Paint Ideas · Glossary

Glossary

Not sure what a certain term means? Find it here in our glossary. Simply browse through or navigate by choosing a letter.

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Base cabinet - A cabinet that rests on the floor and supports a countertop.

Breccia marble - Marble that is composed of sharp fragments cemented together.

Brick - Clay that is molded to shape and fired at high temperatures in a large kiln or oven. The color of the natural clay determines the color of the brick.

Base shoe - Molding used to conceal any variation between the floor and base bottom. It is also used to cover edges of sheet vinyl flooring (when in-stalled without first removing base trim).

Blotching - A staining problem where the stain is unevenly absorbed causing dark and light areas. This is caused by a swirly grain or uneven density of a piece of wood.

Bubbling - The appearance of bubbles in the film while a material is being applied. Caused by any condition that causes air, vapors, or gases to be trapped in the film while it is soft but after it has hardened sufficiently to prevent the gas from escaping.

Backlighting - Illumination coming from a source behind or at the side of an object.

Barium Metaborate - A pigment commonly used in corrosion-inhibitive coatings. Pigment particles plug the small pores in the dry film and absorb any moisture that enters the film, preventing it from reaching the metal substrate. Barium metaborate is also a mildewcide.

Blower - An electromechanical device that generates air pressure to provide spa jets and rings with bubbles.

Body - The thickness or viscosity of a fluid. A practical term used to give a qualitative picture of consistency.

Box cornice - A cornice completely closed with trimwork.

Bidet - A bowl-shaped fixture that supplies water for personal hygiene. It looks similar to a toilet.

Borders (in wallpaper) - A strip of wallpaper, usually less than 15-inches wide, that is used as a decorative element along ceiling lines, chair rails and around doors and windows.

B-grade - Like B-heart redwood, B-grade redwood contains limited knots. However, B-grade may also contain sapwood. Used for highly visible applications where the wood won't be subjected to rot.

Balustrade - The entire assembly that supports the handrail. It consists of newels, balusters and the handrail.

Blown ceiling - Popcorn-like texturing material fed through a hopper to an airless spray gun and blown onto a ceiling, where it is left to dry without retouching.

Beam hanger - A metal pocket- or shelf-like hanger that supports a beam where it butts into another member.

Blister (in wallpapering) - A small bubble of air that forms under the wallpaper during installation. The cause of blisters includes inadequate soaking or relaxing time, installation temperatures below 50 degrees F, air trapped between the wall and the paper, wallpaper installed on porous, unsealed wall and adhesive aeration.

Baluster - A vertical railing member that supports the upper and lower rails.

Back prime - The process of painting the back or unexposed side of material.

Basin - A shallow sink.

Basket-weave design - A pattern or arrangement that simulates an over-and-under weaving pattern.

Baking - The process of drying a coating material by the application of artificial heat. A baking enamel is one which requires elevated temperatures of 300 degrees F to 400 degrees F in order to become hard and dry.

Blender brushes - Specialty brushes used to blend and soften all types of wet painted surfaces.

Blueprint - Any of the prints made by the Ozalid process (the image can be blue , black or brown).

Base coat - In decorative painting this is the solid color of either gloss or semi-gloss paint that shows underneath the glaze coat pattern.

Bitumastic - A protective coating made primarily for waterproofing. A coal tar or asphalt based coating material usually used in thick films.

Bullnose tile - A trim tile with one rounded edge, used to finish off outside corners.

Boiled Oil - Linseed oil which will dry faster. Formerly it was heated to make it a drying oil. Today it has chemical driers added.

Back-buttering - Applying adhesive to the back of a tile to supplement the adhesive spread on the setting bed. Any tile with an uneven back, button-backed tiles, sheet-mounted mosaic tiles and small cut tiles must be back-buttered to provide a strong bond.

Butcher block - A counter or tabletop material composed of strips of hardwood, often rock maple, laminated together and sealed against moisture penetration.

Bat - A brick that is cut in half lengthwise.

Bloom - A bluish cast which forms on the surface of some films. Blooming is caused by the deposition of a thin film of foreign materials such as smoke, dust or oil, or by the exudation of a component of the paint film.

Baseplate - A plate that distributes vertical loads.

Base plan - Transferring rough measurements of an existing room to a scale drawing; a convenient scale for planning a bathroom is to make 1/2 inch equal 1 foot.

Bisque - The clay body of a tile, or the clay from which the tile is made.

Built-up trim - Several profiles of trim combined to appear as one large piece of molding. Most often it is used as ceiling trim or on the exterior of the home.

Builder's flat - A mixture consisting of joint compound diluted with water, which is spread on a wall like paint (usually on new construction). It provides a decorative surface, but it is one of the worst enemies of a good wallpapering job. To install wallpaper over build

B-heart - Redwood grade that contains limited knots but no sapwood and is less expensive than clear all-heart.

Base trim - Sometimes called base molding, base trim protects the lower portion of the walls, and covers any gaps between the wall and the floor.

