Guide to Conversion of Traditional Buildings

Glossary

Ablative materials – Materials that can provide fire resistance, commonly used as a surface membrane on mineral wool batts to provide additional fire sealing.

Aerated Taps – Taps that mix water with air to reduce the amount of water coming through the tap.

Architrave – The moulded framing around a door or window.

Ashlar – A building technique comprised of large, regular-sized square-edged stone blocks with tight joints

Aspirating smoke detection system – A central sensor to detect smoke that draws in air through range pipes connected to smaller discrete capillary tubes.

Auto-ignition – Temperature at which combustible materials produce flammable vapours that will, when in the correct concentration in air, ignite without the need for an external ignition source.

Becquerels – The SI unit of radioactivity, related to the rate of radioactive decay (1 Bq = 1 disintegration/second).

Borescope – An optical instrument used to allow visual inspection in areas that could not easily be seen otherwise. It comprises a visual display that is linked to a camera on the end of a slim tube that can be inserted into the hard-to-reach area.

Bridgehead – A secure area from which fire-fighters can safely co-ordinate activity during an incident.

Byre – A building that would traditionally have housed both people and cattle.

Canopy – An open-sided, roofed structure that provides protection from the weather.

Capillary rise – The process of a liquid ascending in a narrow space via adhesive forces, and without the assistance of an external force like gravity.

Chase – A channel or groove that accommodates pipes or cabling

Compartmentation – A part of a building (which may contain one or more rooms, spaces or storey and includes, where relevant, the space above the top storey of the compartment) constructed so as to prevent the spread of fire to or from another part of the same building; and compartmented and compartmentation should be construed accordingly

Compressibility – The measurement of relative volume change of a solid or a fluid when there is a change of pressure.

Condensate – The liquid produced through the process of conversion to liquid of a gas/ steam after cooling.

Conduction – Heat transfer through a solid conductive mass or between two conductive solids which are in direct contact with each other.

Convection – The movement of heat as a gas or liquid (e.g. air or water) from areas of high temperature to areas of low temperature — for example, when warm air rises. Gas and liquid molecules expand at higher temperatures. The heated, less dense molecules rise and replace cooler, denser molecules.

Coombe – The sloping section of a ceiling in an attic.

Cradle system – A raised floor system to reduce impact noise transmission.

Crown glass – historic glass made from molten glass hand blown and spun into a wide disc that was usually cut into panes.

Culvert – An artificial construction, such as a pipe or masonry tunnel, that directs the flow of water underneath man-made obstructions such as roads or railways.

Cylinder glass– Glass made by blowing a cylindrical shape that could be cut at each end and down the centre to allow it to be flattened into a sheet.

Dampers – Constructed from fire resistant materials to close ducts or duct openings in the case of a fire to prevent flames and smoke spreading.

Decibel (dB) – A logarithmic measure used for sound

Dead load – The self-weight of materials from which a building is built.

Defensive Fire-fighting – Fire-fighting undertaken from outside a building, to prevent a fire spreading where it is not possible to fight the fire from inside.

Deflections – The extent to which a floor bends or is displaced vertically when a load is applied

Derogations – Occasions where an exemption or relaxation of a regulation or standard may be applicable.

Deterministic testing – Pre-conversion sound-testing

Dewatering – A method of creating a dry working environment on a work site through the removal or control of water e.g. via pumps or collecting water in sumps.

Disproportionate Collapse – Where the collapse of a building may be caused by a relatively small or localised failure leading to a sequence of additional/ cumulative and catastrophic failures.

DnT,w – Airborne sound insulation measurement (weighted) and normalised to the receiving room reverberation time

Dooks – Wooden pegs/ fillets

Dorset Model – A design guide for thatchers and designers for thatched properties to comply with building controls related to external fire spread.

Droved – To tool stone face using a chisel known as a drove.

Dry Mains – Mains filled by the fire and rescue service on arrival at an incident

Dumb waiter – A small lift, typically designed for the purpose of delivering food from a kitchen to the dining space in a property.

Dwangs – A Scottish term for transverse pieces of wood inserted between joists or posts in order to stiffen them.

