P
A PDF file is a Portable Document Format of your home plan. This is a computer document format designed to capture formatting information (i.e. fonts, graphics, color, etc.) from many different desktop publishing applications making it possible to send, open and print documents in their intended format regardless of the different applications used by the creator or the recipient.
Pallet
An inexpensive wood skid used to stack and ship construction materials such as a brick or concrete block.
Panel
In house construction, a thin flat piece of wood, plywood, or similar material, framed by stiles and rails as in a door or fitted into grooves of thicker material with molded edges for decorative wall treatment.
Paper, Building
A general term for papers, felts, and similar sheet materials used in building without reference to their properties or uses.
Parapet
A low wall or railing around the edge of a roof.
Particle Board
A composition board made of wood chips or particles bonded together with an adhesive under high pressure.
Partition
A wall that subdivides spaces within any story of a building.
Passive Solar Heating
Involves capturing, storing, and using solar radiation (the sun's energy) to heat a dwelling without the use of fans or pumps to circulate the heat.
Pecan
See HICKORY
Periphery
A boundary or complete outside edge of a parcel of land or an object on a drawing.
Phase Change Material
A material capable of storing large amounts of heat as they change from solid to liquid. They are slow to release the stored heat and are, therefore, interesting as possible thermal mass materials.
Pier
A masonry pillar usually below a building to support the floor framing.
Pilaster
A portion of a square column usually set within or against a wall for the purpose of strengthening the wall; also, a decorative column attached to a wall.
Pine, ponderosa
Light reddish colored softwood used especially for a sash, doors, and screens in the softer grades. Harder grades are used for joists, rafters, studs, sills, sheathing, porch columns, posts, balusters, and stair rails.
Pine, white
Softwood of light tan color used for door, sash, interior and exterior trim, siding, and panels. Lower grades are used for sheathing, sub-flooring, and roofing.
Pine, yellow
Softwood of medium texture, moderately hard, and a yellow to reddish brown color. Used for joists, rafters, studding, and general construction where extra strength and stiffness are required.
Pitch
The slope of a roof usually expressed as a ratio.
Plant Shelf
A decorative feature approximately 8 feet above the floor, normally associated with volume ceilings that add high spaces/shelves to use for decorative purposes.
Plaster
A mortar-like composition used for covering walls and ceilings, usually made of portland cement mixed with sand and water.
Plat
A drawing of surveyed land indicating the location, boundaries, and dimensions of the parcel. The recorded plat, usually sent to an appropriate governmental office or the county recorders office, also contains information as to easements, restrictions, and lot number.
Plate
Sill plate is a horizontal member anchored to a masonry wall. Sole plate is bottom horizontal member of a frame wall. Top plate is top horizontal member of a frame wall supporting ceiling joists, rafters or other members.
Platform Framing
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 sub-floor of each.
Plenum System
A system of heating or air conditioning in which the air is forced through a chamber connected to distributing ducts.
Plot Plan
An overhead view plan that shows the location of the home on the lot. Includes all easements, property lines, set backs, and legal descriptions of the home. Provided by the surveyor.
Plumb
Perfectly vertical, a term often used for the placement of doors and windows.
Plumbing Fixture
A receptacle or device from which water is dispensed and/or drained, such as a bath, toilet, or faucet.
Plywood
A piece of wood made of three or more layers of veneer joined with glue, and usually laid with the grain of adjoining plies at right angles. Almost always an odd number of plies are used to provide balanced construction.
Polyethylene Vapor Barrier
Plastic film used to prevent moisture from passing through unfaced insulation. Both 4- and 6-mil polyethylene are preferred because they are less likely to be damaged during construction.
Porte-cochere
A carriage entrance leading through a building or wall into an inner courtyard. Also, a roofed structure covering a driveway at the entrance of a building to provide shelter while entering or leaving a vehicle.
Portico
A covered entryway attached to house, usually open on three sides and supported by posts or columns.
Post and Beam Construction
Wall construction consisting of posts rather than studs.
Precast
Concrete shapes which are made before being placed into structure.
Prefabricated Houses
Houses that are built in sections or component parts in a plant, and then assembled at the site.
Preframed Panels
Fabricated panels consisting of precut lumber and plywood manufactured to standard dimensions ready for structural use.
Preservative
Any substance that, for a reasonable length of time, will prevent the action of wood-destroying fungi, borers of various kinds, and similar destructive agents when the wood has been properly coated or impregnated with it.
Punch List
A list of discrepancies that need to be corrected by the contractor.
Purlins
Horizontal roof members laid over trusses, to support rafters.