Rub Joint

A glue joint made by fitting carefully the edges together, spreading glue between them, and rubbing the pieces back and forth until the pieces are well rubbed together.

Scarfed Joint

A timber spliced by means of cutting various shapes of shoulders, or joggles, to fit each other.

Joists

Timbers supporting the floor boards.

Kerf

The cut made by a saw.

Kiln

An apparatus for rapid artificial drying.

Kiln-drying

The process of drying in a kiln.

King-post

A post rising from a tie beam to the apex of the rafter.

Lancet Window

A narrow, pointed window..

Laths

Narrow strips to support plastering.

Lattice

Crossed wood or iron slats or bars.

Ledger Hoard

The support of the second floor joists of a balloon-framed house, or for similar uses; a ribband.

Level

A term describing the position of a line or plane when parallel to the surface of still water.

Lift

The section of a roof raised to form a substitute for a dormer window. An elevator or dumb waiter.

Lintel

The piece of construction or finish, stone, wood, or metal, which is over an opening. A header.

Lock Joint

A form of halved joint in wood. Upon metal roofs, the edges are turned over and lapped into each other, flattened down and soldered.

Lookout

The end of a rafter, or the construction which projects beyond the sides of a house to support the eaves.

Mantel

The shelf over a fireplace.

Matching, or Tongueing and Grooving

The method commonly used in making the best grades of flooring.

Meeting Rail

The bottom rail of the upper sash, and the top rail of the lower sash of a two-sash window.

Minaret

A slender lofty turret.

Miter

The joint formed by pieces meeting at an angle.

Modillion

An enriched block used under a cornice of the Corinthian order, and to some extent in the other orders.

Molding Base

The molding upon the top of a base board.

Molding Bed

Used to cover the joint between the plancer and the frieze; also as a base molding upon heavy work, and sometimes as a member of a cornice.

Molding Lip

Has a lip which overlaps the piece against which the back of the molding rests.

Molding Rake

The cornice upon the gable edge of a pitch roof, the members of which are made to fit those of the molding of the horizontal eaves.

Molding Room

Shaped so as to form a support for picture hooks. Placed some distance from the ceiling upon the wall, to form the lower edge of the frieze.

Molding Mortise

The hole which is to receive a tenon, or any hole cut into or through a piece by means of a chisel; generally of rectangular shape.

Mullion

The construction between the openings of a window frame made to accommodate two or more windows.

Muntin

The vertical member between two panels of the same piece of panel work.

Mutule

A projecting block under the corona of a Doric cornice; used in a manner similar to the modillion of a Corinthian cornice.

Nave

The main part of a church.

Necking

A small molding used to surround a column, forming a neck below the capital.

Newel

The principal post at the foot of a staircase; also the central support of a winding flight of stairs.

Niche

A cavity or recess; usually the receptacle for a bust or a piece of statuary.

Nosing

The part of a stair tread which projects over the riser, or any similar projection; a term applied to the rounded edge of a board.

Ogee

A molding consisting of two members, a hollow and a round; a compound curve. See Cyma.

Oriel Window

A large bay window in a hall or chapel.

Ovolo

A round molding; a quarter round.

Panel

The sunken portion of a door; a depression in a wall lower than the surrounding portions.

Pavilion

A temporary movable building or tent.

Pedestal

The support of a column; generally consisting of a base, panel, and cornice

Pediment

The triangular, ornamental facing of a portico, or similar decoration over doors and other openings; also applied to circular or other spaces.

Pendant

A hanging ornament; a drop.

Piazza

A veranda.

Piers

Masonry supports, set independently of the main foundation.

Pilaster

A square column, usually set within a wall.

Piles

Long posts driven into the soil in swampy locations or whenever it is difficult to secure a firm foundation, upon which the footing course of masonry, or timbers, are laid.

Pinnacle

A slender turret, or the part of a building elevated above the main building.

Pitch

The inclination, or slope of roofs or stairs.

Pitch Board

A board sawed to the exact shape of a stair tread and riser, and used to lay out the stringers.

Planter

The under side of a cornice; a soffit.

Plate

The top piece of the walls of a frame building, upon which the roof rests.

Plate Cut

The cut is a rafter which rests upon the plate; sometimes called the seat cut.

Plinth

A projecting, vertically faced member, forming the lowest division of the base of a column.

Plumb Cut, Ridge Cut, or Down Cut

The cut made at the top end of a rafter to allow it to fit against the ridge or the rafter of the other side.

Porch

An ornamental entrance way.

Portico

A covered space inclosed by columns at the entrance of a building; a porch. Pulley Stile. The member of a window frame which contains the pulleys, and between which the edges of the sash slide

Purlin

A timber supporting rafters in the middle.