Framing Structures

Finger Joint

A lengthening joint formed by interlacing finger-like projections on the ends of the joined members.

Rim Joists

Also called a header. It is a joist set on top of a sill and forming the perimeter of a wood-frame floor.

Open-Web Steel Joists

Also called bar joists. It is a lightweight, fabricated steel joist having an open web. It is a K-series joist with a web consisting of a single bent bar, running in a zigzag pattern between the upper and lower chords.

Principal Beam

Also called primary beam. It is any large beam in a structural frame that supports secondary beams or joists.

Rebar

Also called reinforcing bar. It is a steel bar for reinforcing concrete, usually specified by a number equivalent to its diameter in eighths of an inch.

Tailpiece

Also called stringer. It is a relatively short beam, joist or rafters supported by a wall at one end and by a header at the other.

Dado Joint

Also known as housed joint. It is a joint made by inserting the end or edge of one member into a corresponding dado in the other.

Open Mortise

Also known as the slip mortise or slot mortise. It is a mortise open on three sides.

Blind Mortise

Also known as the stopped mortise. It is a mortise that does not pass completely through the member.

Raised Girt

Also termed as flush girt. It is a girt parallel to and level with the floor joists

Tongued Miter

IT is a miter joint that incorporates a tongue and groove

Flange Angle

IT is one of the angles forming the top or bottom flange.

Simple Beam

It is a a beam resting on simple supports on both ends which are free to rotate and have no moment resistance.

Steel Beam

It is a beam consisting of a single or built-up structural steel section.

Continuous Beam

It is a beam extending over more than two supports in order to develop greater rigidity and smaller moments than a series of simple beams having similar spans and loading.

Trimmer

It is a beam, joists, or rafters supporting one end of a header at the edge of an opening in a floor or roof frame.

Chamfer

It is a beveled surface, usually formed or cut at a 45 degree angle to the adjacent principal faces.

Chase Mortise

It is a blind mortise having one inclined narrow side so that the tenon can be slid into it sideways.

Flange

It is a broad ridge or pair of ridges projecting at a right angle from the edge of a structural shape in order to strengthen or stiffen it.

Rabbet

It is a channel, groove or notch cut along or near one edge of a member so that something else can be fitted into it.

Intumescent Coating

It is a coating that when exposed to heat of a fire, swells to form a thick insulating layer of inert gas bubbles that retards flame spread and combustion.

Reinforced Concrete Beam

It is a concrete beam designed to act together with longitudinal and web reinforcement in resisting applied forces.

Reinforced Concrete Column

It is a concrete column designed to act together with vertical and lateral reinforcement resisting applied forces.

Tied Column

It is a concrete column reinforced with vertical bars and individual lateral ties.

Spiral Column

It is a concrete column with spiral reinforcement enclosing a circular core reinforced with vertical bars.

Precast Concrete

It is a concrete member or product that is cast and cured in a place other than where it is to be installed in a structure.

One-Way Slab

It is a concrete slab of uniform thickness reinforced in one direction and cast integrally with parallel supporting beams. It is suitable only for short spans.

Two-Way Slab

It is a concrete slab of uniform thickness reinforced in two directions and cast integrally with supporting edge beams or bearing walls on four sides. It is economical for medium spans with intermediate to heavy loads.

Stopped Dado

It is a dado that is not cut across the full width of the member.

Header

It is a framing member crossing and supporting the end of joists, studs or rafters, so as to transfer the weight to parallel joists, studs or rafters.

Dropped Girt

It is a girt set below the floor joists it supports.

Cross-lap Joint

It is a halved joint formed by two crossing members.

Square Splice

It is a halved scarf joint used especially to resist tension, having a thicker and a thinner section for each member, the thicker one being to the end.

Drawbore

It is a hole in a tenon bored eccentric with the corresponding holes in the mortise so that the two pieces will be forced tightly together when the pin in hammered into place.

Girt

It is a horizontal timber connecting the posts of a braced frame at an intermediate level above the ground floor.

