Abutment Joints

1. A joint where two successive placements of concrete meet.
2. A separation provided in a building which allows its component parts to move with respect to each other. The cause of such movement may be thermal, seismic or wind loading.*

American Bond

A bond in which every fifth or sixth course consists of headers, the other course being stretchers. Widely used because such brick work can be laid quickly.*

Bed Joint

1. A horizontal layer of mortar on which masonry units are laid.
2. One of the radial joints in arch.
3. A horizontal crack in a massive rock.

Brick

Solid or hollow masonry unit of clay or shale, molded into a rectangular shape with plastic and then burnt in a kiln. *

Brick Anchor

A device made of deformed metal stripping, designed to be embedded in the structural concrete of a building to support brick or other veneer facing material. *

Brick Face

That surface of brick which is intended for use as the exposed surface of a masonry structure. *

Brick Facing, Brick Veneer
A facing of brick laid against a wall and not structurally bonded to the wall. *

Brickwork Movement Joint

A joint designed to permit relative movement between a brick wall and its adjacent structure without impairing the functional integrity of the structure. *

Building Code

A collection of rules and regulations adopted by authorities having appropriliations jurisdiction to control the design and construction of buildings, alteration, repair, quality of materials, use and occupancy and related factors of buildings within their jurisdiction; contains minimum architectural, structural and mechanical standards for sanitation, public health, welfare, safety and the provision of light and air. *

Building Brick

Brick for building purposes, not esp. treated for texture and color.

Caulk

To fill a joint, crack, etc., with caulking. *

Caulking

A resilient mastic compound, often having a silicone, bituminious, or rubber base; used to seal cracks, fill joints, prevent leakage and/or provide waterproofing. *

Cavity Wall

An exterior wall, usually of masonry, consists of an outer and inner with separated by a continuous air space, but connected together by wire or sheet-metal ties. The dead air space provides improved thermal insulation. *

Chimney

An incombustible vertical structure containing one or more flues to provide draft for fireplaces and to carry off gaseous products of combustion to the outside air from fireplaces, furnaces, or boilers.

Collar Beam

A roof supported by rafters tied together by collar beams. *

Collar Joint

1. The joint between a roof rafter and a collar beam.
2. The vertical joint between masonry withes. *

Common Bond

A bond in which every fifth or sixth course consists of headers, the other course being stretchers. Widely used because such brick work can be laid quickly. *

Common Brick

Brick for building purposes, not esp. treated for texture or color. *

Concave Joint

Recessed masonry joint, formed in mortar by use of a curved steel joining tool; because of its curved shape it is very effective in resisting rain penetration; used in areas subjected to heavy rains and high winds. *

Concrete

A composite material which consists essentially of a binding medium within which are embedded particles or fragments of aggregate; in portland cement concrete, the binder is a mixture of portland cement and water. *

Concrete Masonry Units

A block or brick cast of portland cement and suitable aggregate, with or without admixtures and intended for lying up with other units as in normal stone masonry construction. *

Construction

1. All the on-site work done in building or altering structures, from land clearance through completion, including excavation, erection, and the assembly and installation of components and equipment.
2. A structure.
3. The manner in which something is built. *

Construction Joints

1. A joint where two successive placements meet.
2. A separation provided in a building which allows its component parts to move with respect to each other. The cause of such movement may be thermal, seismic, or wind loading. *

Control Joint

A groove which is formed, sawed, or tooled in a concrete or masonry structure to regulate the location and amount of cracking and separation resulting from the dimensional change of different parts of the structure, thereby avoiding the development of high stresses. *

Corbel

1. In masonry, a projection or one of a series of projections, each stepped progressively farther forward with height; anchored in wall, story, column or chimney; used to support an overhanging member above or, if continuous, to support overhanging courses; may support an ornament of similar appearance.
2. A projecting stone which supports a superincumbent weight. *

Coursed Stone Masonry

Masonry construction in which the stones are laid in regular courses, not irregularly as in rough or random rubble. *

E.I.F.S. Exterior Insulation and Finish System

A cladding system that consists of a thin layer of reinforced stucco applied directly to the surface of an insulating plastic foam board. **

