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Summary: An explanation of terms used in the home improvement, building and construction trades for letter B.
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Building dictionary for the letter B - Page 5
Batter boards
Pairs of horizontal boards nailed to timber stakes adjoining an excavation. Used with strings as a guide to elevation and to outline a proposed building. The strings strung between boards can be left in place during excavation.
Battered wall
A wall that slopes backward, as by recessing or sloping masonry in successive courses.
Battery
A device in which electrochemical action is employed to store and provide direct electric current.
Bay
(1) In construction, the space between two main trusses or beams. (2) The space between two adjacent piers or mullions, or between two adjacent lines of columns. (3) A small, well-defined area of concrete laid in the course of placing larger areas, such as floors, pavements, or runways. (4) In architecture, a projecting bay, frequently outfitted with one or more windows, that is corbeled out from the wall of a structure or supported by brackets and which serves both to expand interior space and to enhance the appearance of the building.
Bay window
A usually large window or group of windows that projects from a wall of a building forming a recess within the building.
Beacon
(1) A light that indicates a location by directing its powerful beam slightly above the horizontal and rotating it so that to a stationary observer, it appears to be flashing. A beacon is used at airports, on lighthouses, etc. (2) A transmitter that broadcasts warning or guiding signals.
Bead
(1) Any moulding, stop, or caulking used around a glass panel to hold it in position. (2) A stop or strip of timber against which a door or window sash closes. (3) A strip of sheet metal that has been fabricated so as to have a projecting nosing and two perforated or expanded flanges. A bead is used as a stop at the perimeter of a plastered surface or as reinforcement at the corners. (4) A narrow, half-round moulding, either attached to or milled on a larger piece. (5) A square or rectangular trim generally less than 25mm in width and thickness.
Beam
(1) A horizontal structural member, such as a rafter, or purlin, which transversely supports a load and transfers the load to vertical members, such as columns and walls. (2) The graduated horizontal bar of a weighing scale.
Beam anchor (joist or wall anchor)
A metal tie used to secure a beam, joist, or floor firmly to a wall.
Beam form
A retainer or mould constructed to give the necessary shape, support, and finish to a concrete beam.
Beam hanger
In timber construction, a strap, wire, or stirrup used to support a beam.
Beam haunch
A poured concrete section that continues beyond a beam to support the sill.
Beam-and-slab floor
A type of floor construction in which reinforced concrete beams are used to support a monolithic concrete floor slab.
Bearer
(1) A horizontal member of a scaffold on which the platform rests and which may be supported by ledgers. (2) Any load-supporting horizontal structural member. (3) Any device that provides support for a landing or window in a stair. (4) In balloon framing, the ribbon board on which the joists for the second floor rest.
Bearing
(1) That section of a structural member, such as a column, beam, or truss, which rests on the supports. (2) A device used to support or steady a shaft, axle, or trunnion. (3) In surveying, the horizontal angle between a reference direction, such as true north, and a given line. (4) Descriptive of any wall that provides support to the floor and/or roof of a building.
Bearing capacity
The maximum unit pressure that soil or other material can withstand without failure or excessive settlement.
Bearing plate
A steel plate positioned under a beam, column, girder, or truss to distribute a load to a support member.
Bearing pressure
The existing load on a bearing surface, divided by the area of the bearing surface.
Bearing wall
Any wall that supports a vertical load as well as its own weight.
Bed
(1) The mortar into which masonry units are set. (2) Sand or other aggregate on which pipe or conduit is laid in a trench. (3) To set in place with putty or similar compound, as might be performed in glazing. (4) A supporting base for engines or machinery.
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