Difference between revisions of "Talk:Glossary"

Latest revision as of 10:02, 11 January 2017

Split?

The article is quite big now. When I edit it I get a warning that some browsers may not be able to handle the size of it. I find it quite unwieldy to scroll through when reading, and even more so when editing. What do you think about splitting it? (If not into 27 separate alphabetical sections just yet, maybe just say, 0-L and M-Z?) --John Stumbles 18:31, 29 April 2007 (BST)

In all honesty I think that would ruin much of its usefulness. When I use a glossary I want to look up the words I need - having to go back and forth between different webpages is chaos, making a simple task unreasonably difficult.

Re the 32k warning, even the barely functional windows notepad can manage a pitiful 64k, and every PC owner has a WP even if not a txt-ed that can handle files way bigger. Even windows 3.1 Write can handle 100s of k. What wikimedia people were thinking when they wrote that I really don't know. I dont know how old wikimedia is, maybe they were trying to ensure 100% compatibility with some really old kit. NT 19:00, 29 April 2007 (BST)

I don't think it has anything to do with whatever editor you have on your PC but I'd guess it depends what size 'textarea' (or whatever the html form element is called) your browser can handle. --John Stumbles

Came across an explanation of this old rule:

"In the past, because of some now rarely used browsers, technical considerations prompted a strong recommendation that articles be limited to a maximum of precisely 32 KB in size, since editing any article longer than that would cause severe problems.[1] With the advent of the section editing feature and the availability of upgrades for the affected browsers, this once hard and fast rule has been softened and many articles now exist which are over 32 KB of total text size." NT 14:19, 18 May 2007 (BST)

As a matter of interest where did you find this, and what does the [1] refer to? --John Stumbles 23:13, 18 May 2007 (BST)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_size

Theres a bunch more discussion about it, pros & cons. My take on it was that the important reason is now well & truly history, leaving only the q of article readability. And with a glossary, its not intended as an article to sit down and read all of. And even for dialuppers 32k is small. NT 23:54, 18 May 2007 (BST)

How about a glossary split by domain area?

So we could have an Electrical Glossary, a Plumbing / Heating one etc. That way you could still research a whole subject without getting loads of stuff from other unrelated areas of interest.

--John Rumm 02:24, 19 May 2007 (BST)

I'm sure those would be quite informative. I hope we also retain the all-in-one glossary though, as people need a place they can go to look up words they dont know, rather than clicking through 10 different pages trying to find one with their word on. NT 09:37, 19 May 2007 (BST)

Some subject glossaries already exist though, so a page of glossary links could save a lot of writing. There are already some links at the bottom of the main glossary NT 09:41, 19 May 2007 (BST)

Is "Search" not a solution for the "word I don't know" problem though? Its quicker to let the machine look for the term for you than reading through a list yourself (even if it is alphabetised).

--John Rumm 12:53, 19 May 2007 (BST)

I think the main advantage to splitting up the glossary is that it would be easier to maintain. ATM it's a PITA:

waiting for the page to download
scrolling through to see if there's an entry for the term you're interested in
waiting for the edit page to download
scrolling through the edit page and making your changes
waiting for the preview page to download
scrolling through to see how your edit looks
... etc ...

The download times probably aren't such a problem if you've a decent connection rather than NTL^H^H^HVirgin :-(

The problem with splitting by subject is what to do with terms which have meanings for different subjects e.g. a meter can be gas, water, electrical etc. One could have a separate generic glossary for such terms but that seems inelegant and you'd probably have people adding terms which they think only have meaning in one category to that category's glossary when there's already an entry in the generic glossary. Alternatively you have an entry in each relevant glossary and rely on the Search function to show them all if someone doesn't know what the term means at all: OTOH if they know it's, say, an electrical term then they can go straight to the electrical glossary.

From the POV of maintenance I think not only does having smaller glossaries make it easier, but also people who have expertise in a particular field can concentrate better on that glossary when all terms are in their domain of competence, rather than being interspersed with lots of stuff they know nothing about.

--John Stumbles 15:19, 19 May 2007 (BST)

I dont see any problems with >32k of text, it dls on NTHell dialup without issue.

But surely the solution is as suggested, ie if you want some subject glossaries, great, go ahead and start them, write them. Also leave the universal glossary for those of us that want to use that.

I've visited glossary sites at times, and theyre usually split into multiple pages, which totally ruins their usability IME. If I'm reading about a subject with terms I dont know, I need to be able to just search-find each term on the glossary page, there isnt a cats chance that I'm going to want to waste time running back and forth between numerous pages trying to find each word. Its a crazy way to have a glossary.

Subject glossaries have their uses in that they are small enough to be readable, either in whole or part, and are a quick way to build up subject knowledge.

With subject glossaries, I dont see any problem with for example the word 'meter' being included in all of electricity, gas & woodwork glossaries. (overlooking sp for sake of example)

I'm all for you creating the pages you want, and keeping what we have now, in true wiki spirit. NT 15:52, 19 May 2007 (BST)

I don't think having an all-in-one glossary and subject-specific glossaries is a good idea at all. I think it will confuse readers and (potential) editors as to which is the canonical version. I think we need to agree (all 3 of us!) on which way to go and stick to it. Since you've done most of the work NT I've left it the way you've gone with it, apart from making suggestions. However since John Rumm suggested the subject-specific split I've weighed in with my €0.02'orth. However I think consistency and consensus are paramount here. --John Stumbles 17:45, 19 May 2007 (BST)

I guess we disagree then. I cant imagine how titles like 'Glossary of Woodwork' and 'Glossary of DIY terms' would be confusing.

As for canonical, wikis are never the last word, always contain errors, and one of the points about them is that more than one view can coexist - and inevitably will in practice - within a wiki. As is already the case in fact. I think youre being optimistic if you expect consistency and concensus on wikis.

Go for it, write your glossary(s), but please let the articles people have worked on and are continuing to work on stay.

Practically I dont think it would be at all a good thing to ban someone from starting another glossary article, and I'm wondering if the policy you suggest would head directly in that direction.

We already have a somewhat similar case further down the line, with 2 different articles covering the same thing, 'Cables' and 'cables for domestic...' and if moderators start to delete other peoples articles - assuming the info to be valid - and clearly a lot of work has gone into them - then we wont do the wiki any favours.

If I write an all in one glossary, I wouldnt consider saying you cant write subject glossaries, and I think the sensible principle behind that works both ways round. NT 22:33, 19 May 2007 (BST)

DHW

"DHW" is used in the name of a Wiki page; "DHW" should appear in the Glossary, and be explicitly explained in the article. I'll not edit it, since I'm only guessing that its intended use in the Wiki is "Domestic Hot Water". John Stockton (talk) 20:58, 10 January 2017 (UTC)

fair point. Added DHW. --John Rumm (talk) 10:02, 11 January 2017 (UTC)

Difference between revisions of "Talk:Glossary"

Latest revision as of 10:02, 11 January 2017

Contents

Categories

Split?

How about a glossary split by domain area?

