Glossary of Architectural and Building Terminology - R
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Rab - A rab is a rod or stick used by masons in mixing hair with mortar.
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Rafter - The term rafter originally applied to any rough and somewhat heavy piece of timber. Now, it is commonly applied to one of the timbers of a roof which are put on sloping, according to the inclination of the roof.
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Rail - A rail is a horizontal piece in a frame or panelling.
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Raker - In scaffolding, a raker is an inclined scaffold tube having a bearing upon the ground or an adjacent structure
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Ramp - The term ramp refers to any sloping member, other than a purely constructional one, such as a continuous parapet to a staircase. And also to a short bend, slope, or curve, where a hand rail or cap changes its direction.
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Rampant Vault - A rampant vault is a continuous wagon vault, or cradle vault, whose two abutments are located on an inclined plane, such as the vault supporting a stairway, or forming the ceiling of a stairway.
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Random Courses - Random courses are courses made of stone of unequal thickness.
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Random Work - Random work is a type of stonework consisting of stones of unequal sizes fitted together, but not in courses nor always with flat beds.
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Range Work - Range work is masonry of squared stones laid in courses each of which is of even height throughout the length of the wall. It is distinguished from broken range work, which consists of squared stones laid in courses not continuously of even height.
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Rebate - A rebate or rabbet is a rectangular longitudinal recess or groove, cut in the corner or edge of any body to accept the edge, or tongue of another piece. For example the groove cut to accept a panel, a pane of glass, or a door, is known as a rebate or rabbet.
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Recessed Arch - A recessed arch is one of a series of arches constructed one within another so as to correspond with the splayed jambs of a doorway, or the like.
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Reeding - The term reeding is used to describe a small convex moulding. Several reedings are often placed together, parallel to each other, either projecting from, or inserted into, the adjoining surface. The decoration so produced is then called, in general, reeding.
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Reglet - The term reglet is applied to a flat, narrow moulding, used chiefly to separate the parts or members of compartments or panels from one another, or doubled, turned, and interlaced so as to form knots, frets, or other ornaments.
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Regrating - Regrating is a form of renovation carried out on stonework which involves the removal of the outer surface of an old hewn stone, so as to give it a fresh appearance.
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Reins of a Vault - The reins of a vault are the parts between the crown and the spring or abutment, including, and having special reference to, the loading or filling behind the shell of the vault. The reins are to a vault nearly what the haunches are to an arch, and when a vault gives way by thrusting outward, it is because its reins are not sufficiently filled up.
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Rejoint - The term rejoint describes filling up the joints of stones or bricks in buildings when the mortar has been dislodged by age and the action of the weather.
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Rendering - Rendering is a form of plasterwork conducted on walls of masonry without the use of laths.
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Reredos - The term reredos refers to a number of things: a screen or partition wall behind an altar (altarpiece); the back of a fireplace; the open hearth, upon which fires were lighted, immediately under the louvre, in the centre of ancient halls. For more than 10
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Respond - A respond is a half pier or pillar attached to a wall to support an arch.
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Retaining Wall - The term retaining wall refers to a wall built to keep any movable backing, or a bank of sand or earth, in its place.
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Reticulated Moulding - A reticulated moulding is a member composed of a fillet interlaced with squares placed diagonally.
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Reticulated Work - Reticulated work is a type of masonry constructed with diamond-shaped stones, or square stones placed diagonally.
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Return - A return is a continuation in a different direction, most often at a right angle, of a building, face of a building, or any member, such as a moulding or mould.
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Reveal - A reveal is the side of an opening for a window, doorway, or the like, between the door frame or window frame and the outer surface of the wall; or, where the opening is not filled with a door, etc.
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Reveal Pin - A reveal pin is a device embodying a screw-jack, used in erecting tubular scaffolding in order to secure a puncheon into a window opening for the purpose of tying-in the scaffold to the building
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Rib - In Gothic vaulting, a rib is one of the primary members of the vault. These are strong arches, meeting and crossing one another, dividing the whole space into triangles, which are then filled by vaulted construction of lighter material. Hence, the term rib is also applied to an imitation of one of these in wood, plaster, or the like. The term is also used to describe a projecting mould, or group of mouldings, forming with others a pattern, as on a ceiling, ornamental door, or the like.
