Supers Club of New York - Building Maintenance Glossary of Terms S to Z

Sacrificial Anode - This magnesium rod prolongs heater life by attracting mineral elements in the water that would otherwise attack exposed metal parts in the tank and its plumbing.

Sagging (paint) - This is a problem most often caused during application. It happens when the paint is:
applied too thickly;
over-thinned;
applied over an undercoat that was not thoroughly dry;
applied to a too-glossy surface; or
applied over a washing compound that left residual powder on the surface.
Sagging also occurs when the surface you painted was very hot or cold. Temperature extremes make the paint too thick or too thin.

Solution: Sand or chemically strip sagged paint. Prime and repaint.

Sand - Gritty, fast-draining soil made up of large particles.

Sash - On a window, the frame that holds the glass.

Sash Weight - Iron counterweight that balances a double hung sash. The weights hang on a cord that goes over a pulley in the window frame and ties to the sash. Newer double hungs use several different spring-loaded sash balance systems.

Scientific Name - A plant's official Latin or Greek name, recognized by gardeners and scientists around the world. For example, Ipomoea tricolor `Heavenly Blue' is the `Heavenly Blue' cultivar of morning glory.

Scoop Shovel - A lightweight shovel that has a short handle and a wide blade with turned-up edges. Used to move loose material, not for digging.

Screed - A board drawn across wet concrete or a sand base to level.

Screen Molding - Thin, flat wood trim, with either a plain- or scalloped-face, used to cover the edge of screening where it is stapled to a wood frame.

Screw Terminals - Screws on the sides of receptacles and switches. You loosen each screw, wrap a wire around it and tighten the screw. Attach black wires to a brass terminal, white to a silver-colored terminal.

Seeded Aggregate - A concrete finish in which small pebbles are spread over wet concrete, worked into the top and revealed by washing and sweeping.

Self-Centering Bit - A self-centering bit (for example, Vix Bit ™) is spring-mounted inside a sleeve whose tip is tapered and sized to fit securely into countersunk screw holes in hardware.

Septic System - A home sewage-disposal system consisting of a septic tank and a leach field.

Septic Tank - A buried holding tank for household wastewater. A disposal company periodically unearths its hatch to pump it out, so you must keep it accessible.

Service Entrance - The point where electricity from the power company arrives at your house. Wires may be strung overhead from a pole or buried in the ground.

Service Panel - Your home's main fuse or circuit breaker box.

Set Screw - Short bolt used to hold tool and machine parts on a shaft.

Setback Line - A specified distance from a property line that establishes where structures can be built.

Setting Time - This refers to the time you must wait before you handle a glued object. Short setting times reduce the need for clamping. Longer setting times give you time to work and often provide the opportunity to reposition parts.
    Fast setting glues withstand handling after less than five minutes.
    Moderate setting time means five minutes to one hour.
    Slow setting time is one hour or more.

Shim - Thin wood wedge used to fill small gaps between parts of the house. Shims are often made from wood shingle scraps.

Short Circuit - When hot and neutral wires contact each other without passing through a device, they create an uncontrolled flow of current in the circuit. The term comes from the fact that the current, in effect, takes a shortcut. A blown fuse or breaker protects against fire.

Shutoff Valve - A hand-turned valve located on supply pipes throughout the house, especially at sinks, toilets, water heaters, clothes washers and outdoor faucets.

Single Receptacle Cover - Typically for a 20-amp single receptacle.

Single Wall Jack - Flush-mounted plates fit standard single-gang boxes and have slots for one or two phone plugs. When you're running phone wire in open walls, mount a box in each room where you want a phone, and use these plates to finish the job. Attach the yellow and black wires to the yellow and black terminals on the back of the plate. Most plates are sold in white or ivory only.

Single-Gang - One wiring device in a single box is called a single gang. The box may also be called a one- or single-gang box.

Single-Pole - A single-pole switch controls one hot wire. Double pole switches control two circuits for large lighting loads.

Single-Pole Switch - Purpose: Controls a light or set of lights, a fan or a receptacle by itself.
Typical Applications: Good for most home lighting in rooms with only one door.
Comments: Available in white, ivory or brown. For children's rooms and basements, consider a switch with a small light in the handle. Whenever the switch is OFF, the handle is lit, making it easy to find.

