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Precision Inspections > Real Estate Terms Cont. 3
Subflooring: Horizontal sheets or planks that transfer the load of the home’s live load (people, furnishings) to the floor joists.
Subpanel: A panel connected to a main panel for the purpose of providing more electrical circuits to the home.
Sump pump: A pit located in the basement or crawl space floor containing an electric pump that pumps water away from the house.
Sweep: A horizontal curve in a wall, where the wall has an outward curve from side to side.
Thermocouple: A bimetallic element that senses whether or not the pilot is lighted and signals the pilot control valve to turn off the flow of gas to the pilot when the pilot flame is out.
Thermostat: A temperature-sensitive device that opens and closes a circuit in response to temperature changes in the air, commonly used to activate a heating or cooling system.
Tread: The horizontal portion of a step on a stairway.
Truss uplift: A phenomenon where the bottom chord of a roof truss bows upward during the cold months and returns to normal position during the warmer months.
Truss: An engineered, prefabricated framing member.
Upheaval: A condition where sections of a driveway or sidewalk rise due to poor construction, an insufficient base, or tree roots and stones moving under the surface.
Urethane insulation: A plastic foam insulation manufactured as rigid boards or pumped (foamed) in place at the building site.
Valley: The trough formed by the junction of two sloping sides of the roof.
Vapor barrier: Any type of waterproof sheeting used to prevent the passage of moisture through a surface.
V-crack: A crack that increases in width along its path.
Vent pipes: Pipes that carry gases away from and relieve pressure that builds up in the drainage system.
Vermiculite: An insulating material made from mica, used as loose fill.
Vertical crack: A vertical crack often found in foundations that is caused by settlement of the structure.
Waste pipes: Drain pipes that carry contaminated water away from fixtures in the home.
Water hammer: A condition that occurs when water is shut off suddenly and shock waves move back and forth in the supply piping. This condition can cause banging in loose pipes.
Weep holes: Openings in the bottom row of a brick veneer wall that provide an exit for water that accumulates behind the veneer.
Whole house fan: A fan with an intake inside the house, designed to exchange house air every couple of minutes. The fan can be gable mounted and have a self-closing louver in an upper hall ceiling.
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