» Ceilings - False Ceiling's easily- removed ceiling panels offer instant access to the plenum, greatly simplifying repairs on alterations
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» Caisson A cylindrical sitecast concrete foundation unit that penetrates through unsatisfactory soil to rest upon an underlying stratum of rock or satisfactory soil; an enclosure
that permits excavation work to be carried out underwater. Also called a drilled pier.
» Calcined gypsum. Gypsum which has been ground to a fi ne powder and heated to drive off most of its water of hydration; used in the manufacture of gypsum board
and as
the principal ingredient in gypsum plasters; a nonhydraulic cementitious material; also called plaster of Paris.
Calcining The driving off of the water of hydration from gypsum
by the application of heat.
» Camber A slight, intentional initial curvature in a beam or slab.
» Cambium The thin layer beneath the bark of a tree that manufactures cells of wood and bark.
» Cantilever A beam, truss, or slab that extends beyond its last point of support.
» Cant strip A strip of material with a sloping face used to ease the transition from a horizontal to a vertical surface at the edge of a membrane roof.
» Capillary action The pulling of water through a small orifi ce or fi brous material by the adhesive force between the water and the material.
» Capillary break A slot or groove intended to create an opening too large to be bridged by a drop of water and, thereby, to eliminate the passage of water by capillary action; the
coarse aggregate layer under a concrete slab on grade which reduces the migration of water from the ground below into the concrete slab above.
» Carbide-tipped tools Drill bits, saws, and other tools with cutting edges made of an extremely hard alloy.
» Carbonation The process by which lime mortar reacts with atmospheric carbon dioxide to cure.
» Carbon fi ber reinforcing In precast concrete, an open grid fabric of carbon fibers bonded with epoxy resin, used as a substitute for welded-wire reinforcing.
» Carbon stee Low-carbon or mild steel.
» Carpenter One who makes things of wood.
» Casement window A window that pivotson an axis at or near a vertical edge of the sash.
» Casing The wood fi nish pieces surrounding the frame of a window or door.
Coarse aggregate Gravel or crushed stone in a concrete mix.
Coarse-grained soil Soil with
particles ranging in size from roughly 0.003 to 3 inches (0.075–75 mm); sands and gravels.
» Code See Building code.
» Cohesionless soil See Frictional soil.
» Cohesive soil A soil such as clay whose particles are able to adhere to one another by means of cohesive and adhesive forces.
» Cold-formed steel See Cold-worked steel.
» Cold-rolled steel Steel rolled to its final form at a temperature at which it is no longer plastic.
» Cold-worked steel Steel formed at a temperature at which it is no longer plastic, as by rolling or forging at room temperature.
» Collar joint The vertical mortar joint between wythes of masonry.
» Collar tie A piece of wood nailed across two opposing rafters near the ridge to resist wind uplift.
» Collated nails Nails glued together in a strip for insertion into a nail gun.
» Column An upright structural member acting primarily in compression.
» Column bar See Vertical bar.
» Column cage An assembly of vertical reinforcing bars and ties for a concrete column.
» Column-cover-and-spandrel system A system of cladding in which panels of material cover the columns and spandrels, with horizontal strips of windows filling the remaining
portion of the wall.
» Column spiral A continuous coil of steel reinforcing used to tie a concrete column.
» Column tie A single loop of steel bar, usually bent into a rectangular confi guration, used to tie a concrete column.
» Combination door A door with interchangeable inserts of glass and insect screening, usually used as a second, exterior door and mounted in the same opening with a
conventional door.
» Combination window A sash that holds both insect screening and a retractable sheet of glass, mounted in the same frame with a window and used to increase its
thermal
resistance.
» Commercial wrap A synthetic sheet material, heavier than housewrap, with water-resistive and air-resistive properties used to provide a protective layer in an exterior wall
assembly.
» Common bolt An ordinary carbon steel bolt.
» Common bond Brickwork laid with five courses of stretchers followed by one course of headers.
» Common nail A standard-sized nail used for the fastening of framing members in wood light frame construction.
» Common rafter A roof rafter that runs parallel to the main slope of the roof. See also Hip rafter.
» Composite A material or assembly made up of two or more materials bonded together to act as a single structural unit.
» Composite column An upright structural member, acting primarily in compression, that is composed of concrete and a steel structural shape, usually a wide flange or a tube.
» Composite construction Any element in which concrete and steel, other than reinforcing bars, work as a single structural unit.
» Composite metal decking Corrugated steel decking manufactured in such a way that it bonds securely to the concrete floor fill to form a reinforced concrete deck.
» Composite wall A masonry wall that incorporates two or more different types of masonry units, such as clay bricks and concrete blocks.
» Composition shingle See Asphalt shingle.
» Compression A squeezing force.
» Compression gasket A synthetic rubber strip that seals around a sheet of glass or a wall panel by being squeezed tightly against it.
» Compressive strength The ability of a structural material to withstand squeezing forces.
» Computer-aided design (CAD) The digital two-dimensional representation of building systems.
» Concave joint A mortar joint tooled into a curved, indented profile.
» Concealed fl ashing See Internal fl ashing.
» Concealed grid A suspended ceiling framework that is completely hidden by the tiles or panels it supports.
» Concrete A structural material produced by mixing predetermined
amounts of cement, aggregates, and water and allowing this mixture to cure under controlled conditions.
