze handle.

Clamps Universal - Designed for cabinet framework, these clamps can be secured to the edge of a work to hold two pieces together. Ideal for holding drawer supports, shelves and butt joints.

Clapboard - Tapered horizontal boards used as siding, thickest on their bottom edge; each overlaps the one below.

Classes Property Use Order - A statute that groups use in property use definitions into categories. They are

• A1 - Shops.
• A2 - Financial and professional services.
• A3 - Restaurants, pubs and hot food take-aways.
• B1 - General offices, workshops or laboratories.
• B2 - Other industrial Activities.
• B8 - Storage or distribution.
• C1 - Hotels and boarding houses.
• C2 - Residential Institutions.
• C3 - Dwelling Houses.
• D1 - Non residential institutional uses.
• D2 - Places of assembly and leisure uses.

Claw Hammer - Finish carpentry and light-duty nailing jobs. Features two sharp, beveled edges for gripping and drawing out stubborn nails.

Clay Ball - A secondary clay, commonly characterized by the presence of organic matter, high plasticity, high dry strength, long verification range, and a light color when fired.

Clay China - Refractory clay consisting essentially of minerals of the kaolin group and which fires to a white or nearly white colour, also called Kaolin.

Clean Out - An opening providing access to a drain line, closed with a threaded plug.

Cleaner Air - Device used for removal of airborne impurities.

Cleaning Air - A control strategy to remove various airborne particulates and/or gases from the air; the three types of air cleaning most commonly used are particulate filtration, electrostatic precipitation, and gas absorption.

Cleaning Blast - Cleaning with propelled abrasives.

Cleanout Wall - An opening in a wall for removal of refuse.

Clear Span - The unsupported span between two support points.

Clear Title - A title on a property that is free and clear of any liens or charges against that property.

Clearance Edge - Nominal spacing between the edge of the glass product and the bottom of the glazing pocket channel.

Cleat - A wedge-shaped piece (usually of metal) which serves as a support or check. A strip fastened across something to give strength or hold something in position

Clerestorey - A row of windows at a high level lighting the principal or ground floor.

Clerestory - An outside wall of a room or building, carried above an adjoining roof and pierced with windows.

Clip Back - Specially designed clips attached to the back of gypsum board that fit into slots or other formations in the framing to hold the gypsum board in place; often used in demountable partition designs.

Clip Ties - Sharp, cut metal wires that protrude out of a concrete foundation wall (that at one time held the foundation form panels in place).

Closed Bidding - When a property goes to a closing date and the agent/buyer must decide what to offer for a property without knowing what the other interested parties intend to offer.

Closed Coat - When the grit on sandpaper covers 100% of the backing paper it is referred to as closed-coat. This is used for sanding hardwood and fine finishing

Closed Loop System One Tank - A conventional DHW tank, usually electrically heated, is converted to a solar DHW storage tank by installing an external heat exchanger coil. The lower electrical element is removed, leaving the uppermost of the usual two elements to provide auxiliary water heating and to achieve good stratification (layering of hotter water over progressively colder water).

Closer King - In masonry, a closer used to fill an opening in a course larger than a half brick; about three- fourths the size of a regular sized brick, also called a king.

Closer Queen - A brick cut in half lengthwise.

Closet Cedar - A closet that is lined with thin pieces of cedar wood, used for its fragrance and its ability to repel insects.

Closing - The conclusion of a property sales transaction when the seller turns over the property to the buyer.

Closing Costs - Any and all cost that need to be paid by the buyer in order to close the property transaction.

Closing Date - The date on which the seller wants all interested parties to submit their formal offers - usually by noon.

Closure Strip Channel - A U shaped resilient strip used to close openings in metal panels and flashing.

Cluster Housing - High density housing in a confined area.

Clutch Head Screwdriver - Features a distinctive bow-tie shaped head that drives screws featured in mobile homes, cars, boats, appliances and electric motors.

CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) - A list of houses recently sold in a neighbourhood and used as a comparison tool.

CML - An institution that sets out code a code of good practice which mortgage lenders volunteer to stick to - they are not regulated by the government.

CO (Certificate Of Occupancy) - An abbreviation for Certificate of Occupancy. This certificate is issued by the local municipality and is required before anyone can occupy and live within the property. It is issued only after the local municipality has made all inspections and all monies and fees have been paid.

Coach Screws - Large, heavy screws, used where great strength is required, as in heavy framing or when attaching ironwork to wood.

Coal Tar Pitch - A bituminous material, which is a by-product from the coking of coal. It is used as the waterproofing material for tar and gravel built-up roofing.

Coarse Aggregate - One of the four ingredients of concrete, usually gravel, which is retained on a #4 sieve.

Coat Bed -

• In gypsum board, the first coat of joint compound over tape, bead, and fastener heads; also called Bed Coat.
• That coat of plaster to receive aggregate or other decorative material of any size, impinged or embedded into its surface before it sets.

Coat Bedding -

• In gypsum board, the first coat of joint compound over tape, bead, and fastener heads; also called Bed Coat.
• That coat of plaster to receive aggregate or other decorative material of any size, impinged or embedded into its surface before it sets.

Coat Brown Plaster -

• The coat of plaster directly beneath the finish coat
• In two coat work, brown coat refers to the basecoat plaster applied over the lath
• In three coat work, the brown coat refers to the second coat applied over a scratch coat
• Brown coats are applied with a fairly rough surface to receive the finish coat.

Coat Finish - The last coat applied in plastering intended as a base for further decorating or as a final decorative surface. Finish coat usually consists of calcified gypsum, lime and sometimes an aggregate. Some may require the addition of lime or sand on the job. The three basic methods of applying it are trowel, flat and spray.

Coat Glaze - In roofing, a light, uniform mopping of bitumen on exposed felts to protect them from the weather, pending completion of the job.

Coated Panel Aggregate - Sheet material, usually plywood, with decorative face of aggregate bonded with epoxy applied to one face.

Coating - A layer of any liquid product spread over a surface for protection.

Coating Anti Stick - As used on saw blades, decreases friction and heat buildup and helps provide cleaner, smoother and quieter cutting action. Also resists resin and pitch buildup and improves safety conditions.

Coating Barrier - Shielding or blocking coating or film.

Coating Kynar - Architectural coating that is UV stable and suitable for exterior use on aluminum and other metal surfaces.

Coating Transition - Shielding or blocking coating or film.

Coating Zinc Phosphate - Treatment used on steel to improve adhesion of coatings.