Miter Joint

It is a joint between two pieces which come together at a corner. It is a finish joint and should not be used where strength is an important requirement.

Keyed Joint

It is a joint fastened and secured by a key

Bridle Joint

It is a joint formed by fitting the end of one member, notched to form two parallel tenons, into two gains cut into the edge of a second member

Rabbeted Joint

It is a joint made by cutting a shoulder or edge from one piece to receive the other piece. It is used in window or door frames or in shelf and drawer construction.

Girder

It is a large principal beam designed to support concentrated loads at isolated points along its length.

Scarf Joint

It is a lengthening joint made by overlapping the tapered, notched or halved ends of two members and holding them in place with bolts, straps, keys or fishplates, to resist tension or compression.

Shoulder Miter

It is a miter joint having a raised surface to limit motion between joined parts.

Combination Frame

It is a modification of old brace frame which was of heavy timbers with every joint mortised and tenoned. The modification consists of lighter timbers and less mortising and pinning to save material and labor.

Hollow-Core Slab

It is a precast, prestressed concrete plank internally cored to reduce dead weight. It is suitable for medium to long spans and uniformly distributed floor and rood loads.

Cantilever Beam

It is a projecting beam supported only at one fixed end.

Continuous Slab

It is a reinforced concrete slab extending as a structural unit over three or more supports in a given direction. It is subject to lower bending moments than a series of discrete, simple supported slabs.

Reinforced Concrete Slab

It is a rigid planar structure of concrete designed to act together with principal and secondary reinforcement in resisting applied forces.

Beam

It is a rigid structural member designed to carry and transfer traverse loads across space to supporting elements.

I-Beam

It is a rolled or extruded metal beam having a cross section resembling the capital letter I

Foxtail Edge

It is a small wedge in the split end of a stub tenon for spreading and securing it when driven into a blind mortise

Box Girder

It is a steel beam built up from shapes and having a hollow, rectangular cross section.

Castellated Beam

It is a steel beam fabricated by dividing the web of a wide-flange section with a lengthwise zigzag cut, then welding both halves together at the peaks, thus increasing depth without increasing weight.

Plate Girder

It is a steel girder built up from plates or shapes that are welded or riveted together.

Composite Column

It is a structural steel section thoroughly encased in concrete reinforced with both vertical and spiral reinforcement.

Light Frame Construction

It is a system of utilizing repetitive, closely spaces, and sheathed members of dimension lumber or light-gauge steel to form the structural elements of a building.

Undercut Tenon

It is a tenon having its shoulder cut at an angle to ensure that it bears on the mortised piece.

Through Tenon

It is a tenon that extends completely through or beyond the piece into which its corresponding mortise is cut.

Haunched Tenon

It is a tenon that is narrower at the tip than at the root.

T-Beam

It is a type of reinforced concrete beam where a reinforced concrete floor slab and its supporting beam, or girder, are built at the same time and thoroughly tied together.

Plain Joint

It is also known as a lap joint. It is used in very hasty construction for temporary framing and is made by lapping one piece over the other and nailing them together. It is not a very strong joint.

Coped Joint

It is also known as a scribed joint. It is a joint between two moldings made by undercutting the end of one of them to the profile of another.

Butt Joint

It is also known as square joint or end joint. It is made by placing full thickness of wood directly against the second piece.

Quirk

It is an acute angle or groove separate one element from another

End-lap Joint

It is an angle joint formed by halving each member for a length equal to the width of the other.

Mitered Halving

It is an end lap joint incorporating a miter in one face.

Secondary Beam

It is any beam that transmits its load to a primary beam.

Tertiary Beam

It is any beam that transmits its load to a secondary beam.

Joists

It is any of a series of small, repetitive parallel beams for supporting floors, ceilings, or flat roofs.

Stirrup

It is any of the U-shaped or closed-loop bars placed perpendicular to the longitudinal reinforcement of a concrete beam to resist the vertical component of diagonal tension.

Top Bar

It is any of the longitudinal bars serving as tension reinforcement in the section of a concrete beam or slab subject to a negative moment.

