B

Back Charge

Billings for work performed or costs incurred by one party that, in accordance with the agreement, should have been performed or incurred by the party billed. Owners bill back charges to general contractors, and general contractor’s bill back charges to subcontractors. Examples of back charges include charges for cleanup work or to repair damage incurred by another subcontractor, e.g. a basin that has been chipped or broken window.

Backfill

Replacement of excavated earth into a trench around or against a basement /crawl space foundation wall.

Ballast

Transformer that steps up the voltage in a florescent lamp.

Balusters

Vertical members in a railing used between a top rail and bottom rail or the stair treads. Sometimes referred to as ‘pickets’ or ‘spindles’.

Balustrade

Rail, posts and vertical balusters along the edge of a stairway or elevated walkway.

Batten

Narrow strips of wood, metal or plastic used to cover joints or as decorative vertical members over plywood or other panels, also used to pack out surfaces for linings to be affixed to.

BCA

Abbreviation for Building Code of Australia.

Beam

Structural member transversely supporting a load. A structural member carrying building loads (weight) from one support to another. Sometimes called a “girder”.

Bi-fold Door

Doors that are hinged in the middle for opening in a smaller area than standard swing doors. Often used for closet doors.

Blue Print(s)

An old method of copying used for architectural drawings. Usually used to describe the drawing of a structure which is prepared by an architect or designer for the purpose of design and planning, estimating, securing permits and actual construction.

Boardroom Chair

Broadly speaking it is a medium to high back swivel only chair with arms, no height adjustment so after the meeting chairs are not looking untidy all sitting at different heights.

Bookcase

A set of shelves, sitting on the floor either fixed to a wall or free-standing, used for holding books, these units have no doors.

Brick Lintel

Metal angle iron that brick rests on, especially above a window, door, or other opening.

Brick Tie

Small, corrugated metal nailed to wall sheeting or studs. They are inserted into the grout mortar joint of the veneer brick, holding the veneer wall to the sheeted wall behind it.

Bulkhead

A lower or higher level ceiling to the main ceiling plane used either to encase services or provide a decorative feature, usually but not always constructed of plaster board and steel framing.

Butt Joint

Junction where the ends of two timbers meet, and also where sheets of gyprock meet on the 1200mm edge. To place materials end-to-end or end-to-edge without overlapping.