V JOINT - A joint that has been shaped with a tool to form a "V."
VAPOR BARRIER - A material, usually in thin sheet form or combined with a sheathing material, designed to prevent the passage of moisture through a wall or floor with the aim of avoiding condensation within the wall.
VAPOR DIFFUSION - Transfer of water in partially dry solid from regions of high concentrates to those of low concentrates.
VAULT - Arched stone roof.
VEIN - A layer, seam, or narrow irregular body of mineral material different from the surrounding formation.
VEIN CUT - Unique to the marble industry, it is a cut perpendicular to the natural bedding plane.
VENEER - An outside, non-bearing load wythe of masonry used as a facing material.
VENEER STONE - Any stone used as a decorative facing material which is not meant to be load bearing.
VENEER WALL - A non-loadbearing stone wall securely anchored to the back-up wall.
VENTING - Method used to allow air and moisture to escape to the outside from the wall cavity.
VERDE ANTIQUE - A commercial marble composed chiefly of massive serpentine and capable of taking a high polish. It is commonly veined with carbonate mineral, chiefly calcite and dolomite.
VERMICULATED - With dressing of irregularity shaped sinkings, leaving worm-like ridges between.
VERTICAL JOINT - See head joint.
VINYL RESIN - These include products in which the unsaturated vinyl grouping is involved. Vinyl resins include polyvinyl, acetate, polyvinyl chloride, copolymers of these, the acrylic methacrylic resins, the polystyrene resins, etc…
VITRIFICATION - The condition resulting when kiln temperatures are so high as to fuse grains and close pores of a clay product, making the mass impervious.
VOUSSOIR - One of the stones in an arch between the impost and keystone.
VUG - A cavity in rock; sometimes lines or filled with either amorphous or crystalline material; common in calcareous rocks such as marble or limestone.
WAINSCOT - An interior veneer of stone less than full wall height.
WALL PLATE - A horizontal member anchored to a masonry wall to which other structural elements may be attached. Also called head plate.
WALL TIE - A bonder or metal piece which connects wythes of masonry to each other or to other materials.
WALL TIE, CAVITY - A rigid, corrosion resistant metal tie which bond two wythes of a cavity wall. It is usually steel, 3/16" in diameter, and formed in a ‘Z’ shape or rectangle.
WALLS - Types include
WALLS - BEARING - A wall supporting a vertical load in addition to its own weight.
WALLS - CAVITY - A wall in which the inner and outer wythes are separated by an air space but tied together with metal ties.
WALLS - COMPOSITE - Wall in which the facing and backing are of different materials and bonded together with bond stones to exert a common reaction under load.
WALLS - FIRE WALL - Any wall that subdivides a building so as to prevent the spread of fire and that extends continuously from the foundation through the roof.
WALLS - MASONRY BONDED HOLLOW WALL - A hollow wall in which the facing and backing are tied together with masonry units.
WALLS - NON-BEARING WALL - A wall that supports no vertical load other than its own weight.
WALLS - PANEL WALL - An exterior non-loadbearing wall in skeleton frame construction, wholly supported at each story.
WALLS - PARPARET WALL - That part of any wall entirely above the roof.
WALLS - SCREEN WALL - A wall in which an ornamental effect is achieved by using masonry units with open spaces or laying units with open spaces between them. Also called a pierced or perforated wall.
WALLS - SHEAR WALL - A wall that resists horizontal forces applied in the plane of the wall.
WALLS - SINGLE WYTHE WALL - A wall of only one masonry unit in wall thickness.
WALLS - VENEER - A wall in which a thin facing and the backing are of different materials, but not bonded as to exert a common reaction under load.
WARPED - Generally a condition experienced only in flagging or flagstone materials; very common with flagstone materials that are taken from the ground and used in their natural state. To eliminate warping in stones it would be necessary to further finish the material such as machining, sand rubbing, honing, or polishing.
WASH - A sloped area or the area water will run over.
WATER BASE - Water repellents and latex paint coatings containing water soluble or water dispersible binders.
WATER OF CRYSTALLIZATION - The extra water required to assist in the crystallization process when forming a hydrate (mortar, cement, concrete, plaster, etc…) When the hydrate gives up this excess water, at ambient temperatures, the result is a surface deposit known as efflorescence or staining.
WATER REPELLENT - Any of several types of clear liquids used to render masonry wall less absorptive. These treatments are said to maintain a material’s ability to breathe away moisture, as distinct from "sealer" which form impervious, non-breathing coatings.
WATER RETENTIVITY - The property of a mortar which prevents the rapid loss of water to masonry units of high suction. It prevents bleeding or water gain when mortar is in contact with relatively impervious units.