Coatings Abrasive - In closed coating of paper no adhesive is exposed, as surface of paper is completely covered with abrasive; in open coating, surface of backing paper is covered with regulated amount of abrasive, exposing the adhesive; space between the abrasive grains rces loading and filling when sanding gummy or soft materials.

Coaxial Cable - A cable consisting of two concentric conductors separated by an insulator, used to transmit telephone, television and computer signals.

Code Mortgage - The code of practice that protects a borrower against poor or unprofessional business practice in regards to mortgages.

Code Of Practice - An agreement that certain professions can sign up to in which they agree to act or serve in a certain way and which therefore protects the consumer in areas (such as estate agency) which are not regulated by an institution.

Code Of Practice Estate Agents - An agreement by members of NAEA, RICS and ISVA, to act and serve to certain levels. Ask your agent for a copy.

Codes Building - Community ordinances governing the manner in which a property may be constructed or modified.

Coefficient Absorption - The absorption coefficient of a material or sound-absorbing device is the ratio of the sound absorbed to the sound incident on the material or device; the sound absorbed by a material or device is usually taken as the sound energy incident on the surface minus the sound energy reflected.

Coefficient Expansion - The amount that a specific material will vary in any one dimension with a change of temperature.

Coefficient Of Heat Transmission - The rate of heat loss in BTU per hour through a square foot wall or other building surface when the difference between indoor and outdoor air temperatures is one degree Fahrenheit.

Coefficient Shading - The ratio of the solar heat gain through a specific glass product to the solar heat gain through a lite of 1/8" (3mm) clear glass. Glass of 1/8" (3mm) thickness is given a value of 1.0.

Cohesive Failure - Internal splitting of a compound resulting from over-stressing of the compound.

Coil Air - Coil on some types of heat pumps used either as an evaporator or a condenser.

Coin Washer - A coin operated public appliance for the washing of clothes.

Cold Air Return - The ductwork (and related grills) that carries room air back to the furnace for re-heating.

Cold Applied - Products that can be applied without heating. These are in contrast to products which need to be heated to be applied.

Cold Bridges - Caused when the cavity of a wall is bridged by a brickwork return or lintel, this can cause the transmission of cold to the inner leaf, causing a cold area where moisture can condense.

Cold Chisel - A stone-cutting tool that has an integral handle and blade made of steel. The handle is struck by a hammer to cut material. It can cut sheet metal, remove rivets, bolts, nails or cut away ceramic tiles adhered to a surface.

Cold Patch - In roofing, a roof repair done with cold-applied material.

Collar - Preformed flange placed over a vent pipe to seal the roofing above the vent pipe opening, also called a Vent Sleeve.

Collar Beam - A horizontal piece of lumber used to provide intermediate support for opposite roof rafters, usually located in the middle third of the rafters.

Collar Brace - A horizontal piece of lumber used to provide intermediate support for opposite roof rafters, usually located in the middle third of the rafters. Also called collar beam or collar tie.

Collar Tie - A horizontal piece of lumber used to provide intermediate support for opposite roof rafters, usually located in the middle third of the rafters.

Collector - A device that collects solar radiation and converts it to heat.

Collector Air Type - A collector that uses air as the heat transfer fluid.

Collector Concentrating - A device which concentrates the sun's rays on an absorber surface which is significantly smaller than the overall collector area.

Collector Efficiency - The ratio of usable heat energy extracted from a collector to the solar energy striking the cover.

Collector Flat Plate - A solar collection device in which sunlight is converted into heat on a plane surface without the aid of reflecting surfaces to concentrate the rays.

Collector Liquid Type - A collector using a liquid as the heat transfer fluid.

Collector Trickle Type - A collector in which the heat transfer liquid flows through metal tubes which are fastened to the absorber plate by solder, clamps or other means.

Collector Tube Type - A collector in which the heat transfer fluid flows through metal tubes that are fastened to the absorber plate with solder, clamps or other means.

Collet - A type of chuck that accepts a fixed shaft size, commonly used on routers.

Colour Brilliance - Very bright.

Colour Brilliant - Very bright.

Colour Cement - Coloured powdered or liquid pigments added to a mix to integrally colour concrete.

Colour Gaze Ceramic - An opaque colored glaze of satin or gloss finish obtained by spraying the clay body with a compound of metallic oxides, chemicals and clays, it is burned at high temperatures, fusing glaze to body, making them inseparable.

Colour Harmony - Colours which are related by containing one colour in common; colour harmony.

Colours Advancing - Colours that give an illusion of being closer to the observer; warm colours in which red-orange predominates.

Colours Analine - Coal-tar derivatives precipitated on a colourless base.

Colours Warm - Colours in which red orange predominates, so termed because of the association with fire, heat, and sunshine.

Colours Warming - Any colour except green may be warmed by adding red, green is warmed by adding yellow.

Column - A decorative or structural vertical element in a property that is usually circular and supporting or framing the upper parts of a structure.

Column Base - The plate beneath a column that distributes the load.

Column Cap - The head or cornice of a pillar or column.

Column Capital - The uppermost member of a column crowning the shaft and taking the weight of the slab, beam, or girder.

Column Lally - A steel tube sometimes filled with concrete, used to support girders or other floor beams.

Column Lally -

• A Tradename for a type of column.
• A hollow steel column.
• A column sometimes filled with concrete.

Column Zoophoric - A pillar supporting the figure of an animal.

Combi Boiler - Compact high efficiency boiler, water heater and heating system.

Combination Door - Combination doors used over regular openings. They provide winter insulation and summer protection and often have self storing or removable glass and screen inserts. This eliminates the need for handling a different unit each season.

Combination Hand Vise - Indispensable for holding all types of small parts securely; can be fitted on a handle or on a clamplike mechanism to secure it to a work surface.

Combination Square - A valuable tool, equipped with a six inch long steel rule for marking 90-degree and 45-degree angles.

Combination Window - Combination window used over regular openings. They provide winter insulation and summer protection and often have self storing or removable glass and screen inserts. This eliminates the need for handling a different unit each season.

Combustion Air - The duct work installed to bring fresh, outside air to the furnace and/or hot water heater, normally 2 separate supplies of air are brought in, one high and one low.

Combustion Chamber - The part of a boiler, furnace or woodstove where the burn occurs; normally lined with firebrick or moulded or sprayed insulation.

Commission - Compensation paid to an Estate Agent, usually a percentage of the selling price of the property.

Commitment - When you buy a house in Scotland, if your offer is accepted, you are immediately under an obligation to buy that property also called a commitment. The seller in Scotland is also committed to the deal as soon as the offer is accepted. Thus, in Scotland the risk of gazumping or gazundering is removed and does not come into play like it can in England and Wales.

