BUILDING

Any structure built for the support, shelter, or enclosure of persons, animals, chattels, or
property of any kind.

GOVERNING LAWS FOR BUILDING DESIGN AND PRACTICES

A. Presidential Decree 1096: The National Building Code of the Philippines and its
Implementing Rules and Regulation (IRR) of 2004 – contains the general requirements for
building design and construction practices.

B. Batas Pambansa 344: The Law to Enhance the Mobility of People with Disabilities –
contains the requirements for accessibility of the challenged citizens.

C. Republic Act 9514: The National Fire Code of the Philippines of 2008 – contains the
requirements for fire safety and fighting for building designs.

D. Batas Pambansa 220: Economic and Socialized Housing Projects and its IRR of 2008
– contains the requirements for economic and socialized housing designs for the low
income class.

E. Presidential Decree 957: Subdivision and Condominium Buyer’s Protective Decree

and its IRR or 2009 – contains the various requirements for subdivision and condominium
designs.

F. National Structural Code of the Philippines as published by the Association of Structural

Engineers of the Philippines (ASEP) – contains the requirements for structural design of a
structure or infrastructure.

G. Republic Act 1378: The Plumbing Law of 1999 – contains the requirement for plumbing
systems of a building.

H. Philippine Electrical Code – contains the requirements for the electrical design of the
structures and infrastructures.

I. Presidential Decree 856: The Code on Sanitation of the Philippines of 1975 – contains
the proper practices and design for sanitation of various occupancies.

J. Local Ordinances – depending on the location of the project, various implemented

ordinances may apply.

K. Various codes for professional practices.

BUILDING OCCUPANCY
The purpose for which a building is used or intended to be used. The term shall also include
the building or room housing such use.

Building Occupancies According to the National Building Code of the Philippines:

Group A - Residential Dwellings shall include:
Division 1 - Residential building/structure for exclusive use of single family occupants
including school or company staff housing; single (nuclear) family dwellings;
churches or similar places of worship; church rectories; community facilities
and social centers; parks, playgrounds, pocket parks, parkways, promenades
and play lots; clubhouses and recreational uses such as golf courses, tennis
courts, basketball courts, swimming pools and similar uses operated by the
government or private individuals as membership organizations for the benefit
of their members, families, and guests and not operated primarily for gain.

Division 2 - Residential building for the exclusive use of non-leasing occupants not
exceeding 10 persons including single-attached or duplex or townhouses, each
privately-owned; school dormitories (on campus); convents and monasteries;
military or police barracks/dormitories; pre-schools, elementary and high
schools, provided that they do not exceed 16 classrooms; outpatient clinics,
family planning clinics, lying-in clinics, diagnostics clinics, medical and
clinical laboratories; branch library and museums; steam/dry cleaning outlets;
party needs and accessories (leasing of tables and chairs, etc.).

Group B - Residentials, Hotels and Apartments

Group B Occupancies shall be multiple dwelling units including boarding or lodging
houses, hotels, apartment buildings, row houses, convents, monasteries and other similar
building each of which accommodates more than 10 persons.

Group C - Education and Recreation

Group C Occupancies shall be buildings used for school or day-care purposes,
involving assemblage for instruction, education, or recreation, and not classified in Group
I or in Division 1 and 2 or Group H Occupancies.

Group D – Institutional shall include:

Division 1 - Mental hospitals, mental sanitaria, jails, prisons, reformatories, and buildings
were personal liberties of inmates are similarly restrained.

Division 2 - Nurseries for full-time care of children under kindergarten age, hospitals,
sanitaria, nursing homes with non-ambulatory patients, and similar buildings
each accommodating more than five persons.

Division 3 - Nursing homes for ambulatory patients, homes for children of kindergarten
age or over, each accommodating more than five persons: Provided, that Group
D Occupancies shall not include buildings used only for private or family
group dwelling purposes.
Group E - Business and Mercantile shall include:
Division 1 - Gasoline filling and service stations, storage garages and boat storage
structures where no work is done except exchange of parts and maintenance
requiring no open flame, welding, or the use of highly flammable liquids.

Division 2 - Wholesale and retail stores, office buildings, drinking and dining
establishments having an occupant load of less than one hundred persons,
printing plants, police and fire stations, factories and workshops using not
highly flammable or combustible materials and paint stores without bulk
handlings.

Division 3 - Aircraft hangars and open parking garages where no repair work is done except
exchange of parts and maintenance requiring no open flame, welding or the use
of highly flammable liquids.

Group F – Industrial
Group F Occupancies shall include: ice plants, power plants, pumping plants, cold
storage, and creameries, factories and workshops using incombustible and non-explosive
materials, and storage and sales rooms for incombustible and non-explosive materials.

