M definitions - Building Terms Dictionary
M definitions - Do you know architectual drafting or building terms starting with the letter "M"?
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Mandrel:
A stiff steel core plced inside the thin steel shell of a sitecast concrete pile to prevent it from collapsing during driving.
Mansard:
A roof shaped consisting of two superimposed levels of hip roofs with the lower level at a steeper pitch than the upper.
Marble:
A metanorphic rock formed from limestone by heat and pressure.
Mason:
One who builds with bricks,stones, or concrete masonry units, one who works with concrete.
Masonry:
Brickwork, concrete block work, and stonework.
Masonry cement:
Portland cement with dry admixtures designed to increase the workability of mortar.
Masonry opening:
The clear dimension required in a masonry wall for the installation of a specific window or door unit.
Masonry unit:
a brick, stone, concrete block, glass block, or hollow clay tile intended to be laid in mortar.
Masonry veneer:
A single of masonry usd as a facing over a frame of wood or metal.
Masterformat:
The copyright title of a uniform indexing system for construction specifications,as ceated by the Construction Specififcations Institute and Construction Specifications Canada.
Mastic:
A viscous, doughlike, adhesive substance; any of a large number of formulations for different purposes such as sealants,adhesives, glazing compounds, or roofing cements.
Mat foundation:
A single concrete footing that is essentially equal in area to the area of ground covered by the building.
Medium-range sealant:
A sealant material that is capable of a moderate degree of elongation befre rupture.
Meeting rail:
Is the wood or metal bar along which one sash of a double-hung, single-hung, or sliding window seals against the other.
Member:
An element of structure such as a beam, a girder, a column, or a component of a truss.
Membrane:
A sheet material that is impervious to water or water vapor.
Membrane Fire Portection:
A ceiling used to provide fire protection to the structural members above.
Metal lath:
A steel mesh used primarily as a base for the application of plaster or stucco.
Metamorphic rock:
A rock created by the action of heat or pressure on a sedimentry rock or soil.
Middle strip:
The half-span-wide zone of a two-way concrete slab or plate that lies midway between columns.
Mild steel:
Ordinary structural steel,containing less than three-tenths of 1 perscent carbon.
Mill Construction:
A building type with exterior masonry bearing walls and an interior framework of heavy timbers and solid timber decking.
Milling:
Shaping or planing by using a rotating cutting tool.
Millwork:
Wood inteior finish components of a building,including moldings,doors,cabinets,stairs, mentels, and the like.
Miter:
A diagonal cut at the end of a piece; the joint producd by joining two diagonally cut pieces at right angles.
Mobile home:
Eurhemism for a portable house that is entirely factory built on a steel underframe supported by wheels.
Model building code:
A code that is offfered by a recognized natioal organization as worthy of adoption by state or local governments.
Modified bitumen:
A national bitumen with admixtures of synthetic compounds to enhance such properties as flexibility,plasticity, and durability.
Modular:
conforming to a multiple of fixed dimension.
Modular home:
Eurhemism for a house assembled on the site from two or more boxlike factory-built sections.
Modulus of elasticity:
An index of the stiffness of a material,derived by measuring the elastic deformation of the material as it is placed under stresss, and then dividing the stress by the deformation.
Moisture barrier:
A membrane used to prevent the migration of liquid water through a floor or wall.
Molding:
A strip of wood,plastic, or plaster with an ornamental profile.
Molding plaster:
A fast-setting gypsum plaster usedfor the manufacture of cast ornament.
Moment:
A twisting action, a torque, a force acting at a distance from a point in a structure so as to cause tendency of the structure to rotate about that point.
Moment connection:
A connection between two structural members that is highly resistant to rotation between the members, as differentiated from a shear connection which allows rotation.
Momentum:
The energy possessed by a moving body.
Monolithic:
Of a single massive piece.
Monolithic terrazzo:
A thin terrazzo topping applied to a concrete slab without an underbed.
Mortar:
A substance used to join masonry units,consisting ofcementitious materials , fine aggregate, and water.
Mortise-and-tenon:
A joint in which a tonguelike protrusion (tenon) n the end of one piece is tightly fitted into a rectangular slot (mortise) in the side of the other peice.
Movement joint:
A line or plane along which movement is allowed to take place in a building or a surface of a building in response to such forces as moisture expansion and contraction,foundation settling, and seismic forces.
MPa:
Megapascal, a unit of pressureor stress equal to 1 meganewton per square meter.
Mud slab:
A slab of weak concrete placed directly on the ground to provide a temporary working surface that is hard, level, and dry.
Mullion:
A vertical or horizontal bar between adjacent window or door units. A framing member in a metal-and-glass curtain wall.
Muntin:
A small vertical or horizontal bar between small lights and glass in a sash.
Muriatic acid:
Hydrocholoric acid.
Mushroom capital:
A flaring,conical head on a concrete column.
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