Glossary

Cooper Stairworks Stair Part Configurations
Download Stair Part Configurations Chart

B

BALUSTER – square or turned spindle-like vertical stair members supporting a rail.

BALUSTRADE – a system of rails and balusters usually attached to a stair, balcony or landing for the purpose of providing guard and/or handrail.

BEVEL – to cut to an angle, other than a right angle such as the edge of a board or door.

BLEEDING – exudation or the coming to the surface of resin or pitch in some species of wood, usually due to temperature or solvents contained in wood finishes.

BOLT HOLE PLUG – a small round wood plug used to fill the hole bored into a “stair crook” when joining another crook or stair rail.

BULLNOSE – the rounded end or edge of a wood member, e.g. “bullnose starting stair tread”; often used interchangeably with the term “nosed.”

C

CERTIFIED WOOD PRODUCTS – are those wood products made from lumber harvested in a sustainable manner and certified by a reliable third party. Certified wood products carry a “chain of custody” certificate that tracks the lumber from the forest to the end-user.

CHAMFER – a corner of a board beveled at a 45-degree angle; two boards butt-jointed and with chamfered edges form a “V” joint or right angle.

COLONIAL – same as “traditional”; of or characteristic of the thirteen British colonies that eventually became the United States; sometimes separated into three periods, namely (1) Early American Colonial 1630-1700, (2) Georgian 1700-1790, and (3) Post-Colonial 1790-1820.

CONTEMPORARY – a style of architecture using today’s materials, planning and methods; attention tends to be directed toward present family tastes and needs and free from full reliance on the traditional.

COPE – to cut or shape the end of a moulded wood member so that it will cover and fit the contour of the sticking coping.

COVE MOULDING – a moulding with a concave profile used primarily where two members meet at a right angle; a rounded inside corner; opposite to a bullnose; also scotia, cavetto, ceiling cornice.

COVE AND BEAD – a moulding profile consisting of a “cove” and a “bead”; also called “cove with a bead”; glass bead or stop.

CROSSBAND – in 5-ply construction the layer of wood between the core and the face.

CROSSBANDED CONSTRUCTION – layers of wood glued together in which each layer has its grain at right angles to adjacent layer or layers.

CYMA RECTA – a molding or structure having a profile of double curvature, both concave and convex, with the concave part uppermost.

CYMA REVERSA – a molding or structure having a profile of double curvature, both concave and convex, with the convex part uppermost.

D

DADO – a rectangular groove cut across the grain of a wood member; in contrast to plow; which is cut with or parallel to the grain; in wainscot, the wide portion just above the base.

DOUBLE STUCK – a wood member with both edges moulded.

E

EASEMENT – a stair crook whereby the stair rail is curved primarily in a vertical plane; a “ramp”; also easing.

EASEMENT WITH NEWEL CAP – an easement (concave) with a dowel or pin top newel; same as “starting easement”; up easing and newel cap.

EFFECTIVE DEPTH OF STAIR STRINGER – the minimum distance from the intersection of the tread and bottom edge of the riser to the lower edge of the stringer; the minimum is between 3-1/2 and 5 inches; also effective depth of rabbet.

ENTABLATURE – the top horizontal structure of an Order in classical architecture, divided into cornice, frieze, and architrave.

F

FACE – outer or exposed ply in crossbanded construction; surface from which lumber grade is determined.

FASCIA – a wood member, surfaced four sides, used for the outer face of a “box cornice” where it is nailed to the ends of the rafters and “lookouts”; sometimes refers to the “face” of a mantel.

FEDERAL ARCHITECTURE – a style of architecture, drawing from Palladianism and Georgian architecture, that flourished in the United States from around 1785 to 1820.

FILLET – a narrow band of wood between two flutes in a wood member; a flat, square moulding separating other mouldings; in stairwork, a thin narrow strip of wood which fits into the plow of the stair shoe or subrail between balusters; sometimes “neck” moulding.