Common Bond - Brickwork laid with each five courses of alternating stretchers followed by one course of headers.

Common Brick - Brick for building purposes not especially treated for texture or color, also called Building Brick.

Common Rafter - One of a series of rafters extending from the top of an exterior wall to the ridge of a roof.

Commonhold - A new proposal by the Government to vary the way Leasehold property is held.

Communication Cable - A cable fortransmission of telephone, television, and computer signals.

Community Wall - A wall in a property shared by one or more properties and/or rooms.

Compactor Kitchen - A machine in a kitchen that compresses or compacts materials by using hydraulic weight, force, or vibration.

Comparable Properties - Properties that are similar to each other and can be used as a comparison and to establish an equal value of a property.

Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) - A list of houses recently sold in a neighbourhood and used as a comparison tool.

Compass - An insturment for drawing circles consisting of two legs joined at a pivot hinge.

Compass Beam - A drafting tool consisting of a wood or metal bar fitted with a point and a movable pen or pencil holder to use in drawing large radius arcs and circles.

Compass Saw - Similar to a coping saw, but more heavy duty. A thin blade set into a pistol-grip handle, it quickly cuts curves, circles and cutouts in wood, plywood and wallboard. Useful for cutting access holes when installing pipes and electrical boxes. A smaller version is the keyhole saw.

Compatible - Two or more substances, which can be mixed or blended without separating, reacting, or affecting either material adversely.

Completing The Missives - This is a process unique to buying a house in Scotland that is a bit like finalising the contracts in England, but which happens much sooner in the Conveyancing process. The two solicitors exchange letters and iron out any of the finer details that were not explicitly mentioned in the original. This may include such things as details of any fixtures and fittings that are actually staying, or perhaps a slight alteration to the entry date. Once both parties are agreed on all of the details of the offer, which usually does not take long, the missives are said to be concluded. This means that both parties have now entered into a legally biding contract from which withdrawal will undoubtedly incur a hefty compensation bill running into many thousands of pounds. Once missives are completed, you are also legally responsible for the structure of the property.

Completion - The date when the purchaser and vendor complete the sale of land or property. The purchaser pays the balance of the purchase price and the vendor gives possession to the purchaser. The final and ultimate legal transfer of the ownership of the property or the point when contracts have been exchanged and ownership legally passes to the buyer from the seller.

Completion Bond -

• A bond guaranteeing to the lender that the project will be completed free of liens
• A bond guaranteeing to the lender that the project will be completed free of liens.

Completion Certificate - The Council or Local Authority approval for the alterations done under a building warrant.

Completion Statement - This is a record of all the payments made and monies received during the transaction of buying your house.

Compnent - Any one part of an assembly associated with construction.

Composite Board - An insulation board, which has two different insulation types laminated together in 2 or 3 layers.

Compound - A chemical formulation of ingredients used to produce a caulking, elastomeric joint sealant, etc.

Compound All Purpose - In gypsum wallboard installation, a joint treatment material that can be used as a bedding compound for tape, a finishing compound, and as a laminating adhesive or texturing product.

Compound Asbestos Free - Joint treatment products that have no asbestos fiber.

Compound Buffing - Soft abrasive in stick form, bonded with wax.

Compound Caulking - A soft, plastic material used for sealing joints in buildings and other structures where normal structural movement may occur, retains its plasticity for an extended period after application, available in forms suitable for application by gun and knife and in extruded preformed shapes.

Compound Laminating - A cementitious material, usually regular joint compound, used to adhere two or more layers of gypsumboard together.

Compound Miter - An angled cut to both the edge and face of a board, most common use is with crown moulding.

Compound Miter Saw - A miter box and hand saw used in conjunction to make compound-angle (45 and 90-degree) miter cuts. Also can be used with a measuring accessory for cutting frames. Basically a chop saw with a tilt mechanism added to the pivoting head. Miters are set by rotating the tool’s turntable and the head is tilted for bevel cuts. A great choice for working with moldings and trim. A Sliding version has the in-and-out capability of a radial-arm saw that enables it to make most any kind of cut.

Compression Adiabatic - Compressing refrigerant gas without removing or adding heat.

Compression Gasket - A gasket designed to function under compression.

Compression Glazing - Also called dry glazing, a term used to describe various means of sealing monolithic and insulating glass in the supporting framing system with synthetic rubber and other elastomeric gasket materials.

Compression Set - The permanent deformation of a material after removal of the compressive stress.

Compression Web - A member of a truss system which connects the bottom and top chords and provides downward support.

Compressor - A mechanical device that pressurizes a gas in order to turn it into a liquid, thereby allowing heat to be removed or added. A compressor is the main component of conventional heat pumps and air conditioners. In an air conditioning system, the compressor normally sits outside and has a large fan (to remove heat).

Compressor Air - A mechanism which forces air at a high pressure into a storage tank where it is released through a regulator and a hose to power small tools.

Compressor Air Cooled - The condenser component of a refrigeration system placed out of the refrigerant area in a series of copper tubes; a fan blows outdoor air across the tubes which contain the refrigerant.

Compressor Centrifugal - Pump which compresses gaseous refrigerants by centrifugal force.

Computer Cable - Coaxial cable which transmits computer signals.

Computerized Access - A computerized security system designed to protect against unauthorized entry into buildings or building areas.

Concentrating Collector - A device which concentrates the sun's rays on an absorber surface which is significantly smaller than the overall collector area.

Concept Business Entity - The assumption that a business is separate and distinct from its owners financial operations and holdings.

Conciliation Service BAR - When a complaint with a removals firm cannot be resolved privately, the BAR will step in and mediate between the removals company and the customer. This is a free service. An independent arbitration service is also available for the speedy and cost-effective resolution of the dispute should the conciliation service fail to provide an agreement.

Conclusion of Missives - The stage when buyer and seller in Scotland are legally bound to the transaction.

Concrete - The mixture of Portland cement, sand, gravel, and water. Used to make garage and basement floors, sidewalks, patios, foundation walls, etc. It is commonly reinforced with steel rods (rebar) or wire screening (mesh).

Concrete Air Entrained - Concrete containing an admixture that produces microscopic air bubbles in the concrete; used to improve workability and freeze resistance.

Concrete Asphlatic - High quality, thoroughly controlled hot mixture of asphalt cement and well-graded, high quality aggregate, thoroughly compacted into a uniform dense mass.

Concrete Autoclaved Aerated - A factory-produced building stone; precast, lightweight concrete, in the form of large building blocks, panels, or planks; made of closed cell concrete steam cured in a pressurized autoclave.