DHW

Navigation menu

Search

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Why is there a slightly-modified copy of the article here on the discussion page? --[[User:John Stumbles|John Stumbles]]
+==Categories==
-----
+I guess this one belongs in nearly all cats
+[[User:NT|NT]] 17:29, 24 April 2007 (BST)
-'''[[Mortar Mixes|1:1:6]]''' mortar 1 part cement 1 part lime and 6 parts sand by volume.
+Yes I suppose we really need the ability to use a wildcard e.g. <nowiki>[[Category:*]]</nowiki> and have it appear automagically in every category listing. In the absence of such a facility it'd be a PITA to maintain it manually so maybe just 'Misc' or something? --[[User:John Stumbles|John Stumbles]] 20:41, 24 April 2007 (BST)
-'''[[Mortar Mixes|1:2:9]]''' mortar 1 part cement 1 part lime and 9 parts sand by volume. 1:2:9 is prone to premature failure, 1:1:6 is a better option.
+I dont mind putting it in each category by hand some day. As and when....
+[[User:NT|NT]] 23:07, 24 April 2007 (BST)
-'''[[House Wiring for Beginners|2-way switching]]''' A method of wiring switches so that a lamp can be turned on or off from more than one switch.
-'''[[Mortar Mixes|3:1]]''' mortar 3 parts sand to 1 part cement by volume.
+Why is there a slightly-modified copy of the article here on the discussion page? --[[User:John Stumbles|John Stumbles]]
-'''ac''' a/c or a.c.
+Whoops - corrected :)
-# [[Electricity Basics|alternating current]]
+[[User:NT|NT]] 09:10, 28 April 2007 (BST)
-# air conditioning
-'''Acrylic'''
+Ah, so it wasn't part of the master plan then?!
-# Type of plastic
+: more master ockup I think - NT
-# Type of [[Paint]]
-'''AF''' Across Flats. Most commonly used imperial nut & spanner measurement system.
+----
-'''[[Mortar Mixes|Aggregate]]'''
-'''Airbrick''' Brick or block containing many ventilation holes. Used to ventilate underfloor cavities, rooms containing a gas fire, and less often chimney stacks and cavity walls.
-'''Airlock''' Trapped airbubble preventing water flow
-'''[[Paint|Alkyd]]''' the chemistry of most oil based household gloss paints.
-'''[[Putties & Mastics|Alkyd putty]]''' a glazing putty
-'''Allen key''' hexagonal profile L shaped bar used for driving screws with a hexagonal recess.
-'''Aluminium oxide''' a low cost grit widely used for sandpaper and grinding wheels.
-'''[[Angle Grinder Discs|Angle grinder]]''' a high speed hand held disc grinder used for grinding, cutting, and with wire brushes, mortar rakes etc.
-'''Apex'''
-'''Arbitration'''
-'''Arc'''
-# semicircular curve
-# electrical conduction across insulation breakdown, often through air.
-'''Architrave'''
-'''Arris'''
-'''Arris Rail'''
-'''Artex''' A filler/plaster material popularly used to create stippled and combed ceiling finishes. Its popularity arose from the absence of any plastering skill needed to create such finishes, and the consequent lower cost of artexed ceilings compared to plastered.
-'''Asbestos''' Asbestos is any one of several tough natural fibres. The word is usually used to refer to asbestos cement. Asbestos is usually chrysotile (white), crocidolite (blue) or amosite (brown), though other less often used asbestos fibres also exist.
-'''Ashathene''' An obsolete plastic cable, a precursor of pvc.
-'''[[Asphalt]]''' Hardwearing flooring made from bitumen and clay.
-'''[[Drill Bits|Auger]]'''
-# a self feeding drill bit for wood. Designed for very low rotational speed with high torque. A good choice for hand drilling wood. Commonly available in sizes of 6mm and up.
-# Type of earth drill bit
-'''Baby oil''' Mineral oil with added perfume. See Mineral oil
-'''Back siphonage'''
-'''Balanced Flue'''
-'''[[Hand Tools#Hammers|Ball pein hammer]]''' Hammer with ball shaped striking face. Possibly named as a result of indiscriminate use.
-'''Ballast'''
-# Stone & other rubble used to form a hard stable base
-# Current control device used to run a [[Fluorescent Lighting|fluorescent tube]] or other [[Discharge Lighting|discharge lamp]].
-'''Baluster'''
-'''Balustrade'''
-'''Banister'''
-'''Barge Board'''
-'''Barrel''' Lock barrel.
-'''Batten''' Strip of wood applied to wall or ceiling, to which usually plasterboard is applied. Used to even up uneven walls and to permit insertion of insulation behind plasterboard.
-'''BC''' Bayonet Cap, most popular type of lightbulb connection.
-'''Beam''' joist, rafter, purlin, or any other large wooden, steel or concrete structural member.
-'''Bench grinder''' A bench mountable grinder used primarily for sharpening tools.
-'''Bimetal'''
-# Mechanical type of thermostat. Reliable, low cost, and lacking extra features. Need a neutral connection to avoid excess hysteresis. Compare electronic thermostat.
-# saw tooth type used on handsaws
-'''Bipin''' 2 pin connection used on [[Fluorescent Lighting|fluorescent tubes]] & [[Halogen Lighting|halogen lamps]].
-'''[[Wood Preservatives|Bitumen]]''' a black sticky gloop used to waterproof and preserve.
-'''Blind grommet''' grommet with the central hole closed by a thin layer of plastic. This is pierced when threaded.
-'''[[Sheet Materials|Blockboard]]''' 2 thin wood veneers with strips of wood glued between. One of the many ways to convert low value material into useful [[Sheet Materials|sheet material]].
-'''Blown''' broken away, happens to render, plaster, brick
-'''Blowlamp''' Flame lamp used for soldering, paint stripping, etc. Usually gas, but historic paraffin blowlamps are also used occasionally. Sometimes confusingly referred to as a torch.
-'''Bolster''' Extra wide masonry chisel.
-'''Bolt'''
-'''Bond'''
-# adhesion
-# pattern of brickwork
-'''Bonding'''
-'''Bore''' to make a hole
-'''[[Regulations|BR]]''' [[Regulations|building regulations]].
-'''Bradawl'''
-'''Breeze Block''' Common term for a lightweight aerated concrete block.
-'''Brick acid''' Hydrochloric acid solution
-'''[[Paint|Brilliant white]]''' A cold bright white. Has a very slight blue tint when compared to white, which helps to disguise slight [[Paint]] discolouration.
-'''British Standard''' A published performance standard. Many are obligatory, some are not.
-'''[[Paint|Broken white]]''' White which has had a small amount of a dull colour added to remove the intensity of the whiteness.
-'''BSF''' An uncommon imperial nut measurement system.
-'''Bubble wrap''' [[Insulation]]. Deteriorates in the presence of UV.
-'''Building line''' String or rope stretched in a straight line to mark position of building works.
-'''Burr'''
-'''[[Putty & Mastic|Burnt sand mastic]]''' a sand & linseed oil [[Putty & Mastic|mastic]] used between wood frames & masonry.
-'''Buttercoat''' topcoat of render
-'''[[Putty & Mastic|Butyl putty]]''' another [[Putty & Mastic|glazing putty]].
-'''Butyl rubber''' a long lived plastic used as pond liner, flat roof covering and sometimes as heat resistant electrical wire insulation.
-'''BZP''' Bright Zinc Plated
-'''Cabinet Scraper'''
-'''[[Electricity Basics|Cable]]''' Electrical wire not intended for regular flexing. Has solid single core copper conductors. see also flex.
-'''Cable clips'''
-'''Cable ties'''
-'''Camber'''
-'''Camden'''
-'''Came''' The lead strip used in leaded windows.
-'''[[Card Level]]''' - a more versatile low cost replacement for a spirit level
-'''[[Duct Tape Review|Carpet tape]]'''
-'''Car body filler''' A tough durable filler made from polyester resin with inert fillers.
-'''Cartridge''' see nozzle
-'''Cartridge Gun'''
-'''Casing''' Timber lining of a door or window opening.
-'''[[Mortar Mixes#Gypsum|Cast Earth]]''' Earth and gypsum mix, used to construct walls etc.
-'''Catslide roof'''
-'''Caustic Soda''' a strong alkali. Hot caustic clears [[Unblock a Drain|drains blocked by grease]], removes hard to remove sticky kitchen grease.
-'''Cavity Wall''' An external wall built with a gap/ cavity between the 2 leaves of the wall. Different sizes of cavity are encountered, but 2" is by far the most common. Contrary to popular belief, cavity walls were sometimes used in the 1800s, but to prevent damp ingress rather than as insulation.
-'''[[Paint|Cellulose thinners]]''' A strong solvent mixture.
-'''Cement Dye''' These are added to cement mixes to colour them. Colours vary in their durability, black becomes washed out and streaky in time, whereas iron oxide (dull red) is permanent.
-'''[[Cement Mixing|Cement mixer]]'''