Efflorescence

An encrustation of soluble salts, commonly white, deposited on the surface of stone, brick, plastic or mortar; usually caused by free alkalies leached from mortar or adjacent concrete as moisture moves through it. *

English Bond

Brickwork that has alternate courses of headers and stretchers, a strong bond, easy to lay. *

Expansion Joint

A joint or gap between adjacent parts of a building, structure or concrete work which permits their relative movement due to temperature changes (or other conditions) without rupture or damage. *

Fieldstone

1. Loose stone found on the surface or in the soil.
2. Slabby units, flat in the direction of bedding or lineation of the rock, and suitable for setting as dry-wall masonry. Glacial or alluvial boulders and obbles, found in or on the soil, are not fieldstone in strict sense. *

Firebrick

Brick made of refractory ceramic material which will resist high temperatures; used to line furnaces, fireplaces and chimneys. *

Flagstone

A flat stone, usually 1 to 4 in. thick, used as a stepping-stone or for terrace or outdoor paving; usually either naturally thin or split from rock that cleaves readily; sometimes produced by sawing.

Flashing

A thin impervious material placed in construction (e.g. in mortar joints and through air spaces in masonry) to prevent water penetration and/or provide water drainage, esp. between a roof and wall and over exterior door openings and windows. *

Flemish Bond

A bond in which each course consists of headers and strechers laid alternatively; each header is centered with respect to the stretcher above and the strecher below it. *

Flush Joint

Any joint finished flush with the surface. *

Fluted Face, Flute

A groove or channel, esp. one of many such parallel grooves, usually semicircular or semielliptical in section; used decoratively, as along the shaft of a column. *

Glass Blocks

A hollow block of glass, usually translucent with textured faces; has relatively low thermal-insulation and low fire-resistance value; used in non-load-baring walls. *

Granite

1. An igneous rock having crystals or grains of visible size; consists mainly of quartz, feldspar, and mica or other colored minerals.
2. In the building stone industry, a crystalline silicate rock having visible grains; this includes gneiss and igneous rocks that are not granite in the strict sense. *

Grout

1. Mortar containing a considerable amount of water so that it has the consistency of a viscous liquid, permitting it to be poured or pumped into joints, spaces and cracks within masonry walls and floors, between pieces of ceramic clay, slate and floor tile, and into the joints between performed roof deck units.
2. In foundation work, mixtures of cement, cementsand, clay or chemicals; used to fill voids in granular soils, usually by a process of successive injection through drilled holes. *

Head Joint

1. A joint between two pieces of timber which are joined in a straight line, end to end.
2. A masonry joint formed between two stones in the same course. *

Header

Masonry unit, laid so that its ends are exposed, overlapping two or more adjacent withes of masonry and tying them together. *

Header Bond

Brickwork formed by a course of headers, as in common bond. *

Hearth

1. The floor of a fireplace (usually brick, tile or stone) together with an adjacent area of fireproof material.
2. An area permanently floored with fireproof material beneath and surrounding a stove. *

Hollow Masonry Wall

An exterior wall, usually of masonry, consisting of an outer and inner with separated by a continuous air space, but connected together by wire or sheet-metal ties. The dead air space provides improved thermal insulation. *

Igneous Rock

A class of rock formed by change of the molten material to the solid state; generally termed granite if coarse-grained. *

Isolation Joints

1. A joint where two successive placements of concrete meet.
2. A separation provided in a building which allows its component parts to move with respect to each other. The cause of such movement may be thermal, seismic or wind loading. *

Keystone

1. In masonry, the central, often embelished, voussoir of an arch. Until the keystone is in place, no true arch action is incurred.
2. An element resembling a keystone in function or in shape. *

Limestone

Rock of sedimentary origin composed principally of calcite or dolomit or both; used as building stone or crushed stone aggregate or burnt to produce lime. *

Lintels

A horizontal structure member (such as a beam) over an opening which carries the weight of the wall above it; usually of steel, stone or wood. *

Low Lift Method of Grouting Reinforced Brick Walls

The masonry is constructed to a height not greater than four feet before grouting, taking care to keep the cavity free of mortar squeezeout and droppings, which might interfere with the placement of the reinforcing and grout. *