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Ribbed vault - A ribbed vault is a vault differing from others in having solid ribs which bear the weight of the vaulted surface. True Gothic vaults are of this character.
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Ridge - The term ridge is applied to the intersection of two surfaces forming a salient angle, especially the angle at the top between the opposite slopes or sides of a roof or a vault.
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Ridgepole - The ridgepole is the timber forming the ridge of a roof, into which the rafters are secured.
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Right-Angled Coupler - A right-angled coupler, also known as a hinged coupler or double coupler, is the load-bearing coupler used in tubular scaffolding to connect standards and ledgers at the principle node points.
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Riprap - A riprap is a foundation or sustaining wall of stones thrown together without order, often in deep water or on a soft bottom.
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Riser - A riser is the upright piece of a step, from tread to tread. The term is also applied to any small upright face, such as that of a seat, platform, veranda, or the like.
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Rivelling - Rivelling is a defect in a gloss film of paint or varnish taking the appearance of wrinkles which appear during the drying period. Rivelling is usually caused by applying too much paint or varnish whereby the surface skins over while the material beneath is still soft
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Rockwork - Stonework in which the surface is left broken and rough is known as 'rockwork'.
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Roman Doric Order - The Roman Doric Order of architecture was derived from the earlier Greek Classical Doric Order, and added additional ornamentation to the design, while retaining the basic shapes of the earlier Doric Order style.
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Roman Walls - The Romans built their houses (villas) and other walls from natural flint, in a manner not dissimilar to a dry stone wall. Natural flints from the surrounding earth were gathered, and walls constructed in courses of about 12 inches height, the flints being interlocked and wedged firm and then interspersed with a mortar rich in lime. The resulting walls were single-skinned, two feet thick and incredibly strong - far stronger than modern brick walls, damp proof and resistant to weathering. The purpose of the mortar was primarily to absorb moisture before it penetrated to the inside of the building, but because of its peculiar nature - when dried it can be mixed with water again and reused any number of times - it also self-healed. Cracks appearing due to heat and dryness would disappear following a wet period as the mortar became soft again and filled its own cracks. The walls inside houses would then be plastered, and decorated.
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Romanesque Style - The Romanesque style was a style of architecture that grew up from the attempts of barbarous people trying to copy Roman architecture and apply it to their own purposes. This term is loosely applied to all the styles of Western Europe, from the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the appearance of Gothic architecture.
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Rood Beam - A rood beam is a beam across the chancel of a church, supporting the rood.
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Rood Loft - A rood loft is a loft or gallery, in a church, on which the rood and its appendages were set up to view.
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Roof - A roof is the cover of a building, including the roofing and all the materials and construction necessary to carry and maintain the same upon the walls or other uprights. In the case of a building with vaulted ceilings protected by an outer roof, some writers call the vault the roof, and the outer protection the roof mask. It is better, however, to consider the vault as the ceiling only, in cases where it has farther covering.
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Rose Window - A rose window or catherine wheel window, is a type of window, chiefly found in Gothic buildings, circular in form, with the interior filled in with tracery work, the main parts of which often radiate like the spokes of a wheel.
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Rosette - The term rosette describes an ornament in the form of a rose or roundel. They are much used in decoration.
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Rotunda - A rotunda is a round building. The term is especially applied to one that is round both on the outside and the inside, like the Pantheon at Rome. Less properly, but very commonly, the term is used for a large round room; as for example with the rotunda of the Capitol at Washington DC.
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Rough Ashlar - Rough ashlar is a block of freestone as brought from the quarry. When hammer-dressed it is known as common ashlar.
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Rubblework - Rubblework is a type of masonry that is constructed of unsquared stones that are irregular in size and shape.
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Rustic Work - The term rustic work describes cut stone facing which has the joints worked with grooves or channels, the face of each block projecting beyond the joint, so that the joints are very conspicuous. The term is also applied to Summer houses, or furniture for summer houses, etc., which have been made of the rough limbs of trees fancifully arranged.
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