-'''Central Vacuum''' A vacuum cleaning system using a fixed vacuum pump plus built in plumbing to convey this vacuum around the building. Popular in the states, it has several advantages over a portable vacuum cleaner.
-'''[[CFL Lamps|CFL]]''' [[CFL Lamps|Compact Fluorescent Lamp]]. [[CFL Lamps|Energy saving lamp]] used in place of filament lamps.
-'''Cill''' aka sill.
-'''[[Fluorescent Lighting|Circline]]'''  circular fluorescent tube
-'''Circular saw''' Saw using a large circular saw blade. Fast cutting, but unable to cut curves.
-'''Chamfer'''
-'''Chase''' A channel cut usually in masonry for cables or pipes. Also used as a verb, meaning to cut a chase.
-'''Cherry picker''' High access machine. Consists of a small work platform on an extending arm on a wheeled vehicle.
-'''[[Sheet Materials|Chipboard]]''' A low cost low performance sheet material made from wood sawdust & wood chips stuck together with glue.
-'''Chisel''' Also see cold chisel, plugging chisel, bolster,
-'''Chocolate block, choc block''' screw connector strip for mains cables.
-'''Cladding'''
-'''[[Clamps|Clamp]]''' Device to hold 2 or more items together. Often used while glue dries. Many types of clamp exist.
-'''Clayboard''' Clay walling board with paper surfaces. Superior sound absorption to plasterboard. See also: plasterboard
-'''[[Hand Tools#Hammers|Club hammer]]'''
-'''Clunch''' a hardened chalk & clay stone occasionally used for building.
-'''CO'''
-# Carbon Monoxide, a lethal odourless colourless gas sometimes produced by combustion
-# Conservation Officer, local authority employee who decides what works are permitted on listed buildings.
-'''Cob''' Various types of earth based walling.
-'''Cobbles, cobblestones''' small rounded top stones used for paving and roads. Gives a very poor surface, uneven and slippery. Long superceded for most uses, but still used where it is desirable to keep people away.
-'''Cold chisel''' Chisel for masonry use
-'''Common brick''' Lower cost type of brick used where it will not be seen.
-'''Compression joint''' Pipe joint that grips pipes by compression. Has a nut at each end of the joint.
-'''Compressor'''
-# Machine delivering compressed air.
-# Delivers compressed refrigerant in a fridge, freezer, air conditioner or dehumidifier circuit.
-'''Concrete'''
-# A usually hard tough bulk building material usually made from cement, sand and stone. Other ingredients are sometimes also used.
-# Less often the term is used to describe any hard masonry-like composition material, which need not contain cement.
-'''Condensation''' Water deposited by the air on cold surfaces, such as windows or walls.
-'''Condensate''' Condensed water produced by condensing boilers, dehumidifiers, fridges, freezers and [[Category:Cooling|air conditioning units]]. Gas boiler condensate is acidic.
-'''Conduit''' a tubing system of some sort for carrying something around a building, usually electrical wiring.
-'''Contactor''' Relay (electrical)
-'''Corbel'''
-'''[[Drill Bits|Core drill]]'''
-'''Corgi''' A gas fitter accreditation body.
-'''Cornice''' Decorative moulding where the wall meets the ceiling. Generally made from wood, polystyrene, moulded plaster strips, or plaster applied in situ, but other materials are occasionally encountered.
-'''[[Fixings|Corrugated fixing]]'''
-'''Counterbore''' to cut a recess for a bolt head.
-'''[[Drill Bits|Countersink]]''' to cut a tapered recess for a bolt head.
-'''Coving''' A plain style of cornice.
-'''CPC''' Circuit Protective Conductor, earth conductor, earth wire.
-'''Crescent Wrench''' the most common type of adjustable spanner
-'''Crosscut saw''' saw blade optimised to cut at right angles to wood grain. Used in electric mitre saws.
-'''Crossover Switch'''
-'''Cup''' A type of warping of wood planks that makes the side edges raised or lowered compared to the centre of the plank.
-'''Customer''' Primary source of inconvenience, payments and senseless complaints. Person expecting owt for nowt.
-'''Dado''' The lower section of an interior wall, upto around waist height
-'''Dado''' A rail, usually horizontal and wooden, run at around waist height on a wall. Reduces wear & chair damage to the wall decorations.
-'''Damp proof course'''
-# an impermeable layer intended to stop rising damp. Usually plastic, but slate, bitumen and waterproof coatings have also been used.
-# a chemical injection intended to form an impermeable layer, but which more often do not.
-'''Damp proof membrane''' An impervious membrane laid usually in the floor to prevent transmission of damp.
-'''Daub''' earth plaster. See wattle & daub
-'''Datum''' A physical point of reference from which other positions are measured.
-'''[[Electricity Basics|dc]]'''
-'''Defects liability period''' The period for which the builder remains liable for defects occurring. Defined in contract.
-'''Dehumidifier''' Machine for extracting humidity from the air. See also: humidistat
-'''Delamination''' the separation of layers of a material. Plywood and other laminated products may fail in this manner.
-'''[[Paint|Denib]]'''
-'''[[Angle Grinder Discs|Diamond disc]]'''
-'''Die grinder'''
-'''[[Dimmers & Switchbanks|Dimmer]]''' device for reducing the efficiency of filament bulbs.
-'''[[Paint|Distemper]]''' A lime based interior [[Paint]] now coming back into favour due to its soft matt appearance and low manufacturing cost. Removed by washing with hot detergent, making it ideal for detailed cornicing, as it avoids [[Paint]] build up and loss of detail.
-'''Distressed''' Looking knackered. A deliberate style of [[Paint]] finish.
-'''[[Rainwater Harvesting & Use|Divertor]]'''
-'''[[Clamps|Dog clamp]]''' A [ shaped clamp hammered into 2 pieces of wood to hold them together during glue setting.
-'''Door Chain''' A short chain allowing partial opening of a door, while retaining a limited amount of security.
-'''Dowel''' A straight stick of (usually) wood used to accurately locate 2 pieces of wood together, and to fix them together, usually with glue.
-'''[[Drill Bits|Dowel bit]]''' aka Lip & spur [[Drill Bits|drill bit]], which see.
-'''[[Drain Heat Exchanger]] Heat exchanger recovering heat from waste water.
-'''[[Dremel]]''' a brand name, but widely used to mean any brand of small high speed rotary tool, typically taking tools of upto around 1" diameter with 3.2mm shank. Many types of tools are used with these. Also known as a die grinder.
-'''Drip groove''' Groove in the underside of a window cill. Prevents rain running back onto the brickwork.
-'''Earth'''
-# Soil. See topsoil, subsoil.
-# Electrical connection to earth / ground.
-'''Earthcrete''' Earth plus cement powder. Used to stabilise soil before laying gravel.
-'''[[RCD|Earth leakage]]''' the flow of mains current to earth, sometimes via a human. Earth current is often fault current, though not always.
-'''Earth wire''' electrical wire connected to earth
-'''Eaves'''
-'''Efflorescence''' White salt deposits on the surface of brick, plaster, stone or mortar.
-'''[[Paint|Eggshell]]''' An oil based paint with a semi matt finish. Harder wearing than emulsion.
-'''ELCB''' Device to cut electrical power in the event of certain earth leakage faults. There are 2 significantly different types of ELCB, current operated (aka [[RCD]]) and voltage operated. Now superceded by [[RCD]]s, the designation 'ELCB' indicates an old device.
-'''Electrocution''' Death by electric shock.
-'''EML''' expanded metal lath, sometimes called gauze.
-'''[[Paint|Emulsion]]''' popular wall paint based on PVA, titanium dioxide and pigment.
-'''[[Paint|Enamel]]''' any type of hard sufaced paint
-'''Engineering brick''' A hard dense frost resistant brick.
-'''[[Adhesive|Epoxy]]''' a tough synthetic resin mainly used as a glue. Araldite is a well known brand.
-'''Equipotential bonding'''
-'''ES''' Edison Screw. The most common size of screw-in lightbulb base.
-'''Essex Flange''' see also: Surrey flange
-'''Estimate''' Guess at a price. Expect the real price to be higher. Estimates are best avoided in favour of a binding quote for most jobs.
-'''Eternit''' synthetic slate, asbestos cement based.
-'''Extinguisher'''
-'''Extractor''' fan that moves air from building interior to the exterior. See also: HRV
-'''Facing Brick''' Brick with a fair face, used where they will be seen.
-'''Fall''' rate of downward slope
-'''Fascia'''
-'''Feather'''
-# to taper down something so the stepped edge is diminished and not noticeable.
-# bird feather used for faux marbling
