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Glossary of Fenestration Terms
- Apron: Inside flat trim member which is used under the stool at the bottom
of the window.
- Astragal: The center member of a double door, which is attached to
the fixed or inactive door panel.
- Bay window: A composite of three or more windows, usually made up of
a large center unit and two flanking units at 30°, 45° or 90° angles
to the wall.
- Bow window: A composite of four or more window units in a radial or
bow formation.
- Brick mould: Outside casing around window to cover jambs and through
which nails are driven to install the window.
Casing: Inside casing is a flat, decorative moulding which covers the inside
edge of the jambs and the rough openings between the window unit and the
wall. Outside casing (or Brick Mould) serves the same purpose, while it
also is an
installation device through which nails are driven to install the window
unit into the wall.
- Check rail: On a double-hung window, the bottom rail of the upper sash
and the upper rail of the lower sash, where the lock is mounted.
- Circlehead: A generic term referring to any of a variety of window
units with one or more curved frame members, often used over another
window or
door opening.
- Clerestory: A window near the top of an outside wall.
- Cottage double-hung: A double-hung window in which the upper sash is
shorter than the lower sash.
- Cripples: The short 2" x 4" members used to frame under the sill
or above the header in a rough opening for a window in a frame wall.
- Curb: A watertight wall or frame used to raise slope glazing above
the surface of the roof as a preventive measure against water leakage
from
melting snow
or rain run-off.
- Dormer: A space which protrudes from the roof, usually including one
or more windows.
- Double rafter: The doubling (side by side) of the roof members to reinforce
an opening in the roof for a slope glazing installation.
- Double glazing: Use of two panes of glass in a window to increase energy
efficiency and provide other performance benefits.
- Drip cap: A moulding placed on the top of the head brickmould or casing
of a window frame.
- Fenestration: An architectural term referring to the arrangement
of windows in a wall.
- Finger-jointing: A means of joining individual pieces of wood together
to form longer lengths. The ends of the pieces are machined to form a set
of interlocking
fingers, which are then coated with adhesive and meshed together under
pressure.
- Fixed: Non-venting or non-operable.
- Flashing: A metal or plastic strip attached to the outside of the head
or side jambs to provide a weather barrier, preventing leakage between
the frame and
the wall.
- French hinged door: Hinged door(s) which have wider panel members around
the glass.
- French sliding door: A sliding door which has wider panel members around
the glass, giving the appearance of a French hinged door.
- Gasket: A pliable, flexible continuous strip of material used to affect
a watertight seal between sash and frame of roof windows much like the
seal around a refrigerator
door.
- Glazing: The glass panes or lights in the sash of a window. Also the
act of installing lights of glass in a window sash.
Glazing bead: A plastic or wood strip applied to the window sash around
the perimeter of the glass.
- Glazing compound: A pliable substance applied between the window sash
and the lights of glass to seal against the elements and sometimes
to adhere
the glass
to the sash.
Glazing stop: The part of the sash or door panel which holds the glass
in place.
- Head: The main horizontal member forming the top of the window or door
frame.
- Head board: A flat board cut to fit the contour of a bow or bay window
and installed between the head jambs and the flat wall surface to finish
off that
area which would normally be ceiling.
- Header: A heavy beam extended across the top of the rough opening to
prevent the weight of wall or roof from resting on the window frame.
- Hopper: A window with a top sash that swings inward.
- Jack stud: Framing members, generally 2" x 4"s, which form the
inside of the window or door rough opening. They run from the sole plate
to the header,
which is supported by them.
- Jamb liner: Metal or plastic covering the inside surface and head jambs
of sliding windows.
- Keeper: The protruding, hook-shaped part of a casement window lock,
which is mounted on the inside surface of the sash stile.
- Lift: A handle or grip installed on the bottom rail of the lower sash
of a double-hung window to make it easier to raise or lower the sash.
- Light: (also spelled lite) Glazing framed by muntins and/or sash in
a window or door.
- Light shaft: An insulated shaft built to direct the light from a roof
window or skylight through the attic to the room below.
- Low-E glass: A common term used to refer to glass which has low emissivity
due to a film or metallic coating on the glass or suspended between the
two lights of glass to restrict the passage of radiant heat.
- Masonry openings: The opening in a masonry wall to accept a window
or door unit, the same as a rough opening in a frame wall.
- Mortise: A slot or rectangular cavity cut into a piece of wood to receive
another part.
- Mortise-and-tenon: A strong wood joint made by fitting together a mortise
in one board and a matching projecting member (tenon) in the other.
- Mullion: The vertical or horizontal divisions or joints between single
windows in a multiple window unit.
- Mullion casing: An interior or exterior casing member to cover the
mullion joint between single windows.
Muntin: A short bar used to separate glass in a sash into multiple lights.