FIVE-PLY CONSTRUCTION – a cross-banded assembly consisting of a core, crossbands and face veneers.

FLUTE – a long, rounded groove machined along the grain of a wood member, e.g., a pilaster; may be “through fluted” or “stop fluted”; shallow or deep concave or groove cut-back of surface; repeated flutes produce texture.

G

GEORGIAN – the style in architecture, interior design, and decorative arts in Britain and its colonies between 1714 and 1830. Classical forms and motifs dominate, but the style also encompasses Renaissance and Rococo forms as well as a range of Neoclassical styles.

GLUE BLOCK – a wood block, triangular or rectangular in shape, which is glued and nailed into place to reinforce a right-angled butt joint; sometimes used at the intersection of the tread and riser in a stair.

GOOSENECK – a stair crook-shaped in the profile of a goose’s neck; composed of a long curved vertical section of stair rail with a short horizontal section at the top; used at the point of “winders” in an open stairs, at the landing or the head of stairs.

Gooseneck with Landing Return, 1(2) Riser(s) – a gooseneck with the stair rail in the short horizontal section making a 180-degree turn (return) on the level; may be right or left; also gooseneck with level half-turn.

Gooseneck with Level Quarter-turn – a gooseneck with the stair rail in the short horizontal section making a 90-degree turn on the level (on a horizontal plane); may be termed right or left.

Gooseneck with (without) Newel Cap – a gooseneck with (without) a newel cap and no stair rail outlet thus in the short horizontal section of the stair crook; a “gooseneck without newel cap” is synonymous with the term “gooseneck”; adaptable for use with either one or two risers.

Gooseneck with Newel Cap and Easing – a gooseneck with the stair rail in the short horizontal section ending in a newel cap and with an easing leading out of the newel cap at right angles to the stair rail; either right or left.

Gooseneck with Newel Cap and Level Outlet Right (Left) – a gooseneck with a newel cap and a rail outlet in the short horizontal section of the stair crook; the rail outlet is at 90 degrees to the newel cap and on level (in horizontal plane); stair crook is termed right or left.

Gooseneck with Newel Cap and Level Outlet Straight – a gooseneck with a newel cap and a rail outlet in the short horizontal section of the stair crook; the rail outlet is opposite its entry into the newel cap.

Gooseneck with Quarter-turn and Easement – a gooseneck with the stair rail in the short horizontal section of the stair crook making a quarter-turn on level and then curving upward (easement) either right or left.

GREEN – a subset of sustainability, the focus of which is life cycle environmental impacts of materials, i.e., “reduce, recycle, reuse.”

GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM – a green building program is a law or regulation that mandates or offers incentives for the construction of green buildings within a community. It can focus on public, residential, and/or commercial buildings.

H

HARDWOOD – one of the botanical groups of trees that has broad leaves in contrast to the needle-like leaves of the conifers or softwoods; hardwoods are (1) deciduous (shed their leaves in the fall or at end of each growing season), (2) have shorter-length wood fibers than softwoods, (3) contain cells (vessels) of relatively large diameters (in addition to the wood fibers) and (4) have seeds enclosed by an ovary.

HOLLOW-BACK – to groove or remove a portion of the wood on the unexposed face of a wood member to more properly fit any irregularity in bearing surface; conserves on transportation charges, assists in prevention of warping and allows a moulding more or less warped to hug the jamb and plaster more closely; also “backed out.”

HOUSED – the “notching” or “grooving” of one member to receive another.

J

JACK STUD – vertical wood member at each side of the rough opening for a window or door; the jack stud supports the header.

JOINT – the joining of two pieces of wood by nails, glue, adhesives or other means; may be joined end to end, edge to edge, end to edge or end to face; also glue or wood joint.

Blind Mortise-and-tenon Joint – a joint in which the tenon does not extend through the mortise and does not remain visible once the joint is completed; also “blind tenoned.”

