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Roofer
Jargon
Buster:
Asphalt
A mixture of bitumen and fine minerals such as clay which is hot-trowelled onto
roofs. The melting point is higher than tar so it has higher weather resistance.
Asphalt occurs naturally in Trinidad bubbling up in lakes ready mixed with sand,
but over extraction has depleted this resource.
Barge Board
The boards fixed against the roof covering on a gable roof.
Batten
Treated soft wood, measuring around 25x38mm, which is laid horizontally on top
of the sarking felt to hook the tiles / slates on to.
Bonnets
The rounded quadrant shaped tile, which is laid over the hip.
Built-Up Felt
Used on flat roofs to provide weathering and so-called as it is laid in two or
three layers. The felts may be standard bitumen based or high performance
polymer based - the latter has good flexibility properties. Felts are laid in
hot bitumen or have the bitumen factory-applied to be melted on-site with a
flame torch.
Eaves
The area under the overhanging part of a roof.
Flashing
A metal sheet cut into brickwork and then dressed over a surface below, used to
deflect water from a joint between two adjacent materials, such as brickwork and
tiles.
Flaunching
The sand / cement fillet around a chimney pot.
Gable
The vertical end of a building with a pitched roof where the end wall goes up to
form a triangle.
Hip
On a roof which has slopes on all surfaces, i.e. like a pyramid, the long
sloping ridge is called the hip and inside, the rafter is the hip rafter.
Interlocking
Usually constructed from coloured concrete, interlocking tiles have interlocking
edges and hooked tops. The interlocking sides provide weather resistance without
the great overlap of plain tiles, so the weight over an area is lower. However,
the tiles are considerably heavier than slates, therefore it is very important
to check that the roof structure is strong enough to bear the weight.
Interlocking tiles are much cheaper than plain tiles and are a favourite on
lower cost houses as a replacement for slates. When looking for new property, be
suspicious of older houses that have new interlocking tiles, especially if
similar houses in the area have slates. Visible raised areas of tiles on the
roof, at the point where two homes join, are a sure sign of overloading of the
roof structure. Interlocking tiles work well at low pitch angles and in exposed
areas.
Nail Sickness
Copper nails used to fix slates will corrode in time, particularly with the
effects of acid rain in city areas. The result is slipping slates.
Pegged Clays
Clay plain tiles that have wooden pegs to hook over the battens instead of the
hook formed in tile material. These tiles are found on older buildings and are
expensive to replace.
Pitch/Pitched
The angle of a roof where two slopes meet the ridge. This is referred to as a
pitched roof but often incorrectly labelled an apex roof.
Plain Clays
The traditional tile is termed flat but has a slight round to spot water
creeping up between courses. The size is generally 265x165x10mm thick and the
tiling will be three thick at the maximum overlap. This provides the best
resistance to wind driven rain but makes the covering heavy compared to slate or
interlocking tiles.
Plain Concretes
Similar in colour and size to plain clay tiles, but at lower cost.
Redland 45's
A common interlocking tile made in concrete with two indent lines and flexible
ridges.
Sarking
This is the waterproof felt lain immediately under the roof tile battens to keep
out wind driven snow and dust. This also acts as a second waterproof layer.
Soffit
The undersurface of any part of a building such as the arch, eaves or
cantilevered section.
Tingles
When faced with slipping slates through nail sickness, there is no easy solution
as the slate above prevents access to the damaged nails. In such a situation, it
is possible to insert strips of zinc or copper, bent into long 'S' shaped hooks,
to catch the bottom of the slipped slate. This can then be hooked over the top
of the slate above from underneath. These 'S' shaped hooks are known as tingles.
Under Cloak
Where tiles or slates overhang the gable bargeboard, the underside is bedded in
mortar and finished with special tiles, slates or a inert board, called the
undercloaking.
Valley
Where two sloping roofs meet, as with two mountains, the valley is the line
between floor layer.
Bitumen-Epoxy
A waterproofing, self-leveling floor screed, approximately 2-5mm thick, used as
a damp resistant layer for old floors. This will require a latex screed before
the finishing layer is applied.
Cushion Floor
A vinyl floor finish with integral foam.
Felt Underlay
Traditional Axminster and Wilton style carpets do not tend to have a bonded foam
underlay and the traditional way to smooth out base floor irregularities was to
use a felt. This has largely been superceded by rubber foam although felt often
has better sound absorption qualities. Felt will need paper as a first layer.