-'''Feeler gauge''' Tool containing a set of assorted thicknesses of metal sheet. Used for measuring very small gaps.
-'''Felt'''
-# non-woven wool cloth
-# Roofing sheet used under tiles to reduce dirt and water ingress.
-'''Fence''' guiding edge attached to a tool to keep it a certain distance from the edge of the workpiece
-'''Fibre cement''' a fibre reinforced cement, usually found in sheet form. Asbestos used to be the most common fibre used, now glass fibre is probably the most common choice. Fibre cement is often loosely called 'asbestos.'
-'''Fibreglass''' plastic and glass fibres, used mainly for baths, roof coverings and rigid pool liners.
-'''Fibro cutters''' asbestos cement cutters. Not suited to use with modern asbestos replacements.
-'''Filament lamp''' Traditional light bulb containing a white hot filament.
-'''Fire cement''' A brittle aluminous cement able to handle very high temperatures.
-'''Flange'''
-'''Flap wheel''' A disc with abrasive flaps attached. Used with an angle grinder.
-'''Flashing''' Metal strip used to shed water at roofing joins. Usually lead but may also be copper or aluminium.
-'''[[Drill Bits|Flat bit]]''' A low cost, low performance, easily made drill bit. see [[Drill Bits]]
-'''Flaunching'''
-'''[[Electricity Basics|Flex]]''' flexible electrical cable. The flexibility results from using stranded conductors.
-'''Flitch Beam''' Steel and wood sandwich beam.
-'''Float glass''' The flat defect-free glass used for domestic glazing today.
-'''[[Fluorescent Lighting|Fluorescent lamp]]''' A highly energy efficient type of lighting.
-'''Flute'''
-# Groove in a drill bit used to cler debris
-#
-'''[[Plumbing|Flux]]''' several materials used to enable solder to wet the metal being joined.
-'''Flying Freehold'''
-'''FOC''' Free Of Charge. Means we're gonna steam you some other way.
-'''Footing''' Base of wall. Nothing to do with dancing.
-'''Frass''' wood powder made by woodworm beetles.
-'''Framing square''' An L shape tool used to
-'''Freehold''' Outright ownership of house & land. See leasehold.
-'''Furring'''
-# hard water deposits
-# tapered wood strip used to level an unlevel floor
-# ...roof
-'''[[Fuse]]''' Thin piece of wire which melts when excess current is passed, thus breaking the circuit. A fuse's rated current is the current it will pass indefinitely, not the current at which it fuses, which is significantly higher.
-'''Fusebox''' Box with switch & fuses.  see also CU.
-'''Gable''' triangular section of wall at the end of a roof.
-'''Galv''' galvanised, which see.
-'''Galvanised''' zinc coated. A low cost corrosion inhibiting coating for steel.
-'''Gang'''
-'''[[Clamps|G clamp]]'''
-'''[[Paint|Gloss]]'''
-# having a shiny surface
-# [[Paint]] that has a shiny surface when set.
-'''Goggles''' Protective eyewear. See 'direct vent' and 'indirect vent'
-'''Going'''
-'''Grab''' initial adhesion of an adhesive
-'''Gravel'''
-'''Grinder''' see angle grinder, bench grinder, die grinder.
-'''Grommet''' rubber ring-shaped item that protects cables etc from the sharp edges of a hole. Also see blind grommet
-'''Ground rent''' see leasehold
-'''Grounds''' wooden wedges inserted into masonry joints for fixing skirting & framing to. Generally found in old buildings, wallplugs are a lot less labour.
-'''GRP''' Glass Reinforced Plastic, fibreglass. See fibreglass
-'''Gulley'''
-'''Gypsum''' a pink powder widely used as plaster. See also lime plaster, mud plaster.
-'''HAC''' High alumina cement
-'''Hair''' animal hair used to reinforce plaster. Not often used today.
-'''[[Halogen Lighting|Halogen lamp]]''' a high temperature filament lamp. Popularly used as downlighters.
-'''[[Sheet Materials|Hardboard]]''' Thin woodfibre [[Sheet Materials|sheet material]]. Lacks good rigidity. See also: [[Sheet Materials|Pegboard]], [[Sheet Materials|MDF]].
-'''Hardcore''' mixed hard pieces used as a sub base. May include broken concrete, brick & stone.
-'''Head''' height of surface of water above appliance. Head is proportional to water pressure at zero flow.
-'''Header tank'''
-'''Heat exchanger''' Transfers heat from one liquid or air stream to another, without allowing the 2 to mix.
-'''Heave''' upswell of ground due to water content.
-'''Holesaw'''
-'''Hose clip''' Any one of a number of types of clip designed to attach a hose firmly to a tube. See also: Jubilee clip.
-'''[[Solar Thermal|Hose Pipe Collector]]''' Low cost [[Solar Thermal|solarthermal]] collector. Primarily used for [[Solar Thermal|pool heating]].
-'''HRV''' Heat Recovery Ventilation. Forced ventilation which recovers some of the otherwise lost heat using a crossflow heat exchanger.
-'''HTI''' High Temperature [[Insulation]]
-'''Humidistat''' Device that switches electrical power according to humidity level. Usually switches power on when RH goes above its threshold value.
-'''Hydraulic lime''' a fast setting lime used to make mortar for exposed locations and in permanently wet situations. Sets in wet conditions.
-'''Hydrochloric acid''' A strong acid used to remove cement, limescale, grease, [[Unblock a Drain|pipe blockages]], and organic matter. Sold as brick acid.
-'''Hydronic''' a heating system that uses water as the heat transfer fluid. Most British central heating systems are hydronic.
-'''Intumescent strip''' Strips fitted to some doors that swell during a fire to seal the door to frame gap.
-'''Intumescent [[Paint]]''' [[Paint]] that swells in a fire to delay burning. Also available as varnish.
-'''Iron oxide''' low cost pigment used to give dull red or brown colour. Iron oxide is what makes red bricks red.
-'''[[Paint|Japan black]]''' a tough low cost black [[Paint]]. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Black
-'''Jetty''' building storey jutting out further than its supporting walls. Common feature of medieval wood frame buildings.
-'''Jeweller's screwdriver''' Miniature screwdrivers mainly used for repairing appliances.
-'''Jigsaw''' An electric saw with low cutting speed and in most cases not very good ability to follow a straight line. Best used for cutting curves.
-'''Joist''' Wood beams supporting floor or wall.
-'''Jubilee Clip''' A tightenable metal band designed to attach a hose firmly to a tube. The device is tightened with a screwdriver.
-'''Junction box''' Box containing connection points for cables. Fire resistant.
-'''Knockdown joint''' aka '''KD''' joint. 2 plastic blocks held together by a screw. Used to make joints where repeated disassembly is desired.
-'''Knotting Compound'''
-'''L&P''' Lath & plaster, a construction of walls & ceilings.
-'''[[Insulation|Lagging]]''' (thermal) [[Insulation|insulation]]
-'''Laminate''' layered material. Most often used to describe wood flooring laminate, which is generally a thin layer of real wood on a chipboard base.
-'''Lamp black''' Soot, a formerly widely used black pigment.
-'''Lath''' Lightweight material used as a semirigid backing for plasterwork.
-* Wood: Thin strips of wood, usually oak or other hardwood.
-* Metal: EML.
-* Reed roll is also sometimes used as lath. See L&P.
-'''Lathe''' Machine for turning and working wood or metal, or sometimes other material. Often confused with 'lath.'
-'''Lead''' A dull grey soft malleable metal used for roofing, flashing, and previously for [[Plumbing|waterpipes]].
-'''[[Paint|Lead paint]]''' any paint containing lead. Some lead paints are now banned.
-'''Leasehold''' see ground rent
-'''LED'''
-'''Lime''' A white powder, Calcium hydroxide. Makes mortar, [[Paint]]s, plaster, stabiliser, and cement mortar modifier.
-'''Limelite''' a cement plaster containing cement, lime and chopped fibre. Not an equivalent substitute for lime plaster or lime mortar.
-'''Lime plaster''' A plaster mix based on lime. Usually also contains either sand or chalk.
-'''Lime putty''' a putty made by mixing bagged (hydrated non-hydraulic) lime and water, and storing while excluding air. Mainly used to make mortars & paints.
-'''Limestone''' A soft light coloured stone.
-'''[[Paint|Limewash]]''' [[Paint]] made from lime putty & water. Suitable for ceilings.
-'''Line'''
-# Live wire
-# Rope
-# String used for marking position
-# ...
-'''Linseed''' normally refers to linseed oil, extracted from flax seeds and used in a minority of [[Paint]]s, [[Putty & Mastic|mastics]], varnishes and [[Putty & Mastic|putties]]. The pleasant smell of linseed is characteristic.
-'''[[Drill Bits|Lip & spur]]''' a [[Drill Bits|drill bit]] for wood that doesn't wander. Also known as a dowel bit.