Butt Joint – a joint formed by square edge surfaces (ends, edges, faces) coming together; end butt joint, edge butt joint.

Coped Joint – a joint at the meeting of moulded member.

Dado Joint – a rectangular groove across the grain of a wood member into which the end of the joining member is inserted; also housed joint.

Dovetail Joint – a joint formed by inserting a projecting wedge-shaped member (dovetail tenon) into a correspondingly shaped cut-out member (dovetail mortise).

Dowelled Joint – a joint using “dowels”; also “dowelled edge joint.”

Edge Joint – a joint formed by joining together the edges of wood members; the edges may be square edge (plain edge joint) or machined (tongue and groove, dowelled); also “rubbed” joint.

End Joint – a joint formed by the ends of wood members; the more common end joint is the “finger-joint.”

Finger Joint – a series of fingers machined on the ends of two pieced to be joined, which mesh together and are held firmly in position by a water-resistant adhesive.

Haunched Mortise-and-tenon Joint – a joint which the tenon is not the same width as its wood member.

Lap Joint – a joint formed by extending (lapping) the joining part of one member over the joining part of the other member; also “shiplap”, “shouldered rabbet” or “plain rabbet” joint.
Locked-miter Joint – a miter joint employing a tongue and groove working to further strengthen the joint.

Lock Sill Joint – formed by dadoing the side jamb and sill of a window frame.

Miter Joint – the joining of two members at an angle that bisects the angle of junction; also “mitre.”

Mortise-and-tenon Joint – a joint formed by the tenon of one member being inserted into the mortise of the other member; the tenon may be secured in the joint by means of steel pins or nails.

Open Mortise-and-tenon Joint – a joint in which the inserted tenon extends completely through the mortise and the end of the tenon remains visible once the joint is completed; also through or full mortise-and-tenon.

Rabbet Joint – a joint formed by the rabbet(s) on one or both member; also rabbeted edge joint.

Right-angle Joint – a 90-degree joint formed by end to face, edge to face or edge to end of wood members; the joint may be formed with the grain, at right angles or parallel to it.

Scarf Joint – an end joint formed by having the two ends of the members beveled to form sloping plane surfaces.

Slotted Mortise-and-tenon Joint – a mortise-and-tenon right-angle joint in which the tenon is visible on two edges once the joint is completed; also “bridle” or “slip” joint.

Spline Joint – a joint formed by the use of a spline; also “slip tongue” joint.

Tongue-and-groove Joint – a joint formed by the insertion of the “tongue” of one wood member into the “groove” of the other; modifications include tongue-and-groove rabbet joint, dado tongue and rabbet, tongued shoulder joint, dado and rabbet joint, dado and lip joint.

“V” Joint – a joint formed by two adjacent boards in the same plane which have faces with chamfered edges; the wood joint may be center-matched, butt joint or other working.

Wedged Mortise-and-tenon Joint – similar to the mortise-and-tenon joint except that two saw cuts are made in the tenon and fitted with wedges; since the sides of the mortise are flared the tenon cannot pull out after the wedges have been driven and glued into place.

K

KNEE WALL MOULDING – a crown-like moulding suitable for installation at oblique joints.

L

LAMBS TONGUE – a moulding, of considerable projection as compared to its width, of two opposed ogees separated by a fillet.

LAMINATED – layers of veneer or lumber bonded with an adhesive so that the grain of all layers is essentially parallel; contrasted to plywood, in which the adjacent layers are usually at right angles to one another.

LEVEL HALF-TURN – a stair crook; stair rail with a 180-degree turn on the level (in a horizontal plane).

LEVEL QUARTER-TURN – a stair crook; stair rail with a 90-degree turn on the level (in a horizontal plane).

LINEAL FOOT – having length only; used in designating quantities of mouldings; “lineal” foot usually designates nonspecified lengths.

