Terminology Index

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If you find it difficult to understand terminology used in a granite busisness don't worry! Use our guide below to clarify technical mambo jambo.

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

Letter: W

wall plate
a horizontal member anchored to a masonry wall to which other structural elements may be attached. Also called "head plate."
walls
one of the sides of a room or building connection floor and ceiling or foundation and roof:
- wall, bearing
  a wall supporting a vertical load in addition to it own weight.
- wall, cavity
  a wall in which the inner and outer wythes are separated by an air space but tied together with metal ties.
- wall, composite
  a wall in which the facing and backing are of different materials and bonded together with bond stones to exert a common reaction under load.
- wall, veneer, or faced
  a wall in which a thin facing and the backing are of different materials but not so bonded as to exert a common reaction under load.
- wall, wind (wined)
  a twisting warp from cutting slabs in the gang saws.
- wall, wythe
  the inner or outer part of a cavity wall.
wall tie
a bonder or metal piece which connects wythes of masonry to each other or to other materials.
wall tie cavity
a rigid, corrosion-resistant metal tie which bonds two wythes of a cavity wall. It is usually steel, 3/16" in diameter and formed in a "Z" shape or a rectangle.
warped walls
generally a condition experienced only in flagging or flagstone materials; very common with flagstone materials that are taken from the ground and used in their natural state. To eliminate warping in stones it would be necessary to further finish the material, by methods such as machining, sand rubbing, honing or polishing.
wash
a sloped area, or the area water will run over.
water bar
typically a strip in a reglet in window sill and stone below to prevent water passage.
water table
a projection of lower masonry on the outside of the wall, slightly above the ground. Often a damp course is placed at the level of the water table to prevent upward penetration of ground water.
waxing
an expression used in the marble finishing trade to indicate the filling of natural voids with color blended materials.
wear
the removal of material or impairment of surface finishing through friction or impact use.
weathering
natural alteration by either chemical or mechanical processes due to the action of constituents of the atmosphere, surface waters, soil and other ground waters, or to temperature changes; the inclined top surface of a stone such as a coping, cornice, or window sill.
wedging
splitting of stone by driving wedges into planes of weakness.
weep holes
openings placed in mortar joints of facing material at the level of flashing to permit the escape of moisture.
wind
(wined) - a twisting warp from cutting slabs in the gang saws.
wire saw
method of cutting stone by passing a twisted, multistrand wire over the stone and immersing the wire in a slurry of abrasive material.
wythe
the inner or outer part of a cavity wall.