Concrete Beam - A horizontal structural member which transversely supports a load and transfers the load to vertical members, made of a composite material consisting of sand, coarse aggregate, cement and water.

Concrete Beveled - An angle in concrete or inclination of any line in concrete or concrete surface that joins another.

Concrete Bituminous - A mixture of bitumen and aggregates (coarse and fine including sand). Produced as Hot Mix or Cold Mix. Referred to as BC (Bituminous Concrete) or AC (Asphaltic Concrete).

Concrete Block - A hollow concrete masonry unit constructed of a composite material consisting of sand, coarse aggregate, cement, and water.

Concrete Board - A panel made out of concrete and fibreglass usually used as a tile backing material.

Concrete Burlap - A curing concrete surface that has had a coarse fabric of jute, hemp, or less commonly, flax applied, for use as a water retaining covering.

Concrete Cast In Place - Concrete that is poured in its intended location at a site.

Concrete Cellular -

• A lightweight product consisting of portland cement, cement pozzolan, cement sand, lime pozzolan or lime sand pastes, or pastes containing blends of these ingredients and having a homogenous void or cell structure, attained with gas forming chemicals or foaming agents.
• For cellular concretes containing binder ingredients other than or in addition to portland cement, autoclave curing is usually employed, also called Foam Concrete or Gas Concrete.

Concrete Faced - To finish the front and all vertical sides of a concrete porch, step(s), or patio. Normally the face is broom finished.

Concrete Finish Board - A board that is made of several compressed materials; used for sheathing, wallboard, or as an insulation or acoustical barrier.

Concrete Foam -

• A lightweight product consisting of portland cement, cement pozzolan, cement sand, lime pozzolan or lime sand pastes, or pastes containing blends of these ingredients and having a homogenous void or cell structure, attained with gas forming chemicals or foaming agents.
• For cellular concretes containing binder ingredients other than or in addition to portland cement, autoclave curing is usually employed.

Concrete Gas -

• A lightweight product consisting of portland cement, cement pozzolan, cement sand, lime pozzolan or lime sand pastes, or pastes containing blends of these ingredients and having a homogenous void or cell structure, attained with gas forming chemicals or foaming agents.
• For cellular concretes containing binder ingredients other than or in addition to portland cement, autoclave curing is usually employed.

Concrete Glass Fiber Reinforced - Material used in wall systems that resembles but generally does not perform as well as concrete. Usually a thin cementitious material laminated to plywood or other lightweight backing.

Concrete Plain - Concrete either without reinforcement, or reinforced only for shrinkage or temperature changes.

Concrete Poured - Any concrete structure or slab that was formed or poured from an original liquid state.

Concrete Ready Mixed - Concrete mixed at a plant or in trucks en route to a job and delivered ready for placement.

Concrete Reinforced - Concrete that has had a steel reinforcement inserted into it at time of pouring.

Concrete Waterproofing - A process used on concrete, masonry or stone surfaces to repel water, the main purpose of which is to prevent the coated surface from absorbing rain water while still permitting moisture vapor to escape from the structure. (Moisture vapor readily penetrates coatings of this type.) Dampproofing generally applies to surfaces above grade; waterproofing generally applies to surfaces below grade.

Concrete Yard - One cubic yard of concrete is 3' X 3' X 3' in volume, or 27 cubic feet. One cubic yard of concrete will pour 80 square feet of " sidewalk or basement/garage floor.

Concrete Zero Slump - A concrete mixed with so little water that it has a slump of zero when tested.

Condensate Line - The copper pipe that runs from the outside air conditioning condenser to the inside furnace.

Condensation - Beads or drops of water (and frequently frost in extremely cold weather) that accumulate on the inside of the exterior covering of a building. Use of louvers or attic ventilators will reduce moisture condensation in attics. A vapour barrier under the gypsum lath or dry wall on exposed walls will reduce condensation.

Condensation Water - Temperature at which vapor condenses from the atmosphere and forms water.

Condenser - A heat exchanger in which the refrigerant, compressed to a hot gas, is condensed to liquid by rejecting heat and part of air conditioning units.

Condenser AC - The outside fan unit of the Air Conditioning system. It removes the heat from the Freon gas and turns the gas back into a liquid and pumps the liquid back to the coil in the furnace.

Condenser Air Conditioner - The outside fan unit of the Air Conditioning system. It removes the heat from the Freon gas and turns the gas back into a liquid and pumps the liquid back to the coil in the furnace.

Condensing Unit - The outdoor component of a cooling system. It includes a compressor and condensing coil designed to give off heat.

Condensor Air Cooled - Heat of compression is dissipated from condensing coils to surrounding air, by convection or by a fan or blower.

Condensor Water Cooled - A condenser in which water is normally circulated through a cooling tower through which heat is dispersed to the atmosphere.

Condensor Water Cooled - Condensing unit which is cooled through use of water flow.

Condition Of The Sale - This is a legally binding clause in the contract of the property sale. A buyer may insist upon the removal of the ridiculous garish carpets in a house, as a condition of the sale, or insist that some minor repair work is completed before the transaction is finalised.

Conditioner Water - A device used to dissolve minerals from water, normally after the minerals are removed, the water tastes better and rces the likelihood that mineral deposits will build up within the plumbing system; the water is considered to be soft after the minerals have been removed.

Conditions Covenants and Restrictions (CCR) - The standards that define how a property may be used and the protections the developer makes for the benefit of all owners in a subdivision.

Conductance - The rate of heat flow (in BTUs per hour) through an object when a 1° F. temperature difference is maintained between the sides of the object.

Conduction - The direct transfer of heat energy through a material.

Conductivity - The rate at which heat is transmitted through a material.

Conductor -

• In roofing, a pipe for conveying rainwater from the roof gutter to a drain, or from a roof drain to the storm drain; also called a leader, downspout, or downpipe.
• In electrical contracting, a wire through which a current of electricity flows, better known as an electric wire.

Conductor Service - In electrical contracting, the supply conductors that extend from the street main or from the transformer to the service equipment.

Conductor Wire - Uninsulated single wire used as an electric conductor.

Conduit - A pipe, usually metal, for protecting and routing electrical wiring.

Conduit Bushing - A threaded metal or plastic pipe connector used to connect conduit to a box or other housing where the hole is not threaded.

Conduit Electrical - A pipe, usually metal, in which wire is installed.

Conduit Flexible Metal - Conduit similar to armored cable in appearance but does not have the pre-inserted conductors.

Conduit NM (Non Metallic) - A type of Romex cable (nonmetallic sheathed cable that contains several conductors). NMC may be used in damp or corrosive locations as well as dry areas.