M

MILLWORK – a term to describe those products which are primarily manufactured from lumber in a planing mill or woodworking plant; includes mouldings, door frames and entrances, blinds and shutters, sash and window units, doors, stairwork, kitchen cabinets, mantels, china or corner cabinets and porch work; woodwork.

MORTISE – a notch or slot cut into a member to receive a projecting part (tenon) of another member to form a “mortise-and-tenon” joint.

MOULDED – worked into a form or shape and referring to wood member other than those “surfaced four sides”; also “stuck.”

MOULDING – a relatively narrow strip of wood, usually shaped to a curved profile throughout its length; used to accent and emphasize the ornamentation of a structure and to conceal surface or angle joints.

Flush Moulding – a moulding on the same level or plane as the wood member or assembly to which it is applied; a member is flush with another when they form an unbroken or even surface; in contrast to “raised” or “recessed” moulding.

Raised Moulding – an applied moulding which partly covers or extends above the face or surface of an assembly.

N

NEWEL – the main post at the start of a stairs and the stiffening post at the landing; a stair newel.

Landing Newel – a newel installed on a landing or at the turn of a set of stairs; intermediate newel; “angle newel.”

Starting Newel – the newel installed at the beginning of the flight of stairs; newel post.

NEWEL CAP – a turned decorative cap or top into which the dowel or pin of the newel top fits.

NEWEL COLLAR – a turned wood collar used in lengthening the base of certain stair newels.

NOSED – the rounded edge of a wood member.

NOSING – in stairwork, the rounded edge of the stair tread which projects beyond the face of the riser; “tread nosing”; also applied to the rounded edge of a wood member.

Return Nosing – the nosing of an open stair tread that continues around to the open end(s) of the stairs; the return nosing is applied to the open end(s) of the stair tread and mitred to the nosing of the tread.

Sill Nosing – the nosing of a “main sill and nosing” of a window frame.

NOSING MOULDING – a moulding consisting of a profile that is “nose and cove” and which is sometimes used on the exposed edges of flooring (especially porch work) to give a rounded or “returned nosing” effect; also “nose and cove.”

O

OFFSET CENTER OF STAIR CONVERGENCE – a method of “winder” construction whereby the risers do not converge at a point at the turn of the stairs, and afford some width to the winders.

ORDERS – a unique style of column and entablature, in classic architecture, each having standardized details and proportions. The five Orders are Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite.

OVOLO – a convex profile; usually a quarter-section of a circle and similar to the profile of “quarter-round.”

P

PANEL – a wood surface within a surrounding frame; all panels have structural frames, the interstices of which are filled with sheets or fields called “panels”; the frame is necessary for adequate strength only with the panels occupying considerable more area than the frame; the panel may be raised above or recessed below the surrounding frame and set off from it by moulding or other decorative treatment; “panel” also refers to a sheet of plywood or thin lumber as well as to a section of a floor, wall, ceiling or roof prefabricated of a large size and handled as a single unit in the operations of assembly and erection.

PANEL DIVIDER – a moulding which separates two vertical wood panels along their common edges.

PANEL MOULDING – a decorative moulding used in panel work.

PARTICLEBOARD – a formed panel, consisting of particles of wood flakes, shavings, slivers, etc., bonded together with a synthetic resin or other added binder; the particles are classified by size, dried to a uniform moisture content, mixed with binder, mat-formed, compressed to density and then cured under controlled heat and pressure.

PLOW – a rectangular groove or slot of three surfaces cut parallel or with the grain of a wood member; in contrast to “dado”, which is cut across the grain.

PLOWED AND BORED SASH – a “box window frame” sash where the edges of the stiles are “plowed and bored” to receive the sash weight cord to tie the knot.

PLUMB – exactly perpendicular or vertical; at right angles to the horizon or floor.

PLY – veneer which has been assembled into a panel; a layer of veneer.