Eaves – The lower edges of a roof that that meet or project over the walls of a building.

Electrical pattress box – A surface mounted or concealed box to which a cover plate is screwed with attached wiring and connections for electrical apparatus, e.g.: plug sockets, light switches and fire alarm call points

Encaustic – Decorative clay tiles using different colours of clay inlaid to create a pattern.

Endoscope – Used in an investigative method that involves inserting a small camera into a drilled hole to allow visual inspection of difficult-to-access spaces.

Environmental loads – Loading of external elements such as wind or snow.

Equilibrium – A state of balance between opposing forces or processes

Falling mains – Where mains are supplied from rooftop tanks and pumps in tall buildings, or from ground level tanks or fire and rescue service hoses down to underground tunnels or basements.

Fire Curtain – A fire curtain is made of fire-resistant materials and is designed to stop the spread of fire and smoke. Originally designed for use in theatres, they can also be used in other open plan spaces.

Fire-fighting shaft – A protected route for fire-fighters in tall buildings that is enclosed within a long fire resistance duration structure.

Fire stop – A seal provided to close an imperfection of fit or design tolerance between elements, components or construction so as to restrict the passage of fire and smoke through that imperfection. Fire-stopping and fire-stopped should be construed accordingly.

Fire stopping –The sealing of openings and joints in a fire resisting wall or floor assembly.

Flanking strip – A flexible resilient material that isolates the edge of the finished floor at the floor-wall junction perimeters to prevent flanking transmission (see below)

Flanking Transmission – Sound that transmits via perimeter walls and components past the main separating floor or wall structure, also known as in-direct sound transmission.

Flashover – Where the correct mixture of air and flammable gases in the smoke reach their auto-ignition temperature in an enclosed space and ignite, spreading to involve all exposed combustible materials

Flashpoint – Temperature at which combustible materials produce flammable vapours that will, when in the correct concentration, ignite in the presence of an ignition source.

Flaunching – Mortar that holds a chimney pot in place and prevents water ingress.

Flotsam – Floating debris.

Free Electromagnetic Radiation – Energy that propagates independently through space or a medium.

French Drain – A drainage system comprising a trench filled with aggregate that contains a perforated pipe to direct water from the base of a building.

Galvanic – The production of electrical currents through a chemical reaction (also the corrosion of metals caused by such a reaction).

Geotextile – A permeable fabric used in conjunction with soil.

Going – The horizontal measurement from one nosing to the next nosing on successive steps in a staircase.

Ground Penetrating Radar – A non-intrusive method of imaging below ground level using electromagnetic pulses that reflect off underlying features allowing them to be mapped.

Grounds – Rough timber framing that forms a fixing for timber finishings

Guano – The accumulated excrement of bats and birds.

Guard grilles – A protective screen.

Hartley Plate – A fire-proofing system developed by David Hartley which installed metal plates between the floors of buildings.

Hit-and-miss grille – A vent that can be opened and closed to provide different levels of air flow.

Horizontal lifeline systems – An anchor point to secure a harnessed worker when working at height.

Horizontal mains – Mains supplied from a horizontal tank or cylinder.

Horonising – A type of road or pavement finish made up of small fragments/ offcuts of stone laid closely together.

Hydrostatic – The pressure exerted by a liquid at rest and in a state of equilibrium.

Hygroscopic – A substance or material that either adsorbs or absorbs moisture from the air.

Hygroscopicity – The ability of a substance or material to either adsorb or absorb moisture from the air.

Imposed loads – (See Live loads) means the load assumed to be produced by the intended occupancy or use, including the weight of moveable partitions; distributed, concentrated, impact, inertia and snow loads, but excluding wind loads.

Interstitial condensation – Where condensation forms between two parts a building envelope, or within part of a building envelope (such as the centre of a mass masonry wall).

Intumescent – A material that expands when exposed to heat used for sealing gaps or holes in fire resisting construction.

Isolating batten – Floor or wall timber/metal battens designed to create a void and limit direct structural contact reducing sound transmission

Jack arch – A non-combustible method of constructing floors, typically of brick or concrete construction, spanning between steel and cast-iron pillars.

