Descriptionary

sheathing paper a building paper used in the roof and walls to block the passing of air.

sheetrock commonly used commercial name for gypsum wallboard.

shim a thin wedge of wood used to help level fram­ing members, especially window and door frames.

shiplap siding siding comprised of boards that con­nect with one another with rabbeted joints.

shoe the lowest framing member laid horizontally on a subfloor and used as a base for a stud wall.

sill the lowest of all horizontal structural members; it lies directly on the foundation.

skylight a roof window.

slab a solid concrete foundation without a base­ment.

sleeper a sill; any large structural member laid hori­zontally.

soffit the underside of a structural member, such as a beam, a staircase, or a roof overhang.

soil stack the large, vertical pipe that receives waste- water from all plumbing fixtures and appliances.

soleplate the lowest horizontal member in a wall frame.

stringer the inclined, precut framing member that serves as one of two supports for stair risers and treads.

stucco a wall covering made of cement or plaster.

stud a vertical framing member, usually made of wood.

subfloor the rough flooring laid directly over the floor joists.

sump in the basement, a hole or depression that col­lects leaking water.

termite shield sheet metal placed in and around a foundation and its openings to prevent entry by termites.

tie beam a collar beam or rafter tie.

toenail to pound a nail in at an angle in order to make it penetrate a second structural member. Also, to drive a nail so that its head will not be visible on the surface.

transom bar a horizontal bar dividing a window.

truss a large, triangular framing unit, often prefab­ricated, constructed of beams, bars, and ties, and used to span a large space.

valley rafter a rafter rising where two roof slopes of different angles meet; an inside corner rafter. Similar to a hip rafter.

vapor barrier any material applied to a wall to block the passage of moisture.

wainscot a decorative wall covering skirting the lower portion of a wall.

wallboard Sheetrock, gypsum, waferboard, and similar items.

weephole a small hole cut in masonry to drain moisture.

widow's walk an open, railed walkway around a peaked roof, particularly in some New England sea- coast homes.

HOUSE STYLES

adobe a Spanish clay-and-straw brick home.

bothy a small cottage of northern England, Scot­land, and Ireland.

brownstone a house or apartment building faced with a brown or reddish brown sandstone.

bungalow a one-story, cottagelike house character­ized by overhanging gables forming the front porch. Also, a one-story tiled or thatched house surrounded by a wide veranda in India.

Cajun cottage a tin-roofed shack of Louisiana.

Cape Cod a rectangular, 1%-story house with a pitched roof, originating in colonial Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

carpenter Gothic a 19th-century American home- building technique characterized by the application of elaborate gothic motifs with wood.

catslide house slang for a saltbox house, named for its long, sloping roof in the rear and short roof in front.

chateau a French country estate.

colonial any one of several house styles imported from a motherland. For example, a clapboard colonial saltbox with a massive central chimney; a German colo­nial with heavy stone walls; a fieldstone Dutch colonial with a broad gambrel roof; a stuccoed adobe Spanish colonial with arcaded veranda and red-tiled roof.

Creole townhouse a New Orleans townhouse characterized by iron balconies, slate or tiled roofs, arched and shuttered windows, and plastered or stuccoed facades with colors that include pink, ocher, and yellow.

Dutch colonial originating in Dutch-settled areas of New York and the Hudson River valley in the 17th century, a house characterized by a gambrel roof (two pitches on each side) and overhanging eaves.

Elizabethan an English country house originating in the late 1500s and characterized by large, mullioned windows and decorative strapwork.

English magpie a style of house popular in medi­eval England.

Federal style classic revival style popular from 1790 to 1830 in the United States. Notable features include two or four chimneys flanking either end of the house, elaborate fan doorways (some with porticos), paired or twin front stairways, and brass and iron hardware. Rooms in Federal houses are often round or oval.

Georgian popular in 18th-century Britain and its American colonies, and characterized by a columned or pilaster-flanked front entry, heavy stone sills, brass hardward, and ornate roof balustrades.

gambrel see Dutch colonial.