Face Nailing – Fastening a member by driving nails through it at right angles to its exposed surface.

Facer Board – Sometimes referred to as verge board; the board under the verge of gables, sometimes moulded.

Face Slide – That side of a piece that shows the best quality.

Facilities –

Community Facilities – Common, social, recreational, or convenience facilities, such as social halls, public utilities, central heating, parks, private roads, playgrounds, and accommodation for them.

Living Facilities – Those provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation ordinarily considered as part of a permanent abode.

Factor of Safety – The ratio allowed for in design between the breaking load on a member or structure and the safe permissible load on it.

Factory-Built Housing – A construction system where the complete house or portions of it are assembled in a plant, then transported to the site for final erection.

False Ceiling – A suspended ceiling formed to provide covered accommodation for wires, conduits, pipe ducts, etc.

Fascia-Board – A finish member around the face of eaves and roof projections.

Feather Edge – An exterior wood siding applied horizontally, thinner on one edge than the other.

Feathering – Reducing gradually to a very thin edge.

Felt Paper – A building paper of strong, tough paper base saturated with hot bitumen and rolled smooth; used under roofing and siding materials as a protection against moisture and air infiltration.

Fenestration – The distribution or arrangement of windows, doors and ornamental trim.

Fiber Board – An insulating lath or wallboard of compressed wood-fibers.

Fiber Board, Hard-Pressed – A material manufactured of wood fibers and used for wall cladding.

Fiber Saturation Point – That point reached in seasoning lumber when all the free water has been driven off, leaving water only in the cell walls; the point at that lumber begins to shrink (approximately 25 to 30% moisture content).

Filler – Defined under “Paint”.   

Fine Grain – Having narrow annual rings.

Finished Size – The overall measurements of any article completely finished and ready for use.

Fire Barriers – Fire resistant walls, doors and similar construction to prevent spread of a fire in a building. See “Fire Stop”.

Fire Clay – A clay of high heat-resisting qualities used to make firebrick and the mortar in that brick is laid.

Fire Compartment – An enclosed interior space in a building that is separated from all other parts of the building by enclosing construction providing a fire separation having a required fire resistance rating.

Fire Door Types –

Heat-Activated Fire Door – One in that a mechanism operates under the action of heat causing the door to close automatically.   

Self-Closing Fire Door – A fire door normally closed and designed to close automatically upon being opened.

Fire Load – As applied to an occupancy means the combustible contents of a room or floor area expressed in terms of the average weight of combustible materials per square foot, from that the potential heat liberation may be calculated based on the calorific value of the materials and includes the furnishings, finished floor, wall and ceiling, finishes, trim and temporary and movable partitions.

Fire Partition – Defined under “Partition Types”.

Fire Resistance Rating – The time in hours or fraction thereof that a material or assembly of materials will withstand the passage of flame and the transmission of head when exposed to fire under specified conditions of test and performance criteria.

Fire-Resistive Construction – Defined under “Construction Types”.

Fire Separation – A construction assembly that acts, as a barrier against the spread of fire that may or may not be required to have a fire resistance rating.

Fire Stop – A draft-tight barrier within or between construction assemblies that acts to retard the passage of smoke and flame.

Fire Wall – A wall of non-combustible construction, that subdivides a building into limited fire areas or separates adjoining buildings so as to resist the spread of fire and that has a fire resistance rating as prescribed and structural stability to remain intact under fire conditions for the required fire-rated time.

Fire Window – Defined under “Window Types”.

Fixed Sash – Defined under “Sash Types”.

Fixture – Defined under “Plumbing Terms”.

Flag Stones – Flat stones, usually from one to three inches thick, used for floors, pavement, or sidewalks.

Flame Spread Rating – The measurement of flame spread on the surface of a material or an assembly of materials as determined in a standard fire test.

Flange – A projecting edge, rib or rim; the top and bottom of I-Beams and channels are called flanges.

Flashing – Sheet metal or other material used in roof and wall construction to shed water.

Flat Grain – Plain-sawn or sawn tangential to the annual rings, as opposed to edge-grain or quarter-sawn.

Flat Roof – Defined under “Roof Types”.

Flat Slab – A concrete slab reinforced in two or more directions, without beams or girders except wall or trimmer beams, from that loads are transferred to supporting columns.

Flemish Bond – A bond consisting of alternate headers and stretchers in every course, each header being placed in the middle of the stretchers, in the courses above and below.

Flight – A series of steps between floors or landings.

Float Finish – A type of finish on concrete or plaster.

Floating – The equal spreading of plaster or concrete by means of a board called a float.

Floor Drain – A wastewater outlet and trap usually placed at a low point in a sloping concrete floor.

Flooring – Material used in the construction of floors. The surface material is known as finished flooring while the base material is called sub-flooring.

Floor Joists – See “Joists”.

Flue – See “Chimney Flue”.

Flue Lining – The material (usually tile in 2-foot lengths) that lines the flue to protect the chimney walls from hot gases.

Footing – The widened section, usually concrete, at the base or bottom of a foundation wall, pier, or column.

Forced Warm Air Heating – Defined under “Heating”.

Foundation – The lower portion of a structure usually concrete or masonry, including the footings, that transfers the weight of and loads on the structure to the ground.

Foyer – An entrance hallway within a living unit or building.

Framework- Carpentry work consisting entirely of framing or rough work.

Framing – The rough timberwork of a house, including the flooring, roofing, partitioning, ceiling and beams. Sept 3, 2008

Framing Systems – Defined under “Wood Framing”.   

Friction Fit Batt – Thermal insulation without vapor barrier that is held secure within the building frame by friction without additional fastening.

Frieze – The middle part of an entablature, between the architrave and the cornice. The decorated upper part of a wall. Below the cornice.

Frog – A hollow in the face of a brick made during the process of manufacture to assist in bonding.

Front Elevation – A view of the face of a building, showing the main entrance and type of architecture.   

Ft. B.M. – An abbreviation for foot board measure; measurement by the board foot or board feet. A board foot is a volume of wood 1 inch (or less) by 12 inches by 12 inches.

Furring – Strips applied to a wall or other surface as support for the finish material, or to give the wall an appearance of greater thickness.

Furring Channel – A steel member used to support interior finish; the smallest horizontal member of a suspended ceiling.

Fuse – Defined under “Electrical Terms”.