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Two sloping surfaces meeting in a horizontal ridge, used between the backside of a chimney or other vertical surface and a sloping roof. Also called a cricket.

A side gable with one side long and extending down to the first floor and the other side short covering the second floor.

A single light frame containing one or more lights of glass.

A pile, often made of steel, with a spiral or helical blade fixed to the lower end by which the pile is screwed or twisted into the ground taking a firm hold and acting as a support column or foundation.

A small opening in a ceiling, which provides access to an attic or roof.

A rectangular area of land used in the survey system which is approximately one mile square bounded by section lines. The section system may then be divided into halves, quarters, or smaller units. One square mile comprises 640 acres.

A concrete or steel tank where sewage is partially reduced by bacterial action.

A zoning restriction, which applies to the location of the home on a lot.

Lines that indicate the required distances for the location of a structure in relation to the boundaries of the property.

Roofing or siding shingles made from split wood.

The structural covering, usually wood boards or plywood, used over studs or rafters of a structure. Structural building board is normally used only as wall sheathing.

A flat roof, slanting in one direction.

Small thin pieces of wood or other material used to fill in gaps or level surfaces.

The small mold against the baseboard at the floor.

An improper connection of a hot wire with another hot wire or neutral.

A vertical window beside a door or another window.

The finished covering of the outside wall of a frame building, whether made of horizontal weatherboards, vertical boards with battens, shingles, or other material.

The lowest member of the frame of a structure, resting on the foundation and supporting the floor joists or the uprights of the wall. The member forming the lower side of an opening, as a doorsill.

An opening in a roof covered by glass or plastic material to admit natural light.

For a slab foundation, the site is leveled off, and a trench is dug around the perimeter of the home site. Gravel is then spread across the site, and concrete is poured approximately four inches thick over wire mesh and a moisture barrier. In areas of load bearing walls, trenches need to be dug to allow for additional thickness at this location. Slab foundations have no piers or floor joists, and the concrete slab is the floor system.

Usually a wood member embedded in concrete, as in a floor, that serves to support and to fasten sub-floor or flooring.

The portion of a chimney flue located directly over the fireplace.

Usually the underside of an overhanging cornice.

Wood produced from coniferous trees or trees that bear cones. Most commonly used at the pines, but also includes such trees as fir, spruce, redwood, and cedar. The term has no reference to the actual hardness or softness of the wood.

The main vertical pipe, which receives wastewater from fixtures in a building.

Devices for trapping the sun's energy.

The sun's energy.

A solid member placed between adjacent floor joists near the center of the span to prevent joists from twisting.

The distance between the structural supports of beams and girders.

Pale yellowish softwood used for general building purposes as planks, dimension stock, and joists. Millwork products include doors, casing, and trim.

A unit of measure-100 sq. ft.- usually applied to roofing material. Sidewalk coverings are sometimes packed to cover 100 sq. ft. and are sold on that basis.

The finished living square footage of the home that is heated and/or cooled. Heated square footage does not include bonus rooms, future rooms, garages, porches, decks, patios or unfinished basements unless otherwise noted.

The square footage in a home that is heated and/or cooled. The space occupied by two-story rooms and stairwells is counted once in the lower floor's square footage. Living square footage does not include garages, bonus rooms, or porches unless otherwise noted.

Spaces of the structure that are not heated and cooled such as the garage, carport, unfinished basement, attic space, bonus room, future space, deck, porch, patio, or screened porch.

A roof framing method by which the framing members (rafters and joists) are measured, cut, and hoisted into place at the jobsite by building professionals during construction. Also referred to as conventional framing.

The vertical sidepieces of a panel door.

The horizontal ledge or strip as part of the frame below an interior window.

A row of masonry in a wall with the long side of the units exposed to the exterior.

A row of masonry in a wall with the long side of the units exposed to the exterior.

A long, horizontal member, which connects uprights in a frame or supports a floor or the like. One of the enclosed sides of a stair supporting the treads and risers.