Real Estate Glossary
Our glossary is the largest dictionary of real estate and construction terms on the Internet with almost 10,000 definitions.
- Wheatstone Bridge
- A conductor that joins two branches of an electrical circuit to compare electrical resistance makes up the bridge, which helps determine electrical resistance by comparing the unknown value with a known value.
- Wheelbarrow
- Load moving device with a single wheel in the front at the apex and handles and legs at the rear. When the load is put into the body, the rear is lifted by the handles and pushed on the front wheel.
- Wheel Dresser
- Hardened hand tool used to smooth and reshape the surface of a grinding wheel and to remove particles.
- Wheel Trencher
- Trench digging machine that has a large, engine driven wheel with bucket shaped blades around it. Soil is removed from the trench by buckets, when the wheel turns, placing it on the sides of the trench.
- Whetstone
- Fine grindstone that is used to sharpen the edge of a tool, manually.
- Whip
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- Preventing a rope from untangling by tightly wrapping the end with a cord.
- The up and down movement that occurs when the underlayment has not been properly nailed down.
- White Ants
- An incorrect term sometimes applied to termites.
- White Cedar
- U.S. Eastern swamp conifer wood that is used for crates.
- White Coat
- Finish coat of plaster.
- White Lead
- Pigment, once used in paint, of lead oxide.
- White Metal
- Used for the manufacture of bearings; material composed of various alloys of tin with antimony and copper. Friction and metal-to-metal contact is avoided by a film of lubricating oil on the surface and between the bearings, it is also referred to as Babbitt metal.
- White Portland Cement
- Cement, ASTM C150 and C175, white in color.
- White Shellac
- Bleached shellac that gives a clear protective finish.
- Whitewash
- Slaked lime and water solution used as paint.
- White Wire
- The neutral colored wire used in electrical installations.
- Whiting
- The powdered chalk pigment in paint and putty.
- Wicket
- Small opening such as a door within another door or window, which is usually covered by a grating.
- Wicking
- The drawing of moisture into wood through the cells by capillary action in the direction of the grain. When wood is placed in direct contact with the ground, water is drawn in and decay can occur.
- Wide-flange Beam
- Steel structural beam with wide side sections.
- Widows Walk
- A platform erected on the roof, typically found in New England homes with a view of the sea. Legend is that widows of lost seaman walked on the platform looking for their husbands to return from the sea.
- Wild Deed
- Deed that is recorded improperly.
- Will
- Legal document, which outlines the disposition of a deceased person's estate.
- Williamsburg Georgian
- English-style house representative of the early colonial houses built in America during the early 1700's. They had simple exterior lines and fewer of the decorative devices seen in the later Georgian style houses. Williamsburg designs were 2 or 3 story rectangular houses with two large chimneys rising high above the roof at either end of the house.
- Willow Oak
- Type of oak tree that is often found in the southern portion of United States, which had a hard, heavy wood.
- Winch
- Also called a windlass, this hoist is made of a cable, wound around a drum, with a motor or crank attached, turning the drum and raising the cable load.
- Wind
- Twisting type of warp that can be found in a piece of lumber.
- Wind Effect
- Air currents, in the vent stack of a drainage system could cause the water seal in a trap to be lost or can change the water level in a drain trap.
- Windbreak
- Things, such as fences, structures, or trees, which offer protection against the wind.
- Winder
- Wedge shaped step used on spiral stairways, which have a wider tread on the outside. Also called as a wheel step.
- Winding
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- The coils that are wound around a conductor which, produce electrical energy if moved within a magnetic field.
- Warping of door or window frames.
- Wind Load or Force
- Effect caused to a structure, by the force of the wind blowing on it, which is considered during the design phase.
- Winder or Winding Stair
- A triangular shaped step, which is used in winding staircases, because the tread shape permits them to be, installs to that the stairs can turn.
- Windlass
- Also called a winch, this hoist is made of a cable, wound around a drum, with a motor or crank attached, turning the drum and raising the cable load.
- Window
- Opening in a wall, framed and holding a pane of glass, which allows air and light.
- Window Frame
- The boxed opening that holds the glass pane of a window. All window parts except the glass.
- Window Light
- Individual pane of glass.
- Window Seat
- A cushion covered bench built under a window.
- Window Shade
- Covering that can be pulled down over the glass in a window to provide privacy and eliminate sun in a room.
- Window Sill
- The shelf-like, flat exterior part at the bottom of a window.
- Window Stool
- The shelf-like, flat interior part at the bottom of a window.
- Window Wall
- Wall composed mostly of glass.
- Window Well
- Curved, corrugated steel insert use to keep moisture from basement windows that are below ground level.
- Windowsill
- The bottom of the frame of wood supporting a window.
- Windrow
- A row of dust, dirt, and dry leaves that have been swept together.
- Windshake
- Found in a log, the separation along the growth ring circumference, caused by wind stress during the growth period of the tree.
- Wing
- Building part, which is connected to, but leading away from the main structure.
- Winter Degree Day
- Term, given to days with a mean temperature below the set value, used to estimate heating fuel requirements. A unit of measure representing one degree of declination from a standard temperature in the average temperature of one day, used in determining fuel needed to maintain a given temperature between the mean and 65 degrees over 24 hours requirements.
- Winterize
- Adapting a structure or machinery for operation or storage during cold weather by sealing cracks, putting up storm windows, etc. in a home or adding anti-freeze to machines.
- Wiped Joint
- A type of joint, made with hot lead, which was used to connect cast iron piping. It is not often used at this time.
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