Construction / Environmental Issues Flashcards

1
Q

Platform framing (wood framing) is the…

A

most common type of framing used in residential construction.

Platform framing is the industry standard for wood framing methods. It is a light-weight construction type for roof, wall and floor planes. Additional members like studs and joists are used and are spaced accordingly to account for various loads.

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2
Q

Balloon framing is an alternative to platform framing; however, it is…

A

considered illegal in New York State.

Balloon framing is a style of wood-house building that uses long, vertical 2” x 4”s for the exterior walls. These long “studs” extend uninterrupted, from the sill on top of the foundation, all the way up to the roof.

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3
Q

A footing is a…

A

horizontal concrete member, set in the soil, which supports a building’s foundation wall.

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4
Q

The footing is located at the…

A

bottom of the foundation wall.

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5
Q

The footing is the…

A

lowest structural member in a house/building.

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6
Q

The sill plate is a…

A

horizontal wood member that sits on top of the house’s foundation.

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7
Q

A sill plate is used as a…

A

nailing surface for the floor system.

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8
Q

A sill plate is considered the…

A

lowest horizontal beam and wood member in the frame of a house.

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9
Q

Studs are…

A

vertical wood members used to construct walls.

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10
Q

Joists are…

A

horizontal beams or timbers that support a floor.

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11
Q

An eave is the…

A

lowest part of the roof that projects beyond the wall of the structure.

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12
Q

Soffit is the…

A

area under the roof extension.

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13
Q

Fascia is the…

A

area of material facing the outer edge of the soffit.

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14
Q

Pitch, also known as…

A

the slope.

Typically used in describing the slope of a roof, driveway, sidewalk, etc.

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15
Q

The slope of the roof is known as the…

A

‘pitch of the roof’.

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16
Q

Flashing is added at joints/bends/corners on the exterior of a house (typically made of metal and/or rubber materials), which…

A

prevents water from entering the house.

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17
Q

Sheathing refers to…

A

panels that span between wall studs and cover the exterior wall or interior walls.

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18
Q

Sheathing is typically made of…

A

plywood on the exterior of the building, and gypsum board on interior walls.

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19
Q

Sheathing on the exterior wall is typically covered with…

A

wood, vinyl, or aluminum siding, or bricks.

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20
Q

Sheathing on interiors walls (gypsum board) is…

A

painted.

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21
Q

Siding materials on buildings can be…

A

metal (such as aluminum), wood, or vinyl. Behind the siding is a layer of sheathing.

22
Q

Urea Formaldehyde Foam Insulation (UFFI) is a type of …

A

foamed in-place insulation that releases formaldehyde gas.

23
Q

UFFI contains large amounts of…

A

formaldehyde, which is why it has rarely been used by building contractors since the 1980s.

24
Q

R-value is a measurement of…

A

the ability of insulation to slow the transfer of heat or cold. In other words, it is the degree of resistance to heat transfer of a wall.

25
Q

The higher the R-value…

A

the greater the insulating power. Generally, the higher the R-value, the thicker the insulation.

26
Q

BTU stands for…

A

British Thermal Unit.

27
Q

BTU is a measure of heat energy. It measures the…

A

amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit.

28
Q

Specifications – A document provided by Architects that…

A

describes the quality of construction.

29
Q

Blueprints – Architectural drawings that…

A

describe the layout and construction of a house. These drawings describe the quantities used in construction.

30
Q

A forced warm air system consists of…

A

a furnace that contains a fan, a heat source such as gas or oil, and filters.

31
Q

A forced warm air system extracts…

A

cool air from in and outdoors and passes this cool air through the heat sources. The warmed air flows through ducts to the rooms.

32
Q

A forced warm air system provides both…

A

cooling as well as heating through the same ducts.

33
Q

A fuse is a device used in…

A

electrical systems to protect against excessive current.

34
Q

A fuse melts and…

A

opens the circuit, causing electric power to stop when overheating occurs.

35
Q

Circuit breakers perform a similar function as a fuse but are…

A

more convenient and safer than fuses.

36
Q

Circuit breakers trip; that is, they…

A

switch off the electric power for a given circuit when the current increases beyond the system’s capacity.

37
Q

CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbon) are synthetic chemical substances used in…

A

refrigerators and air conditioners, Styrofoam products, aerosol dispensers, and cleaning agents.

38
Q

CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbon) have been shown to lead to the…

A

depletion of the ozone layer.

39
Q

Most home air conditioning units use HCFCs, known as…

A

Freon.

40
Q

PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyls) were widely used as…

A

dielectric and coolant fluids, for example in transformers, capacitors, and electric motors.

41
Q

PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyls) have been known to…

A

leak into the ground from electrical transformers.

42
Q

PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyls) appear in…

A

groundwater and soil.

43
Q

Radon is a…

A

colorless, odorless gas that is emitted from soils, rocks and water as a result of radioactive decay.

44
Q

Radon from surrounding soil enters a home through…

A

small spaces such as cracks in concrete, floor drains, sump pump openings, wall and floor joints in basements, and pores in hollow block walls.

45
Q

Remember: radon typically enters the house through the…

A

basement or cracks in the foundation.

46
Q

Asbestos is a…

A

naturally occurring mineral fiber sometimes found in older homes.

47
Q

Asbestos is hazardous to health when a…

A

possibility exists of exposure to inhalable fibers (also known as friable asbestos).

48
Q

An asbestos professional must be used to remove the asbestos if it is…

A

friable.

Friable means when dry, or as the result of a work process, may be crumbled, pulverised or reduced to a powder by hand pressure.

49
Q

Asbestos was commonly used in…

A

insulation (around boilers, ducts, pipes, sheeting, and fireplaces), floor tiles, ceiling tiles, roof shingles and flashing.

50
Q

Asbestos can lead to…

A

asbestosis, which is a chronic lung disease caused by inhaling asbestos fibers.

51
Q

Lead can be present in…

A
  • drinking water (from lead pipes),
  • exterior paint (from lead-based paint),
  • dust within a home, and
  • soil around a home.
52
Q

The Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 sets forth the…

A

procedures in disclosing the presence of lead-based paint for sales of properties built before 1978.