Group G - Storage and Hazardous shall include:

Division 1 - Storage and handling of hazardous and highly flammable material.

Division 2 - Storage and handling of flammable materials, dry cleaning plants using
flammable liquids; paint stores with bulk handling, paint shops and spray
painting rooms.

Division 3 - Wood working establishments, planning mills and box factories, shops,
factories where loose combustible fibers or dust are manufactured, processed
or generated; warehouses where highly combustible materials is stored.

Division 4 - Repair garages.

Division 5 - Aircraft repair hangars.

Group H - Assembly Other Than Group I shall include:

Division 1 - Any assembly building with a stage and an occupant load of less than 1000 in
the building.

Division 2 - Any assembly building without stage and having an occupant load of 300 or
more in the building.

Division 3 - Any assembly building without a stage and having an occupant load of less
than 300 in the building.

Division 4 - Stadia, reviewing stands, amusement park structures not included within Group
I or in Division 1, 2, and 3 of this Group.
 Group I - Assembly Occupant Load 1000 or More
Group I Occupancies shall be any assembly building with a stage and an occupant load
of 1000 or more in the building.

Group J – Accessory shall include:

Division 1 - Agricultural structures.

Division 2 - Private garages, carports, fences over 1.80 meters high, tanks, swimming pools
and towers.

Division 3 - Stages, platforms, pelota, tennis, badminton or basketball courts, tombs,

mausoleums, niches, aviaries, aquariums, zoo structures, banks and record
vaults.

HOW A BUILDING PROTECTS AN OCCUPANCY

One of the purpose of a building is for sheltering people and their various activities called
occupancies. In order for a building to shelter an occupancy, it must be able to protect the
occupancy from various forces.
RAIN Natural Forces
A. Wind – force that is produced by the
movement of air.

B. Water – forces produced by the

various movements of water.
a.) Flood – a water force produced by
the pooling of water or the flow of
increased volume of water.
NOISE

b.) Rain – a water force produced by

the condensation of water vapor
WIND

from a higher altitude which

eventually fall to the surface.

c.) Moisture – a water force

produced either by the
FLOOD

condensation of water vapor in

any surface or the exfiltration of
water from the ground.

C. Noise – a variation of a wind force by

which the air is disturbed by the
wavelength of a sound.

D. Earth – force that is acted by the soil

MOISTURE
upon the structure.
 These forces creates loads that will act upon the occupancies. Other than the loads that the
natural forces produce, various elements of the structures and the different equipment that will
be used for the specific occupancy will have its own weight thus transforming it into a load. A
load can be defined as a force, or system of forces, carried by a structure, or a part of the
structure. Loads are generally subdivided into the following:

A. Dead Loads – the weight of a structure itself, including the weight of fixtures or equipment
permanently attached to it.

B. Live Loads – the moving or movable external load on a structure; includes the weight of
furnishings of a building, of the people, of equipment, etc., but does not include wind load.

C. Natural Loads – loads that act upon a structure that is delivered by natural events.
i. Wind Load – the total force exerted by the wind on a structure or part of a structure.

ii. Earthquake Load – the total force exerted on a structure by an earthquake.

iii. Rain Load – the total force exerted on a structure by the volume of rain with respect to
a given duration.
Roof
Majority of the loads
that act on the building is
Trusses
accepted by a set of building
elements called the
Enclosures which includes
Roof Beams
the Roof, Floors or Slabs,
and the Exterior Walls. Exterior Wall
These enclosures are

Rain and Wind Loads

diaphragm in nature such Slab/Floor
that they can protect a very Floor Beam
huge area.
Columns
The loads are then
Ground
transferred to the
Slab
Structural Framework of
the building which includes Wall Footing
the Trusses, Beams, and
Columns. The purpose of Fill
the structural framework is
to transfer the loads from
the enclosure to the Column
foundation where it will be Footing
distributed to the soil.
Soil
Foundation
Counter Force from
BUILDING DIVISION

Superstructure
A. Superstructure – the vertical extension of a
building or other construction above the
foundation.

B. Substructure – the underlying structure forming

the foundation of a building or other

Substructure
construction.

Types of Substructures
a.) On-Stilts - A grid of independent piers or
poles can elevate the superstructure above the
surface of the ground.

b.) Slab-on-Fill/Grade – slabs constructed

above a compact fill or grade. On-Stilts

c.) Crawl Space – an area in a building having a

clearance less than human height, but
accessible by crawling, esp. such a space Slab-on-Fill
below the first floor that is enclosed by the
foundation walls.

d.) Basement – a storey of a building that is

wholly or partly below ground level Crawl Space

BUILDING ANATOMY
A. Foundation – the lowest division of a building
or other construction, partly or wholly below the
surface of the ground, designed to support and
anchor the superstructure and transmit its loads Basement
directly to the earth.

a.) Shallow Foundation – a foundation system

placed directly below the lowest part of a
substructure and transferring building loads
directly to the supporting soil by vertical
pressure. Shallow Foundation

b.) Deep Foundation – a foundation system that

extends down through unsuitable soil to
transfer building loads to a more appropriate
bearing stratum well below the
superstructure.