Sink-Strainer Wrench - Purpose: To install and remove sink strainers.
Comments: This has to be one of the weirder-looking tools in a plumber's kit. (Is it a religious icon? Folk art?) When you need it, you need it, however. Chances are, one of the four ends of this wrench will engage the sink or tub drain basket and let you unscrew it. Buy or rent only if you really need it. (Of course, it might be fun to keep one around to stump your friends.)
Substitution: You can usually tighten a new strainer with the tips of needle-nose pliers inserted in the drain basket.

Slide Bolt - A bolt that slips into a rectangular or cylindrical strap mounted on a post.

Slip Coupling - Soldered or glued plumbing fittings. These have smooth-rather than threaded- inner surfaces. Available for plastic, brass and copper.

Slope - Slope is the measure of your roof's slant. To find the slope of your roof, measure how many inches it rises vertically for each 12 inches of horizontal "run," or distance. A "6-in-12" slope rises 6 inches vertically for every 12 horizontal inches of run.

Slumpstone - A masonry unit with rounded edges and corners that give it the weathered appearance of adobe block.

Snake - Other Names: Auger
Purpose: Clearing obstructions from drain lines.
What to Look for: The simplest snakes, right, are fine for most branch drains and usually run 25 feet or 50 feet long. Easier and neater to use, enclosed type, left, carries the spring snake in a housing with crank handle-which keeps the unused portion of the snake from flopping all over the place as you're cranking. To clear blockage in a toilet, a closet auger is a better choice than either of these.

Sod - Carpetlike sections of ready-grown lawn with soil attached.

Sod Cutter - A tool that cuts a lawn into 12- to 18-inch strips.

Soil Pipe Cutter - Lever-action tool that tightens a toothed chain around cast-iron or clay pipe to make a clean cut.

Soil Stack - This central pipe, usually of 4-inch pipe, runs from basement to roof and provides both the central drain and the central vent for a two-story house. Most other drains and vents run into it, and the soil stack in turn runs into your house drain.

Soil-Filter Fabric - Rot-resistant synthetic cloth that lets water through but not soil.

Soils Engineer - An engineer who evaluates the suitability of soil for building, terracing, drainage, and other uses.

Soldering Gear - Purpose: Making watertight connections in copper-pipe systems.
Comments: The torch head, top, screws onto a disposable propane-gas canister. The striker, right, lights the torch when you turn on the gas-don't bother trying matches, they just blow out. Flux and flux brush, left, clean the joint to ensure good adhesion with the lead-free solder, rear. You'll also need 120-grit sandpaper or a fittings brush to clean pipe and fittings.

Solid Wire/Stranded Wire - When you buy wire by the foot to pull through conduit, you have a choice of either type. For short runs, push solid wire through without a fish tape. For longer runs, use stranded wire-it's easier to pull because it's more flexible.
Solid wire isn't made any larger than 4-gauge. Stranded wire cannot be directly attached to a device-you must use a spade terminal.

Solvent-Resistant - Will not break down in contact with common solvents contained in finishes.

Spacing Boards - Nail a fence board with its top at 6 feet from the ground, using a 4-foot level to check that it is plumb. Temporarily nail another at same height to other end of fence. Stretch a mason's line between them to align tops of fence boards. Rip a piece of scrap wood 6 inches wide. Butt it against first fence board to space next one. Check plumb every 4 boards.

Spade Terminals - Purpose: Joins stranded wire to devices.
Typical Applications: Used in conduit systems to connect stranded wire to a screw terminal .
Comments: Use crimping pliers to lock a spade connector onto the stripped end of a stranded conductor. Always check the manufacturer's recommendation to get the right size for your wire.

Spike and Ferrule - A metal sleeve fits over the gutter spike and prevents the spike from collapsing the gutter.

Splash Block - A concrete or plastic block you place under a downspout to shield the soil against rushing water.

Splice - Splicing joins wires end to end, usually with a wire connector. Codes require that splices in 120-volt wiring be made only in electrical boxes.

Splicing Hardware - Here's an assortment of hardware you can use to make connections inside boxes. Always follow the manufacturer's recommendations. They will specify how far back you should strip the wire and how many of each gauge wire you can use.

Spline - The long flexible cord that holds screen in place.

Split Breaker - Other Names: Wafers
Purpose: Half-thickness circuit breakers, left, allow you to install two breakers in a standard slot.

Split Receptacle - This is nothing more than a duplex receptacle modified so that its halves operate separately. This is often done to provide a switched receptacle for a lamp without affecting power to the other half. To split the device, use needle-nosed pliers to break off the small connecting tabs between the terminals.