-'''M3, M4, M6, M8, M10, M12'''  metric bolt thread types. The number after the 'M' is the width of the thread in millimetres.
-'''M3.5''' the size & thread of screws used with standard UK electrical accessory faceplates.
-'''[[Marble]]''' A pretty but weak stone.
-'''[[Sheet Materials|Marine Ply]]''' A grade of [[Sheet Materials|plywood]] with greater water resistance than [[Sheet Materials|WBP]].
-'''[[Paint|Matt]]''' no surface shine or glossiness
-'''MCB''' Miniature Circuit Breaker, a pushbutton overcurrent cutout that replaces a fuse
-'''[[Sheet Materials|MDF]]''' Medium Density Fibre. A uniform wood fibre [[Sheet Materials|sheet material]]. Very vulnerable to water damage. See also: [[Sheet Materials|Hardboard]]
-'''[[Sheet Materials|Melamine]]''' A plastic. The term usually refers to [[Sheet Materials|melamine veneered chipboard]].
-'''[[Discharge Lighting|Mercury Lamp]]'''
-'''[[Discharge Lighting|Metal Halide Lamp]]'''
-'''Meter''' see multimeter, water meter,
-'''Machine oil''' oil for lubricating machinery & preventing rust on steel goods during storage. Mineral oil. See baby oil.
-'''[[Paint|Masking tape]]''' A low tack tape that may be peeled off without residue or damage. Most masking tapes will not peel cleanly if left on for long.
-'''[[Drill Bits|Masonry drill]]''' Drill bit for masonry.
-'''MICC'''  Mineral insulated cable. A very high temperature rated rigid cable. Widely used for fire critical circuits. Known as pyro. Hygroscopic.
-'''Mineral oil''' A light stable oil with various uses. See machine oil. See Baby oil.
-'''Minton''' a well known brand of high quality Victorian floor tiling
-'''Mitre saw'''
-# A handsaw with cradle enabling accurately angled cuts to be made in wood etc. Typically only 2 or 3 angles are provided for.
-# A powered circular saw mounted on a turntable able to cut wood etc at selectable accurate angles. A continuous range of angles is normally provided for.
-'''[[Clamps|Mole grips]]''' A common type of large locking pliers. Has an adjustable bolt and a 3rd lever to assist in releasing grip.
-'''[[Clamps|Monkey wrench]]''' An old type of adjustable spanner. See also Crescent Wrench.
-'''Monumental Mason''' Stonemason whose primary speciality is gravestones.
-'''[[Drill Bits|Mortar rake]]''' An abrasive coated rod fitted to angle grinders ad used to remove mortar between bricks. see
-'''Mortgage''' A means of ensuring you pay over twice the price for your house, but can pay over many years.
-'''Mosaic''' Tiling typically made with lots of very small tiles. Mosaics may also be made with stones.
-'''Moulding plane''' A plane that produces a moulded shape in the workpiece instead of a flat finish. Mostly replaced now by routers and spindle moulders.
-'''Mud plaster''' Earth containing clay used as plaster.
-'''Multimeter''' electrical meter that measures voltage, current (amps) and resistance. A worthwhile purchase for almost any DIYer.
-'''Nail fatigue, nail sickness''' When many nails are corroding through on a slate roof. Causes an increased rate of slate falls.
-'''[[Nails|Nail plate]]''' A metal plate with many nail-like spikes used to join wood rafters and joists.
-'''Neon screwdriver''' Simple voltage indicator. It is unsafe to rely on these when dealing with mains, as they give both false positive and false negative results.
-'''Nozzle'''
-'''NVQ''' Not Very Qualified
-'''Oilstone''' grinding stone intended to be used with oil. Some oilstones do not survive long if used without oil. See also waterstone
-'''Olive''' A copper gland forming a waterprof joint when compressed against copper pipe. Used in compression joints. Not edible.
-'''OPC''' Ordinary portland cement. Cement.
-'''Open time'''
-'''[[Sheet Materials|OSB]]''' Oriented Strand Board.
-'''[[Paint]] guard''' Handheld plastic strip used to keep paint off nearby surfaces or objects while painting. Simple ones may be made from strips of 2 litre soft drink bottles.
-'''[[Paint]] kettle''' small handled paint container. Makes holding & moving the paint easier, reduces the amount of spillage in case of accident, and avoids drying and contamination of the main reservoir of paint.
-'''[[Papercrete]]''' novel building material made from paper, clay, cement, sand, and sometimes other materials.
-'''PAR'''
-# Wood: planed all round. Compare PSE.
-# Glass: polished all round.
-'''Parapet'''
-'''Pargetting''' 3d decoration in external plasterwork. Traditional in East Anglia.
-'''PAT''' Portable Appliance Test, electrical goods safety test.
-'''Patio Cleaner'''
-'''Pattress''' Backbox for electrical accessories (light switches, sockets, etc)
-'''Pea shingle'''
-'''[[Sheet Materials|Pegboard]]''' Hardboard with a matrix of holes. Metal hooks may be inserted into the holes for hanging tools. See also: Hardboard.
-'''Perspex''' A clear plastic sometimes used for windows.
-'''PFA''' Pulverized Fly Ash. The ash from coal burning that goes up the chimney. Used in cement mixes. See also bottom ash.
-'''Phosphated''' a tough black non-rusting finish used on some screws.
-'''Picture rail''' Rail normally above head height for hanging pictures. Similar to dado rail but with a different profile and higher up.
-'''Piece rate''' payment per task, not per hour.
-'''[[Paint|Piss coat]]''' watered down first coat of [[Paint]].
-'''Pitch'''
-# number of turns per inch of a screw thread
-# variety of pine
-# bituminous black gloop
-'''Plane'''
-'''[[Plastering Beginner's Guide|Plaster]]''' An indoor smooth wall finishing coating. Based on gypsum, lime, cement or mud.
-'''Plaster floor''' an unusual type of suspended floor made from composite plaster
-'''[[Partition Wall|Plasterboard]]'''  flat sheet of plaster with paper surfaces.
-'''Plasterboard fixing'''  Also see hollow wall anchor
-'''[[Nails|Plasterboard Nail]]''' A short stubby small headed nail intended for fixing plasterboard to wooden studs. Not recommended.
-'''[[Screws|Plasterboard screw]]]''' screw for fixing [[Partition Wall|plasterboard]]. Has bugle head to avoid rucking, sharp hard point to pierce steel framing, non-rusting finish, and philips head to disengage from driver once home.
-'''Plate Heat Exchanger''' Type of heat exchanger, which see.
-'''[[Paint|Pliolite]]''' plastic resin [[Paint]] for exterior use.
-'''Plug'''
-# electrical plug-in connector, such as [[Electricity Basics|mains plugs]] used on electrical appliances
-# expanding plastic sleeve placed in masonry hole to enable a screw to grip. Plugs made from fibre, wood or metal are also used.
-# to fill a hole
-'''[[Levels|Plumb bob]]''' Weight with a central point on a string, Indicates the vertical.
-'''Pointing'''
-'''Polarity'''
-'''[[Insulation|Polyisocyanurate]]''' a type of high performance plastic foam insulation.
-'''Polypropylene''' a tough plastic
-'''Polystyrene''' a plastic used as a lower cost type of plastic foam [[Insulation]].
-'''[[Pozzolan]]''' substance that changes the set of lime to produce a harder mortar. Examples include clay, ground tiles, brick dust, trass, flyash. Pozzolan may also be used with cement and allows some reduction of cement use.
-'''PP''' period property
-'''Primer'''
-'''Profile gauge'''
-'''Programmable thermostat''' A combined programmer and thermostat that allows different temperatures to be set for different times. Normally electronic. Used with central heating and air conditioning.
-'''Programmer''' Timer for central heating and hot water. May be electronic or mechanical.
-'''PSE''' Planed square edge wood. Planed all round with corners all 90 degrees.
-'''PTFE Tape''' A thin slippery soft non-stick tape used to make threaded plumbing joints watertight or gastight.
-* Yellow PTFE tape: PTFE tape approved for gaswork.
-'''PU''' polyurethane, a type of glue
-'''Pullsaw''' Saw that cuts on the pull stroke. Permits use of a thinner blade. A thinner cut equals less energy use, if other factors are equal.
-'''Punch'''
-'''Purlin'''
-'''Pushfit''' Type of pipe joint assembled by pushing the pipes in. Some are disassmeblable and reusable.
-'''[[Putties & Mastics|Putty]]''' a stiff setting mixture. See lime putty, linseed putty, alkyd putty,
-'''PV''' Solar PhotoVoltaic, an electricity producing solar panel.
-'''[[Adhesive|PVA]]''' multipurpose building glue.
-'''PVC''' see also: upvc
-'''[[Clamps|PVC Pipe Clamp]]''' a simple spring clamp
-'''[[Adhesive|PVP]]'''
-'''Quicklime'''
-'''[[Clamps|Quick Release Clamp]]'''
