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OAK, RED: Hard and tough
hardwood used for flooring, interior trim, stair treads, and railings.
Popular as a face veneer plywood for paneling and cabinetwork. A
rich light to medium brown in color. White oak has similar characteristics
and applications.
OAK, WHITE: See OAK, RED.
OC., ON CENTER: The measurement of spacing
for studs, rafters, joists, and other framing members from the center
of one member to the center of the next.
OUTLET: Any type of electrical box allowing current to be drawn
from the electrical system for lighting or appliances.
OVERHANG: The projecting area of a roof or upper story beyond the
wall of the lower part.
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PALLET: An inexpensive wood skid used
to stack and ship con struction materials such as 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 buildings without reference to their properties
or uses.
PARAPET: A low wall or railing around the edge of a roof.
PARGE COAT: A thin coat of cement plaster
applied to a masonry wall for refinement of the surface or for damp-proofing.
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 sash, doors, and screens in the softer grades. Harder grades
are used for joists, rafters, studdings, 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, subflooring, 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.
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, boun daries.
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 support ing ceiling joists,
rafters or other members.
PLENUM SYSTEM: A system of heating or air conditioning in which
the air is forced through a chamber connected to distributing ducts.
PLUMB: Exactly perpendicular; vertical.
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.
PORTICO: A covered entryway attached to house, usually open on three
sides and supported by posts or columns.
POST AND BEAM CONSTRUCTION: Wall construction con sisting of posts
rather than studs.
PRECAST: Concrete shapes which are made before being placed into
a 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.
PURLINS: Horizontal roof members laid over trusses to support rafters.
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