Bottom Bar

It is any of the longitudinal bars serving as tension reinforcement in the section of a concrete beam or slab subject to a positive moment.

Mortise Joint

It is any of the various joints between two members made by housing a tenon in a mortise.

Effective Span

It is center-to-center distance between the supports of a span.

Halved Joint

It is made by cutting half the thickness of the wood from each piece at the ends to joined so as to bring the sides flush. It's purpose is to maintain a level surface at the joint.

Light Gauge Steel Joists

It is manufactured from cold formed sheet or strip steel. It forms an economical floor system that is lightweight, non combustible and damp proof. Joists are laid out in a manner that is similar to wood joists floor systems.

Stiffener Angle

It is one of the pair of vertical angles fastened to each side of a web plate to stiffen against buckling

Framing

It is the act, or manner of fitting and joining together. Relatively slender members to give shape and support to a structure.

Reinforced Concrete

It is the concrete in which steel reinforcement is embedded in such a manner that the two materials act together in resisting forces

Clear Span

It is the distance between the inner faces of the supports of a span.

Span

It is the extend of space between two supports of a structure.

Web

It is the integral part of a beam that forms a flat, rigid connection between two broader, parallel parts, such as the flanges of a structural shape.

Cast Iron

It is the kind of steel that is harder with a higher carbon content. Typically for structural use.

Wrought Iron

It is the kind of steel that is softer and has lower carbon content. Typically used for architectural applications and is more decorative in nature.

Wood Plank & Beam System

It is the larger beam system spaced further apart and spanned structural planking and decking.

Spiral Reinforcement

It is the lateral reinforcement consisting of an evenly spaced continuous spiral held firmly in place by vertical spacers.

Balloon Framing

It is the lightest form of framing. The studding and corner posts are set up in continuous lengths from first floor line or sill to roof plate.

Deflection

It is the perpendicular distance a spanning member deviates from the true course under transverse loading.

Web Reinforcement

It is the reinforcement consisting of bent bars or stirrups placed in a concrete beam to resist diagonal tension.

Longitudinal Reinforcement

It is the reinforcement essentially parallel to the horizontal surface of a slab or to the long axis of concrete beam or column.

Wood Joists Floor System

It is the relatively short spans for subflooring, underlayment and applied ceiling. It is flexible in terms of shape and spaced 12", 16" and 24" on center.

Camber

It is the slight convex curvature intentionally built into a beam, girder or truss to compensate for an anticipated deflection.

Lateral Reinforcement

It is the spiral reinforcement or lateral ties placed in a concrete column to laterally restrain the vertical reinforcement and prevent buckling

Heavy Timber Construction

It is the type of framing used in the Philippines. Also known as "arkitetura mestiza". Uses large wooden posts and beams and is more fire-resistant than light wood frame construction.

Oblique Joint

It is the type of joint made when two pieces do not meet at right angles such as bracings. One piece is cut at an angle to fit the other and the two pieces are nailed securely together.

Dovetail Joint

It is the type of joint used for cabinetwork and furniture work. It is strong durable and it made by cutting a pin in the shape of a dovetail in one piece to fit a groove similarly shaped in the other piece.

Platform Frame

It is the type of light wood framing system where the ground and second floor level structures are supported by their respective platforms. It is the western type of light wood framing system with lower labor cost and studs continue above the floor to the roof.

Heavy Wood Framing of Beam and Girder Framing

It is the type of wood framing used in the Philippines where the floor joists are carried by girders and the roof trusses or rafters by girts which frame into the posts. Studs rest on floor sills and extend up the girder or girt in every floor.

Mortise & Tenon Joint

It is used for building framework where great strength and rigidity are important. It is made by cutting a hole in one piece and a tongue in the second piece to fit the hole in the other.

Articulate

To unite by means of a joint or joints especially so as to make distinct or reveal how the parts fit into a systematic whole.

Wood Posts on Concrete Piers

Wood posts are anchor strapped to and supported by reinforced concrete piers on isolated footings. For the wood post to seat perfectly on the concrete grout is poured in between the joint.