Deep Foundation
 1. Pile Foundation – a system of piles, pile
caps, and tie beams for transferring
building loads down to a suitable bearing
stratum, used esp. when the soil mass
directly below the construction is not
suitable for the direct bearing of footings.

c.) Float Foundation – a foundation used in

yielding soil, having for its footing a raft
placed deep enough that the weight of the
Pile Foundation
excavated soil is equal to or greater than the
weight of the construction supported.

d.) Excavation Support – an engineered

solution designed to stabilize an excavation.
1. Cross Lot – a system of horizontal and
vertical members to support sheaths that
retain unexcavated soil.
Float Foundation
2. Rakers – an inclined shore for supporting
a wall. Also called Raking Shore.

3. Tie Backs – steel rod attached to a

deadman, a rigid foundation, or a rock or Cross Lot
soil anchor to prevent lateral movement
of a retaining wall or formwork.

4. Sheet Piles – any of a number of steel

sheets driven vertically side by side to Rakers
retain earth or prevent water from seeping
into an excavation. Also called Sheath
Pile.

B. Footing – the part of a foundation bearing Tie Backs

directly upon the supporting soil, and enlarged to
distribute its load over a greater area.
a.) Isolated Footing – a single spread footing
supporting a freestanding column or pier.

b.) Strap/Cantilever Footing – a Sheet Piles

reinforced concrete footing connected
by a tie beam to another footing in
order to balance an asymmetrically
imposed load, as at the perimeter of a
building site.

Isolated Footing Strap/Cantilever Footing

 c.) Combined Footing – a reinforced concrete footing
for a perimeter column or foundation wall extended
to support an interior column load.

d.) Strip/Continuous Footing – the continuous spread

footing of a foundation wall.
Combined Footing
e.) Stepped Footing – a continuous or strip footing that
changes levels in stages to accommodate a sloping
site or bearing stratum.

f.) Mat Footing – a thick, slab-like footing of

reinforced concrete supporting a number of columns
or an entire building.
1. Raft Footing – a mat providing a footing on Strip/Continuous Footing
yielding soil, usually for an entire building,
placed so that the weight of the displaced soil
exceeds the weight of the construction.

C. Columns – a rigid, relatively slender structural member

designed primarily to support compressive loads applied
at the member ends.
a.) Type By Length
1. Pedestal – a column designed to carry another
member but only serves as a base of the main Stepped Footing
structural elements, e.g. Post.

2. Short Column – when the ratio between the

effective length and least lateral dimension of a
column is less than or equal to 12.

3. Long Column – when the ratio between the

effective length and least lateral dimension of a
column is greater than 12. Mat Footing

b.) Stiffener Column – columns designed to support

free standing members such as walls.

c.) Planted Column – columns that are not continuous

from the footing to the top most element of the
structure.

d.) Post – the term used when timber is used for a column. Raft Footing
D. Beams – a rigid structural member designed to carry and transfer transverse loads across
space to supporting elements.
a.) Suspended Beams – beams that are
supported in one or more points and are
constructed in such a manner that it is
hanging from the supports.
Simply Supported/Simple Beam
1. Simply Supported/Simple Beam – a
beam resting on simple supports at both
ends, which are free to rotate and have no
moment resistance.

2. Fixed-End Beam – a beam having both Fixed-End Beam

ends restrained against translation and
rotation.

3. Cantilever Beam – a projecting beam

supported at only one fixed end. Cantilever Beam

4. Suspended-Span/Hung-Span Beam – a
simple beam supported by the cantilevers
of two adjoining spans with pinned
construction joints at points of zero
moment. Suspended-Span Beam

5. Spandrel Beam – a beam spanning Spandrel

between columns and supporting the Beam
outer edge of a floor or roof.

6. Girder Beam – a large principal beam

designed to support concentrated loads at Girder
isolated points along its length. Beam

b.) Beam Supported By Earth – a simple beam that is directly placed over earth or fill
1. Tie Beam – a reinforced concrete
beam distributing the horizontal
forces from an eccentrically loaded
pile cap or spread footing to other pile
caps or footings.
Tie Beam
2. Grade Beam – a reinforced concrete
beam supporting a superstructure at or
near ground level and transferring the
load to isolated footings, piers, or
piles.
Grade Beam
E. Floor – the level, base surface of a room or hall upon which one stands or walks.

