When purchasing a home or when reading a surveyor’s report there may be words used of a technical nature upon which clarification is required.

Airbrick - Ventilated brick allowing airflow to cavities or sub floor voids.

Barge board - Fascia to a gable end.

Belldrip - Flared section at bottom of a rendered wall which allows rainwater to drip off slightly away from the base of the main walls.

Cavity wall - Outer and inner brick or blockwork skins with a space in between, the two skins connected at intervals with metal wall ties.

Ceiling joist - Structural member usually laid horizontally which supports the ceiling and/or floor above.

Damp proof course (DPC) - A damp proof course is a horizontal layer of impervious material incorporated into the walls near ground level so as to prevent ground moisture from rising into the brickwork.

Damp proof membrane (DPM) - A horizontal usually plastic layer built into solid concrete floors to prevent ground moisture rising up into the property.

Downpipe - Vertical pipe usually taking surface water drain from roofs to surface water drainage.

Eaves - The rafter ends where they overhang the main walls.

Fascia - Finishing detail to the front face of the rafter ends - often the gutters are fixed to fascias.

Flashing - Weatherproofing detail, (normally in lead) between two abutments, for example a chimney and pitched roof or a lean-to roof and a vertical wall.

Floor joists - Structural members supporting the floors above and often ceilings below.

Flying Freehold - Situation where one property ownership is above another.

Foul drain - Below ground drain taking away foul waste from the property to the main sewer or septic tank/cesspit.

Foundation - Solid construction below the ground to support the main walls of the property.

Gable upstand - Wall on a gable end that extends up above the line of the roof.

Gulley - A gulley is a drain for surface or foul water incorporating a trap to catch debris in order that it can be easily cleaned out.

Hipped roof - A roof with four pitches – front to back and side to side. A cropped hip is where the side to side pitch is smaller than the front to back.

Hip tile - Tile provided at the junction between the hip and the roof pitch.

Hopper head - Used to catch usually surface water where two or more pipes converge on one.

Inspection chamber - Access to the drains for the purposes of rodding them through and clearing any blockages.

Lining Felt/Underfelt - Felt lining that is provided over roof structure but under roof tiles or slates to catch any water that may be blown under the main roof covering.

Purlin - Structural horizontal roof member which supports rafters usually at their mid point.

Rafter - Structural member supporting main roof.

Roof plate/ Wall plate - Timber plate that sits on top of wall and provides the fixing junction to the wall and the rafter feet.

Soffit - Finishing detail laid underneath the rafter ends between the fascia and the wall of the property. Often ventilated in pitched roofs.

Soil and vent pipe - Foul waste is carried to the drains via this pipe which is usually vented up through the property and well away from window opening.

Solid wall - A wall of solid brickwork usually 9” with no cavity in older property

Surface water drain - Drain taking surface water waste from either drives or roofs usually to soakaways.

Trussed Rafters - Manufactured off site these structural roofing trusses are nailed together with plates at their junctions and are supplied to site already made up.

Valley - Junction between two roof pitches.

Valley gutter - Gutter formed between two sections of pitched roof.