APPENDIX I
GLOSSARY
AGGREGATE—Crushed rock or gravel screened to
size for use in road surfaces, concrete, or bitumi-
nous mixes.
AIR-ENTRAINED CONCRETE—Concrete con-
taining millions of trapped air bubbles.
AUGER—A boring bit.
BATCH—The amount of concrete mixed at one time
regardless of quantity.
BATTER BOARDS—Two boards nailed at right
angles to posts set up near the proposed corner of
an excavation for a building and used for
transferring building lines.
BOX NAILS—Lightweight nails with large heads.
BRAD—A slender nail with a small head.
BRICK—Solid blocks of fine clay.
BUTTERING—Putting mortar on a brick or block
with a trowel before laying.
CARRIAGE BOLT—A partially threaded bolt with
a head that is flat on the underside and rounded on
top.
CASING NAILS—Twopenny (2d) to fortypenny
(40d) nails with flaring heads.
CEMENT—Fuzed and pulverized limestone and
clay.
COMMON BOND—Five stretcher courses with the
sixth as an all header course.
COMMON NAILS—Twopenny (2d) to sixtypenny
(60d) strong nails.
CONCRETE BUGGY—Two-wheeled buggy for
transporting concrete, nicknamed “Georgia
Buggy.”
CONCRETE—Artificial stone made of cement,
water, sand, and aggregate.
CONSTRUCTION JOINT—A joint that runs
through concrete. Made by pouring sections of a
structure at different times.
COURSE—A single layer of bricks, stone, or other
masonry.
CURING—The process of keeping concrete damp
and at favorable temperatures to ensure complete
hardening.
EXPANSION JOINT—Construction joint with
expandable material at the contact points.
FINISHING NAILS—Twopenny (2d) to twenty-
penny (20d) sizes with small barrel-shaped heads.
FOOTING—An enlargement at the lower end of a
wall to distribute the load to a wider area of
supporting soil.
GIN POLE—An upright guy pole with hoisting
tackle and foot-mounted snatch block used for
vertical lifts.
GIRDER—A supporting beam laid crosswise of the
building; a long truss.
GIRT—A horizontal brace used on outside walls
covered with vertical siding.
GROUT—A mixture of sand, cement, and water that
can be poured.
GUNITE—A patent name for spray concrete.
HONEYCOMBING—Sections of weak, porous
concrete.
JOIST—A member that makes up the body of the
floor and ceiling frames.
LAG SCREW—A screw with a wrench head and
wood screw threads.
LEADS—Points at which block and brick are laid up
a few courses and used as guides.
LINE—Strands of natural or synthetic fiber twisted
together, sometimes referred to as “rope.”
MONOLITHIC POUR—Concrete cast in a single
pour.
MORTAR—Sand, water, and cementing material in
proper proportions.
MOUSING—Turns of cordage around the opening of
a block hook.
PERLITE—Lightweight concrete aggregate.
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