User guide

www.muellerinc.com
H-3
METAL BUILDING TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
Crane Runway Beam: The member that
supports a crane rail and is supported by columns or
rafters depending on the type of crane system. On
under hung bridge cranes, a runway beam also acts
as a crane rail.
Curb: A raised edge on a concrete floor slab
or skylight.
Curtain Wall: Perimeter wall panels that carry only
their own weight and wind load.
Damper: A baffle used to open or close the throats
of ventilators.
Dead Load: The dead load of a building is the
weight of all permanent construction, such as floor,
roof, framing, and covering members.
Deflection: The displacement of a structural
member or system under load.
Design Loads: Those loads specified in building
codes published by Federal, State, County, or City
agencies, or in owners’ specifications to be used in
the design of a building.
Diagonal Bracing: See “Brace Rods”.
Diaphragm Action: The resistance to racking
generally offered by the covering system, fasteners
and secondary framing.
Door Guide: An angle or channel guide used
to stabilize or keep plumb a sliding or rolling door
during its operation.
Downspout: A conduit used to carry water from
the gutter of a building to the ground or storm drain.
Drift Pin: A tapered pin used during erection
to align holes in steel members to be connected
by bolting.
Eave: The line along the sidewall formed by the
intersection of the planes of the roof and wall.
Eave Height: The vertical dimension from finished
floor to the eave.
Eave Strut: A structural member at the eave to
support roof panels and wall panels. It may also
transmit wind forced from roof bracing to wall bracing.
Elastic Design: A design concept utilizing the
proportional behavior of materials when all stresses
are limited to specified allowable values.
End Frame: A frame at the endwall of a building to
support the roof load from one half the end bay.
Erection: The on-site assembling of fabricated
components to form a complete structure.
Erection Drawings: See “Framing Drawings”.
Expansion Joint: A break or space in
construction to allow for thermal expansion and
contraction of the materials used in the structure.
Fabrication: The manufacturing process
performed in a plant to convert raw material into
finished metal building components. The main
operations are cold forming, cutting, punching,
welding, cleaning and painting.
Fascia: A decorative trim or panel projecting from
the face of a wall.
Fenestration: Windows or other panels of glass;
their numbers and location.
Field: The “job site”, “building site”, or general
market area.
Filler Strip: See “Closure Strip”.
Finial: Gable closure at ridge.
Fixed Base: A column base that is designed
to resist rotation as well as horizontal or
vertical movement.
Flange: The projecting edge of a structural member.
Flange Brace: A bracing member used to
provide lateral support to the flange of a beam,
girder or column.
Flashing: A sheet metal closure which functions
primarily to provide weathertightness in a structure
and secondarily, to enhance appearance.
Footing: A pad or mat, usually of concrete, located
under a column, wall, or other structural member,
that is used to distribute the loads from that member
into the supporting soil.