An undesirable condition where the joint finish shows through the surface decoration.

A wood roofing material, normally cedar or redwood. Produced by splitting a block of the wood along the grain line. Modern shakes are sometimes machine sawn on one side. See shingle.

Fire-resistant wall that isolates the elevator, stairwell and vertical mechanical chase in high-rise construction. This wall must withstand the fluctuating (positive and negative) air-pressure loads created by elevators or air distribution systems.

A pump used to 'lift' waste water to a gravity sanitary sewer line. Usually used in basements and other locations which are situated bellow the level of the side sewer.

- The junction at the municipal sewer system where the home's sewer line is connected.

The physical connection point where the home's sewer line connects to the main municipal sewer line.

- The portion of the sanitary sewer which connects the interior waste water lines to the main sewer lines. The side sewer is usually buried in several feet of soil and runs from the house to the sewer line. It is usually 'owned' by the sewer utility, must be maintained by the owner and may only be serviced by utility approved contractors. Sometimes called side sewer.

Clays that have been subjected to high pressures, causing them to become relatively hard.

Force that tends to slide or rupture one part of a body from another part of the body or from attached objects.

A wall built on the dividing line between two adjoining parcels, in which each owner has an equal share of ownership.

The structural wood panel covering, usually OSB or plywood, used over studs, floor joists or rafters/trusses of a structure.

Plywood, gypsum, wood fiber, expanded plastic or composition boards encasing walls, ceilings, floors and roofs of framed buildings. May be structural or non-structural, thermal-insulating or non-insulating, fire-resistant or combustible.

A pully over which the elevator wire hoisting rope runs.

A floor, wall, or roof designed to serve as a deep beam to assist in stabilizing a building against deformation by lateral forces.

Metal studs welded to a steel frame that protrude up in the cast-in-place concrete deck.

- Plywood that is face nailed to short (2 X 4's or 2 X 6's) wall studs (above a door or window, for example). This is done to prevent the wall from sliding and collapsing.

The heating system. Usually round or rectangular metal pipes and sheet metal (for Return Air) and installed for distributing warm (or cold) air from the furnace to rooms in the home.

- A roof containing only one sloping plane.

A circular metal connector recessed into a wood member that is to be bolted to a steel member.

The result of forces acting parallel to an area but in opposite directions, causing one portion of the material to "slide" past another.