Conduit Non Metallic - A type of Romex cable (nonmetallic sheathed cable that contains several conductors). NMC may be used in damp or corrosive locations as well as dry areas.

Conduit Nonmetallic - A type of Romex cable (nonmetallic sheathed cable that contains several conductors). NMC may be used in damp or corrosive locations as well as dry areas.

Conduit Rigid Metal - This conduit resembles plumbing pipe, protecting wires from damage.

Confirming Your Offer - This means that you are formally offering to purchase a property and any fixtures, fittings, furnishings and carpets you may wish to include, at a certain price. This is usually done in writing to the estate agents and should state that it is subject to survey and contract. All such offers must be passed by the agent to the seller. This is not legally binding in England or Wales.

Conformation Of Mortgage Offer - This is when you get a written confirmation of your mortgage offer from your lender-to-be. You usually receive two things - a standard covering letter and a written mortgage confirmation. This will normally set out some of your personal details, some facts about the property, your salary details, your solicitors (if appointed), and will require a signature.

Conical - A furnace cap, resembling or shaped like a cone.

Connection Backflow - Any arrangement of pipe or fixtures which can cause backflow to occur.

Connection Brazed - Parts that are hardened and connected by soldering with an alloy.

Connection Bus Duct - A metal bar serving as a common connection for two or more circuits in a prefabricated unit.

Connection Cross - Any physical connection or arrangement between two otherwise separate piping systems, one of which contains potable water and the other either water of unknown or questionable safety or steam, gas, or chemical whereby there may be a flow from one system to the other, the direction of flow depending on the pressure differential between the two systems.

Connector Cable - A device used to connect lengths of cable together into one longer length.

Conservation Area - An area designated as special and protected architectural or historic interest. Conservation Areas are usually designated by a local Council.

Conservation Area Consent - The actual consent given for the demolition of a building (or any substantial part of a protected building) within a conservation area.

Conservatory - A greenhouse type construction built adjoining a house.

Constant Solar - The average intensity of solar radiation reaching the earth outside the atmosphere; accounting to two langleys or 1.94 gram-calories per square centimeter, equal to 442.4 BTU/hr/ft.², or 1395 watts/m².

Constructing - The act of construction or building.

Construction - The act of constructing or building.

Construction Balanced - A method of constructing manufactured wood products so that moisture content changes will be uniformly distributed and therefore will not cause warping. An example would be symmetrical construction of plywood in which the grain direction of each ply is perpendicular to that of adjacent plies.

Construction Barge - A floating platform or vessel from which construction activities may be performed; often used in rivers to install bridge piers and also used extensively in waterfront construction.

Construction Chisel - Designed for rough carpentry, framing and construction. Made of a single piece of hand-forged alloy steel.

Construction Contract - A legal document which specifies the what, when, where, how, how much and by whom in a construction project.

Construction Drywall - A type of construction in which the interior wall finish is applied in a dry condition, generally in the form of sheet materials or wood panelling as contrasted to plaster.

Construction Frame - A type of construction in which the structural components are wood or depend upon a wood frame for support.

Construction Loan - A loan granted and specified for use in the construction of a building.

Construction Manager Advisor - A construction manager who is an advisor to the owner and who does not guarantee the construction cost.

Construction Platform - A system of framing a building in which floor joists of each story rest on the top plates of the story below or on the foundation sill for the first story, and the bearing walls and partitions rest on the subfloor of each story, usually one story constitutes a platform.

Construction Wood Frame - A type of construction in which the structural parts are wood or depend upon a wood frame for support. In codes, if masonry veneer is applied to the exterior walls, the classification of this type of construction is usually unchanged.

Consumer Credit Act - Act of legislation to define the rules relating to lending money and aimed at protecting the consumer when credit is agreed with a third party.

Content Cement - The quantity of cement contained in a unit volume of concrete or mortar, ordinarily expressed as pounds, barrels, or bags per cubic yard.

Content Of Air - The amount of entrained or entrapped air in concrete or mortar, exclusive of pore space in aggregate particles, usually expressed as a percentage of total volume of concrete or mortar.

Contents And Buildings Insurance - Buildings and contents insurance can often be purchased together protecting both the building structure and your belongings and possessions inside.

Contents Insurance - Insurance to cover any loss or damage to your possessions.

Contingency - A contractual provision which states that any and/or all of the terms of a contract can be altered or completely voided by the occurrence of a specific action or event.

Continuity Tester - A device that tells whether a circuit is capable of carrying electricity.

Contol Access Card - An entry device that is operated by a small magnetized plastic card, similar to a credit card.

Contract - The formal document that details all the terms of sale. The vendor�s solicitor prepares the contract and a copy is sent to the purchaser.

Contract Bond - Performance Bond and Payment Bond, required by some construction contracts.

Contract Breach - A material failure to perform an act required by contract.

Contract Construction - A legal document which specifies the what, when, where, how, how much and by whom in a construction project.

Contract Draft - The first stage of the Conveyancing process, it is a legal document that sets out the terms of the sale. It is drawn up by the seller's solicitor using information from the deeds of the property. However, it is not a standard contract and is likely to change or clarify in detail quite considerably. The contract has two parts: Particulars of Sale and Conditions of Sale. The Particulars describe the property, what is included and details of the lease or freehold. The Conditions have information about the proposed completion date and any deposit required when contracts are exchanged.

Contract Land - A contract for sale of land where title does not pass to the purchaser until all, or a certain number, of the payments have been made, also called Contract of Sale.

Contract Of Sale - A contract for sale of land where title does not pass to the purchaser until all, or a certain number, of the payments have been made.

Contract Race - When two parties have made an offer on the same house. The vendor will sell to the first party to exchange contracts.

Contract Sales - A contract between a buyer and seller which should explain:

• What the purchase includes.
• What guarantees are included.
• When the buyer can move in.
• What the closing costs are.
• What recourse the parties have if the contract is not fulfilled or if the buyer cannot get a mortgage commitment at the agreed upon time.

Contractor - A company licensed to perform certain types of construction activities. In most states, the generals contractor's license and some specialty contractor's licenses don't require of compliance with bonding, workmen's compensation and similar regulations. Some of the specialty contractor licenses involve extensive training, testing and/or insurance requirements.

Contractor Bid Bond - A bond issued by a surety on behalf of a contractor that provides assurance to the recipient of the contractor's bid that, if the bid is accepted, the contractor will execute a contract and provide a performance bond. Under the bond, the surety is obligated to pay the recipient of the bid the difference between the contractor's bid and the bid of the next lowest responsible bidder if the bid is accepted and the contractor fails to execute a contract or to provide a performance bond.