Slabs – a rectangular building having little width with respect to its length and height.
Types of Slab
a.) Simply Supported/Simple Slab – a slab resting on simple supports at all ends, which
are free to rotate and have no moment resistance.

b.) Fixed-End Slab – a slab having all ends restrained against translation and rotation.

c.) Cantilever Slab – a projecting slab supported at only one or two fixed end.

F. Walls – any of various upright constructions

presenting a continuous surface and serving to
enclose, divide, or protect an area.
Types of Walls
a.) Interior Partitions – any wall within a
building, entirely surrounded by exterior
walls.

b.) Exterior Walls – a wall forming part of the

envelope of a building, having one face
exposed to the weather or to earth.
1. Platform Wall – an exterior wall system
where the wall is constructed separately Platform Wall Curtain Wall
every floor over the slab.

2. Curtain Wall – an exterior wall supported wholly by the

structural frame of a building and carrying no loads other
than its own weight and wind loads

3. Parapet Wall – a low, protective wall at the edge of a

terrace, balcony, or roof, esp. that part of an exterior
wall, fire wall, or party wall that rises above the roof. Parapet Wall

c.) Retaining Wall – a wall of treated timber, masonry, or concrete for holding in place a
mass of earth. A retaining wall can fail by overturning, sliding, or settling. Also called
Breast Wall.
1. Gravity Wall – a masonry or concrete retaining
wall that resists overturning and sliding by the
sheer weight and volume of its mass.

2. Cantilever Wall – a retaining wall of reinforced

concrete or reinforced concrete masonry
cantilevered from and securely tied to a spread
footing that is shaped to resist overturning and
sliding. Gravity Wall
 i. Counterfort – a triangular-shaped cross wall tying a concrete retaining wall to
its base at regular intervals, built on the side of the material to be retained in
order to stiffen the vertical slab and add weight to the base.

Counterfort
Cantilever Wall

3. Horizontal Timber Wall – a retaining wall constructed of heavy timbers laid

horizontally supported by vertical studs.

4. Dry Stone Wall/Riprap Wall – a layer of broken stones thrown together

irregularly on an embankment slope to prevent erosion.

Horizontal Timber Wall Dry Stone or Riprap Wall

5. Sheet Piles – see excavation supports.

d.) Shear Wall – a vertical diaphragm counter acting the shearing stress produced by
movements.

G. Ceiling – the overhead interior surface or lining of a room, often concealing the underside
of the floor or roof above.
a.) Types of Ceiling
1. Flat Ceiling – a ceiling with no change of elevation.

2. Vaulted Ceiling – a ceiling that angles or curves upward to create a feeling of

openness in a structure

Flat Ceiling Slope Vaulted Ceiling Barrel Vaulted Ceiling

H. Roof System – consists of the various structural components needed to support the
diaphragm structure, the roof.
a.) Types of Roof
1. Flat Roof – a type of roof having a surface with a slope less than 2%.

2. Pitched Roof – a type of roof having sloping surfaces.

i. Shed Roof – a roof having a single
slope.

ii. Gable Roof – a roof sloping

downward in two parts from a central
ridge, so as to form a gable at each Shed Roof Gable Roof
end.

iii. Hip/Hipped Roof – a roof having

sloping ends and sides meeting at an
inclined projecting angle.

iv. Butterfly Roof – a roof having two Hip/Hipped Roof Butterfly Roof
slopes, each descending inward from
the eaves.

v. Gambrel Roof – a ridged roof

divided on each side into a shallower
slope above a steeper one.
Gambrel Roof Mansard Roof
vi. Mansard Roof – a ridged roof having
on each side a steeper lower part and
a shallower upper part.

vii. Hipped Gable Roof – a roof having a

hipped end truncating a gable. Also Hipped Gable Roof Dutch Hip Roof
called Jerkinhead, Shreadhead

viii. Dutch Hip Roof – a combination of

hipped and gable roof, where the
upper portion of the roof is gable
while the bottom portion is in the
shape of a hipped roof. Lean-to Roof Sawtooth Roof

ix. Lean-to Roof – a shed roof with the higher end abutting a wall or larger
building.

x. Sawtooth Roof – a roof composed of a series of small parallel roofs of

triangular cross section, usually asymmetrical with the shorter slop glazed.
 3. Curved Roof – a type of roof having at
surfaces at an arc or arcs.
i. Rainbow Roof – a gable roof in the
form of a broad Gothic arch, with
gently sloping convex surfaces.
Rainbow Roof Parabolic Roof
ii. Parabolic Roof – a roof having a cross sectional shape of a
parabolic curve.

iii. Barrel Roof – a roof or ceiling having a semi-cylindrical

form Barrel Roof

4. Other Roof Types

i. Monitor – a raised section of a roof, usually
straddling a ridge; has openings, louvers, or windows
along the sides to admit light or air. Monitor

ii. Dormer Roof – a structure

projecting above a sloping
roof, usually housing a
vertical window.