Lambda values – A measurement of a material’s thermal conductivity.

Lateral stability – A buildings resistance to horizontal loads, such as winds.

Live loads – Loads applied to a building when in use

L’nT,w – An impact sound transmission measurement (weighted) and normalised to the receiving room reverberation time.

Luminaires – A complete lighting unit (including bulbs/ lamps/ sockets etc)

Mandrels – A metal rod that holds a brush to allow for cleaning flues

Microclimate – The atmospheric conditions in a very localised space round a building, that can be influenced by landscape/ building orientation/ materials etc.

Natural-release ventilation – The use of natural airflow to release smoke and other fumes during a fire through the opening of vents triggered by fire detection systems.

Offensive Fire-fighting – Fire-fighting undertaken from within a building to aggressively suppress a fire and rescue inhabitants.

Outfall – A point of discharge into a receiving body of water or watercourse.

Parging – A lime render applied to the inside of chimney flues.

Periscope vent – A ventilation duct in a ‘z’ shape that allows air flow where there is an inhibitor to using a standard vent (e.g. raised ground levels/ underfloor joists).

Perlite – A granular material made from volcanic glass that has been expanded by heating during manufacture to create lightweight insulating and fire resisting beads.

Pitch line – The angle of a staircase.

Platt – A Scottish term for a stair landing.

Press – A cupboard built directly into the thickness of a wall.

Proscenium Arch – An architectural frame dividing the stage from the auditorium in a theatre.

Pugging – A material, such as ash, clay, rough plaster or mortar, that can be inserted between a wooden flooring and the ceiling that reduces the transmission of sound and fire.

Radiation – The transfer of heat from areas of high temperature via electromagnetic waves, such as infrared or sunlight through the atmosphere to solids. It warms the solid, not the atmosphere.

Radon – A radioactive gas naturally occurring in rocks and soils.

Rising mains – Where mains are fitted at ground level and have vertical pipes that run up to outlets with valves for connecting fire-fighting hose at each floor level.

Rodding eye – A removable cover that allows for cleaning and inspection of a drainage pipe.

Service risers – A vertical shaft or conduit for pipes and cables.

Setts – A stone paving type comprising small, squared off stones laid close together.

Slapping – New openings created in a building to allow for the installation of e.g. a door.

Soakaway – A pit or buried drainage feature that manages water, so it drains gradually into the ground.

Sole plate – The bottom horizontal element of a wall that provides a point of attachment for vertical members.

Stack effect – A type of natural ventilation that is driven by differences in air density, as cool air enters the building through low level ventilation and moves up and out of the building higher up, creating a column of air.

Sump – A basin that collects water to allow for managed removal via a sump pump.

Sunpipe – A natural lighting system comprising a tube that reflects sunlight into a building.

Swale – A shallow channel, typically with vegetation, that allows water to collect and soak away.

Tapered-tread – A stair tread where the going is narrower on one side (e.g. in a spiral stair).

Tarmacadam – A surfacing material comprised of crushed pieces of stone that are coated in tar then compressed in situ to provide a durable surface.

Tensile – The stabilisation of a structure by means of tension, as opposed to compression.

Thermally broken fixings – A fixing typically incorporating a non-conductive material, such as plastic, to reduce heat transfer through the fixing and minimise the risk of thermal bridging.

Thermal mass – The ability of a material to store and release heat.

Thermography – A type of non-destructive investigation that utilises an Infra-red camera to rapidly visualise temperature variations to help identify anomalies or risks in construction (e.g. heat loss/dampness/location of voids).

Transpiration – The movement of water vapour or liquid water through building materials, driven by differences in temperature and vapour pressure between the inside and outside of a building.

Vault – An arched or domed ceiling typically of brick or stone.

Vermiculite – A mineral that has been expanded by heating during manufacture to create lightweight insulating and fire resisting crumbs. Existing Vermiculite installed before 1999 may contain asbestos, so should be tested before disturbing.

Vertical loads – Any downward force applied to a structure (e.g. gravity/ heavy snow).

Wet mains – Mains that are permanently filled with water.