Architecture & Structure Terms

• Study notes below on architectural and structure terms

Attic

• An attic is a room or space at the top of a building, just below the roof.
• Typically unfinished and used for storage.
• Attics can be finished and used as a living space.
• Attics can be used for storage, a playroom, or a bedroom.
• Attic can come in different shapes and sizes.
• The ceiling is often pitched or at a different height than other floors.

Baluster

• A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical molded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form.
• They are found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features.
• In furniture construction, it is known as a spindle.
• Constructed with wood, stone, and less frequently metal and ceramic.
• A group of balusters supporting a handrail, coping, or ornamental detail is known as a balustrade.

Balcony

• A balcony is a raised outdoor platform attached to the side of a building and enclosed by a low railing or wall.
• It is usually accessible through an upper floor.
• Balconies generally only have one access point, such as a door.

Cellar

• A cellar is part of a building between the floor and the ceiling that is wholly or slightly underground.
• The vertical distance from the grade to the floor is equal to or greater than the vertical distance from the ceiling grade.
• A basement or cellar can be one or more floors of a building that are completely or partly below the ground floor.

Carport

• A carport is a covered structure that offers limited protection to vehicles, primarily cars, from rain and snow.
• The structure can either be freestanding or attached to a wall.
• Carports usually have either one or two walls, unlike most structures.
• A carport can also be a covered space, canopy, or shelter, open on at least one side, under which one or several vehicles may be parked.

Common Rafter

• This is a type of rafter extended at a right angle from the plate or girt to the ridge.
• The main function of the rafters is to transfer the weight of the roof to the walls or other load-bearing elements of the structure.
• By distributing the load evenly, the rafters ensure that the structure remains stable and can withstand various external forces, such as wind and snow loads.

Circular Stair

• Round stairs are called either circular stairs or spiral stairs depending on the stair design.
• Circular stairs follow a circle with a larger radius.
• True spiral stairs have one central post to which all steps are attached
• This term is also known as a winding stair

Concrete

• Construction concrete is a building material made from a mixture of water, cement, and aggregates like sand, gravel, or crushed rock.
• When activated with water, the mixture hardens into a strong, stone-like substance.
• Concrete is affordable, durable, and can be molded into many shapes.
• Concrete is used in the construction of many things, including buildings, roads, bridges, dams, and foundations.

Floor Joist

• Floor joists are horizontal structural members that span an open space, often between beams.
• These joists subsequently transfer the load to vertical structural members.
• Part of the floor system, these joists carry the weight of everything inside a room, including walls, furniture, appliances, and even people.
• They are placed on the girders where the floorboards are fastened.

Footing

• Footings are the bottom parts of a building that spread out the weight of the structure so the ground can support it.
• They are usually made of concrete and are hidden underground, beneath the parts of the building that need the most support, like walls or columns.
• This is helpful when building with shallower foundations so they help transfer weight into the ground.

Type of Footing

• These include combined, strap, isolated and wall

Garage

• A residential garage is a walled, roofed structure with a door for storing a vehicle.
• May be part of or attached to a home ("attached garage"), or a separate outbuilding or shed ("detached garage").
• Whether you choose brick, concrete or timber.
• The primary purpose of garages is protecting a vehicle from the elements.

Girder

• Large horizontal beams act as the primary support for a structure and support smaller beams.
• Girders are rigid and have a much larger load-bearing capability than beams.
• They carry dynamic and rolling loads.
• Supports the end of the floor beams and joists or wall overlapping.

Handrail

• A handrail is a long, narrow bar that provides support and stability.
• Building codes specify handrail dimensions, height, and load-bearing capacity for safety and accessibility.
• Help people maintain balance, prevent falls, and improve mobility for those with physical limitations.
• The rail runs parallel with the inclination of the stairs, holding the baluster.

Lanai

• "Lanai" comes from Hawaii and describes a room or larger space outside a house.
• Usually found at the back of a house and is often connected to an entrance, and covered by the roof.
• Can be used for an outdoor living room or lounge area that is fully or partially open to the outdoors.

Landing

• Stair landings serve as intermediate platforms between flights of stairs.
• Landing allow users to rest, change direction, or access different levels safely.
• Landings include an area of floor at the top and bottom of a staircase leading to rooms.

Lintel Beam

• A lintel beam is a horizontal support above an opening building.
• Distributes loads to prevent frame collapse.
• Made from concrete, steel, wood, or bricks, based on structure.

Mezzanine Floor

• A mezzanine is an intermediate floor in a room of the building that is open to the floor below.
• Placed halfway up the wall on a floor that has a ceiling at least twice as high as a floor with minimum height in which it is constructed.
• Typically between the ground and first floors.

Porch

• A porch is a roofed structure, usually open at the sides, projecting from the face of a building
• Used to protect the entrance.
• Placed in front of the facade of a building it commands and forms a low front.

Purlins

• A longitudinal, horizontal, structural roof member.

Ramp

• A ramp is a slope or an incline, a surface that tilts from one level to another simultaneously.
• Someone using a wheelchair might need this to get from the doorway of a building down to its parking lot.

Staircase Riser

• A stair riser is the vertical space between one step and another.
• It may be closed or open, depending on the style of the stairs.
• A stair tread is the horizontal part of the step and along with this is an integral part of a staircase.

Soffit

• A soffit is the underside of a part on a building.
• A protective covering under the eaves of a house.
• It helps keep damaging moisture and insect activity out of this crucial area.

Terrace

• An external, raised, open, flat area in either a landscape near a building, or as a roof terrace on a flat roof.
• The word “terrace" came from the Latin earth "terra".
• Terraces can be attached to a building or free-standing.

Wall Bearing

• Also known as a load-bearing or structural wall.
• Supports building roofs & floors.
• Transfers weight.
• Materials for these walls are stone, steel, concrete, or brick.

Wall Footing

• Also called a strip footing.
• It is a continuous strip of concrete that serves to spread the weight of a load-bearing wall across an area of soil.
• Wall footings are a component of a shallow foundation.
• The footing distributes the weight of the building evenly across the entire structure so that it doesn't sink into the ground.