PLYWOOD – a crossbanded assembly of layers of veneer or veneer in combination with a lumber core or plies joined with an adhesive; the grain of the adjoining veneer or plies is approximately at right angles; an odd number of plies is generally used.

PREFINISHED – millwork with an applied finish coating.

PRESERVATIVE – any substance that, for a reasonable length of time, will prevent the development and action of wood-destroying fungi, borers of various kinds and other harmful insects that deteriorate wood after the wood has been properly treated with it; also wood preservative.

PRIME COAT – the first coat of paint in an application that consists of two or more coats; also refers to the paint used for such an initial coat.

PUTTY – a precipitated whiting (chalk or calcium carbonate) ground in linseed oil with approximately 5 percent white lead added.

R

RADIUS MOULDING – a moulding run to a specified radius.

RAIL – horizontal member of a window or door sash.

Stair Rail – the moulded wood member of a balustrade that connects the tops of the balusters and serves as a hand support and guard; sometimes “hand rail.”

Wall Rail – a moulded linear wood member secured to the wall of a closed flight of stairs and which serves as hand support.

RAISED MOULDING – a moulding not on the same level or plane as the wood member or assembly to which it is applied; as contrasted to “flush moulding.”

RAKE MOULDING – a moulding applied to the rake or the exposed inclined ends of a gable roof; term is sometimes applied to any moulding installed in a direction other that horizontal or vertical.

RAMP – a stair rail steeper than the normal rake of a stairs.

RESIN – any of various solid or semisolid organic substances extruded from various plants or trees or prepared synthetically.

RETURN – continuation in a different direction of a moulding or projection, usually at right angles.

RISE – in stairwork, the vertical or perpendicular measurement between the faces of two consecutive treads; also “stair tread rise.”

Total Rise – the vertical or perpendicular measurement from the lower-level finish floor to the finish floor of the landing or upper floor level where the flight ends.

RISER – the vertical stair member between two consecutive stair treads.

ROSETTE – a turned (usually circular or oval) decorative wood plaque secured to a plastered wall and abutted by the end of the stair rail.

ROUGH OPENING – an unfinished wall or ceiling opening, where a window or door will be installed. (Usage – rough openings are lined by wood members; the top one is the “header”, the side ones are the “jack studs”, and the bottom one is the “rough sill”; also rough openings in brick walls are know as “masonry openings”).

RUN – in stairwork, the horizontal measurement between the faces of two adjacent or consecutive risers; also “stair tread run” or “going”; also “sash run” or “runway.”

Total Run – the horizontal measurement between the face of the first riser and the face of the last riser of a flight of stairs.

S

SCOTIA – a deep concave moulding more than one-quarter round in section; reverse of torus; cove moulding.

SCROLL HEAD – the head or cap of an entrance with a scroll-like design.

SCROLL HEAD AND URN – a scroll head with an urn comprising the cap or head of an entrance.

SHIPLAP – lumber whose edges are rabbeted to make a “lap joint.”

SHOE – a moulding installed at the base of various members of a structure.

Base Shoe – a small narrow moulding running around the perimeter of a room where the base meets the finish floor; also “shoe moulding” and floor mould.

Bent Shoe – base shoe moulding curved or on a radius and used on starting stair treads.

Partition Shoe – moulding that is plowed out to receive the bottom of a partition.

Stair Shoe – a stair member which lies on the top of a curbed stringer and into whose groove or plow the balusters are inserted; also “stair subrail” or “shoe rail.”

SIZE – measurement of millwork items and members.

Actual Size – the true or actual dimensions or size as opposed to “nominal size.”

Finished Size – the overall measurement of any wood part including the solid mould or rabbet.

SKIM – long narrow repair not more than 3/16″ wide.

SOFTWOOD – one of the botanical groups of trees that has persistent needle-like or scale-like leaves; softwoods are evergreen (only three important native species being deciduous), have longer-length fibres than hardwoods, do not contain vessels and have seeds naked; also know as “cone bearers” or “conifers.”