Contractor General - A lead or primary contractor that has been hired by an owner to oversee and take responsibility for construction work and will also bring in sub-contractors if required.

Contractor Lead - A person or company that agrees to furnish materials or perform services at a specified price and within a timeframe, especially for construction work. Also leads the construction work and may use subcontractors for specific areas of the construction process.

Contractor Prime - A person or company that agrees to furnish materials or perform services at a specified price and within a timeframe, especially for construction work. Also leads the construction work and may use subcontractors for specific areas of the construction process.

Contractor Sub - A contractor who does a specific trade or job requirement on a building site and is not the General or Lead Contractor. A Sub Contractor would be governed by a General or Lead Contractor and/or the owner of the building.

Contractors Level - A simple form of transitlevel for measuring and setting levels on a construction site, also called a builders level.

Contracts - The legal documents needed to transfer the ownership of property.

Control Automaic Dryer - In a concrete batching plant, a system that automatically maintains the temperature of aggregates discharged from the dryer within a preset range.

Control Automatic - Valve action reached through self-operated or self-actuated means, not requiring manual adjustment.

Control Joint -

• Tooled, straight grooves made on concrete floors to control where the concrete should crack.
• A control joint controls or accommodates movement in the surface component of a roof.

Control Of Quality - All the activities undertaken to ensure adequate quality in manufactured products and in on site construction

Convection - Currents created by heating air, which then rises and pulls cooler air behind it. Also see radiation.

Convection Forced - The transfer of heat by the flow of fluids (such as air or water) driven by fans, blowers or pumps.

Convection Gravity - The natural movement of heat that occurs when a warm fluid rises and a cool fluid sinks under the influence of gravity.

Convection Natural - The natural movement of heat that occurs when a warm fluid rises and a cool fluid sinks under the influence of gravity.

Convective Loops - A type of air movement occurring in and around the building envelope caused by gaps in the insulation, weather barrier or air barrier. For example, in an uninsulated wall cavity, air removes heat from the warm interior wall, then circulates to the colder exterior wall where it loses the heat.

Conventional Building - A house built without prefabricated parts.

Conveyance - A deed which transfers freehold land that needs to be registered and is prepared by the vendor's solicitor and a copy is sent to the purchaser.

Conveyancer - Solicitor or licensed conveyancer who arranges the legal aspects of buying and selling a property.

Conveyancing - The legal and administrative procedures involved in buying and selling a property, usually carried out by a solicitor or licensed conveyancer.

Cooled Condensor Water - Condensing unit which is cooled through use of water flow.

Cooler Air - Mechanism designed to lower temperature of air passing through it.

Cooler Baudelot - Heat exchanger in which water flows by gravity over the outside of the tubes or plates.

Cooler Bottle - A container used for cooling or maintaining the coolness of bottled liquids.

Cooler Walk In - Larger commercially refrigerated space kept below room temperature, usually installed in supermarkets, restaurants, food processing plants, and wholesale meat distribution centers.

Cooler Water - An apparatus that cools, holds, and dispenses cold water.

Cooling Load - The amount of cooling required to keep a building at a specified temperature during the summer, usually 78 Deg F, regardless of outside temperature.

Cooling System Passive - A solar heating or cooling system that uses no external mechanical power to move the collected solar heat.

Coomed Ceiling - A ceiling sloping from a wall.

Coped - Removing the top and bottom flange of the end(s) of a metal I-beam. This is done to permit it to fit within, and bolted to, the web of another I-beam in a T arrangement.

Coped Joint -

• A cut in the end of a piece of moulding which joins it to another piece of moulding.
• Cutting and fitting woodwork to an irregular surface.

Coping - A sloping or curved, overhanging section of stone that is on top of a parapet or a wall. Coping is designed to protect masonry from the damages attributed to rain water.

Coping Saw - Has a narrow metal frame which supports a thin blade held in place with a hook, loop or pin on each end of the blade. Can be rotated in the frame to make intricate curved cuts. Makes a finer cut than a compass saw.

Coping Stone - The top layer or course of a masonry wall, usually having a slanting upper surface to shed water.

Copper Bellows - A flexible joint in copper piping that can expand or contract to allow for thermal fluctuations.

Copper Cable - Insulated, sheathed copper wires conducting power from a source to an electric appliance.

Copper Pipe Types -

• Type K has the heaviest or thickest wall and is generally used underground. It has a green stripe.
• Type L has a medium wall thickness and is most commonly used for water service and for general interior water piping. It has a blue stripe.
• Type M has a thin wall and many codes permit its use in general water piping installation. It has a red stripe.

Corbel - The triangular, decorative and supporting member that holds a mantel or horizontal shelf.

Corbel Out - The practice of building out one or more courses of brick or stone from the face of a wall, often used to form a support for timbers.

Corbelling - Stone or wood projecting from a wall or chimney for support or decoration.

Corded Drill - Maybe the most popular power tool ever, the corded drill is a true jack-of-all-trades. Bore holes in a range of materials, drive screws and nuts, brush away paint and rust, sand edges and stir paint – these are just a few of the tasks this tool can accomplish.

Cordless Drill - All the benefits of a corded drill, but without a tether. Allows you to work on top of a ladder, on damp ground and without the tangles of a cord. The tradeoff is that a cordless may not be able to handle more rugged work or have quite the power of a corded.

Core - A small section cut from any material to show internal composition.

Core Air - Coil of wire not having a metal core.

Core Water Resistent - A special gypsumboard core formulation with additives to rce water absorption, water resistant gypsum backing board is recommended for use as a base for ceramic tile in bathrooms and other wet areas.

Corinthian - The type of Greek column characterized by simulated acanthus leaves.

Corner Bead -

• A long strip of formed sheet metal attached to the outside corners of drywall or plastered walls. Corner Bead acts to reinforce corner areas.
• A strip of formed sheet metal placed on outside corners of drywall before applying drywall mud.

Corner Bead Arch - A job-shaped length of corner bead used to define the curved portion of arched openings.

Corner Boards - Used as trim for the external corners of a house or other frame structure against which the ends of the siding are finished.

Corner Brace - A long diagonal brace placed at the corner of a frame wall in order to strengthen or stiffen the wall.

Corner Braces - Diagonal braces at the corners of the framed structure designed to stiffen and strengthen the wall.

Corner Bullnose - A type of ceramic tile bullnose trim with a convex radius on two adjacent edges.

Corner Chisel - Used for cutting clean, sharp inside corners. Perfect for the serious woodworker and tool collector.