Split-Faced Blocks - Concrete blocks with a rough-textured outside face created when blocks are cast double and split down the middle. They're available in several colors and textures.

Spreader - A device that drops or flings seeds evenly over a large area. Also used to apply fertilizer.

Sprigs - Pieces of grass stem and root, also called stolons.

Spud Wrench - Purpose: Turning large nuts on drains, traps and toilets.
Comments: An adjustable version handles more nut sizes, but is a bit more cumbersome to use.

Square-Drive Screwdriver - Other name: Robertson.
Comments: A square-drive screwdriver is fairly new to the U.S., but standard in Canada. When you're driving a screw with one of these, the driver doesn't have a tendency to slip out of the head. The fit is so tight that the driver will actually hang horizontally from a screw head.

Steel Plugger - A metal tool with a T-shaped shank and a short, hollow blade. You push it into the soil to extract cores of soil that you replace with grass plugs.

Stopper Ball - Hollow rubber ball that seals a toilet's flush valve between flushes. To replace the ball, unscrew it from the brass rod it hangs from.

Strap Hinge - A long, slender hinge whose halves extend horizontally from a "knuckle" pin at the center.

Strap Wrench - Purpose: Turning chrome, polished brass or other decorative pipe without marring.
Comments: The cloth or plastic strap preserves the finish on decorative plumbing. Because of its low profile, it's also good for turning pipes against a wall.

Street Ell - A threaded steel elbow with one side female, the other male. Used to save space in tight spaces.

Stretcher Bonded - A typical brick pattern in which the long sides of the bricks show and joints are staggered.

Strike Latch - A latch with a fixed metal bar that docks in a metal catch. You lift a rocking arm to release it.

Stringer - A long piece of wood, usually made from a 2-by-12, that is notched to create the stairway's risers and treads.

Stud - A vertical support piece in a framed wall, usually 2-by-4 or 2-by-6. Studs are usually spaced every 16 inches. This leaves about a 141/2-inch gap between them.

Subfloor - The first layer of flooring above the joists. Newer homes have plywood or other panelized subfloors. Older homes typically have tongue-and-groove boards or diagonal planking.

Subpanel - An auxiliary power panel that has circuit breakers or fuses for two or more branch circuits. A feeder circuit brings power from the main panel to a subpanel. Unlike a service panel, in a subpanel, the grounds are not wired to the neutral bar, but rather connect to a separate grounding bar.

Sulfur - A chemical element, used in powdered or granular form to lower the pH of alkaline soil.

Supply Tube - Tubing that connects a faucet or a fixture to a shutoff valve. Also called a riser.

Surface Mounted Fixtures - A polular type of modern lighting fixture.

Surface Mounted Jack - If you're bringing phone wires to a room with finished walls, mount these jacks on your baseboard with screws or double-sided tape. Jacks with holes for two plugs allow you to extend the phone line to another jack with modular cords or to operate an answering machine and phone on a single line.

Surform (TM) Rasp - Many professionals prefer to use Surform(TM) rasps to shape epoxy fillers because the perforated blades are replaceable. Solid-bodied rasps clog too quickly.

Survey - An exact mapping of property based on measurements and instrument sightings.

Survey Marker - A landmark left by surveyors to locate the end of a property line.

Switch Cover - You can buy simple covers like this one or those with slots for as many as six switches.

Switch Loop - A pair of wires that bring the hot line to a switch from a lighting box, and then back to the light. If you open a switch box and see just one cable entering the box, this is wired as a loop.
In a switch loop, always send current to a switch on the white wire, and back to the light or device on the black wire.

Switch with Pilot Light - Purpose: Pilot light indicates whether another light or appliance is on or off.
Typical Applications: Allows you to monitor a light you can't see, such as in a basement or garage.

Switch/Plug Combination - Purpose: To save room in a wiring box, this device combines a single switch and a single receptacle.
Typical Applications: Use in walk-in closets, where you'll need a receptacle only occasionally.

Switches - Switches can operate fans and receptacles as well as lights. All switches are rated by amperage. Always check the package to be sure that a switch can handle the intended load.

Systemic Herbicide - A chemical that, when sprayed on plants, kills the entire plant, roots and all. Glyphosate is an example.

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T-hinge - Shaped more or less like a T, this hinge mounts flush on a post with its leg extending to the gate.