Shed Dormer Roof Gable Dormer Roof

b.) Parts of Roof System
1. Roof Framing – the main structural framework
of a roof system.
Purlin Cleat

Rafters

Cross Bracing

Roof Truss Purlin

i. Trusses – a structural frame based on the geometric rigidity of the triangle and
composed of linear members subject only to axial tension or compression

Subdiagonals

Web Members

Bottom Chord
Parts of the Truss
a. Chord – either of the two principal members of a truss extending from end
to end and connected by web members.

b. Web Member – the integral system of members connecting the upper and
lower chords of a truss.
 Crown Post – any vertical member in a pitched truss.
 King Post – a vertical member
from the apex to the bottom chord
of a pitched truss.

 Queen Post – either of the two

vertical members set at equal
distances from the apex of a
pitched truss.

 Diagonal – an inclined web member joining the top chord and bottom
chords of a truss.

 Subdiagonal – an inclined web member joining a chord with a main

diagonal.

Types by Top and Bottom Chords:

a. Flat Truss – a truss having parallel
top and bottom chords. Flat trusses
are generally not as efficient as
pitched or bowstring trusses. Also
called Parallel-Chord Truss.

b. Pitched Truss – a truss having

inclined top chords
c. Bowstring Truss – a truss having a
curved top chord meeting a straight
bottom chord to each end.

d. Crescent/Camelback Truss – a truss

having both top and bottom chords
curving upward from a common point
at each side.

e. Trussed Beam – a timber beam

stiffened by a combination of
diagonal truss rods and either
compression struts or suspension
rods.

Types by Web Members

a. Pratt Truss – of or pertaining to a flat or pitched truss having vertical web
members in compression and diagonal web members in tension.

b. Howe – of or pertaining to a flat or pitched truss having vertical web

members in tension and diagonal web members in compression.

c. Warren – of or pertaining to a flat or bowstring truss having inclined web

members forming a series of equilateral triangles. Vertical web members are
sometimes introduced to reduce the panel lengths of the top chord, which is
in compression.

d. Belgian – of or pertaining to a pitched

truss having only inclined web
members.

e. Fink truss – a Belgian truss having

sub-diagonals to reduce the length of
compression web members toward
the centerline of the span.
 f. Scissors truss – a pitched truss
having tension members extending
from the foot of each top chord to an
intermediate point on the opposite top
chord.

ii. Rafters – any of a series of a small, parallel beams for supporting the sheathing
and covering of a pitched roof.

Valley Rafter Common Rafter

Jack
Rafter

Fly
Rafter

Lookout Hip Rafter

Types of Rafters
a. Common Rafter – a rafter extending from the wall plate to a ridge board or
ridge beam and having no function other than to support sheathing and
covering of a roof.

b. Hip Rafter – a rafter forming the junction of the sloping sides of a hip roof.

c. Valley Rafter – a rafter connecting the ridge to the wall plate along a valley.

d. Fly Rafter – either of the end rafters in the part of a gable roof that projects
beyond the gable wall.

e. Jack Rafter – any rafter that is shorter than the full length of the roof slope,
as one meeting a hip or a valley.
 Valley Jack – a jack rafter extending from a valley rafter to a ridge.

 Hip Jack – a jack rafter extending from a wall plate to a hip rafter.

 Cripple Jack – a rafter for joining a hip and a valley. Also called a
Double-Jack Rafter.

f. Lookout/Tailpiece – a relatively short bracket or cantilever for supporting

the overhang of a roof.
 iii. Cross Bracing – a support of two or more intersecting braces to support trusses
or rafters.

iv. Purlins/Purline/Binding Rafter – a longitudinal member of a roof frame for

supporting common rafters between the ridge and the eaves or the roofing
material.

v. Purlin Cleats – any of various materials placed on the surface of a truss or rafter
to support the roof purlins.

2. Roof Cover – the part of the roof system that forms the diaphragm member of the
roof. It is responsible for keeping moisture, rain, and most of the sunlight out of the
building.
Ridge Roll Valley Gutter

Hip Roll Flashing

Concealed
Gutter

End Gutter
i. Roofing Material – any of various water-resistant materials, as shingles, slates,
or tiles, laid on a roof to shed or drain rainwater.

ii. Roof Accessories – pieces of sheet metal or other thin, impervious material
installed to prevent the passage of water into a structure from an angle or joint.
a. Hip Roll – a tile, metal, or composition material which is used to cover and
finish the hip of a roof.

b. Ridge Roll – a metal, tile, or asbestos-cement covering which caps the ridge
of a roof; also called Ridgecap.

c. Flashing – thin impervious material placed in construction to prevent water

penetration and/or provide water drainage, esp. between a roof and wall, and
over exterior door openings and windows.
 d. Gutter – a shallow channel of metal or wood set immediately below and
along the eaves of a building to catch and carry off rainwater from the roof.
 Concealed Gutter – a gutter built into the eaves of a roof, usually metal-
lined.