-'''Raft Foundation''' A type of building foundation used on unstable ground. Floor and sides of the foundation are all tied together with reinforcement. The intent is that in case of ground movement, the whole structure will move as one, avoiding any damage.
-'''Rafter'''  Wood beams supporting a roof
-'''Rasp''' A coarse file used for shaping wood.
-'''Rawlplug'''  a brand of wall plug, which see.
-'''RCBO''' an MCB & RCD in one device
-'''[[RCD]]''' device that cuts the power if it detects earth leakage. See also [[Rewiring Tips]]
-'''R clip'''
-'''Reciprocating saw''' Powered saw with linear blade supported at one end that moves back and forth.
-'''Reed Roll''' Reeds joined with metal wire to make a flexible sheet. Sold for fencing. Sometimes also used as lath for walls & ceilings.
-'''Relay''' Electrically controlled switch. The first electrical computers were made from thousands of relays.
-'''Render''' mortar coating on wall. Usually a cement mortar, sometimes lime mortar.
-'''Repair plate''' Metal plate with holes in, used to repair woodwork by fixing in place with screws.
-'''Repointing''' Replacing the outer edge of mortar between bricks, blocks or stone in a wall.
-'''[[Adhesive|Resin]]''' tough durable [[Adhesive|glues]], including epoxy resin, vinyl ester resin,
-'''[[Floorcoverings|Resin Terrazzo]]''' A modern type of terrazzo comprising a thin layer (typically a quarter inch) of stone in resin.
-'''RH''' Relative Humidity. Amount of water vapour in air as a percentage of vapour saturation. How much vapour air can hold varies with temperature.
-'''Ripsaw''' Saw blade optimised to cut along the grain of wood.
-'''Riser'''
-#
-#
-'''Road base''' Various material mixes used for road bases
-* ABC MAG: A specified road base mix of stone, sand clay and dirt that can be used to make an [[http://www.livinginpaper.com/construction.htm economical interior floor]].
-'''[[Unblock a Drain|Rodding]]''' Clearing a drain with drain rods.
-'''Rodding eye''' waste pipe fitting that permits rodding access.
-'''RSJ''' Steel beam. also see UB. {Rolled Steel Joist]
-'''Rub down''' sand down
-'''Rubble''' scrap broken masonry.
-'''Rubble bag''' heavy duty version of plastic bin bag, suitable for disposal of rubble.
-'''[[Rub-r-Slate]]''' A low cost floor surfacing compound
-'''Rust Converter''' Phosphoric acid gel used to turn rust into a stable paintable compound. All loose rust must be removed first.
-'''Sand''' see silver sand, building sand, sharp sand,
-'''Sanding Block'''
-'''Sarking''' Water shedding boarding under the roof covering.
-'''Sash''' Opening part of a window, containing glass.
-'''Sash Cord''' Cord used to counterbalance the weight of window sashes
-'''SBC''' Small Bayonet Cap. Miniature version of the more popular bayonet cap used on mains light bulbs.
-'''Scabbling''' making a stone into a rough rectangle with axe or hammer
-'''Scraper''' paint scraper, cabinet scraper
-'''Screed'''
-'''[http://www.skyrunner.com/screwshoe.htm Screwshoe]''' An easy shoe modification giving better grip on sub-zero sites.
-'''[[Hand Tools#Hammers|Scutch hammer]]''' used for chopping bricks
-'''Scythe''' A handled blade for cutting grass and crops.
-* Short handles scythes have a small single handed handle
-* Long handles scythes have a 2 handed handle several feet long
-'''SDS''' A drilling system which uses hammer blows directly onto the end of the drill bit for better drilling performance. SDS uses its own type of chuck and bits, which are incompatible with conventional drills. Not all hammer drills are SDS.
-'''Self Levelling Compound''' A self levelling gloopy compound for levelling floors.
-'''SES''' Small Edison Screw. The 2nd most common size of screw-in lightbulb base, smaller than ES.
-'''Set square'''
-'''Setts''' see cobbles
-'''Shed'''
-# garden building
-# diy merchants
-'''[[Silicone Sealant|Silicone]]''' a soft synthetic plastic much used for sealing around baths, showers and sinks. Silicone contains acetates which encourage mould growth. See also [[Putties & Mastics]]
-'''[[Paint|Silk]]'''
-'''Sill''' cill
-'''Slate''' A natural stone widely used for roofing.
-'''Socket'''
-# electrical outlet into which a plug can be inserted.
-# tool which grips a nut or bolt. Fits on the end of a socket bar, of which a few types exist.
-'''[[Discharge Lighting|Sodium Lamp]]''' 2 different types of very high efficacy yellow and pink lighting. Much used for road lighting.
-'''Soil pipe''' A vertical pipe ventilating sewage plumbing. Dissipates explosive gases and relieves pressure buildup.
-'''Solder''' Metal alloy used to join pipes and sometimes wiring. Lead & tin solder has long been used, but is no longer permitted for potable water piping.
-'''[[Partition Wall|Soleplate]]''' Bottom horizontal member of a wood framed wall.
-'''Solvent weld''' [[Make Things from PVC Pipe|plastic pipe]] joined by applying a solvent. This melts the plastic together.
-'''Spiral saw''' Saw using a thin spinning blade
-'''[[Levels|Spirit level]]'''  indicates level accurately. Consists of a vial of liquid fixed to a bar. Some indicate vertical as well as horizontal, and some also fixed angles between the 2. Some have a series of vials indicating various angles close to horizontal, such as 1 degree, 2 degrees etc
-'''[[Clamps|Spreader]]'''
-'''[[Clamps|Spring Clamp]]'''
-'''Spyhole''' or door viewer. Small wide angle lensed lookout hole fitted to exterior doors for security. See also Door Chain.
-'''SRPC''' Sulphate Resisting Portland Cement. Cement used where it may come into contact with ground water, which often contains sulphate, and damages ordinary portland cement.
-'''Staging''' Presenting a house to make it appeal to buyers.
-'''Stainless steel''' various types of non rusting steels, which vary in their rust resistance.
-'''[[Hand Tools|Stilson]]''' Large type of [[Hand Tools|wrench]]. It grips when turned one way and loosens when turned the other.
-'''Stonemason''' Skilled stone worker.
-'''Stopper'''
-'''Stringer''' part of stairs
-'''Striplight''' Linear lamp, either fluorescent or filament
-'''[[Partition Wall|Stud]]''' Woodwork in a wood framed [[Partition Wall|partition wall]].
-'''Sub''' suncontract
-'''Subsoil''' Soil below top layer, does not contain humus. Does not support plant growth on its own. May be converted to topsoil by mixing in a generous amount of organic matter, such as weeds, grass clippings, paper, food scraps, manure, etc, and giving the material time to break down to form humus.
-'''[[Paint|Suffolk Pink]]''' A traditional pink colour. Traditionally a lime [[Paint]] pigmented with blood.
-'''Sugar soap''' Used for cleaning [[Paint|paintwork]] before repainting. Not edible, does not contain sugar,
-'''Sulphamic acid''' A descaler
-'''[[Unblock a Drain|Sulphuric Acid]]''' used to [[Unblock a Drain|unblock drains]]
-'''Surrey flange''' See also Essex flange
-'''[[Dimmers & Switchbanks|Switchbank]]''' Bank of 2 or more switches. Permits much greater control over lighting etc than just a single switch. Compare '[[Dimmers & Switchbanks|dimmer]].'
-'''Switchboard'''
-'''Switchfuse''' Switch & fuse. Historic forerunner of the fusebox
-'''SWMBO''' She who thinks she must be obeyed
-'''[[Electricity Basics|T&E]]''' Twin & Earth. 3 core PVC cable used for most fixed house wiring.
-'''Tablesaw'''
-'''[[Tack Cloth]]''' A rag treated so that dust sticks to it. Designed to remove dust etc from surfaces before painting.
-'''Tamp''' to hit mortar to compact it & drive out air voids.
-'''[[Tar]]'''
-'''TCT''' Tungsten Carbide Tipped. A very hardwearing fast feeding cutting material. Used widely on power saw blades & [[Drill Bits|masonry drill bits]].
-'''Tea''' an implied part of payment for all jobs.
-'''Teeth sucking''' Indication of high costs ahead, usually warning sign of a rip off.
-'''Tenon saw'''
-'''Terrace'''
-# row of joined houses
-# stepped ground
-# bad news kids (or is that 'terrors'?)
-'''[[Floorcoverings|Terrazzo]]''' Stone set in concrete, cut and polished to give a perfectly smooth surface in which sections through the stone are visible at the surface. Horizontal metalwork is sometimes incorporated into the surface. Terrazzo makes a beautiful flooring, and the ingredients are low cost, but a little care is needed over cleaning materials and methods to avoid permanent staining.
-'''[[Paint|Textured paint]]''' A bulk forming [[Paint]].
-'''Thermidistat'''
