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Bathroom Basics | Bathroom Repairs | Bathroom Planning | Bathroom Fitting | Bathroom Surfaces | Bathroom A to Z
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plumbers glossary
A
Airlock - A blockage in a pipe caused by a trapped air bubble.
Appliance - Any machine or device that is powered by electricity.
B
Back-siphoning - Siphoning of part of a plumbing system due to the mains water pressure failing.
Banjo unit - A combined waste and overflow unit.
Base coat - A flat coat of paint over which a layer of glaze is applied.
Batten - A narrow strip of wood, usually fixed to a wall to act as a support for a unit or shelving.
Bevel - Any angle at which two pieces of wood meet, other than a right angle.
Bore - The hollow part of a pipe.
Butt joint - A simple joint where two pieces of wood are fixed together with no interlocking parts cut in them.
C
Cam and stud fixing - A simple fixing used in flat-pack construction.
Cap-nut - A nut used to tighten a fitting onto pipework.
Cavity wall - A wall made of two separate, parallel masonry skins with an air space between.
Chamfer - A flat, narrow surface along the edge of a workpiece, usually at a 450 angle to any adjacent surfaces.
Chase - A groove cut in masonry or plaster for electrical cabling or pipework.
Circuit - A complete path through which an electric current flows.
Conductor - A component, usually a length of wire, along which an electric current will pass.
Consumer unit - The box containing all the fuse ways that protect the individual circuits in the house. The main on-off switch is located here, enabling you to isolate the power supply to the whole house.
Counterbore - A tapered recess that allows the head of a screw or bolt to lie below a surface; also to cut such a recess.
Countersink - To cut a tapered recess that allows the head of a screw or bolt to lie flush with a surface.
Cup - To bend as a result of shrinkage; usually referred to as across the length of a piece of wood.
D
Damp-proof course (DPC) - A layer of impervious material that prevents moisture rising through a floor or in a wall.
E
Earth - A connection between the earth or ground and an electrical circuit; also a terminal to which this connection is made.
Extension lead - A length of electrical flex for the temporary connection of an appliance to a wail socket.
F
Face edge - A woodworking term for a surface that is planed square to the face side (see below).
Face side - A woodworking term for a flat, planed surface from which other angles and dimensions are measured and worked.
Fence - An adjustable guide to keep the cutting edge of a tool a set distance from the edge of a workpiece.
Flat-pack - Furniture or units supplied in pieces and assembled by the purchaser, using knock-down fittings.
Four-way - A block of four electrical sockets connected to a wall socket by an extension lead.
Free-standing - Furniture or units that are not built-in or fixed to a wall or floor.
Fuse board - A unit where a main electrical service cable is connected to the circuits in a house; also a term covering a meter, consumer unit, etc.
G
Galvanized - Covered with a protective coating of zinc.
Grain - The direction of wood fibres in a particular workpiece; also a pattern on the surface of timber made by cutting through the fibres.
Groove - A long, narrow channel cut in plaster or wood; in the latter, this follows the direction of the grain.
Grounds - Strips of wood fixed to a wall to provide nail- fixing points for skirting boards, etc.
H
Housing - A long, narrow channel cut across the general direction of wood grain to form part of a joint.
I
Insulation - Material used to reduce the transmission of heat or sound; also a non-conductive material around electrical wires or connections to prevent the passage of electricity.
Isolating valve - A valve used to shut off water from a particular room or appliance, so as not to have to turn off the entire water system.
J
Joist - A horizontal wooden or metal beam (such as a RSJ) used to support a structure such as a floor, ceiling or wall.
K
Key - To roughen a surface to provide a better grip when it is being glued; also the surface so roughened.
Knock-down (KD) - Another name for flat-pack furniture or units.
Knock-down (KD) fittings - Fittings and fixings supplied with flat-pack furniture or units by the manufacturers, typically including screws, bolts and cam and stud fixings.
Knotting - Sealer, made from shellac, that prevents wood resin bleeding through a surface finish.
Knurled - On a knob or handle, a series of fine grooves impressed into an edge or surface to improve the grip when turned or handled.
L
Laminate - Two or more sheets of material bonded together; or the top waterproof sheet of the bonded sheets used as a work surface; also to fix such sheets together.
Lintel - A horizontal beam used to support the wall over a door or window opening.
Lipping - A decorative strip applied to the side edges of laminated boards.
M
MDF - Medium-density fibreboard, a man-made sheet material that can be worked like wood and is used as a substitute for it.
Mitre - A joint between two pieces of wood formed by cutting 450 bevels at the end of each piece; also to cut such a joint.
N
Noggin - Horizontal reinforcing timber fixed between the vertical studs in a stud partition wall.
P
Pilot hole - A small-diameter hole drilled to act as a guide for a screw thread.
Primer - A coat of paint applied to wood or metal to seal it and act as a first coat.
Profile - The outline or contour of an object.
PTFE - tape Tape made from polytetrafluorethylene, used to seal threaded plumbing fittings.
R
RCD - Residual circuit device, a device that monitors the flow of electrical current through the live and neutral wires of a circuit.
Rebate - A stepped rectangular recess along the edge of a workpiece, usually forming part of a joint; also to cut such a recess.
Reveal - The vertical side of an opening.
Rising main - A pipe that supplies water under mains pressure, usually to a roof storage tank.
S
Score - To scratch a line with a pointed tool.
Scribe - To copy the profile of a surface on the edge of sheet material to be butted against it; also to mark a line with a pointed tool.
Sheathing - An outer layer of insulation on an electrical cable or flex.
Short circuit - Accidental re-routing of electricity to earth, which increases the flow of current and consequently blows a fuse.
Silicone mastic - A non-setting compound used to seal joints.
Spur - Branch cable that extends an existing electrical circuit.
Stud partition - A timber frame interior dividing wall.
T
Template - A cut-out pattern, made from paper, wopd, metal etc, used to help shape a workpiece accurately.
Terminal - A connection to which bared ends of electrical cable or flex are attached.
Trap - A bent section of pipe (below a bath, sink, etc) containing standing water to prevent the passage of gases.
U
U-bend - A waste pipe, or part of one, shaped like a U, used as part of a trap.
Undercoat - A layer or layers of paint used to cover primer and build up a protective layer before a top coat is applied.
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