The Bluffers' Guide to self-building and renovating #6

Test your knowledge of building terms and hold your own on a site or in the builder's merchant - you'll never be blinded by jargon again! Some phrases are common, others are more obscure, but they all appear in our Bluffer's Guide. From the list, choose the option you believe is nearest in meaning to the key word, then check the answers below.

Question 1:

What is a Knap?

A) A heavy lining paper
B) A metal knee used to strengthen a joint
C) To splint flint into two for use as a building material
D) A projecting hand pull

Question 2:

What is an Atrium?

A) A central arcaded courtyard open to the sky
B) A blank facade
C) A ceramic floor tile pattern
D) One course of ashlar

Question 3:

What is a Culvert ?

A) The lowest step in a flight of stairs
B) A covered water channel
C) A small closet or pantry
D) A dead end street

Question 4:

What is a Profile?

A) A beam lying on top of a series of columns
B) A perspective drawing of a building
C) A free standing gateway
D) The contour or outline of a part of a building

Question 5:

What is a Striation?

A) A column flute
B) A narrow band of colour in stone or marble
C) The process of removing a surface coating
D) A short bolt with a shoulder

Question 6:

What is an Arris?

A) A line on a block of stone for levelling when laying
B) A retaining wall usually constructed from rubble
C) The v shaped gutter of a wooden rainwater system
D) An arched gateway either free standing or attached to a wall

Question 7:

What is a Rhombus?

A) A raised platform usually in a dining room
B) Semi circular mouldings found on 18th century ceilings.
C) An oblique angled parallelogram
D) A decorative mortar course.

Question 8:

What is a Folly?

A) Having four overlapping layers
B) Underestimating the cost and duration of a self build project
C) Carved leaf ornamentation
D) A costly but useless structure in a classical or gothic style.

Question 9:

What is a Bucket Handle?

A) A style of mortar joint
B) A cross beam
C) A stair stringer
D) A parquet floor pattern

Question 10:

What is Slaking?

A) Applying a skim coat of plaster
B) Levelling a concrete floor
C) Producing lime putty
D) Splitting rocks into slabs

Answers:
Q1: C, Q2: A, Q3: B, Q4: D, Q5: B, Q6: A, Q7: C, Q8: D, Q9: A, Q10: C.