Black silicone-carbide sandpaper - A sandpaper which is made with water-resistant glue to attach the abrasives to the paper. This sandpaper is often referred to as "wet-or-dry" sandpaper because it can be used with a water or oil lubricant, or no lubricant at all.

Brushability - The ease of applying a coating by brush. Measured as ICI Viscosity.

Burnt sienna - One of the native colors, this is a deep, rich rust-red made from calcined raw sienna.

Back band - Molding used to decorate the outer edges of flat casing. It can also be used as a base cap.

Baseboard shoe - A narrow piece of trim, usually quarter round, attached to the baseboard at the floor to hide any gaps.

Base tile - Tile that has a finished top edge; it is designed specifically for the floor line.

Blast Profile - A cross sectional view of an abrasive blasted surface.

Burnished seam - wallpaper - A seam that has a slick or glossy look caused by excessive pressure from a seam roller.

Bow window - A rounded bay or bowed window projecting out from a building in an arced shape.

Barrier coat - A coating used to isolate a paint system either from the surface to which it is applied or a previous coating for the purpose of increasing adhesion or ensuring compatibility.

Biocide - An additive to coatings that kills plants (e.g., algae, fungus, mildew, mold) growing in or on the surface of the coating.

Backsplash - The vertical part at the rear and sides of a countertop that protects the adjacent wall surface. It is at least 4-inches high.

Butt seam - The most common (and easily achieved) type of seam in wallpapering, in which two strips are placed edge to edge without any overlap. After forming a butt seam, roll it gently with a seam roller to secure it in place. Recheck the seam after 10 minutes and roll again if necessary.

Bolt - wallpaper - A continuous roll of wallpaper equivalent to two or more single rolls and packaged as one unit. Usually 48- and 54-inch commercial wallpapers are packaged in 30-yard bolts. Bolts are packaged this way to increase the usable yield.

Bleaching - The use of oxalic acid or other agents to lighten or restore discolored or stained wood to its original color. The fading of a color toward white generally caused by exposure to chemicals or ultraviolet radiation.

Backsaw - A saw used for small work on the bench top. An extra-fine narrow backsaw is called a dovetail saw.

Bimetallic Corrosion - Corrosion resulting from dissimilar metal contact.

Butt-edged wood tiles - Tiles with flat edges along all sides.

Bounce Back - The rebound of atomized paint, especially when applied by conventional air spray methods.

Burled wood - Wood that has been cut from a gnarled, knotty part of a tree, giving it a curved and irregular grain pattern.

Baffle - An obstacle purposely placed around a bird feeder to keep out unwanted competitors and predators.

Brightness - An optics and appearance attribute of visual sensation by which an observer is aware of the differences in luminance or lightness and saturation.

Beam - Horizontal structural member that sits on posts or walls and supports the structure above it. When bearing walls are removed, they must be replaced by a beam.

Broom finish - The texture created when a concrete surface is stroked with a stiff broom while the concrete is still curing.

Built-in - Any element, such as a bookcase or cabinetry, that is built into a wall or an existing frame.

Borate-treated lumber - Lumber preserved with borate salts. This method is effective against wood-boring insects, but not as effective against mold and fungus, so it is not recommended for posts or other ground-contact situations.

Booking (in wallpapering) - The technique of folding wallpaper and allowing time for the adhesive to penetrate without drying out so that the paper expands. The time period varies with different types of wallpaper. To book wallpaper, fold it pasted side to pasted side, with the edges of the strip in alignment and the ends overlapping about 1/2 inch approximately midway down the strip.

Built-up beam or girder - A beam or girder made of smaller component parts, for example, nailing together three 2x12s for a "built-up" 6x12 beam.

Bay window - A window, typically three sided, that projects from a wall, creating a recessed area in the structure's interior. Also called an oriel.

Brittleness - The tendency of a dried film to crack or flake when bent, flexed, or scratched.

Breathable wallpaper - Any wallpaper that has a porous surface through which air can pass.

Boxing - Pouring all paint of the same color and formula into one large container and then mixing it together to eliminate minor variations in color between cans.

Bright Rubbed Effect - Mostly a furniture finish, where gloss is rubbed to a mar-free finish with approximately 50-60 units of gloss at 60, with sandpaper, pumice, or steelwool and either oil or water.

Binder (in painting) - A viscous, pliant material that holds pigments in suspension and makes them adhere to surfaces; the bulk of what makes up paint.

Brick veneer tile - Tile that simulates the appearance of real brick.

Blemish - An irregularity, obviously not caused by weathering, marring the appearance of the surface of a specimen.

Blistering - Paint problem characterized by paint coming off the surface in bubbles. Caused by paint applied over a wet, oily or dirty surface. Also occurs when water vapor escapes from the house interior.

Bleaching Agent - Any material which, when properly used, makes the color of an object permanently lighter.

Baseboard - A piece of trim, either plain or milled, installed around a room at the base of the walls to conceal the joints of walls and adjoining floor covering.

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