Mantel

1. The beam or arch which serves as a support for the masonry above a fireplace; also called a manteltree.
2. All the work or facing around a fireplace. *

Marble

1. Metamorphic rock made up largely or calcite or dolomite.
2. In dimension stone rock that will polish and is composed mainly of calcite or dolomite or rarely serpentine. The commercial term includes many dense limestones and some rock dolomites. Numerous mineralsmay be present in minor to significant amounts in marbles; their presence and distribution account for much of the distinctive appearance that many marbles possess. *

Masonry

The art of shaping, arranging, and uniting stone, brick, building blocks, etc., to form walls and other parts of a building. *

Metamorphic Rock

Rock which has been altered in appearance, density, and crystalline structure (and in some cases mineral composition) by high temperature and/or high pressure; e.g. slate is metamorphic rock derived from shale. *

Mortar

A plastic mixture of cementitious materials (such as plaster, cement or lime) with water and a fine aggregate (such as sand); can be troweled in the plastic state; hardens in place. When used in masonry construction, the mixture may contain masonry cement or ordinary hydraulic cement with lime (and often other admixtures) to increase its plasticity and durability. Mortar compostition is specified in ASTM C270. *

Precast Concrete Wall Panel

A precast concrete exterior panel or area separator; may be load-bearing or non-load-bearing. *

Quoins, Coign, Coin

In masonry, a hard stone or brick used, with similar ones, to reinforce an external corner or edge of a wall or the like; often distinguished decoratively from adjacent masonry; may be limitated in non-load-bearing materials. *

Raked Joint

A joint made by removing the surface of mortar, while it is still soft, with a square edged tool; is difficult to make watertight; produces marked shadows and tends to darken the overall appearance of a wall. *

Rebar

A steel bar having ribs to provide greater bonding strength when used as a reinforcing bar in reinforced concrete. *

Refractory

A material, usually non-metallic used to withstand high temperatures. *

Reinforced Brick Masonry

Grouted brick masonry in which reinforcement is provided in the horizontal joints and in grouted vertical joints between withes. *

Rowlock Arch

An area wherein the bricks or small voussoirs in separate concentric rings. *

Rowlock, Rolok, Rollock

1. A brick laid on its edge so that its end is visible.
2. One ring of a rowlock arch.

Rubble

Rough stones of irregular shapes and sizes; used in rough, uncoursed work in the construction of walls, foundations and paving. *

Rubble Stone

Rough stones of irregular shapes and sizes; used in rough, uncoursed work in the construction of walls, foundations and paving. *

Running Bond, Stretcher Bond

A bond in which bricks or stones are laid lengthwise; all courses are laid as stretchers with the vertical joints of one course falling midway between those of adjacent courses. *

Scored Finish

A characteristic of a building unit having faces which have been grooved during the manufacturing process. *

Sedimentary Rock

Rock, such as limestone or sandstone, which is formed from materials deposited as sediments, in the sea or fresh water, or on the land. *

Slate and Marble

A hard, brittle metamorphic rock consisting mainly of clay materials, characterized by good clavage along parallel planes; used extensively as dimension stone in thin sheets for flooring, roofing, panels (both decorative and electrical) and chalkboard and in granular form as surfacing on composition roofing. *

Soldier

A masonry unit which is set on end, with its face on the wall surface. *

Stretcher

A masonry unit laid horizontally with its length in the direction of the face of the wall. *

Stripped Joint

In brickwork, a type of raked joint used with bricks of rough texture. *

Struck Joint

1. A masonry joint from which excess mortar has been removed by a stroke of the trowel, leaving an approximately flush joint.
2. A horizontal masonry joint in which the mortar is sloped inward and downward from the lower edge of the upper brick, leaving a recess at the bottom of the joint.
3. A weather-struck joint. *

Vee Joint

A matched joint in the shape of a vee. *

Weathered Joint, Weather-Struck Joint

A horizontal masonry joint in which the mortar is sloped outward from the upper edge of the lower brick, so as to shed water readily; formed by pressing the mortar inward at the upper edge of the joint. *

Wythe, With

Partition dividing two flues in the same chimney stack. *