WATER TABLE - A continuous course of building units on the outside of a wall, near the ground, with a horizontal projection or ledge. It is often shaped with a slope and a drip to limit the amount of water passing over the wall or surface below.
WATERPROOFING - A coating used to treat the surface of the substrate, preventing liquid from entering, but allowing water vapor transmission,
WAXING - A trade expression used in fabrication of interior marble to describe the process of filling natural voids with cements, shellac, or other materials.
WEAR - The artificial removal of material, or impairment of the stone surface finish, through friction or impact.
WEATHERED JOINT - A slope to the outside of the upper part of a joint to shed water.
WEATHERING - Natural alteration by either chemical or mechanical processes due to the action of the atmosphere, surface waters, soil and other ground waters, or to temperature changes. Changes by weathering are not necessarily undesirable or harmful.
WEB - The cross wall connecting the face shells of a hollow masonry unit.
WEDGING - Splitting of stone by driving wedges into planes of weakness.
WEEP HOLES - An opening for drainage in veneer joints or in the structural components supporting the veneer.
WETTING - The ability of a coating to flow out, spread, or penetrate a substrate.
WHITING - A chalk pigment used in paint and putty.
WHOLESALER - One who purchases dimensional stone in all forms for resale to the trade.
WIND (wined) - A warp in a semi-finished stone slab to be removed by further fabrication.
WINDOW SILL - The bottom section of a window frame and/or the bottom section of an exterior masonry window opening.
WINDOW STOOL - A narrow shelf fitted across the lower part on the inside of a window opening.
WIRE SAW - A sawing device consisting of one or more wire cables, running over pulleys used to cut natural stone into blocks and slabs by tension and fed slurry of an abrasive and water cuts by abrasion.
WIRE SAWN - A method of cutting stone by passing a twisted, multi-strand wire over the stone, and immersing the wire in a slurry of abrasive material.
WRAP AROUND - The ability of a coating to cover all areas of the substrate to which it is applied, including edges. Also, the effect of an electrostatic charge upon a coating and the ability of the coating to cover all exposed conductive areas.
WYTHE - A masonry wall, one stone or brick thick, that either faces a back-up or is a back-up wall and secured to its neighboring wythes by bond stone or grout; or forms either half of a cavity wall, and is attached to the other half by metal ties.
VAPOR BARRIER - A material, usually in thin sheet form or combined with a sheathing material, designed to prevent the passage of moisture through a wall or floor with the aim of avoiding condensation within the wall.
VAPOR DIFFUSION - Transfer of water in partially dry solid from regions of high concentrates to those of low concentrates.
VAULT - Arched stone roof.
VEIN - A layer, seam, or narrow irregular body of mineral material different from the surrounding formation.
VEIN CUT - Unique to the marble industry, it is a cut perpendicular to the natural bedding plane.
VENEER - An outside, non-bearing load wythe of masonry used as a facing material.
VENEER STONE - Any stone used as a decorative facing material which is not meant to be load bearing.
VENEER WALL - A non-loadbearing stone wall securely anchored to the back-up wall.
VENTING - Method used to allow air and moisture to escape to the outside from the wall cavity.
VERDE ANTIQUE - A commercial marble composed chiefly of massive serpentine and capable of taking a high polish. It is commonly veined with carbonate mineral, chiefly calcite and dolomite.
VERMICULATED - With dressing of irregularity shaped sinkings, leaving worm-like ridges between.
VERTICAL JOINT - See head joint.
VINYL RESIN - These include products in which the unsaturated vinyl grouping is involved. Vinyl resins include polyvinyl, acetate, polyvinyl chloride, copolymers of these, the acrylic methacrylic resins, the polystyrene resins, etc…
VITRIFICATION - The condition resulting when kiln temperatures are so high as to fuse grains and close pores of a clay product, making the mass impervious.
VOUSSOIR - One of the stones in an arch between the impost and keystone.
VUG - A cavity in rock; sometimes lines or filled with either amorphous or crystalline material; common in calcareous rocks such as marble or limestone.
WAINSCOT - An interior veneer of stone less than full wall height.
WALL PLATE - A horizontal member anchored to a masonry wall to which other structural elements may be attached. Also called head plate.
WALL TIE - A bonder or metal piece which connects wythes of masonry to each other or to other materials.
WALL TIE, CAVITY - A rigid, corrosion resistant metal tie which bond two wythes of a cavity wall. It is usually steel, 3/16" in diameter, and formed in a ‘Z’ shape or rectangle.
WALLS - Types include
WALLS - BEARING - A wall supporting a vertical load in addition to its own weight.