SOLID MOULDING – non-finger-jointed moulding, solid length.

SOLID WOOD – nonveneered.

STAIR BRACKET – thin decorative wood member nailed to the face of an open stair stringer immediately under the return nosing of each stair tread; “scroll bracket.”

STAIRCASE – same as “stairs”, especially when a balustrade is included.

STAIR CARRIAGE – a rough structural stair member (stringer) which is cut out to receive the treads and risers, stair carriages may or may not be used in stair construction; “stair carriages” are nonexposed structural supporting members of the finished stairs; also “rough stair stringer”, “horse”, or “springing tree.”

STAIR CLEARANCE – measurement from the tip of the tread nosing perpendicular to the overhead rake of the stairs.

STAIR FLIGHT – a series of steps unbroken by a landing that extends from (1) one main floor level to a landing, (2) landing to landing, (3) landing to main floor level or (4) main floor level to main floor level; a stairway may consist of one or more flights.

STAIR HEADROOM – the clear vertical height measured from the nosing of a stair tread to any overhead obstruction.

STAIR LANDING – a level platform between two flights of stairs.

STAIR RAIL BOLT – a metal bolt consisting of a lag at one end and a nut at the other used in joining a fittings to a “stair rail.”

STAIRS – one or more flights of a series of steps leading from one main level of a structure to another.

Basement Stairs – extend from an uninhabitable to an inhabitable level; service stairs.

Closed Riser Stairs – a stair with risers.

Closed Stairs – a stairway entirely “walled in” on both sides; does not contain a balustrade; also “boxed” or “box stairs”; “closed string stairs”.

Closed and Open Stairs – stairs both closed and open in the same flight.

Disappearing Stairs – a sectional-type stair assembly that folds up and recesses into an opening in the ceiling; also folding stairs.

Double “L”-type Stairs – a platform stairway with two intermediate landings, one near the top and one near the bottom with a change of direction of 90 degrees for each landing.

Finish Stairs – extends from one habitable level to another; also main stairs.

Geometric stairs – a stairway without newels, usually including a circular or elliptical stairwell, the handrail continuing in a smooth unbroken line from top to bottom; winding stairs.

“L”-type Stairs – a platform stairway with flights at right angles to each other.

Open Riser Stairs – a stairway without risers.

Open Stairs – a stairway having one or both sides open to a hall or room and containing a balustrade; open stairs are “right” or “left” hand open or “open both side” depending on the location of the open or nonwalled side(s) as one observes the stairs from the bottom level; also “open string stairs.”

Platform Stairs – stairs that include an intermediate landing(s) in going from one main floor level to another; also “dog-legged” or “broken flight” stairs.

Straight-run Stairs – stairs from one main floor level to another without turns or landings; also “straight stairs.”

“U”-type Stairs – platform stairs with an intermediate landing in which the direction of the stairs returns on itself or reverses direction 180 degrees; should flights be relatively close to one another (narrow well hole), a “narrow U” stairs; flights further apart, wide “U” stairs.

Winding Stairs – scroll or circular stairs containing wall holes which are circular or elliptical; geometric stairs.

STAIR STRINGER – the inclined side of a stair that supports the treads and risers; also “stair string.”

Closed Stair Stringer – a plain stringer used to conceal the ends of the treads and risers in an open stair and also known as a “curb stair stringer”; also refers to a housed stringer installed in a closed stair.

Finish Stair Stringer – the exposed or finished stringer of a stairs as contrasted to the unexposed or “rough stair stringer” or stair carriage.

Housed Stair Stringer – a finish stair stringer which contains horizontal and vertical grooves or routs on the face to receive the treads and risers; also closed or boxed stringer.

Open Stair Stringer – a finish stair stringer (string) which is cut out to receive the treads and risers; an open stair stringer always requires a balustrade; also “cut”, “return string” or “cut and mitred string.”