Corner Clamp Ninety Degree - For accurate 90-degree joints, allows for gluing and nailing while the pieces are secure. Can be screwed to a bench top.

Cornerite - Metal-mesh lath cut into strips and bent to a right angle. Used in interior corners of walls and ceilings on lath to prevent cracks in plastering.

Cornice - The uppermost section of mouldings along the top of a wall; any moulded projection of similar form , usually made of plaster.

Cornice Raking - The sloping mouldings of a pediment.

Cornice Return - That portion of the cornice that returns on the gable end of a house

Corniophora Puteana - A fungus affecting wood/timber in a property also called Wet Rot.

Corrosion - The deterioration of metal by chemical or electrochemical reaction resulting from exposure to weathering, moisture, chemicals or other agents or media.

Corrosion Atmospheric - Galvanic corrosion that occurs between two adjoining dissimilar metals in a humid atmospheric condition.

Corrosion Galvanic - A condition caused as a result of a conducting liquid making contact with two different metal which are not properly isolated physically and/or electrically.

Corrugated - Folded or shaped into parallel ridges or furrows so as to form a symmetrically wavy surface.

Cost Breakdown - A breakdown of all the anticipated costs on a construction or renovation project.

Cost Breakdown - An itemized list of building costs.

Cost Lifetime - The cost of something, including purchase, operation, maintenance, and disposal costs

Costs Buying - Short term outlay required to secure the purchase of a house.

Costs Closing - Any and all cost that need to be paid by the buyer in order to close the property transaction.

Coterminous - The scenario whereby two or more leases conclude and/or end at the same time.

Cottage - A small house with a single story.

Coulomb - An SI unit of electric charge, equal to the quantity of electricity conveyed in one second by a current of one ampere.

Counter Acid Proof - A horizontal work surface resistant to acid spills.

Counter Flashing - Sheet metal or other material that is used at the roofline around chimneys to prevent the invasion of water into the building.

Counter Laboratory - A level surface in a laboratory where equipment is placed and kept and where work may be performed.

Counter Offer - An offer made in counter to an existing offer in place.

Counterflashing - An inverted L shaped metal strip built into a wall to overlap base flashing and make a roof or wall watertight.

Counterfort - A foundation wall section that strengthens (and generally perpendicular to) a long section of foundation wall.

Countersink - A special drill bit that allows a screw head to sit flush with the face of the material it is driven into.

County Court Judgement (CCJ) - A legal debt order filed against someone and handed out by a County Court for non payment of a debt.

Coupler Cable - A device for connecting two lengths of cable into one longer length.

Coupling - In plumbing, a short collar with only inside threads at each end, for receiving the ends of two pipes which are to be fitted and joined together. A right/left coupling is one used to join 2 gas pipes in limited space.

Coupling Electrolytic - A fitting required to join copper to galvanized pipe and gasketed to prevent galvanic action. Connecting pipes of different materials may result in electrolysis

Coupling Quick Connect - A device which permits easy and fast connecting of two fluid lines.

Course -

• A continuous single layer row of building materials, such as shingle brick or stone.
• A row of shingles or roll roofing running the length of the roof. Parallel layers of building materials such as bricks, or siding laid up horizontally.

Course Bond - The course consisting of units which overlap more than one wythe of masonry.

Cove Lighting - Concealed light sources behind a cornice or horizontal recess which direct the light upon a reflecting ceiling.

Cove Moulding - A wood strip having a curved concave face used for finishing interior corners.

Cove Moulding - A moulding with a concave face used as trim or to finish interior corners.

Covenant - An agreement creating a binding obligation. These can be positive or negative or restrictive.

Covenant Agricultural - A planning condition which permits the construction of a residential dwelling providing it is occupied by a person employed or associated with working on the land. Properties like this are subject to low value as they can only be sold to another person in similar circumstance unless the covenant is lifted.

Covenant Deed - This is a document which confirms that the buyer of a property will comply with the rules and conditions affecting the property which can be found in the Title Deed or Lease.

Covenants - Rules usually developed by a builder or developer regarding the physical appearance of buildings in a particular geographic area. Typical covenants address building height, appropriate fencing and landscaping, and the type of exterior material (stucco, brick, stone, siding, etc) that may be used.

Covenants Conditions And Restrictions - CC&R

Cover Ground - A light covering of plastic film, roll roofing, or similar material used over the soil in crawl spaces of buildings to minimize moisture permeation of the area.

Cover Plate - A sheet of glass or transparent plastic placed above the absorber in a flat plate collector.

Cover Soil - A light covering of plastic film, roll roofing, or similar material used over the soil in crawl spaces of buildings to minimize moisture permeation of the area.

Coverage By Buildings - The percentage of a specific parcel of land covered by buildings.

Covering Wall - Any of a variety of final applications to finish a wall surface.

Coving - Cornice material made from plaster or polystyrene.

Cracks Biscuit - Any fractures in the body of a tile visible both on face and back.

Cracks Lane Joint - Longitudinal separations along the seam between two paving lanes caused by a weak seam between adjoining spreads in the courses of the pavement.

Cracks Mud - Cracks developing from the normal shrinkage of an emulsion coating when applied too heavily.

Crain Bridge -

• A hoisting device spanning two overhead rails
• the hoisting device moves laterally along the bridge with the bridge moving longitudinally along the rails.

Cranked Neck Rasp - Ideal for carefully shaping flat or slightly concave surfaces and is especially useful in woodcarving.

Crawl Space - A shallow area below the floor, within a wall or in an attic or loft area in order to allow access, usually only accessible by crawling as the area of access would be very narrow and confining.

Crazing - A series of hairline cracks in the surface of weathered materials, having a web-like appearance. Also, hairline cracks in pre-finished metals caused by bending or forming. (see Brake Metal)

Credit Check - The process in which lenders evaluate the risk of extending you credit. Most lenders have a pre-determined scoring system to calculate risk on a loan.

Credit Rating - A report ordered by a lender from a credit agency to determine a borrower's credit habits.

Credit Reference Agency - An organisation that keeps details on individuals relating to their credit history. Lenders will refer to these organisations in order to determine the credit worthiness of a loan applicant.

Credit Score - The process in which lenders evaluate the risk of extending you credit. Most lenders have a pre-determined scoring system to calculate risk on a loan.

Crest - The top line or surface of a structure.

Crested - The top line or surface of a structure.

Cresting - The top line or surface of a structure.

Cricket - A small drainage-diverting roof structure of single or double slope placed at the junction of larger surfaces that meet at an angle, such as above a chimney.