WALLS - CAVITY - A wall in which the inner and outer wythes are separated by an air space but tied together with metal ties.
WALLS - COMPOSITE - Wall in which the facing and backing are of different materials and bonded together with bond stones to exert a common reaction under load.
WALLS - FIRE WALL - Any wall that subdivides a building so as to prevent the spread of fire and that extends continuously from the foundation through the roof.
WALLS - MASONRY BONDED HOLLOW WALL - A hollow wall in which the facing and backing are tied together with masonry units.
WALLS - NON-BEARING WALL - A wall that supports no vertical load other than its own weight.
WALLS - PANEL WALL - An exterior non-loadbearing wall in skeleton frame construction, wholly supported at each story.
WALLS - PARPARET WALL - That part of any wall entirely above the roof.
WALLS - SCREEN WALL - A wall in which an ornamental effect is achieved by using masonry units with open spaces or laying units with open spaces between them. Also called a pierced or perforated wall.
WALLS - SHEAR WALL - A wall that resists horizontal forces applied in the plane of the wall.
WALLS - SINGLE WYTHE WALL - A wall of only one masonry unit in wall thickness.
WALLS - VENEER - A wall in which a thin facing and the backing are of different materials, but not bonded as to exert a common reaction under load.
WARPED - Generally a condition experienced only in flagging or flagstone materials; very common with flagstone materials that are taken from the ground and used in their natural state. To eliminate warping in stones it would be necessary to further finish the material such as machining, sand rubbing, honing, or polishing.
WASH - A sloped area or the area water will run over.
WATER BASE - Water repellents and latex paint coatings containing water soluble or water dispersible binders.
WATER OF CRYSTALLIZATION - The extra water required to assist in the crystallization process when forming a hydrate (mortar, cement, concrete, plaster, etc…) When the hydrate gives up this excess water, at ambient temperatures, the result is a surface deposit known as efflorescence or staining.
WATER REPELLENT - Any of several types of clear liquids used to render masonry wall less absorptive. These treatments are said to maintain a material’s ability to breathe away moisture, as distinct from "sealer" which form impervious, non-breathing coatings.
WATER RETENTIVITY - The property of a mortar which prevents the rapid loss of water to masonry units of high suction. It prevents bleeding or water gain when mortar is in contact with relatively impervious units.
WATER TABLE - A continuous course of building units on the outside of a wall, near the ground, with a horizontal projection or ledge. It is often shaped with a slope and a drip to limit the amount of water passing over the wall or surface below.
WATERPROOFING - A coating used to treat the surface of the substrate, preventing liquid from entering, but allowing water vapor transmission,
WAXING - A trade expression used in fabrication of interior marble to describe the process of filling natural voids with cements, shellac, or other materials.
WEAR - The artificial removal of material, or impairment of the stone surface finish, through friction or impact.
WEATHERED JOINT - A slope to the outside of the upper part of a joint to shed water.
WEATHERING - Natural alteration by either chemical or mechanical processes due to the action of the atmosphere, surface waters, soil and other ground waters, or to temperature changes. Changes by weathering are not necessarily undesirable or harmful.
WEB - The cross wall connecting the face shells of a hollow masonry unit.
WEDGING - Splitting of stone by driving wedges into planes of weakness.
WEEP HOLES - An opening for drainage in veneer joints or in the structural components supporting the veneer.
WETTING - The ability of a coating to flow out, spread, or penetrate a substrate.
WHITING - A chalk pigment used in paint and putty.
WHOLESALER - One who purchases dimensional stone in all forms for resale to the trade.
WIND (wined) - A warp in a semi-finished stone slab to be removed by further fabrication.
WINDOW SILL - The bottom section of a window frame and/or the bottom section of an exterior masonry window opening.
WINDOW STOOL - A narrow shelf fitted across the lower part on the inside of a window opening.
WIRE SAW - A sawing device consisting of one or more wire cables, running over pulleys used to cut natural stone into blocks and slabs by tension and fed slurry of an abrasive and water cuts by abrasion.
WIRE SAWN - A method of cutting stone by passing a twisted, multi-strand wire over the stone, and immersing the wire in a slurry of abrasive material.
WRAP AROUND - The ability of a coating to cover all areas of the substrate to which it is applied, including edges. Also, the effect of an electrostatic charge upon a coating and the ability of the coating to cover all exposed conductive areas.
WYTHE - A masonry wall, one stone or brick thick, that either faces a back-up or is a back-up wall and secured to its neighboring wythes by bond stone or grout; or forms either half of a cavity wall, and is attached to the other half by metal ties.