Plane Stair Stringer – a nonhoused stair stringer surfaced four sides; also solid stair stringer.

STAIR WEDGES – wood wedges glued and driven into the grooves of a housed stair stringer after treads and risers are inserted to assure a tight fit.

STAIRWELL – the rough framed opening which receives the stairs.

STAIRWORK – a general term applying to the building and erection of stairs.

STARTING RAIL DROP – a stair crook which consists of a stair rail with a 90-degree turn (drop) in a vertical plane and which is returned at its end.

STARTING STEP – a separate stair assembly of stair tread, riser, cove and usually base shoe, joined to a flight of stairs at the main lower level; also “curtail step.”

STEPPING – lumber surfaced three sides and “nosed” one edge; it is generally finished 1-1/16″ in thickness by 9-3/8″ or 11-3/8″ in width and may be classified as “lineal stair tread stock.”

STRINGER MOULDING – a moulding, often a wood or window stop, along the top edge of the stringer of a closed stairs; stringer moulding may also be solid-stuck on the stringer.

SUSTAINABILITY – the concept of meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN – is design that seeks to avoid depletion of energy, water, and raw material resources; prevent environmental degradation caused by facility and infrastructure development over their life cycle; and create environments that are livable, comfortable, and safe and that promote productivity. \

T

TEARDROP – a term given to mouldings with a gradual curved profile.

TENON – a projecting tongue-like part of a wood member to be inserted into a slot (mortise) of another member to form a “mortise-and-tenon joint.”

THREE-PLY CONSTRUCTION – a crossbanded assembly consisting of a lumber core and two face veneers, skins or plies.

TREAD – the horizontal stepping of a stairs supported by the stringers; also “flyer”; stair tread.

Landing Tread – a partial tread, usually 4″ in width, which forms the “nosing” of a stair landing or main floor level; rabbeted for finish floor thickness, namely 25/32″ or 13/16″; also used around stair wells; also stair nosing.

TRIM – millwork primarily mouldings and/or trim to finish-off window and door openings, fireplaces, walls and other members.

V

VENEER – a thin sheet or layer of wood, usually rotary cut, sliced or sawn from a log, bolt or flitch; thickness may vary from 1/100 to 1/4 of an inch; also skin, ply, veneer ply.

V-GROOVE – a V-shaped groove cut into the surface of a wood member for decorative purposes; V-grooving is often done on the exterior surface or face of solid flush doors; see JOINT.

VOLUTE – a stair fitting consisting of an easement with a spiral section of stair rail, inclusive of a newel cap, extending to the left or right of the easement in a horizontal plane; also volume with easement.

W

WAINSCOT – a lower interior wall surface (usually 3 to 4 feet above the floor) that contrasts with the wall surface above it; an interior wall composed of two different interior wall surfaces one above the other.

WALL THICKNESS, EXTERIOR – the measurement from the inside face of the interior wall surface to the outside face of the sheathing.

WALL THICKNESS, INTERIOR – the measurement from face to face of the interior wall surfaces.

WELL HOLE – the clear floor-to-floor space around which a stairs turns or between handrails.

WINDER – radiating or wedge-shaped stair tread at the turn of a non-platform-type stairs.

WOOD FRAME STRUCTURE – a structure whose structural frame consists primarily of wood members, inclusive of exterior and interior frame walls that support the floors and roof; exterior facing of the wall may be brick, stone, stucco or other non wood material; frame structure.

WOOD FRAME WALL – a wall basically framed or constructed of wood members; wood member usually employed are studs, plates and sheathing; may be faced on the exterior with wood or nonwood facing materials such as brick, stucco, stone; also “frame wall.”

WOODWORK – used interchangeably with Millwork; may apply to anything made of wood.

WREATH – the curved part of the stair stringer in a winding stairs; also refers to a curved portion of the stair rail; curved section of a stair rail curved in both the vertical and horizontal planes (volute).

Cooper Stairworks