 End Gutter – a gutter built on the end of the roof, usually at the lowest
point of the roof.

 Valley Gutter – a gutter at the meeting line of two slopes of a roof.

iii. Eaves – that part of a roof that projects beyond the exterior wall; usually the
lower edge of a sloped roof.

a. Soffit – the exposed undersurface

of the roof projecting beyond the
exterior walls. Eaves
Fascia
b. Eaves Fascia – a board that is
nailed vertically at the ends of Soffit
roof rafters; sometimes supports a
gutter; also called a Fascia Eaves
Board.

I. Fenestrations – the design, proportioning, and disposition of windows and other exterior
openings of a building. Denoted by both the rough opening and cased opening of doors and
windows.
a.) Doors – a hinged, sliding, or
folding barrier of wood, metal, or
glass for opening and closing to
an entrance to a building, room,
or cabinet

Parts of the Door Unit

1. Door Leaf – the operable
portion of a door.
i. Panel – a distinct section
of a wall, ceiling, or door,
recessed below or raised
above the general level or Door Frame
enclosed by a frame.
Door Leaf
ii. Rails – any of various horizontal members framing panels, as in a system of
paneling, a paneled door, window sash, or chest of drawers.
a. Top Rail – the uppermost rail connecting the stiles of a paneled door.
 b. Lock Rail – the rail of a door that Top Rail
meets the shutting stile at the level of
the lockset.

c. Bottom Rail – the lowest rail

Hinge Stile

Lock Stile
connecting the stiles of a paneled

Muntin
door.

iii. Stile – any of various upright members

framing panels, as in a system of
paneling, a paneled door, window sash, or Lock
a chest of drawers. Rail
a. Hinge Stile – the stile of a door by Bottom
which it is hung. Also called Hanging Rail Panel
Stile.
Part of a Door Leaf
b. Lock Stile – the stile of a door that closes against the frame of the opening.
Also called Shutting Stile.

c. Meeting Stile – one of the abutting stiles in a pair of double doors.

d. Muntin – a stile within the frame of a door.

2. Door Frame – the frame of a doorway,

consisting of two jambs, and a head or lintel.
i. Door Jamb – either of the two sidepieces of
a door frame.

ii. Door Head/Lintel – the uppermost member

Door Jamb

of a doorframe.

iii. Door Stop – the projecting part of a

Door Jamb

doorframe against which a door closes.

a. Planted Stop – a stop formed by
attaching a moulding to a door frame or
window frame.

b. Rabbeted Stop – a stop formed

integrally by a rabbet in a door frame or
window frame. Parts of a Door Frame

c. Blank Jamb – a door jamb having no

stops, nor prepared to receive hardware.
Planted Rabbeted Blank
Stop Stop Jamb
 iv. Door Sill – the horizontal member beneath a door or window opening.
a. Threshold – the sill of a doorway, covering the joint between two flooring
materials or providing weather protection at an exterior door.

b. Saddle – a raised piece of flooring between the jambs of a doorway, to

which a door fits closely so as to prevent its binding when opening.

3. Other Parts
i. Transom – a crosspiece separating a window or fanlight above it.

ii. Overdoor – an ornamental painting carving, or section of woodwork directly

above the doorway.

iii. Fanlight – a semicircular or semielliptical window over a doorway or another

window.

Transom Overdoor Fanlight

iv. Sidelight – a window at the side of a

door or another window. Also called
Vision
Winglight.
Light
v. Vision Light – a small light in the
Sidelight

upper portion of a door glazed with

clear glass for viewing.

vi. Louver – an opening with slanting, Louver

fixed or movable slats to admit air but
exclude rain and snow or to provide
privacy.

Types of Doors According to Operation

1. Swinging Doors – a door that turns on hinges or
pivots about a vertical edge when pushed or
pulled.
i. Single Acting Door – a door hung on hinges Single
that permit it to swing in one direction only. Acting

ii. Double Acting Door – a door hung on hinges

that permit it to swing in either direction from
a closed position.
Double
Acting
2. Sliding Doors – a door that operates or moves by sliding on a track, usually parallel
to a wall.
i. Pocket Sliding Door – a door that slides
into and out of a recess in a doorway.

ii. By-Pass Sliding Door – a door that slides

in front of another sliding door or a fixed
window.

iii. Surface Sliding Door – a door mounted

on the surface of a wall that slides parallel
to the wall.

3. Pivoted Doors – a door carried on and

swinging about on a center or offset pivot, as
distinguished from hung on hinges.

