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PMEL - roofing glossary Category: Architecture and Buildings > Roofing glossary Date & country: 01/09/2008, USA Words: 414

elastomer
An elastic rubber-like substance, such as natural or synthetic rubber.

Class "B"
   Fire-resistance rating that indicates roofing materials are able to withstand moderate exposure to fire originating from sources outside the building.

architects rule
(ruler) Three sided ruler with different scales on each side. Also referred to as a 'scale.'

architect
A tradesman who designs and produces plans for buildings, often overseeing the building process.

eifs
Exterior Insulating Finish System; exterior wall cladding system consisting primarily of polystyrene foam board with a textured acrylic finish that resembles plaster or stucco.

elevation
A side of a building.

electrolytic coupling
A fitting required to join copper to galvanized pipe and gasketed to prevent galvanic action. Connecting pipes of different materials may result in electrolysis.

eer
Energy Efficiency Ratio; is figured by dividing BTU hours by watts.

efflorescence
The process by which water leeches soluble salts out of concrete or mortar and deposits them on the surface. Also used as the name for these deposits.

edge clearance
Nominal spacing between the edge of the glass product and the bottom of the glazing pocket (channel).

edge metal
A term relating to brake or extruded metal around the perimeter of a roof.

duct
A cylindrical or rectangular 'tube' used to move air either from exhaust or intake. The installation is referred to as 'duct work'.

eave
The part of a roof which projects out from the side wall, or the lower edge of the part of a roof that overhangs a wall.

aprroach
The area between the sidewalk and the street that leads to a driveway or the transition from the street as you approach a driveway.

dumbwaiter
An elevator with a maximum footage of not more than 9 sq. ft. floor area; not more than 4' headroom and a maximum capacity of 500 lbs. used for carrying materials only.

durometer
The measurement of hardness of a material. A gauge to measure the hardness of an elastomeric material.

anchor bolts
Bolts which fasten columns, girders or other members to concrete or masonry such as bolts used to anchor sills to masonry foundation. Foundation plates or sills shall be bolted to the foundation with not less than 1/2' diameter steel bolts embedded at least 7' into the concrete or reinforced masonry or 15' into unreinforced grouted masonry & spaced not more than & apart.

drawing detail
A top view drawing of a building or roof showing the roof perimeter and indicating the projections and roof mounted equipment, drawn to scale.

drawing outline
A top view drawing of a building or roof showing only the perimeter drawn to scale.

drippage
Bitumen material that drips through roof deck joints, or over the edge of a roof deck.

Class "A"
  The highest fire-resistance rating for roofing as per ASTM E-108. Indicates roofing is able to withstand severe exposure to fire originating from sources outside the building. 

drip edge
A device designed to prevent water from running back or under an overhang.

Built-up roof
  A flat or low-sloped roof consisting of multiple layers of asphalt and ply sheets.

Caulk
  To fill a joint with mastic or asphalt cement to prevent leaks.

Cement
  See Asphalt plastic roofing cement.

Chalk line
  A line made on the roof by snapping a taut string or cord dusted with chalk. Used for alignment purposes.

dry glazing
Also called compression 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.

dry in
To make a building waterproof.

dry seal
Accomplishment of weather seal between glass and sash by use of strips or gaskets of Neoprene, EPDM, silicone or other flexible material. A dry seal may not be completely watertight.

Butt edge
  The lower edge of the shingle tabs.

Blisters
  Bubbles that may appear on the surface of asphalt roofing after installation.

Brands
  Airborne burning embers released from a fire.

Bridging
  A method of reroofing with metric-sized shingles.

dry sheet
A ply mechanically attached to wood or gypsum decks to prevent asphalt or pitch from penetrating the deck and leaking into the building below.

drywall hammer
A special hammer used for nailing up gypsum board. It is also known as an ax or hatchet. Edges should be smooth and the corners rounded off. The head has a convex round & checkered head.

drywall nail
Nails used for hanging regular drywall that is to be taped and finished later must have adequate holding power and a head design that does not cut the face paper. They must also be of the proper depth to provide exactly 1 inch penetration into the framing member. Nails commonly used are chemically-etched and are designed with a cupped head.

drywall
Sheetrock (gypsum board) that covers the framing and taping, coating, and finishing to make the interior walls and ceilings of a building. Drywall is also used as a verb to refer to installation process.

dormer
The house-like structure which projects from a sloping roof.

Base flashing
  That portion of the flashing attached to or resting on the deck to direct the flow of water onto the roof covering.

double strength
In float glass, approximately 1/8' (3 mm.) thick.

double plate
when two layers of 2 x 4's are placed on top of studs in framing a wall.

double tee
Refers usually to a precast roof deck panel poured with two fins in its underside to impart flexural rigidity.

angle iron
A piece of iron that forms a right angle and is used to span openings and support masonry at the openings. In brick veneer, they are used to secure the veneer to the foundation. Also known as shelf angle.

downspout
The metal pipe used to drain water from a roof.

double-glazing
In general, any use of two lites of glass, separated by an air space, within an opening, to improve insulation against heat transfer and/or sound transmission. In insulating glass units the air between the glass sheets is thoroughly dried and the space is sealed, eliminating possible condensation and providing superior insulating properties.

distortion
Alteration of viewed images caused by variations in glass flatness or inhomogeneous portions within the glass. An inherent characteristic of heat-treated glass.

annealing
In the manufacturing of float glass, it is the process of controlled cooling done in a lehr to prevent residual stresses in the glass. Re-annealing is the process of removing objectionable stresses in glass by re-heating to a suitable temperature followed by controlled cooling.

dead load
The constant, design-weight (of the roof) and any permanent fixtures attached above or below.

deck
An elevated platform. 'Deck' is also commonly used to refer to the above-ground floors in multi-level parking garage.

