| Term | Definition |
| Waferboard |
A building panel made by bonding together large, flat flakes of wood.
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| Waffle slab |
A two-way concrete joist system.
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| Wainscoting |
A wall facing, usually of wood, cut stone, or ceramic tile, that is carried only partway up a wall.
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| Waler |
A horizontal beam used to support sheeting or concrete formwork.
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| Wane |
An irregular rounding of a long edge of a piece of dimension lumber caused by cutting the lumber from too near the outside surface of the log.
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| Washer |
A steel disk with a hole in the middle, used to spread the load from a bolt, screw, or nail across a wider area of material.
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| Water-cement ratio |
A numerical index of the relative proportions of water and cement in a concrete mixture.
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| Water-resistant gypsum board |
A gypsum board designed for use in locations where it may be exposed to occasional dampness.
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| Water-smoking |
The process of driving off the last water from clay products before they are fired.
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| Waterstop |
A synthetic rubber strip used to seal joints in concrete foundation walls.
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| Water-struck brick |
A brick made in a mold that was wetted before the clay was placed in it.
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| Water table |
The level at which the pressure of water in the soil is equal to atmospheric pressure; effectively, the level to which ground water will fill an excavation; a wood molding or shaped brick used to make a transition between a thicker foundation and the wall above.
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| Water vapor |
Water in its gaseous phase.
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| Wattle and daub |
Mud plaster (daub) applied to a primitive lath of woven twigs or reeds (wattle).
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| Waxing |
Filling voids in marble slabs.
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| Weathered joint |
A mortar joint finished in a sloping, planar profile that tends to shed water to the outside of the wall.
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| Weathering steel |
A steel alloy that forms a tenacious, self-protecting rust layer when exposed to the atmosphere.
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| Weatherstrip |
A ribbon of resilient or springy material used to reduce air infiltration through the crack around a sash or door.
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| Web |
A cross-connecting piece, such as the portion of a wide-flange shape that is perpendicular to the flanges, or the portion of a concrete masonry unit that is perpendicular to the face shells.
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| Weep hole |
A small opening whose purpose is to permit drainage of water that accumulates inside a building component.
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| Weld |
A joint between two pieces of metal formed by fusing the pieces together, usually with the aid of additional metal melted from a rod or electrode.
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| Welding |
The process of making a weld.
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| Weld plate |
A steel plate anchored into the surface of concrete, to which another steel element can be welded.
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| Wide-flange section |
Any of a wide range of steel sections rolled in the shape of a letter I or H.
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| Wide-module concrete joist system |
A one-way concrete framing system with joists that are spaced more widely than those in a conventional one-way concrete joist system.
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| Wind brace |
A diagonal structural member whose function is to stabilize a frame against lateral forces.
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| Winder |
A stair tread that is wider at one end than at the other.
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| Wind load |
A load on a building caused by wind pressure and/or suction.
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| Wind uplift |
Upward forces on a structure caused by negative aero-dynamic pressures that result from certain wind conditions.
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| Wired glass |
Glass in which a wire mesh is embedded during manufacture.
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| Working construction joint |
A connection that is designed to allow for small amounts of relative movement between two pieces of a building assembly.
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| Wracking |
Forcing out of plumb.
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| Wrought iron |
A form of iron that is soft, tough, and fibrous in structure, containing about 0.1 prcent carbon and 1 to 2 percent slag.
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| Wythe |
(Rhymes with "scythe" and "tithe.") A vertical layer of masonry one masonry unit thick.
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