4. Folding Doors – a door with hinged sections that can be folded flat against one
another when opened.
i. Bi-Fold Door – a door that divides into
two leaves, the inner edge of each leaf
being hung from an overhead track and
the outer edges pivoted at the jamb.

ii. Accordion Door – a multi-leafed door

that is hung from an overhead track and
opens by folding back in the manner of an
accordion.

5. Revolving Doors – an entrance door for excluding drafts from interior of a

building, consisting of four leaves set in form of a cross and rotating about a central,
vertical pivot, within a cylindrical shaped vestibule.

6. Rolling Doors – a large door consisting of horizontal interlocking metal slats

guided by a track on either side, opening by coiling about an overhead drum at the
head of the door opening.

Rolling
Revolving
 Type of Doors According to Design
1. Flush Door – a door having smooth-surfaced faces.

2. Paneled Door – a door having a framework of stiles, rails, and sometimes muntins,
filled with panels of a thinner material.

3. Louver Door – a door having a louvered opening for passage or circulation of air.
Also called Blind Door.

4. French Door – a door having rectangular glass panes extending throughout its
lengths, and often hung in pairs. Also called Casement Door.

5. Venetian Door – a doorway having a form similar to that of a Palladian window.

6. Dutch Door – a door divided horizontally so that the upper or lower part can be
opened or closed separately.

Flush Paneled Louvered French Venetian Dutch

b.) Windows – an opening in the wall of a

building for admitting light and air, usually
fitted with a frame in which are set operable
sashes containing panes of glass.

Window Frame
Window Leaf

Dressing

Parts of the Window Unit

1. Window Leaf – the operable portion of a window.
i. Window Pane – one of the divisions of a window or door, consisting of a single
unit of glass.
 ii. Window Sash – the fixed or movable
Lock/Meeting
framework of a window or door in which
Stile
panes of glass are set.
a. Hinge Stile – the stile of a window by Top Rail
which it is hung. Also called Hanging
Stile. Pane

b. Lock Stile – the stile of a window that Muntin

closes against the frame of the

Hinge Stile
opening. Also called Shutting Stile.

c. Meeting Stile – one of the abutting

stiles in a pair of double window.
Bottom
d. Muntin – a rabbeted member for Rail
holding the edges of window panes
within a sash. Also called Glazing Parts of a Window Leaf
Bar, Sash Bar.

2. Window Frame – the fixed frame of a window, consisting of two jambs, a head,
and a sill.
i. Window Jamb – either of the two

Window Jamb
sidepieces of a window frame.

ii. Window Head – the uppermost member

of a doorframe.

Window Jamb
iii. Window Sill – the horizontal member
beneath a door or window opening.

iv. Mullion – a vertical member between the

sashes of windows.
Parts of a Window Frame
3. Dressing – the ornamental detail of a building, esp. the molded framework around
door and window openings.

Types of Windows According to Operations

1. Fixed Window – a window or sash of a window
that does not open for ventilation. Also called
Fixed Sash, Fixed Light.

2. Operable Window – a window having a sash Fixed

that may be opened for ventilation.
i. Jalousie Window – a window having horizontal glass or wood
louvers that pivot simultaneously in a common frame, used
primarily in mild climates to control ventilation and to cut off
visibility from the outside. Jalousie
ii. Sliding Window – a sash that opens by moving
horizontally or vertically along grooves or tracks at
the top and bottom of the window frame.
a. Horizontal Sliding Window – a window having
two or more sashes, of which at least one slides
along horizontal grooves or tracks.
Horizontal Sliding
b. Single-Hung Window – a window
having two sashes, of which only one
vertically slides.

c. Double-Hung Window – a window

having two vertically sliding sashes, each
in separate grooves or tracks and closing
a different part of the window.
 Box-Head Window – a double-hung Single-Hung
window constructed with a pocket
head, into which one or both sashes
can pass to increase the opening
available for ventilation.

 Drop Window – a window

constructed with a pocket below the
sill into which a sash can slide to
increase the opening available for
ventilation. Box-Head Drop
iii. Swinging Window – a window that turns on
hinges or pivots about a vertical edge when
pushed or pulled.
a. Casement Window – a window with at
least one casement, often used in
combination with fixed windows.
Casement
b. Awning Window – a window having one or more
sashes swinging outward on hinges generally
attached to the top of the frame.

c. Projected Window – a casement or awning window

in which the inner end of the sash slides along track
on the sill or jamb as the sash swings outward.

d. Hopper Window – a window having one or more

sashes swinging inward on hinges generally attached
on the bottom. Also called Hospital Window.
 iv. Pivoted Window – a window having a sash that rotates
90° or 180° about a vertical or horizontal axis at or near
its center, used in air-conditioned multistory or high-rise
buildings and operated only for cleaning, maintenance,
or emergency ventilation.