-'''Thermostat''' Device that switches at a set temperature. Mostly used to maintain an approximately constant temperature.
-* Electrical: Used to switch heating or cooling on.
-* Plumbing: used to blend hot and cold water to achieve an approximately constant output temperature.
-'''Ties''' see cable ties, wall ties,
-'''[[Sheet Materials|Timberboard]]'''
-'''Timer''' device to switch something on & off at preset times
-'''Timber''' wood
-'''[[Superhard Drills|Titanium Aluminium Nitride]]''' an extra hard drill bit coating.
-'''[[Superhard Drills|Titanium Nitride]]''' an extra hard drill bit coating. Gold coloured. See also [[Drill Bits]]
-'''Titanium Oxide''' White pigment used in modern [[Paint|paints]] and white bar soap.
-'''Toggle'''
-* Expansion fixing:
-* Hollow wall fixing:
-'''[[Sheet Materials|Tongue & groove]]'''
-'''[[Paint|Topcoat]]''' The final coat of [[Paint]]
-'''Top hat washer''' A plastic tophat shaped washer used when fitting taps
-'''Topsoil''' top layer of soil containing organic matter. Supports plant growth.
-'''Torch'''
-# hand held light.
-# blowlamp.
-'''Torque Wrench''' Socket bar allowing a predetermined toque to be used. These either measure or limit torque, depending on the type.
-'''Tower''' Tower shaped access scaffolding. Usually freestanding.
-'''Track'''
-# Low grade road for vehicular access
-# line of conductive carbon across an electrical insulator
-'''Tracked''' Vehicle or machine using tracks in place of wheels, enabling movement over very rough ground.
-'''Trap''' plumbing device that catches solids. Mostly found underneath sinks, baths and showers. Need occasional emptying.
-'''Trass''' a pozzolan used with cement and lime mixtures.
-'''Trip''' Any button or switch operated electrical cut-out, such as MCB, RCD, RCBO. A colloquial term.
-'''Truss'''
-'''TT''' Earthing system using a local earth, usually a  rod but may sometimes be a pipe or grid.
-'''Tuck Pointing''' A style of pointing in which the bulk of the pointing mortar matches the wall colour, and a thin straight line of contrasting mortar is embedded into the bulk mortar. Traditionally used to make uneven irregular walls look neater.
-'''[[Drill Bits|Twist drill]]''' most common type of [[Drill Bits|drill bit]].
+BTW what about using formatting it as a definition list like:
-'''UB''' Universal Beam. Steel beam. As RSJ, though with minor differences in detail
+; Round Tuit
+: source of energy and motivation for DIY jobs
-'''[[Ufer Earth|Ufer]]''' A method of creating a very low resistance local earth connection, and eliminating potential differences between concrete floors and CPC during fault conditions, all at no significant cost.
+I'm not suggesting changing it all hand - I reckon running it all through a cunningly-crafted Perl incantation should do it. (I'm happy to give it a shot if you think the result would be worthwhile.)
-'''[[Paint|Undercoat]]'''
+--[[User:John Stumbles|John Stumbles]] 13:33, 28 April 2007 (BST)
-'''Underpin''' to deepen a building's foundations.
-'''Upright''' refers to upright timbers, eg in a partition wall.
+That's easily done with the text editor, but is there an advantage I'm not seeing?
+[[User:NT|NT]] 18:33, 28 April 2007 (BST)
-'''uPVC''' A rigid plastic, easily scratched and brittle when cold. Discolouration is occasionally seen.
+I don't see any huge advantage but I think it'd look a bit nicer, be a a bit easier to maintain and look a bit more professional from the POV of anyone coming from another wiki (e.g. WP) since that's the formatting intended for this sort of list.
-'''[[Electricity Basics|VA]]''' Volts multiplied by amps gives VA. This equals power for some loads, but is not equal to power for non-resistive loads.
+BTW how would you do it with the text editor (short of changing each one by hand)?
-'''Vent''' device admitting fresh air, ie something with a hole in it.
+--[[User:John Stumbles|John Stumbles]] 20:27, 28 April 2007 (BST)
-'''Vice'''
+OK I'll get it done next time I wiki. Sounds like you need a better text editor.
+[[User:NT|NT]] 23:06, 28 April 2007 (BST)
-'''Vinyl''' A plastic found in film form and invariably used for nasty purposes
+I thought you meant the wiki editor. I could do it with vi but easier (for me) with perl. What editor do you use?
+--[[User:John Stumbles|John Stumbles]] 23:34, 28 April 2007 (BST)
-'''[[Paint|Vinyl Dye]]'''
+: I see you've done it - nice one! What did you use BTW? --JDS
-'''VIR''' Indian rubber electrical wiring. Common half a century ago.
+:: Mostly win32pad, fwiw. --NT
-'''Voltstick''' Simple voltage indicator. It is unsafe to rely on these when dealing with mains as they give both false positive and false negative results. See also 'neon screwdriver'
-'''Voussoir''' wedge shaped brick or stone used in an arch
+==Split?==
+The article is quite big now. When I edit it I get a warning that some browsers may not be able to handle the size of it. I find it quite unwieldy to scroll through when reading, and even more so when editing. What do you think about splitting it? (If not into 27 separate alphabetical sections just yet, maybe just say, 0-L and M-Z?) --[[User:John Stumbles|John Stumbles]] 18:31, 29 April 2007 (BST)
-'''[[Adhesive|Wallpaper paste]]''' A low cost glue that dries clear.
+In all honesty I think that would ruin much of its usefulness. When I use a glossary I want to look up the words I need - having to go back and forth between different webpages is chaos, making a simple task unreasonably difficult.
-'''Wall plate'''
+Re the 32k warning, even the barely functional windows notepad can manage a pitiful 64k, and every PC owner has a WP even if not a txt-ed that can handle files way bigger. Even windows 3.1 Write can handle 100s of k. What wikimedia people were thinking when they wrote that I really don't know. I dont know how old wikimedia is, maybe they were trying to ensure 100% compatibility with some really old kit.
+[[User:NT|NT]] 19:00, 29 April 2007 (BST)
-'''[[Fixings|Wall plug']]'' piece of plastic, wood or fibre that is inserted into a drilled hole in masonry to allow a woodscrew to be fitted. The wood screw expands the [[Fixings|plug]], causing it to grip the masonry firmly. Often called a '[[Fixings|rawlplug]],' which is a tradename.
+I don't think it has anything to do with whatever editor you have on your PC but I'd guess it depends what size 'textarea' (or whatever the html form element is called) your browser can handle. --[[User:John Stumbles|John Stumbles]]
-'''Wall ties''' Ties that link the 2 leaves of a cavity wall. Usually metal, but stone or brick ties may be found on some older properties.
-'''Warm air''' a heating system using warm air as the heat transfer medium. Fanned vents are used instead of radiators. Popular in the states, but not in Britain.
+Came across an explanation of this old rule:
-'''[[Rainwater Harvesting & Use|Waterbutt]]''' Large water collection barrel, usually plastic.
+"In the past, because of some now rarely used browsers, technical considerations prompted a strong recommendation that articles be limited to a maximum of precisely 32 KB in size, since editing any article longer than that would cause severe problems.[1] With the advent of the section editing feature and the availability of upgrades for the affected browsers, this once hard and fast rule has been softened and many articles now exist which are over 32 KB of total text size."
+[[User:NT|NT]] 14:19, 18 May 2007 (BST)
-'''Waterstone''' grinding stone intended to be used with water. See also oilstone.
+As a matter of interest where did you find this, and what does the [1] refer to? --[[User:John Stumbles|John Stumbles]] 23:13, 18 May 2007 (BST)
-'''Water table''' The level of groundwater in the locality
-'''Wattle'''' woven twig wood partition
+http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_size
-'''Wattle & daub''' woven twig wood partition coated with earth based plaster.
+Theres a bunch more discussion about it, pros & cons. My take on it was that the important reason is now well & truly history, leaving only the q of article readability. And with a glossary, its not intended as an article to sit down and read all of. And even for dialuppers 32k is small.
+[[User:NT|NT]] 23:54, 18 May 2007 (BST)
-'''[[Sheet Materials|WBP]]''' Water & Boil Proof. A grade of [[Sheet Materials|plywood]]. Not the same grade as [[Sheet Materials|marine ply]].
+== How about a glossary split by domain area? ==