Under layers are important and will prevent some wearing.
Granolithic
See screed. Generally a hard cement / sand layer but only measuring about
15-25mm. This is laid wetter than screed and with strength throughout instead of
just on the surface so that it can be used as a wearing surface, particularly in
garages.
Gripper Rods
Plywood battens around 25mm wide with small nails protruding 'hedgehog style'.
These are laid spike up around the perimeter of a room to grip the edge of a
carpet.
Latex Self Levelling
A mixture of fine aggregate and liquid rubber poured onto a floor to run and
find its own level, thereby filling any small holes or slightly off-level areas.
Around 6mm is the maximum workable depth.
Lino
A traditional mixture of cork dust or wood dust, flax, chalk and linseed oil
which is highly compressed between rollers onto a jute backing and used as
flooring. Lino is produced near Dundee in Scotland.
Over Boarding
Floorboards are unsuitable for sheet flooring materials, as the joints will show
through. This is prevented by over boarding with plywood or with pre-soaked or
oiled hardboard. Pre-soaking with water is important to prevent expansion
'bubbling up' the boarding.
Screed
A coarse, washed sand, sometimes granite based and referred to as 'grano', which
is mixed with cement when slightly damp and spread over a floor to about 65mm
then steel trowelled smooth. The screed may be laid over a concrete floor a day
or so after setting and monolithically bonded to the concrete by pouring liquid
cement (grout) over as glue.
Terrazzo
A mixture of white cement and marble chippings/powder, laid wet then ground
smooth. This is often seen in shop doorways but can also be used for work
urfaces and basins.
Thermoplastic
A finishing floor tile of hard vinyl plastic that, in the past, was mixed with
asbestos fibre. For this reason, 20-year-old marbled plastic tiles should be
treated as suspect. Decorator
Acrylic Filler
Gap and surface fillers that remain highly flexible when cured to allow
movement. These are particularly good for ceilings and junctions of wood to
plaster.
Alkyd
Oil paint made from synthetic resin instead of natural oils.
Anaglypta
A trade name, which is now used generically to describe wallpaper that has
patterns or bubbles embossed in the surface.
Bleeding Through
Paint applied over a solvent will be gradually dissolved and show stains.
Solvents responsible for this would typically be wood resin, chimney tars
(leeched out by damp walls) and cooking oils. To avoid this, a solvent resistant
undercoat, such as knotting, must be used.
Broken Paint
Usually oil paint applied in layers of different colours or tints, which is
brushed or combed into patterns of wood grain, marble or weave.
Chromate
A primer paint used for galvanised surfaces.
Distemper
A traditional unstable wall paint comprising water, pigment and glue that
pre-dated emulsion.
Egg Shell
An oil -based paint that dries semi matt but retains the strength of gloss.
Emulsion
A paint where the solvent is water and the oil content is mixed with a medium
that disperses the oil into minute droplets that can be held in the water as a
liquid but reform to a hard surface when the water evaporates.
Grinning
Where paint has been applied too thinly over darker surfaces, the surface below
may show or grin through.
Knotting
A mixture of varnish where the solvent is methylated spirits so the coating is
not dissolved by wood resin. It is applied onto bare wood over knots or resin
pockets.
Lining Paper
A wallpaper used to cover poor surfaces prior to applying paint or wallpaper.
Mist Coat
A diluted first coat plaster which is applied to seal the absorbent surface and
highlight areas to be filled.
Oils
Paint in which the pigment is bound by oil such as linseed and tung. This is
very hard wearing but gives off a strong odour and brushes can only be washed in
white spirit.
Plumbate
Lead-based paints, which are poisonous and so, require special care. The paint
is used as a primer for steel and has good corrosion resistance.
Size
A thin mixture of water and glue, which is brushed onto absorbent or new walls
to seal the surface and prevent absorption. This has been replaced by
primer/sealers but the process may still be referred to as sizing.
Stabiliser
An oil bound paint that has high absorption properties and strong resin binders
similar to alkyds. The paint is applied as a preparation to flaking or dusty
surfaces.
Vinyl Matt/Silk
An emulsion paint with good wearing and leaning properties.
Wood Chip
A two-layer wallpaper with wood chippings sandwiched between the layers. This is
used to cover poor surfaces and to hide undulations.
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