Tap Splice Connectors - Other Names: Clamshell connectors.
Purpose: Splices two wires without stripping and joining the ends.
Typical Applications: Tapping into an existing circuit.

Task Lighting - Task lighting lets you get a good look at what you're doing. You use it at desks, countertops, sinks, workbenches and for that bestseller you stayed up half the night reading.
Most tasks require 150 watts of incandescent or 40 watts of fluorescent lighting. For prolonged reading, experts recommend 200-300 watts incandescent, or 60-80 fluorescent. For countertops and workbenches, provide 120 watts of incandescent or 20 watts of fluorescent lighting for each 3 running feet of work surface. Mount fixtures 14-22 inches above the surface.

Tee - Purpose: To create branches in the supply lines and drain, waste and vent lines.
Comments: There's a tee for every pipe material: ABS plastic sweep tee for drains, PVC plastic, galvanized iron, black iron. Use reducing tees to branch off with a smaller diameter run.

Teflon Pipe Tape - Purpose: Sealing pipe threads.
Comments: Wrap this paper-thin, white tape around the male end of threaded connections, then screw on the threaded fitting of your choice. It's fast, neat and watertight. A yellow tape is available for gas pipes.

Temperature and Pressure Relief Valve - Other Names: T&P Valve.
Purpose: Vents steam or hot water from the top of a water heater tank if the temperature or pressure inside reaches a dangerous level-usually about 200 degrees F.
Comments: This an important safety feature on your water heater. Without this outlet, the tank can actually explode. Manufacturers recommend that you test the valve every few months. Place a bucket under its discharge pipe and pull the valve lever. Water should flow freely. If the valve only drips or no water flows, replace it.

Tempering Valve - A valve that mixes hot and cold water to prevent scalding. Also called a mixing valve.

Temporary Light Fixtures - These two lamp holders are great when you can't make up your mind about permanent fixtures. The ceramic base, top , costs about $2 and mounts to any lighting box without an adapter. Pull-chain models are often used in basements, shops and garages.
The pigtail light, bottom , attaches with two wire connectors to stripped wires in an uncovered wiring box. Though not a legal lighting fixture, they're a good way to get light temporarily while remodeling continues. It hangs free of the ceiling, so you can finish and paint drywall right around it.

Tension Bar - A flat metal bar you weave through each end of the chain link fabric and connect to the terminal post with wire ties. The bar spreads the tension across the full width of the chain link fabric when pressure is applied with a come-along winch.

Terminal - The point where a wire connects to a device like a switch or receptacle.

Terminal Posts - The end posts of a chain link fence. They're thicker than the line posts between them to help support the tension of the chain link fabric.

Testing Faucets for Leaks - To test for spout drips, turn on the water supply and see if the spout leaks when the faucet is off. Fully open the hot and cold, then shut them off. Drips may be infrequent; place a cup below the faucet and check after a few minutes.
To test for a leak from the faucet body, gradually turn the faucet fully on. Watch for rivulets of water. Wipe the faucet with a dry paper towel and check again. Hold a dry paper towel around the faucet and, after a minute, check for moisture.

Thermocouple - A temperature-activated safety device used in gas appliances. Its bulb is clamped next to the pilot light so that the flame keeps it warm. If the pilot blows out, the thermocouple won't allow the control valve to open when you turn the gas on.
When your pilot light won't stay lit, it's probably a thermocouple problem.
The Pros Say: Always take the old thermocouple to the store to be sure you get the right replacement.

Thinwall Conduit (EMT) Other Names: Electrometallic Tubing.
Purpose: Exposed indoor wiring; light-duty outdoor wiring, above ground. Protecting exposed interior wiring.
Typical Applications: Garages, veranda lights. Feeding exterior lights and receptacles mounted on a building. Also used to run wires along the outside of a house when it's difficult to fish wires through finished walls to rooms.
What to Look for: Exterior use of EMT requires weather-tight compression fittings. Use set-screw type fittings, see photo , when you use EMT indoors.
Comments: Bending EMT is an art and it takes time to learn. Buy extra conduit so you can practice. Use flexible metal conduit for bends if the finished appearance doesn't matter.

Three-Way Switch - Purpose: Controls the same lights from two locations.
Typical Applications: Hallways, stairways, rooms with two doors.
Comments: This is a confusing term for a simple device. Three-way switches have three live terminals, but they only control lights from two locations. (Four-way switches have four terminals and control lights from three locations.) Power enters the first switch through its common terminal and exits to the other switch via the traveler terminals.