Cricket Roof - A second roof built on top of the primary roof to increase the slope of the roof or valley. A saddle-shaped, peaked construction connecting a sloping roof with a chimney. Designed to encourage water drainage away from the chimney joint.

Cripple - Short vertical 2 by 4's or 6's frame lumber installed above a window or door.

Cripples - Cut off framing members above and below windows.

Cross Bridging - Diagonal bracing between adjacent floor joists.

Cross Connection - Any physical connection or arrangement between two otherwise separate piping systems, one of which contains potable water and the other either water of unknown or questionable safety or steam, gas, or chemical whereby there may be a flow from one system to the other, the direction of flow depending on the pressure differential between the two systems.

Cross Cut - A cut which runs across the board perpendicular to the grain.

Cross Tee - Short metal T beam used in suspended ceiling systems to bridge the spaces between the main beams.

Crosscut Saw - Hand saw used to cut across the grain (the width of the material).

Crown - Any board or piece of timber that has been placed with the convex edge up.

Crown Moulding - A moulding where the wall and ceiling meet; uppermost moulding along furniture or cabinetry.

Crownhold - Property being associated with the crown or royal holdings.

Crushed Stone - Stone or gravel that have been crushed into smaller chips.

Crutch Pattern Screwdriver - The large, flattened-oval handle of this screwdriver allows you to deliver tremendous torque to stubborn screws, especially in tight corners.

Cubic Feet Per Minute (CFM) - The measure of volume of air. When testing systems, find the CFM by multiplying the face velocity times the free area in square feet. The face velocity is the amount of air passing through the face of an outlet or return. Free area is the total area of the openings in the outlet or inlet through which air can pass.

Cubic Yard - A standard measurement for measuring volumes of materials such as concrete or gravel.

Cubical Adapter - A device for connecting partitions into different positions.

Culvert - Round, corrugated drain pipe (normally 15" or 18" in diameter) that is installed beneath a driveway and parallel to and near the street.

Culvert Arch - A curved shaped drain under a roadway, canal or embankment.

Culvert Box - A concrete drainage structure rectangular shaped, reinforced and cast in place or made of precast sections.

Cupola - A domed structure on a roof.

Cupped Board - A board that is warped or curved across it�s width.

Cupping - A type of warping that causes boards to curl up at their edges.

Cups Adhesive Wall - Special clips or nails with large perforated bases for mastic application to most firm surfaces.

Curb - The short elevation of an exterior wall above the deck of a roof, normally a 2 by 6 box unit on the roof to which a skylight is attached.

Curb Asphalt - An extruded berm made from asphaltic concrete.

Curb Stop - Normally a cast iron pipe with a lid (@ 5" in diameter) that is placed vertically into the ground, situated near the water tap in the yard, and where a water cut-off valve to the property is located (underground). A long pole with a special end is inserted into the curb stop to turn off/on the water.

Curing - In concrete application, the process in which mortar and concrete harden. The length of time is dependent upon the type of cement, mix proportion, required strength, size and shape of the concrete section, weather and future exposure conditions. The period may be 3 weeks or longer for lean concrete mixtures used in structures such as dams or it may be only a few days for richer mixes. Favorable curing temperatures range from 50 to 70 degrees F. Design strength is achieved in 28 days.

Curing Adiabatic - The maintenance of ambient conditions during the setting and hardening of concrete so that heat is neither lost nor gained.

Curing Agent - One part of a multi-part sealant which, when added to the base, will cause the base to change its physical state by chemical reaction between the two parts

Curing Autoclave - Steam curing of concrete products, sand-lime brick, asbestos-cement products, hydrous calcium silicate insulation products, or cement in an autoclave at maximum ambient temperatures generally between 340 and 420° F (170-215° C); also called High Pressure Steam Curing.

Curl - A term to describe what happens to wood as it grows. Curly wood looks like sand on the beach or river bottom with repeated ripples in the grain. The grain goes up and down causing the unusual look in the wood. Also called "tiger" grain or "fiddleback".

Current - Term used to describe electrical flow.

Current Electrical - Term used to describe electrical flow.

Curtain Wall - An interior non load bearing wall.

Curtilage - The area within the boundaries of a property surrounding the main building.

Curve Bulking - Graph of change in volume of a quantity of sand due to change in moisture content.

Curved Tooth File - Widely used in auto-body work and on aluminium and sheet metal, it features deeply cut, curved teeth for fast cutting and reduced clogging of soft material.

Cushioning - A jute, felt ,hair, foam, or plastic rubber underlayment installed under carpeting to increase underfoot comfort, to absorb pile crushing forces and to rce impact sound transmission, also called Lining, or Underlay

Cushioning Carpet - A jute, felt ,hair, foam, or plastic rubber underlayment installed under carpeting to increase underfoot comfort, to absorb pile crushing forces and to rce impact sound transmission, also called Cushioning, Lining, or Underlay

Cut Back Asphalt - Asphalt plus thinner; asphalt solution; asphalt coating formed by dissolving asphalt.

Cut Back Asphalt -

• Asphalt plus thinner.
• Asphalt solution.
• Asphalt coating formed by dissolving asphalt.

Cut In Brace - A diagonal brace that has been recessed into the studs that helps stiffen a wall.

Cut Off - A piece of roofing membrane consisting of one or more narrow plies of felt usually moped in hot to seal the edge of insulation at the end of a day's work.

Cut Stone - Large stones cut individually, used for a foundation or wall of a house.

Cutback - In roofing, basic asphalt or tar which has been "cut back" with solvents and oils so that the material become fluid.

Cutoff - A piece of roofing membrane consisting of one or more narrow plies of felt usually moped in hot to seal the edge of insulation at the end of a day's work.

Cuts Balanced -

• Cuts of tile at the perimeter of an area that will not take full tiles; the cuts on opposite sides of such an area shall be the same size.
• The same sized cuts on each side of a miter.

Cutstone - Large stones cut individually, used for a foundation or wall of a house.

Cutter Bolt - A hand tool, utilizing effective leverage, that can shear bolts and steel reinforcing rods.

Cutter Box - A specially designed hand tool for shear-cutting electrical outlet holes in gypsum board.

Cutting Brush - The act of removing unwanted plants to clear an area.

Cyclic Control Automatic - A control system in which the opening and closing of the weigh hopper discharge gate, the bituminous discharge valve, and the pugmill discharge gate are actuated by means of self-acting mechanical or electrical machinery without any intermediate manual control. The system includes preset timing devices to control the desired periods of dry and wet mixing cycles.

Cylinder Nightlatch - A nightlatch that is operated by the rotation of a key in a cylinder.

top of the page