Carpentry and Joinery Glossary A-Z Part 3

Continuing on from parts one and two of our Carpentry and Joinery terms, this post sees us looking at F-G

Quick links – A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

F

Facade
The face of a building

Face
The best side of a planed piece of timber.

Face Mark
A mark used to denote the face side of a piece of timber – the face mark (right) is the larger of the two marks, the other denotes the edge.

Fall Bar
A pivoted bar for securing a door or gate. Larger types are known as locking bars.

Example of a Face mark, these can vary slightly from joiner to joiner

Falling Stile.
The opposite stile to the hanging stile in a wooden gate.

Falsework
Shuttering or centering for concrete.

Fanlight (Right)
A sash above the door in a door frame. Originally, it was only applied to a semicircular sash with radial bars.

Fascia
Any wide flat horizontal board, placed upright. The board fixed to the feet of the rafters, and carrying the gutters in roofing. Also, the wide board between the sash and cornice in shop front work.

Feather-edged
Boards cut on the bevel, or tapered in thickness. They are used for fencing or weather boarding – the thick edge of one board sits on, or overlaps the thin edge of the preceding board.

Fenestral
A small window.

Festoon
A carved ornament in the form of a garland suspended from two points.

A semi circular fanlight

Fielded Panel
A panel that is raised with a wide flat surface.

Fifths
Refers to a grade of Softwood. Fifths is the next grade down from Unsorted Softwood which is the best grade. For more on this please see joinery grade softwoods.

Final Fix
In site work, the joinery that occurs once the painters have finished, i.e. door handles, etc.

Finger Plate
Ornamental plates fixed to the shutting stile of a door to protect the paintwork. Also known as Push Plates.

Finial
An ornamental projection above the apex of the ridge in a roof. It is used at the intersection of the Barge Boards.

First Fix
Generally, the fixing of floor boarding, stairs, studding and door linings etc. in site work prior to the building being plastered. Roofing and joists also class as first fix. Items such as doors, architrave, skirting boards etc. are Second Fix.

Fishing
The act of lengthening timbers by Fish Plates.

Fish Plates
Plates of metal or timber placed across a lengthening joint and bolted through.

Flanking Windows (Right)
Small windows to the sides of an entrance doorway.

Flanning
The internal splaying of a window or door Jamb.

Fluing
The splaying of window Jambs.

Flush
Surfaces in the same plane.

Flush Door
A door without any panels or panels that are flush with the framework of the door.

Flanking windows – small windows to the sides of a door

Flush Panel
A panel that is flush, or level with the framing.

Folding Wedges
Folding wedges are basically two wedges placed on top of each other, but the opposite way around; they have many uses from applying pressure where a cramp cannot reach or they can be used as props to lift or drop – to increase the pressure/lift – drive the wedges together, to ease the pressure/drop in height – pull the wedges apart. Sometimes known as Fox Wedges the wedges should be skew nailed when used in situations where vibrations may occur, such as shuttering.

Forked Tenons
An open mortice sitting astride a tenon which is not at the end of the timber.

Forms
Boxes or troughs for casting concrete. Also called Shuttering.

Fox Wedging
A secret method for fixing a stub tenon.

Frame
The woodwork around an opening, but applied generally to timbers connected by mortice and tenon joints.

Framed Ledged and Braced or FLB (Right)
A door based on a jointed (usually morticed and tenoned) frame, with stiles (vertical uprights) and usually full thickness solid top and bottom rails.

Franking
A method of forming the joint at the intersection of two bars. It is the reverse to Haunching.

Frank Jointing
Emphasising the joints of a frame as a feature of the design.

French Casement
A large sash hinged and used as a door. Also known as French Doors.

FSC
Short for the Forestry Stewardship Council, who are an independent, non-governmental, not for profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests. You can find out more about them on their website.

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G

Gable
The triangular end of a building, from the Eaves to the Ridge.

Gable Board
A Barge Board.

Gable Window
A window either shaped like a gable, or in a gable.

Garnet
A T-Hinge. Also known as a Cross Garnet.

Garret
The top rooms in a building, directly under a roof.

Gate
A framework of timber opening or closing the entrance to an enclosure. Also applied to very large doors.

Gauge (Right)
An adjustable tool for marking parallel lines that has one spur (Marking Gauge) or two spurs (Mortice Gauge).The example shown is a Combination Gauge – one side is a Marking Gauge, the other a Mortice Gauge. Other gauges include a Cutting Gauge for cutting veneer and thin stuff and Butt Gauges used for marking doors and jambs for butt hinges.

Going
The horizontal distance between the two risers in stairs. Also the horizontal distance from the first riser to the last riser in a flight of stairs.

Green Timber
Timber that is unseasoned and still contains a lot of moisture such as Green Oak. Usually only used externally and can be found in gate posts and oak framed buildings etc.

Grain
The arrangement of the fibres on the face of a piece of timber.

Gravel Board
A board stood on edge, along the bottom of a fence to keep the boarding of the fence off the ground. Also known as a Gravel Plank.

Ground Plate
A sill or horizontal timber, placed near the ground and carrying other vertical timbers. Also known as a Sole Plate.

Grounds
First fixings in a building, usually rough sawn and carrying other finished items such as Skirting Boards.

Growth Rings
The correct term for the Annual Rings in wood.

Gun Stock (Right)
Pieces of wood tapering in width and/or thickness. An alternative name for Diminished Stiles in doors. Usually the stiles will be narrower above the middle rail. Can also be applied in decorative heads in doors and gates

A door with Gunstock stiles

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If you think you’ve got a Carpentry or Joinery term that we’ve missed, then please post below and we will add it.