Open valley
  Method of valley construction in which shingles on both sides of the valley are trimmed along a chalk line snapped on each side of the valley. Shingles do not extend across the valley. Valley flashing is exposed.

ammeter
Device to measure the current flowing in a circuit

anti-walk blocks
Elastomeric blocks that limit lateral glass movement in the glazing channel which may result from thermal, seismic, wind load effects, building movement, and other forces that may apply.

amps
(AMPERES) The rate at which electricity flows through a conductor.

deflection
The amount of bending movement of any part of a structural member perpendicular to the axis of the member under an applied load.

deflect
To bend or deform under weight.

design pressure
Specified pressure a product is designed to withstand.

alligatoring
A condition of paint or aged asphalt brought about by the loss of volatile oils and the oxidation caused by solar radiation. 'Alligatoring' produces a pattern of cracks resembling an alligator hide and is ultimately the result of the limited tolerance of paint or asphalt to thermal expansion or contraction.

aluminum wire
Conductors made of aluminum for carrying electricity. Aluminum generally is limited to the larger wire sizes. Due to its lower conductivity, aluminum wire smaller than No. 12 is not made. Aluminum is lighter and less expensive than copper but not as good a conductor. It also breaks easily.

dew point
The critical temperature at which vapor condenses from the atmosphere and forms water.

damper
Valve for controlling airflow. When ordering registers, make sure each supply outlet has a damper so the air flow can be adjusted and turned off. Dampers maybe either manually or automatically operated. Automatic dampers are required for exhaust air ducts.

darby
A flat tool used to smooth concrete flatwork immediately after screeding. See Bullfloating

dampproofing
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 grad...

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.

cupola
A small monitor or dome at the peak of a pitched roof.

c/d circuit
A circuit where electricity flows in one direction only, at a constant rate.

Back Surfacing
   Fine mineral matter applied to the back side of shingles to keep them from sticking.

curb
A short wall or masonry built above the level of the roof that provides a means of flashing the deck equipment.

Non-veneer panel
  Any wood based panel that does not contain veneer and carries an APA span rating, such as wafer board or oriented strand board.

No-cutout shingles
  Shingles consisting of a single, solid tab with no cutouts.

air duct
Ducts, usually made of sheet metal, that carry cooled air to all rooms.

air filters
Adhesive filters made of metal or various fibers that are coated with adhesive liquid to which the particles of lint and dust adhere. These filters will remove as much as 90% of the dirt if they do not become clogged. The more common filters are of the throwaway or disposable type.

curtain wall
A thin wall, supported by the structural steel or concrete frame of the building independent of the wall below. Also a metal (most often aluminum) framing system on the face of a building containing vision glass panels and spandrel panels made of glass, aluminum, or other material.

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 cu...

crawl space
An open area between the floor of a building and the ground.

cutback
In roofing, basic asphalt or tar which has been 'cut back' with solvents and oils so that the material become fluid.

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.

coal tar pitch
(Tar) 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.

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

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)

Normal slope application
  Method of installing asphalt shingles on roof slopes between 4 inches and 21 inches per foot.

cohesive failure
Internal splitting of a compound resulting from over-stressing of the compound.

cold patch
In roofing, a roof repair done with cold applied material.

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

air infiltration
The amount of air leaking in and out of a building through cracks in walls, windows and doors.

collar beam
In carpentry, a tie that keeps the roof from spreading. Connects similar rafters on opposite sides of roof.

American method
Application of giant individual shingles with the long dimension parallel to the rake. Shingles are applied with a 3/4-inch space between adjacent shingles in a course.

ASTM
American Society for Testing and Materials. A voluntary organization concerned with development of consensus standards, testing procedures and specifications.

Asphalt
A bituminous waterproofing agent applied to roofing materials during manufacturing.  Asphalt plastic roofing cement: An asphalt-based cement used to bond roofing materials. Also known as flashing cement or mastic; should conform to ASTM D-4586.

collar
In roofing, a conical metal cap flashing used in conjunction with vent pipes or stacks usually located several inches above the plane of the roof, for the purpose of shedding water away from the base of the vent.

aggregate
Crushed stone, slag or water-worn gravel that comes in a wide range of sizes that is used to surface built-up roofs.

compression gasket
A gasket designed to function under compression.

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

composite board
An insulation board which has two different insulation types laminated together in 2 or 3 layers.

condensation
The appearance of moisture (water vapor) on the surface of an object caused by warm moist air coming into contact with a colder object.

compression set
The permanent deformation of a material after removal of the compressive stress.

component
Any one part of an assembly associated with construction.

adhesive failure
Loss of bond of a coating or sealant from the surface to which it is applied.

adhesion
The property of a coating or sealant to bond to the surface to which it is applied.

above-grade
The portion of a building that is above ground level.

acre
43,500 square feet.