Three-Wire Service - Modern power supplies from the power pole to your house use three large wires, two are hot and one is neutral.

Throwing a Line of Mortar - Slice a wedge of mortar and scoop it up with your mason's trowel. Raise your arm toward your body, holding the mortar like a piece of pie on a spatula. Then rotate your hand to tip the trowel sideways to deposit the mortar. Draw the trowel back toward you to spread the mortar bed over two to three bricks at a time.

Thumb Latch - A decorative latch you open by pressing a short lever with your thumb.

Tight-Line Drain - A solid drain pipe leading to an exit point, usually the street.

Timer Switch - Purpose: Keeps light or fan on for up to an hour after you turn it on.
Typical Applications: Ventilation fans in bathrooms or hallways with only one switch.

Top Plate - The horizontal member at the top of wall framing. Usually a 2-by-4 or 2-by-6.

Top Rail Sleeve - Sleeve connector that joins two pieces of pipe atop a chain link fence.

Track Lighting - These flexible systems are made for both 120-volt AC and 12-volt DC. AC versions can put out more light, and generally start in a lower price range. DC systems are easier to wire since you can route their thinner wires on exposed surfaces. Parts are rarely interchangeable between brands.

Transformer - A transformer increases or decreases voltage. Television sets, PC monitors, fluorescent lamps and other appliances have transformers that increase 120-volt current to as high as several thousand volts. Most household transformers reduce 120-volt current to 30 volts or less.

Tread - The flat part of a step.

Trencher - A gas-driven power tool that digs soil trenches.

Trim-Head Finishing Screws - Special finish screws with narrow heads that self-countersink. Many manufacturers make drywall screws with square drive (Robertson) heads.

Tub Saw - An abrasive circular saw used to cut brick and concrete block. The tub contains water used to cool the diamond blade and control dust.

Tubing Bender - Purpose: Bending copper or brass supply tubing without kinking.
Comments: The lever-type tubing bender has a built-in protractor to help you make neat, accurate bends. The spring type, inset, costs only a few dollars. It prevents most kinking. To slip the spring over a tube, the tubing must be free of fittings at one end.

Tubing Cutter - Purpose: Cutting copper pipe.
Comments: Available in different sizes, the cutters shown all work the same way. Turn the screw, and a cutting wheel presses against the pipe. Rotate the tool around the pipe and keep advancing the cutter, and soon you'll have a clean, 90-degree cut ready for de-burring and assembly.
The Pros Say: The close-quarters tubing cutter, lower left, is often the only way to cut existing pipes in tight spaces when you remodel or repair. Be sure to look for one that can cut pipe to 3/4-inch diameter. Some can't open that far.

Tungsten Incandescent - Standard light bulbs use tungsten filaments to produce light. Unfortunately, about 90 percent of the energy consumed goes to creating heat instead.

Turnbuckle - A threaded metal hardware fixture with opposing threads on either end to receive eye bolts. Rotating the turnbuckle in one direction draws both eye bolts tighter. Rotating the turnbuckle in the other direction loosens the bolts.

Twisted Pairs - Not a new rock group or a kinky avocation, this is simply the right kind of wire to run for phones, modems and computer networks in your home. Twisted pair wiring ensures data integrity by eliminating interference in the line.
Signals are conveyed by the difference between the voltage on the two wires. If an external electrical field acts on twisted wires, it tends to affect both wires equally, resulting in no change to the signal. Twisting the wires together helps ensure that a field will act on both wires equally.

Two-Gang - Two wiring devices mounted in a double box are called double- or two-gang. The box may also be called a two-gang box.

U-V

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UF Cable - Underground feeder cable. Non-metallic cable approved for burial.

Underwriters' Laboratory (UL) - A number of private, non-profit institutions safety-test appliances and all sorts of electrical components. In the U.S., Underwriters' Laboratory (UL) is the best-known. Use only products listed by UL or a lab specified by your community's code. If you don't, you will almost certainly violate the code. In Canada, look for the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) label on electrical equipment.

Uneven Fading - All paints fade with age and exposure to sunlight. Low-quality paints are more prone to uneven fading. Dark colors fade more than light ones, and exterior latex paints generally retain their color better than oil-based paints.
Solution: Repaint with a high-quality paint. Choose lighter colors on horizontal surfaces like window sills. These surfaces receive the most intense sun.