» Concrete block A concrete masonry unit, usually hollow, that is larger than a brick.
» Concrete masonry unit (CMU) A block of hardened concrete, with or without hollow cores, designed to be laid in the same manner as a brick or stone; a concrete block.
» Condensate Water formed as a result of condensation.
» Condensation The process of changing from a gaseous to a liquid state, especially as applied to water.
» Conduit A steel or plastic tube through which electrical wiring is run.
» Consolidate In freshly poured concrete, eliminate trapped air and cause the concrete to fi ll completely around the reinforcing bars and into all the corners of the formwork,
usually by vibrating the concrete.
» Construction documents The graphic construction drawings and written specifications to which a building is constructed.
» Construction Drawings The graphic instructions from an architect or an engineer concerning the construction of a building.
» Construction manager An entity that assists the owner in the procurement of construction services.
» Construction Type In the International Building Code, any of fi ve major systems of building construction that are differentiated by their relative resistance to fire.
» Continuous ridge vent See Ridge vent.
» Contraction joint See Control joint.
» Contractor A person or organization that undertakes a legal obligation to do construction work.
» Control joint An intentional, linear discontinuity in a structure or component designed to form a plane of weakness where cracking can occur in response to various forces
so as to minimize or eliminate cracking elsewhere in the structure. Also called a contraction joint.
» Controlled low-strength material - A concrete that is purposely formulated to have a very low but known strength, used primarily as a backfi ll material.
Convector A heat
exchange device that uses the heat in steam, hot water, or an electric resistance element to warm the air in a room; often called, inaccurately, a radiator.
» Cool color A coating applied to a roofing material that is nonwhite, yet refl ects a relatively high percentage of the sun's thermal energy.
» Cool roof A roof covering that refl ects a substantial portion of the sun's thermal energy.
» Cope The removal of a fl ange at the end of a steel beam in order to facilitate connection to another member.
» Coped connection A joint in which the end of one member is cut to match the profile of the other member.
» Coping A protective cap on the top of a masonry wall.
» Coping saw A handsaw with a thin, narrow blade, used for cutting detailed shapes in the ends of wood moldings and trim.
» Copolymer A large molecule composed of repeating patterns of two or more chemical units.
» Copper A soft, nonferrous metal, orange-red in color, that oxidizes to a color ranging from blue-green to black.
Copper boron azole (CBA, CA) A chemical used to preserve wood against attack by decay and insects.
» Corbel A spanning device in which masonry units in successive courses are cantilevered slightly over one another; a projecting bracket of masonry or concrete.
» Coreboard A thick gypsum panel used primarily in shaft walls.
» Corner bead A metal or plastic strip used to form a neat, durable edge at an outside corner of two walls of plaster or gypsum board.
» Cornice The exterior detail at the meeting of a wall and a roof overhang; a decorative molding at the intersection of a wall and a ceiling.
» Corrosion Oxidation, such as rust.
» Corrosion inhibitor A concrete admixture intended to prevent oxidation of reinforcing bars.
» Corrugated Formed into a fl uted or ribbed profile.
» Counterfl ashing A fl ashing turned down from above to overlap another flashing turned up from below so as to shed water.
» Course A horizontal layer of masonry units one unit high; a horizontal line of shingles or siding.
» Coursed In masonry, laid in courses with straight bed joints.
» Cove base A fl exible strip of plastic or synthetic rubber used to fi nish the junction between resilient fl ooring and a wall.
» Cover In concrete, a specifi ed thickness of concrete surrounding steel reinforcing bars to provide full embedment for the bars and protect them against fire and corrosion.
» CPE See Chlorinated polyethylene.
» Crawlspace A space that is not tall enough to stand in, located beneath the bottom of a building.
» Creep A permanent inelastic deformation in a material due to changes in the material caused by the prolonged application of a structural stress, common in wood and
concrete.
» Cripple stud A wood wall framing member that is shorter than full-length studs because it is interrupted by a header or sill.
» Critical path The sequence of tasks that determines the least amount of time in which a construction project can be completed.
» Cross-grain wood Wood incorporated into a structure in such a way that the direction of its grain is perpendicular to the direction of the principal loads on the structure.
Crosslot bracing Horizontal compression members running from one side of an excavation to the other, used to support sheeting.
» Crown glass Glass sheet formed by spinning an opened hollow globe of heated glass.
» Cruck A framing member cut from a bent tree so as to form one-half of a rigid frame.
» CSPE See Chlorosulfonated polyethylene.
» Cup A curl in the cross section of a board or timber caused by unequal shrinkage or expansion between one side of the board and
the other.
» Curing The hardening of concrete, plaster, gunnable sealant, or other wet materials.
» Curing can occur through evaporation of water or a solvent, hydration, polymerization, or chemical reactions of various types, depending on the formulation of the material.
» Curing compound A liquid that, when sprayed on the surface of newly placed concrete, forms a water-resistant layer to prevent premature dehydration of the concrete.
» Curtain wall An exterior building wall that is supported entirely by the frame of the building, rather than being selfsupporting or loadbearing.
» Cylinder glass Glass sheet produced by blowing a large, elongated glass cylinder, cutting off its ends, slitting it lengthwise,and opening it into a fl at rectangle.
