Chapter 4: Building Construction

Question 1

Balloon Frame Construction

Answer 1

A construction method using long continuous studs that run from the sill plate (located on the foundation) to the roof eave line. All intermediate floor structures are attached to the studs. Requires the use of long lumber and generally lacks any type of fire stopping within the wall cavity.

Question 2

Cockloft

Answer 2

Concealed space between the top floor and the roof of a structure.

Question 3

Curtain Wall

Answer 3

A nonload-bearing wall, often of glass and steel, fixed to the outside of a building and serving especially as cladding.

Question 4

Dead Load

Answer 4

Weight of the structure, structural members, building components, and any other features permanently attached to the building that are constant and immobile.

Question 5

Eave

Answer 5

The edge of a pitched roof that overhangs an outside wall. Attic vents in typical eaves provide an avenue for an exterior fire to enter the attic.

Question 6

Fire Stop

Answer 6

Solid materials, such as wood blocks, used to prevent or limit the vertical and horizontal spread of fire and the products of combustion in hollow walls or floors, above false ceilings, in penetrations for plumbing or electrical installations, in penetrations of a fire-rated assembly, or in cocklofts and crawl spaces.

Question 7

Fire Wall

Answer 7

Fire-rated wall with a specified degree of fire resistance, built of fire-resistive materials and usually extending from the foundation up to and through the roof of a building, that is designed to limit the spread of a fire within a structure or between adjacent structures.

Question 8

Fire-Resistance Rating

Answer 8

Rating assigned to a material or assembly after standardized testing by an independent testing organization; identifies the amount of time a material or assembly will resist a typical fire, as measured on a standard time-temperature curve.

Question 9

Green Wood

Answer 9

Wood with high moisture content.

Question 10

Gusset Plates

Answer 10

Metal or wooden plates used to connect and strengthen the joints of two or more separate components (such as metal or wood truss components or roof or floor components) into a load-bearing unit.

Question 11

Hybrid Construction

Answer 11

Type of building construction that uses renewable, environmentally friendly or recycled materials. Also known as Natural or Green Construction.

Question 12

Joists

Answer 12

Horizontal structural members used to support a ceiling or floor. Drywall materials are nailed or screwed to the ceiling joists and the subfloor is nailed or screwed to the floor joists.

Question 13

Lightweight Steel Truss

Answer 13

Structural support made from a long steel bar that is bent at a 90-degree angle with flat or angular pieces welded to the top and bottom.

Question 14

Lightweight Wood Truss

Answer 14

Structural supports constructed of 2x3 in. or 2x4 in. (50mm by 75mm or 55 mm by 100mm) members that are connected by gusset plates.

Question 15

Live Load

Answer 15

(1) Items within a building that are movable but are not included as a permanent part of the structure; merchandise, stock, furnishings, occupants, firefighters, and the water used for fire suppression are examples of live loads. (2) Force placed upon a structure by the addition of people, objects, or weather.

Question 16

Load-Bearing Wall

Answer 16

Walls of a building that by design carry at least some part of the structural load of the building in the direction of the ground or base.

Question 17

Masonry

Answer 17

Bricks, blocks, stones, and unreinforced and reinforced concrete products.

Question 18

Means of Egress

Answer 18

Continuous and unobstructed way of exit travel from any point in a building or structure to a public way, consisting of three separate and distinct parts: exit access, exit, and exit discharge.

Question 19

Non-load-Bearing Wall

Answer 19

Wall, usually interior, that supports only its own weight.

Question 20

Oriented Strand Board (OSB)

Answer 20

A wooden structural panel formed by gluing and compressing wood strands together under pressure. This material has replaced plywood and planking in the majority of construction applications. Roof, decks, walls, and subfloors are all commonly made of OSB.

Question 21

Parallel Chord Truss

Answer 21

A truss constructed with the top and bottom chords parallel. These trusses are used as floor joists in multistory buildings and as ceiling joists in buildings with flat roofs.

Question 22

Parapet

Answer 22

Portion of the exterior walls of a building that extends above the roof. A low wall at the edge of a roof.

Question 23

Partition Wall

Answer 23

Interior nonload-bearing wall that separates a space into rooms.

Question 24

Party Wall

Answer 24

: A load-bearing wall shared by two adjacent structures.

Question 25

Platform Frame Construction

Answer 25

A construction method in which a floor assembly creates an individual platform that rests on the foundation. Wall assemblies the height of one story are placed on this platform and a second platform rests on top of the wall unit. Each platform creates fire stops at each floor level restricting the spread of fire within the wall cavity.

Question 26

Protected Steel

Answer 26

Steel structural members that are covered with either a fire resistant spray-on fire proofing (an insulating barrier) or fully encased in an Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) tested and approved system.

Question 27

Purlin

Answer 27

Horizontal member between trusses that support the roof.

Question 28

Rafter

Answer 28

Inclined beam that supports a roof, runs parallel to the slope of the roof, and to which the roof decking is attached.

Question 29

Rain Roof

Answer 29

A second roof constructed over an existing roof.

Question 30

Rebar

Answer 30

Short for reinforcing bar. These steel bars are placed in concrete forms before the cement is poured. When the concrete sets (hardens) the rebar within it adds considerable strength.

Question 31

Ridge

Answer 31

The horizontal line at the junction of the top edges of two sloping roof surfaces.

Question 32

Spalling

Answer 32

Expansion of excess moisture within masonry materials due to exposure to the heat of a fire, resulting in tensile forces within the material, and causing it to break apart. The expansion causes sections of the material’s surface to violently disintegrate, resulting in explosive pitting or chipping of the material’s surface.

Question 33

Structural Collapse

Answer 33

Structural failure of a building or any portion of it resulting from a fire, snow, wind, water, or damage from other forces.

Question 34

Stud

Answer 34

An upright post in the framework of a wall for supporting sheets of lath and plaster, wallboard, or similar material.

Question 35

Veneer Walls

Answer 35

Walls with a surface layer of attractive material laid over a base of common material.