Ungrounded Duplex Receptacle - Typical Applications: Use only to replace an existing ungrounded receptacle.

Unions - Purpose: To tap into an existing threaded run or create a removable joint in the middle of a run.
    Clockwise from top:
   Black iron for gas lines.
   Copper slip to brass thread.
   Left-right iron nipple. The only way to tap into a gas pipe in a wall or underground. Sold as a set each has reverse threads on one end.
   Dielectric union. Prevents galvanic corrosion between steel and copper pipe.

Utility Cover - Other Names: Blank Cover. Used to cover boxes that are no longer in use. This one bolts to the device's mounting yokes.

Utility Knife - A versatile cutting tool with a replaceable, razor-like blade that slides in and out of a contoured handle. Less expensive utility knives have fixed blades.

Utility Lines - Underground utilities include water and gas pipes, electrical conduits, telephone and TV cables, and septic systems, including leach lines and cleanouts. If you don't know where these are, call your utility companies or a local plumber.

Valve Stem - The threaded assembly that controls the flow of water in a stem faucet or valve.

Valve-Seat Grinder - Other Names: Reseating Tool.
Purpose: Smoothes valve seats for a better seal.
Comments: You can turn this grindstone with its crank or in a drill.

Valve-Seat Wrench - Purpose: To remove and replace worn brass valve seats.
Comments: Don't bother replacing valve seats until you try replacing the seat washer.

Vapor Barrier - A layer of vapor-impermeable paint on interior walls or plastic sheeting (placed behind drywall during construction) that prevents water vapor migration through walls.

Variable Speed Reversing Drill - Purpose: Boring holes for cable and starter holes for box cutouts in baseboard and panelling. Use a VSR drill as a power screwdriver if you don't have a cordless driver/drill.
What to Look for: Just about any drill with a 3/8-inch chuck has enough power to drill 3/4-inch holes for cable. You'll want the reversing feature to back out auger bits and screws. Variable speed triggers allow you to start screws slowly. Keyless chucks are a real time saver.
Comments: A drill is a must for most home improvement and repair projects.

Vibratory Plate Compactor - A gas-powered soil compaction tool with a steel plate that you guide as you would a lawn mower. Use it to tamp down soil or gravel. To vibrate dry sand or mortar between bricks, be sure to rent one with a plywood or rubber liner below the steel plate. Otherwise, the plate will chip the brick edges.

Vibratory Rammer - Use this to compact fill soil in trenches and before masonry work. Powered by a gasoline engine, it literally jumps along, so you only have to guide it as it goes. Its small rectangular shoe makes it ideal for tight places like trenches. It's too heavy for one person to lift alone, so be sure to have a wheelbarrow handy to move it to the work site.

Volt-Ohm Meter - Other Names: Multimeter.
Purpose: Testing for continuity and measuring AC/DC voltage and resistance.
When to Use: Troubleshooting doorbells, phones and appliances; testing fuses and batteries.

Voltage Tester - Purpose: Checking 120- and 240-volt circuits for current.
When to Use: Always test every outlet before you begin work on an existing circuit.
Comments: This $2 tester can save your life. Make it the next electrical tool you purchase.

Volts - The standard measure of voltage, or electrical pressure.
Amps x volts = watts.

W-X-Y-Z

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Wallpaper Paste - Vinyl pastes are far superior to the older wheat pastes. Vinyl is stronger and doesn't provide food for mildew behind the paper. The program assumes that each gallon of adhesive covers 250 square feet of wall. This is about right for 7 rolls of American wallpaper.

Wallpaper Waste Percentage - On the wallpaper patterns, you'll usually find a figure for repeat or drop. This is the maximum vertical distance you have to adjust a cut piece to match the pattern with an adjacent strip. A large pattern might require that you throw away as much as 18 inches from each strip.
Even a pattern without drop has waste. At the top and bottom of each strip, leave about two inches to trim in place. Unless you've done some paper hanging before, figure about 10 percent waste for a pattern with no repeat, like stripes, and 20 percent for a small repeat. Don't try to match large patterns on your first project. You don't need the extra challenge.

Warm White (WW) - As you might expect, Warm White lamps have a warmer color temperature than Cool White lamps: 3,000 degrees. But they aren't any better at rendering colors.

