House Parts You Didn T Know Had A Name

Bargeboard

A board attached to the edge of a gable roof. In house styles such as Gothic Revival and Tudor, bargeboards often bear intricate carvings or colorful painted details. Also called vergeboard or gableboard.

Check Throat

The groove cut into the underside of a windowsill that prevents rainwater from reaching the wall.

Clerestory

A series of windows placed high in a wall.

Cricket

A second, small, pointed roof that diverts rainwater around something, such as a chimney, that projects out of a primary roof.

Efflorescence

The weathering on exposed bricks or stones that looks white and powdery. It appears when natural salts in the materials leach out and crystallize.

Enfilade

A series of doors to connecting rooms arranged so that there is one uninterrupted sight line.

Fireplace Cheeks

The angled sides of a firebox opening.

Gablet

The small gables often found over a single dormer window.

Haunch

The curving part of an arch that’s bookended by the peak of the arch and either a capital or molding abutment.

Inglenook

A nook, usually for seating, found beside a fireplace.

Jetty

An upper story of a home’s structure that juts out beyond the level below.

Kite Winder

The middle of a set of three wedge-shaped stair steps, or winders, that together make a 90-degree turn.

Oxeye

A small round or oval window often found in dormers. Also called bull’s-eye or oeil-de-boeuf.

Paumelle

A hinge that has only one joint on which it pivots.

Quoin

A corner finish stone on masonry buildings.

Scuncheon

Any reveal between the inner face of a door or window jamb and the wall.

Scuttle

A ceiling opening with a cover or hatchway.

Spandrel

The wall space between the outer string of a stair and the floor, or wall space between the shoulder of an arch and the outer walls.

Tympanum

The triangular, recessed center area of a pediment that’s bordered by moldings.