» Earth material Rock or soil.
» Eave The horizontal edge at the low side of a sloping roof.
» Eco-roof See Green roof.
» Edge bead A strip of metal or plastic used to make a neat, durable edge where plaster or gypsum board abuts another material.
» Edge-grain lumber See Vertical gain lumber.
» Edge spacer The material used to separate lights of glass in an insulating glass unit, also called a spline.
» Effl orescence A powdery deposit on the face of a structure of masonry or concrete, caused by the leaching of chemical salts by water migrating from within the structure to the
surface.
» EIFS See Exterior insulation and finish system.
» Elastic Able to return to its original size and shape after removal of stress.
» Elastomer A rubber or synthetic rubber.
» Elastomeric Rubberlike. In low-slope roofi ng, a thermosetting membrane material.
» Electrochromic glass Glass that changes its optical properties in response to the application of electric current.
» Electrode A consumable steel wire or rod used to maintain an arc and furnish additional weld metal in electric arc welding.
» Electrogalvanizing A method of galvanizing, in which an electric current is used to deposit zinc from a liquid bath onto steel.
» Elevation A drawing that views a building from any of its sides; a vertical height above a reference point such as sea level.
» Elongation Stretching under load; growing longer because of temperature expansion.
» Embodied energy The total life cycle energy expended in extraction of raw materials, processing, fabrication, and transportation of a material or product to its point of use in a
building; in some calculations, may also include energy required to dispose of or recycle the material.
» EMC See Equilibrium moisture content.
» Enamel A glossy or semigloss paint.
» End dam The turned-up end of a flashing that prevents water from running out of the end; a block inserted into the space within a horizontal aluminum mullion for the same
purpose.
» End nail A nail driven through the side of one piece of lumber and into the end of another.
» Engineered fi ll Earth compacted into place in such a way that it has predictable physical properties, based on laboratory tests and specified, supervised installation
procedures.
» Engineered lumber See Structural composite lumber.
» English bond Brickwork laid with alternating courses, each consisting entirely of headers or stretchers.
» EPDM Ethylene propylene diene monomer, a synthetic rubber thermosetting material used in low-slope roofi ng membranes.
» Equilibrium moisture content (EMC) The moisture content at which wood stabilizes after a period of time in its destination environment.
» Erector The subcontractor who raises, connects, and plumbs up a building frame from fabricated steel or precast concrete components.
» Ethylene propylene diene monomer See EPDM.
» Expanded metal lath A thin sheet of metal that has been slit and stretched to transform it into a mesh, used as a base for the installation of plaster.
» Expanded shale aggregate A structural lightweight aggregate made from ground shale particles that have been heated to the point that moisture within the particles vaporizes,
causing the particles to expand.
» Expansion joint A surface divider joint that provides space for the surface to expand. In common usage, a building separation joint.
» Exposed aggregate finish A concrete surface in which the coarse aggregate is revealed.
» Exposed grid A framework for an acoustical ceiling that is visible from below after the ceiling is completed.
» Exposure durability classification A system for rating the expected resistance of a wood panel product to weathering.
» Extended-life admixture A substance that retards the onset of the curing reaction in mortar so that the mortar may be used over a protracted period of time after mixing.
» Extended set-control admixture A substance that retards the onset of the curing reaction in concrete or mortar so that the material may be used over a protracted period of
time after mixing.
» Extensive green roof A green roof with a relatively shallow soil, planted with lowmaintenance, drought-tolerant plant materials.
» Exterior insulation and fi nish system (EIFS) A cladding system that consists of a thin layer of reinforced stucco applied directly to the surface of an insulating plastic
foam board.
» External fl ashing In masonry, a fl ashing that is not concealed within the wall, usually at the roof level or top of the wall.
» External gutter A gutter hung off the edge of a roof, external to the roof construction itself.
» Extrados The convex surface of an arch.
» Extrusion The process of squeezing a material through a shaped orifi ce to produce a linear element with the desired cross section; an element produced by this process.