Warm White Deluxe (WWX) - Warm White Deluxe lamps have a color temperature of 3,000 degrees and a CRI of 85+ that comes close to the CRI for incandescent lighting. WWX tubes emit fewer lumens per watt than cool white versions, but they are still more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs.

Washers - Purpose: Replacements for stem faucets.
Comment: Faucet washers come in a bewildering array: black, brown, blue, flat, domed-and more. Always take the old washers-or better yet, the entire valve-stem assembly-to the store when you shop for replacements.

Water Cleanup - Wash brushes with warm soapy water immediately after use. Some water-reducible paints have resins that require a second cleaning with solvent.

Waterproof - Use these glues where the adhering parts get wet or get exposed to weather.

Watts - The amount of power a bulb or appliance consumes.
Amps x volts = watts.

Wax Ring - Other Names: Donut
Purpose: To seal the outlet at the bottom of a toilet to the closet bend in the floor.
Comments: Whenever you replace a toilet, be sure to replace the wax ring. If you've raised the floor level-with a new tile floor, for instance-you may need a ring that's thicker than the original.

Weatherhead - A metal hood that mounts high on the outside of your house and protects incoming cables from moisture.

Wet-Location Receptacle Covers - Purpose: To protect exterior receptacles from rain.
Comments: The traditional model, right, only protects the receptacle when the cover is shut. A newer version, termed "waterproof-while-in-use", left, fits over an extension cord, protecting the plug against the weather. These must be used for outdoor equipment like transformers and sprinkler timers that are left plugged in all the time.

Wet-Location Switch Cover - Purpose: Protects exterior switches from rain.
Comments: You'll need to get a specially made switch to fit behind this cover. The switch and cover are often sold as a kit, along with a rain-tight gasket.

Whole-House Systems - Whole-house systems offer ultra home automation. They link your home's systems to a touch pad controller into which you can program just about any sequence of events, like the ones just described.
The key to full home automation is an integrated wiring system that supplies AC power plus telephone, audio/video and high-speed data signals to every electrical outlet. This replaces the usual tangle of separate wires for telephone, cable television, intercoms, thermostats, security sensors and audio/video equipment. The integrated outlets can power anything from phones to power tools and are accessible by push-button phone, remote control, video screen or voice.
Whole-house systems are only practical when you can wire them into a new home while the framing is still open. The wiring alone adds about $3,000 to the construction cost of a 2,500-square-foot home. Upgrading to full home automation typically adds another $10,000-$15,000. You could spend more than $50,000 to get all the bells and whistles.

Wire Connectors - Other Names: Wire Nuts.
Purpose: Splicing no more than five conductors.
Typical Applications: Connecting ground wires, or splicing hot wires or neutral wires inside a wiring box. DO NOT use wire nuts to splice wires outside of boxes.
What to Look for: There are five standard color-coded sizes. Here are the maximum number of wires each can join, from smallest to largest:
   Orange:    one solid, one stranded wire
   Yellow:    three 12-g. wires
   Red:             five 12-g. wires
   Gray:        four 10-g. wires.
   Blue:        two 6-g. and two 8-g. wires.
Comments: Wires need not be tightly wound together prior to splicing.

Wire Gauge - The thickness of a wire, usually indicated on its insulation. The smaller the gauge number, the thicker the wire. Most household wiring is 12-gauge, though 14-gauge is permitted for lighting circuits in many localities.

Wire Lube - Lubricant used to reduce friction on wires pulled through conduit. Wipe lubricant onto the wires, a few feet at a time, as you feed them into the conduit.

Wire Type - Letters on the insulation of a cable or wire tell what you can use it for.
Type NM (non-metallic) cable is for dry locations.
Type NMC (non-metallic corrosive) cable can be used in damp indoor locations and for outdoor wiring that is above ground.
Type UF (underground feeder) cable can be buried.
Wires inside armored cable or conduit are either Type T (thermoplastic), Type TW (thermoplastic, weather-resistant) or Type THW (thermoplastic heat and weather-resistant). THHN (thermoplastic high-heat resistant with a nylon jacket) is the most common type and will serve for most home circuits.

Wood Decay - Commonly called rot, this decay is caused by a variety of fungi that require oxygen, dampness, moderate temperatures and dim light to flourish.

Wood Float - Used for the initial finishing of concrete to smooth down high spots and fill hollows left after screeding.

Wye - A fitting, usually for drains, that joins three pipes obliquely. Also spelled as Y.

Wythe - A single vertical course of stone, brick or concrete block.

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