Types of Windows According to Design

1. Picture Window – a large, usually fixed single-pane window, placed to frame an
attractive exterior view.

2. Window Wall – a nonbearing wall composed primarily of vertical and horizontal

framing members containing a combination of fixed lights and operating sashes.

3. Ribbon Window – a horizontal band of windows, separated only by mullions.

Picture Window Window Wall Ribbon Window

4. Clerestory Window – a portion of an interior

rising above adjacent rooftops and having
windows admitting daylight to the interior. Also,
Clearstory.

5. Bay Window – a window or series of windows projecting outward from the main
wall of a building and forming a bay or alcove in a room within, especially one
having its own foundation.
i. Cant Bay Window – a bay window having canted sides.

ii. Bow Bay Window – a bay window having a rounded projection.

iii. Oriel Window – a bay window supported from below by corbels or brackets.

Cant Bay Window Bow Bay Window Oriel Window

 6. Dormer Window – a vertical window in a
projection built out from a sloping roof. Also
called Luthern.
1. Internal Dormer Window – a vertical
window set below the line of a sloped roof.

J. Conveyance – the part of the structure which provides entry from one level to another.
a.) Stairs – one of a flight or series of steps for going from one level to another, as in a
building.
Parts of the Stairs
Newel
1. Balustrade – An entire railing system
Post
including a top rail and its balusters,
and sometimes a bottom rail. Landing
i. Baluster – One of a number of
short vertical members, often
circular in section, used to support Handrail
a stair handrail or a coping.

ii. Handrail – bar of wood or other

material passing from one post or
other support to another; a hand Baluster
support along a stairway.
Newel
iii. Newel Post – a tall and more or Post Carriage
less ornamental post at the head or
foot of a stair, supporting the
handrail.

2. Carriage or Rough Stringer – an inclined beam which supports the steps or adds
support between the strings of a wooden staircase, usually between the wall and
outer string.

3. Steps – a stair unit which consists of one tread and one riser.
i. Riser – the vertical face of a stair step.
Tread
ii. Tread – the horizontal surface of a step.

iii. Nosing - the prominent, usually rounded,

horizontal edge which extends beyond an
Nosing Riser
upright face below; as the projection of a
tread beyond a riser.

4. Landing – The horizontal platform at the end of a stair flight or between two flights
of stairs.
Types of Stairs
1. Straight Run Stair – a stair that extends from one level to another without turns
or winders.

2. Quarter Turn or L-Type Stair – a stair that makes a right-angled turn in the path
of travel. The two flights connected by an intervening landing may be equal or
unequal, depending on the desired proportion of the stairway opening.

3. Half-Turn or U-Type Stair – a stair that turns 180° or through two right angles at
an intervening landing. A half-turn stair is more compact than a single straight-run
stair. The two flights connected by the landing may be equal or unequal, depending
on the desired proportion of the stairway opening.

Straight Run Stairs Quarter Turn Stair Half-Turn Stair

4. Winding Stair– any stairway constructed with winders, as a circular or spiral stair.
Quarter-turn and half-turn stairs may also use winders rather than a landing to
conserve space when changing direction. Winders can be hazardous since they offer
little foothold at their interior corners. Building codes generally restrict the use of
winders to private stairs within individual dwelling units.

5. Circular or Grand Stair – a stair that has a circular plan configuration. Even
though a circular stair is constructed with winders, the building code may allow its
use as part of the means of egress from a building if its inner radius is at least twice
the actual width of the stairway.

6. Spiral Stair – consists of wedge-shaped treads winding around and supported by a

central post. Spiral stairs occupy a minimum amount of floor space, but building
codes permit their use only as private stairs in individual dwelling units.

Winding Stair Circular Stair Spiral Stair

 b.) Ramps – a sloping floor, walk, or roadway connecting two levels. Building codes
require the maximum slope of accessible ramps to be 1:12 with a maximum run of 30
in. (762 mm) between landings.

K. Utilities
a.) Plumbing Works – the system of pipes, valves, fixtures, and other apparatus of a water
supply or sewage system.

b.) Electrical Works – the system of conductors, conduits, breakers, and other electrical
apparatus for the supply and consumption of electricity.

c.) Mechanical Works – the system which incorporates any machines for the better
functionality of the structure.

d.) Electronics and Communication Works – the system that involves any devices that
carries an electronic component or that is used for communication which includes its
connecting system.

Book References:
Ching, Francis D.K., A Visual Dictionary of Architecture, Second Edition, 2014
Ching, Francis D.K., Building Construction Illustrated, Fifth Edition, 2014
Harris, Cyril M., Dictionary of Architecture and Construction, Fourth Edition, 2006
Allen, Edward & Iano, Joseph, Fundamentals of Building Construction, Fifth Edition, 2009

Web References: