A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Padding– A material installed under carpet to add foot comfort, isolate sound, and to prolong carpet life.
Paint– A combination of pigments with suitable thinners or oils to provide decorative and protective coatings. Can be oil based or latex water based.
Pallets– Wooden platforms used for storing and shipping material. Forklifts and hand trucks are used to move these wooden platforms around.
Pan (Fixing Roof Tiles) – The flat portion between the ribs in a ribbed-trough/standing seam sheet.
Pane (Glazing) – A piece of glazing material cut to the size and shape required for glazing.
Panel (Timber Roof Structures) – segment of a chord defined by two adjacent joints or node points.
Panel point (Timber Roof Structures) – point of intersection between webs and a top or bottom chord.
Parapet– A low wall at the edge of a balcony, roof, bridge, or the like
Parting stop or strip– A small wood piece used in the side and head jambs of double hung windows to separate the upper sash from the lower sash.
Partition– A wall that subdivides spaces within any story of a building or room.
Paver, paving– Materials—commonly masonry—laid down to make a firm, even surface.
Permeability– A measure of the ease with which water penetrates a material.
Perpend joint (Masonry) – The joint (typically vertical) formed between adjacent masonry units laid in the same course.
Pier– A column of masonry, usually rectangular in horizontal cross section, used to support other structural members. Also see Caisson.
Pigment– A powdered solid used in paint or enamel to give it a color.
Pilot hole– A small-diameter, pre-drilled hole that guides a nail or screw.
Pilot light– A small, continuous flame (in a hot water heater, boiler, or furnace) that ignites gas or oil burners when needed.
Pitch– The incline slope of a roof or the ratio of the total rise to the total width of a house.
Pitch (Fixing Roof Tiles) – The angle of inclination to the horizontal of the rafters, or of the surface on, which tiles are laid.
Pitch (Timber Roof Structures) – (slope)-angle of the top chord with respect to the horizontal or, in a scissors truss, the angle with respect to the bottom chord and the horizontal.
Pitched roof (Fixing Roof Tiles) – A roof, the slope of, which is generally greater than 10 degrees to the horizontal.
Pit latrine (Drainage) – A closet placed over, or adjacent to, an excavation that is of adequate depth and size.
Plan view– Drawing of a structure with the view from overhead, looking down.
Plasticity (Cement plaster) – The cohesiveness and ease of spreading of a mix.
Plumb– Exactly vertical and perpendicular.
Plumb bob– A lead weight attached to a string. It is the tool used in determining plumb.
Plumbing stack– A plumbing vent pipe that penetrates the roof.
Plumbing waste line– Plastic pipe used to collect and drain sewage waste.
Ply– A term to denote the number of layers of veneer in plywood, or layers in built-up materials, in any finished piece of such material.
Plywood– A panel of wood made of three or more layers of veneer, compressed and joined with glue, and usually laid with the grain of adjoining plies at right angles to give the sheet strength.
Point load– A point where a bearing/structural weight is concentrated and transferred to the foundation.
Portland cement– Cement made by heating clay and crushed limestone into a brick and then grinding to a pulverized powder state.
Post– A vertical framing member usually designed to carry a beam.
Post-and-beam– A basic building method that uses just a few hefty posts and beams to support an entire structure. Contrasts with stud framing.
Power vent– A vent that includes a fan to speed up air flow.
Preservative– Any pesticide substance that, for a reasonable length of time, will prevent the action of wood-destroying fungi, insect borers, and similar destructive agents when the wood has been properly coated or impregnated with it. Normally an arsenic derivative. Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA) is an example.
Pressure Relief Valve– A device mounted on a hot water heater or geyser which is designed to release any high steam pressure in the tank to prevent tank explosions.
Pressure-treated wood– Lumber that has been saturated with a preservative.
Pricking-up coat (Cement plaster) – The first coat on metal lathing.
Primer– The first, base coat of paint when a paint job consists of two or more coats. A first coating formulated to seal raw surfaces and holding succeeding finish coats.
Profiled sheet (Fixing Roof Tiles) – Sheeting that has longitudinal ribs or corrugations.
Property survey– A survey to determine the boundaries of your property. The cost depends on the complexity of the survey.
P trap– Curved, “U” section of drain pipe that holds a water seal to prevent sewer gasses from entering the home through a fixtures water drain.
Purlins – longitudinal member in a roof frame, usually for supporting common rafters or the like, between the plate and the ridge
Purlin (Timber Roof Construction) – A horizontal member attached to, and placed perpendicular to the rafter in order to support the roof sheeting materials.
Purlin (Timber Roof Structures) – horizontal member attached to and placed perpendicular to the truss top chord in order to support sheet roofing materials of steel or fibre-cement.
Purlin beams (Timber Roof Construction) – Horizontal members, which span between walls as the main roof structure and, which act also as purlins to support the actual sheeting materials.
Putty– A type of dough used in sealing glass in the sash, filling small holes and crevices in wood, and for similar purposes.
PVC or CPVC – Poly Vinyl Chloride-A type of white or light gray plastic pipe sometimes used for water supply lines and waste pipe and electrical conduit.