CONSTRUCTION DICTIONARY

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NAIL PATTERN:
Any designated or specific pattern used to put nails in a board.

NEW ENGLAND COLONIAL:
A two-and-a-half storey, early-American house which is generally symmetrical in shape with a shingle-covered gable roof, often made of clapboard siding.

NEW ENGLAND FARMHOUSE:
Another simple, symmetrical, early-American house, often with a steeply inclined roof and white siding.

NEWEL:
The post at the end of a staircase that the stair railing is attached to.

NOMINAL:
Often defined as the actual size of lumber before dressing or finishing.

NOMINAL SPAN:
The full width of a building measuring across the joists from side to side. Also refers to the measurement of columns center to center.

NONBEARING WALL OR PARTITION:
Any wall that supports no load other than its own weight.

NONSTRUCTURAL:
Any materials or point in a structure that does not support any loads other than its own weight.

NOSING:
The projecting edge of a stair tread or any other projecting edge of building materials.