-'''Weep Hole''' Small holes in a wall for any water in the cavity to drain out. Also used with retaining walls to relieve the extra weight of water that would otherwise build up behind the wall.
-'''Weld cement''' a high strength high cost cement [[Mortar Mixes|mortar]]
+So we could have an Electrical Glossary, a Plumbing / Heating one etc. That way you could still research a whole subject without getting loads of stuff from other unrelated areas of interest.
-'''[[Paint|Whitewash]]''' chalk & glue [[Paint]]
+--[[User:John Rumm|John Rumm]] 02:24, 19 May 2007 (BST)
-'''Whiting''' fine chalk powder. Used in paints, mastics, & some plaster.
-'''Whitworth''' A nut size measurement system standard from the 1800s, still occasionally used.
+I'm sure those would be quite informative. I hope we also retain the all-in-one glossary though, as people need a place they can go to look up words they dont know, rather than clicking through 10 different pages trying to find one with their word on.
+[[User:NT|NT]] 09:37, 19 May 2007 (BST)
-'''Wire brush''' Brush with steel or brass bristles.
+Some subject glossaries already exist though, so a page of glossary links could save a lot of writing. There are already some links at the bottom of the main glossary
-* Steel: used for removing cement smears, and sometimes for raising the grain of wood
+[[User:NT|NT]] 09:41, 19 May 2007 (BST)
-* Brass: mainly used for removing dirt from suede
-'''[[Angle Grinder Discs|Wire wheel]]''' A wire bristled wheel used in drill or [[Angle Grinder Discs|angle grinder]] to remove rust, [[Paint|paint]], etc.
+Is "Search" not a solution for the "word I don't know" problem though? Its quicker to let the machine look for the term for you than reading through a list yourself (even if it is alphabetised).
-'''Woodchip''' A textured wallpaper consisting of 2 sheets of paper with wood chippings sandwiched between them. Used to disguise rough wall surfaces.
+--[[User:John Rumm|John Rumm]] 12:53, 19 May 2007 (BST)
-'''[[Woodworm]]''' any of a number of wood boring insect species
+I think the main advantage to splitting up the glossary is that it would be easier to maintain. ATM it's a PITA:
+# waiting for the page to download
+# scrolling through to see if there's an entry for the term you're interested in
+# waiting for the edit page to download
+# scrolling through the edit page and making your changes
+# waiting for the preview page to download
+# scrolling through to see how your edit looks
+# ... etc ...
-'''Workbench'''
+The download times probably aren't such a problem if you've a decent connection rather than NTL^H^H^HVirgin :-(
+The problem with splitting by subject is what to do with terms which have meanings for different subjects e.g. a meter can be gas, water, electrical etc. One could have a separate generic glossary for such terms but that seems inelegant and you'd probably have people adding terms which they think only have meaning in one category to that category's glossary when there's already an entry in the generic glossary. Alternatively you have an entry in each relevant glossary and rely on the Search function to show them all if someone doesn't know what the term means at all: OTOH if they know it's, say, an electrical term then they can go straight to the electrical glossary.
+From the POV of maintenance I think not only does having smaller glossaries make it easier, but also people who have expertise in a particular field can concentrate better on that glossary when all terms are in their domain of competence, rather than being interspersed with lots of stuff they know nothing about.
+--[[User:John Stumbles|John Stumbles]] 15:19, 19 May 2007 (BST)
-==More Glossaries==
-[[Lighting Glossary]]
+I dont see any problems with >32k of text, it dls on NTHell dialup without issue.
-[[Listed Building Basics]]
+But surely the solution is as suggested, ie if you want some subject glossaries, great, go ahead and start them, write them. Also leave the universal glossary for those of us that want to use that.
-[http://www.boltscience.com/pages/glossary.htm Nuts & Bolts FAQ]
+I've visited glossary sites at times, and theyre usually split into multiple pages, which totally ruins their usability IME. If I'm reading about a subject with terms I dont know, I need to be able to just search-find each term on the glossary page, there isnt a cats chance that I'm going to want to waste time running back and forth between numerous pages trying to find each word. Its a crazy way to have a glossary.
-[http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/article039.htm Wood finishing FAQ]
+Subject glossaries have their uses in that they are small enough to be readable, either in whole or part, and are a quick way to build up subject knowledge.
-[http://www.trp.dundee.ac.uk/research/glossary/intro.html Glossary of Conservation Terms]
+With subject glossaries, I dont see any problem with for example the word 'meter' being included in all of electricity, gas & woodwork glossaries. (overlooking sp for sake of example)
-[http://www.hvva.org/hvvaglossary.htm Glossary of Architectural Terms]
+I'm all for you creating the pages you want, and keeping what we have now, in true wiki spirit.
+[[User:NT|NT]] 15:52, 19 May 2007 (BST)
-[http://www.albany-roofing.co.uk/roof-parts.htm Roofing Glossary]
+I don't think having an all-in-one glossary '''and''' subject-specific glossaries is a good idea at all. I think it will confuse readers and (potential) editors as to which is the canonical version. I think we need to agree (all 3 of us!) on which way to go and stick to it. Since you've done most of the work [[User:NT|NT]] I've left it the way you've gone with it, apart from making suggestions. However since [[User:John Rumm|John Rumm]] suggested the subject-specific split I've weighed in with my €0.02'orth. However I think consistency and consensus are paramount here. --[[User:John Stumbles|John Stumbles]] 17:45, 19 May 2007 (BST)
-[http://www.wissen-elektrowerkzeuge.de/ew-wissen/content/lexicon_a___z/index_eng.html Bosch Power Tool Glossary]
-[http://honestbuilder.com/trade_terms.html Trade Terms Glossary]
+I guess we disagree then. I cant imagine how titles like 'Glossary of Woodwork' and 'Glossary of DIY terms' would be confusing.
-[http://www.castlesontheweb.com/glossary.html Castle Terms Glossary]
+As for canonical, wikis are never the last word, always contain errors, and one of the points about them is that more than one view can coexist - and inevitably will in practice - within a wiki. As is already the case in fact. I think youre being optimistic if you expect consistency and concensus on wikis.
-[http://www.diyinfo.org/wiki/Glue_Terminology Glue Terminology]
+Go for it, write your glossary(s), but please let the articles people have worked on and are continuing to work on stay.
+Practically I dont think it would be at all a good thing to ban someone from starting another glossary article, and I'm wondering if the policy you suggest would head directly in that direction.
-==See Also==
+We already have a somewhat similar case further down the line, with 2 different articles covering the same thing, 'Cables' and 'cables for domestic...' and if moderators start to delete other peoples articles - assuming the info to be valid - and clearly a lot of work has gone into them - then we wont do the wiki any favours.
-[[Special:Allpages|Wiki Contents]]
-[[Special:Categories|Categories of Articles]]
+If I write an all in one glossary, I wouldnt consider saying you cant write subject glossaries, and I think the sensible principle behind that works both ways round.
+[[User:NT|NT]] 22:33, 19 May 2007 (BST)
+== DHW ==
+"DHW" is used in the name of a Wiki page; "DHW" should appear in the Glossary, and be explicitly explained in the article.  I'll not edit it, since I'm only guessing that its intended use in the Wiki is "Domestic Hot Water". [[User:John Stockton|John Stockton]] ([[User talk:John Stockton|talk]]) 20:58, 10 January 2017 (UTC)
-[[Category:Adhesives]]
+: fair point. Added DHW. --[[User:John Rumm|John Rumm]] ([[User talk:John Rumm|talk]]) 10:02, 11 January 2017 (UTC)
-[[Category:Appliances]]
-[[Category:Basics]]
-[[Category:Bathrooms]]
-[[Category:Building]]
-[[Category:Cleaning]]
-[[Category:Cooling]]
-[[Category:Damp]]
-[[Category:Doors]]
-[[Category:Electrical]]
-[[Category:Energy Efficiency]]
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