Also called a windowpane divider or a grille.
- Operator: A metal arm and gear which allows for easy operation or closing
of projecting windows.
- Outer frame member: The exterior protruding portion of a window frame
which has no exterior casing.
- Palladian window: A large, arch-top window flanked by smaller windows
on each side.
- Panel: Usually refers to the separate panel or panels in a door frame.
- Passive solar collector: Any glazed area in the walls or roof of a
building pointed to the south to take maximum advantage of the sun's
heat without
a mechanical (or active) method of storage or distribution of the heat.
- Picture frame casing: The use of casing on all four sides of the interior
of a window, replacing the stool and apron at the sill. Also know as full-bound
casing.
- Pitch: The pitch of a roof is the degree of the inclination upward
from horizontal or flat. It may be expressed in degrees or as the
ratio of the
number of inches
it rises in each 12 inches of horizontal span: 4/12 means the roof rises
four inches in every foot of horizontal span.
- Pivot: A mode of operation for ventilating windows which generally
means the sash pivots on a central axis and turns 90 or more degrees.
- Rafter: Structural members of a roof that support the roof load and
run from the ridge to the eaves (overhang).
Rails: The horizontal members of a window sash or door panel.
- Rough opening: The opening left in a frame wall to receive a window
or door unit.
- Rough sill: The horizontal rough framing member, usually two inches
by four inches, which forms the bottom of the rough opening. It is
toe-nailed
into
the jack studs and is supported by cripples.
- Sash balance: A system of weights, cords and/or coiled springs which
assist in raising double-hung sash and tend to keep the sash in any
placed position
by counterbalancing the weight of the sash.
- Sash cord: In double-hung windows, the rope or chain that attaches
the sash to the counter balance.
- Sash lock: Generally, a cam-action type lock applied to the check rails
of a sliding window or at the open edges of a projecting window to pull
the check
rails tightly together or to seal the sash tightly to the frame, both for
security and weathertightness.
- Sash weights: In older double-hung windows, the concealed cast-iron
weights that are used to counterbalance the sash.
Seat board: A flat board cut to fit the contour of a bow or bay window
and installed between the sills and the flat wall surface, providing a
seat or
shelf space.
- Shims: Wood wedges (often wood shingles) used to secure the window
or door unit in the rough or masonry opening in a square, level and
plumb position
during and after installation.
- Side lights: Tall, narrow, fixed or operating sash on either or both
sides of a door to light an entryway or vestibule.
Sill: Horizontal member that forms the bottom of a window frame.
- Sill course (soldier course): The row of brick, cement blocks or stones
laid across the bottom of a masonry opening which lie under the outside
edge of
the window sill.
- Simulated divided light: A method of constructing windows in which
muntins are affixed to the inside and outside of a panel of insulating
glass to
simulate the look of true divided light.
- Single glazing: Use of single panes of glass in a window. Not as energy-efficient
as double glazing.
- Single-hung: A double-hung type of window in which the top sash is
fixed or inoperable.
- Slope glazing: Any glazed opening in a sloped roof or wall, such as
a stationary skylight or fully operable roof window.
- Solar gain: The process of providing a net heat gain within a structure,
over and above the normal heat loss, by passive collection of the sun's
heat through
windows and other glazed areas.
- Sole plate: The bottom horizontal member in a frame wall. Usually either
single or double 2" x 4"s. It is nailed to the deck or rough
floor and the studs are nailed into it.
- Stile: The vertical side member of a window sash or door panel.
- Stool: Inside horizontal trim member of a window sash or door panel.
- Stop: A wood trim member nailed to the window frame to hold, position
or separate window parts. The stop is often moulded into the jamb liners
on
sliding windows.
- Stud: Vertical wood framing members which form a frame wall. In normal
construction these are eight foot-long 2" x 4"s.
- Tenon: A rectangular projection cut out of a piece of wood for insertion
into a mortise.
- Transom: A smaller window above a door or another window. A transom
joint is also the horizontal joining area between two window units
which are
stacked
one on top of the other.
- Triple glazing: A sash glazed with three lights of glass, enclosing
two separate air spaces.
- True divided light: A term which refers to windows in which multiple
individual panes of glass or lights are assembled in the sash using
muntins.
- U-Factor: A measure of heat transmission through a wall or window.
The lower the U-factor, the better the insulating value.
- Unison lock: A casement locking system which secures the window
at two locking points by operation of one handle.
- Vapor barrier: A watertight material used to prevent the passage
of moisture into or through floors, walls and ceilings.
- Venting unit: A window or door unit that opens or operates.
Windload: Force exerted on a surface by moving air.
- Windowpane divider: A short bar used to separate glass in
a sash into multiple lights. Also called a muntin or
a grille.
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