Carpentry & Joinery trade jargon
- Architrave
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The ornamental wooden mouldings around a window or door frame, covering the joint between the frame and the plaster.
- Balusters
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The vertical posts that support a stair handrail.
- Balustrade (also called bannister)
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The handrail supported by balusters alongside a staircase or landing.
- Belt sander
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A power tool that uses a rotating belt of sanding paper to finish wood/metal, or to remove paint.
- Beveled edge
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Also known as a V-groove. This refers to flooring where each board is indented at the corners, highlighting the gaps between them.
- Bifold door
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A door system - made up of three or more glass panes - which fold back fully on themselves when opening.
- Boxing in
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The timber carcass built to conceal gas and central heating pipework and other unsightly internal fittings.
- Carcasses
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The outer parts of a kitchen unit.
- Catch
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A mechanism inside a cupboard that keeps the door closed.
- Chipboard
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Board made from small chips of softwood (usually wood from pine, fir, spruce or larch). Comes in various grades of density.
- Chippie
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Board made from small chips of softwood (usually wood from pine, fir, spruce or larch). Comes in various grades of density.
- Chisel
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Metal tool with a sharp blade, used for cutting and shaping wood, brick or stone.
- Corner post
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A supporting upright beam at the corner of a set of cabinets.
- Coving
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A shaped decorative moulding, usually made of wood or plaster, made to fit into the space between the top of a wall and a ceiling of a room.
- Dado
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The lower part of an interior wall, usually defined by a Dado rail (a strip of decorative wood) at the top.
- Dovetail
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A joint, usually between two pieces of wood, in which one piece is splayed (like a dove's tail) and fits into the socket of the other piece.
- Dowel
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A small, round peg of wood used to add strength to wooden joints.
- Engineered wood
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Layers of hardwood pressed together to form sheets or planks, for example for flooring.
- Fibreboard
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Also called hardboard, mediumboard or softboard; A type of wood product made of wood fibres compressed together.
- File
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A tool with an abrasive surface used to shape and smooth wood and other materials.
- Grain
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The direction of wood fibres in a piece of timber.
- Hardwood
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Wood which comes from a broadleaved tree such as oak, ash, or beech.
- Hearth
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The base of a fireplace.
- Jamb
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The vertical part of a door or window frame.
- Jig saw
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A tool for making detailed cuts in wood.
- Knot
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The dark spots in wood where a brand would have grown.
- Laminated wood
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Thin layers of wood glued together with aligned grains to form boards.
- Linoleum
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A common flooring material made of canvas coated with linseed oil, powered cork and rosin.
- Mallet
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A hammer with a wooden or rubber head, used if metal would damage the object being hit.
- Marquetry
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A form of decoration in which different veneers are inlaid into a surface.
- MDF
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Medium Density Fibreboard. An engineered wood substance, made of wooden fibres combined with resin under high pressure.
- Moulded wood
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Strips of wood, also known as mouldings or beadings, carved with contours and used for decoration.
- Newel
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Post supporting the handrail of a flight of stairs, usually found at the top and / or bottom of the flight.
- Nosing
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The part of a stair tread which overhangs the riser.
- Particle board
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A wood composite, made of compressing woodchip, sawdust and similar materials.
- Planking
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A type of flooring made up of wooden boards that can either join together or simply sit next to one another.
- Plywood
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A type of thin and strong wooden board made up of layers of wood with alternating directions of grain.
- Rafter
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A sloping beam that forms the main structure of a roof.
- Riser
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The vertical part of a step.
- Sap
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A liquid contained within wood, made up of water and various nutrients used by the tree.
- Sash
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A type of window made of panels which are slid vertically. Also refers to the moving panel of the window.
- Skirting or skirting board
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A piece of wood that runs along the bottom of interior walls, where they meet the floor.
- Snagging
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An expression for all the small issues left over at the end of a construction project. Typically a homeowner will identify snags which the tradesperson will rectify to complete the job.
- Softwood
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A common form of timber used in construction, typically pine, fir, spruce or larch.
- Strength grade
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The measure of strength a piece of timber has, which depends on the species of tree, knots and grain. The timber will be inspected and marked with its grade and other information.
- Stud partition
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A non-load bearing dividing wall, made of a timber frame covered in plaster board.
- Tread
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The horizontal part of a step.
- Veneer
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A very thin piece of wood laid over another material, to give a wood effect.
- Wood block
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A type of wooden flooring made up of rectangular blocks arranged in geometric patterns.
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