Chapter 4 Heavy Timber Frame Construction

Front 1

Heavy Timber construction

Back 1

Another term for Mill construction.

Front 2

Mill construction

Back 2

A building type with exterior masonry bearing walls and an interior framework of heavy timbers and solid timber decking.

Front 3

Slow-burning construction

Back 3

Another term for Mill construction.

Front 4

chamfer

Back 4

A flattening of a longitudinal edge of a solid member on a plane that lies at an angle of 45 degrees to the adjoining plates.

Front 5

pintle

Back 5

A metal device used to transmit compressive forces between superimposed columns in Mill construction.

Front 6

iron dog

Back 6

A heavy U-shaped staple used to tie the ends of heavy timbers together.

Front 7

purlin

Back 7

Beam that spans across the slope of a steep roof to support the roof decking.

Front 8

firecut

Back 8

A sloping end cut on a wood beam or joist where it enters a masonry wall. The purpose of the firecut is to allow the wood member to rotate out of the wall without prying the wall apart, if the floor or roof structure should burn through in a fire.

Front 9

decking

Back 9

A material used to span across beams or joists to create a floor or roof surface.

Front 10

tongue and groove

Back 10

An interlocking edge detail for joining planks or panels.

Front 11

spline

Back 11

A thin strip inserted into grooves in two mating pieces of material to hold them in alignment; a ridge or strip of material intended to lock to a mating groove.

Front 12

bearing block

Back 12

A piece of wood fastened to a column to provide support for a beam or girder.

Front 13

rigid frame

Back 13

Two columns and a beam or beams attached to one another with moment connections; a moment-resisting building frame.

Front 14

portal frame

Back 14

A rigid frame; two columns and a beam attached to one another with moment connections.

Front 15

arch

Back 15

A structural device that supports a vertical load by translating it into axial, inclined forces as its supports

Front 16

truss

Back 16

A triangulated arrangement of structural members that reduces nonaxial external forces to a set of axial forces in its members.

Front 17

vault

Back 17

An arched surface. A strongly built room for such purposes as housing large electrical equipment or safeguarding money.

Front 18

dome

Back 18

An arch rotated about its vertical axis to produce a structure shaped like an inverted bowl; a form used to make one of the cavities in a concrete waffle slab.

Front 19

tie rod

Back 19

A steel rod that acts in tension.

Front 20

shear plate

Back 20

Round plates located in the crown connection of the arch that are recessed into grooves in the wood; they spread any force from the steel rod (that goes through their center) across a much wider surface area of wood to avoid crushing and splitting.

Front 21

hinge connector

Back 21

A typical type of connection for a contemporary laminated wood frame. Saves wood by connecting the beams at points of zero bending moment rather than at the columns to take full advantage of continuous bending action in the beams.