Glossary

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Main Vent (or Stack): The principal vent to which other subsequent vents may be attachted.

Male IPS: A pipe connection with threads on the outside of the fitting.

Male Threads: Refer to MIP.

Mansard Roof: A hip roof, each face of which has a steeper lower part and a shallower upper part.

Mantel: A construction framing the opening of a fireplace and usually covering part of the chimney breast in a more or less decorative manner.

Manufactured Wood: A wood product which is manufactured out of smaller wood pieces and glued together to form a larger piece.

Manufacturers Specifications: Written installation and/or maintenance instructions by the manufacturer of the product.

Mason's Hammer (Bricklayer's Hammer): A tool shaped like a chisel used to trim brick or stone.

Masonry: Structure built of stone or brick by a mason.

Masonry Primer: A treatment to prepare masonry surfaces for bonding with other asphalt products.

Mastic: A paste like cement used in highway construction, especially one made with powdered lime or brick and tar.

Matched Lumber: Lumber shaped with a grooved pattern on one end and a tongued pattern on the other end.

Maximum Occupancy Load: The maximum number of people safely permitted in a room.

Mechanics Lien: A lien secured on property, as an automobile, building, or the like, by the contractor who has repaired or built it, in order to ensure payment for labor and materials.

Melt Point: The temperature at which solid becomes a liquid.

Membrane: A thin sheet of natural or synthetic material that is permeable to substances in solution.

Metal Edge: Metal extrusions secured to the perimeter of the roof to form a weather-tight seal.

Metal Lath: Non-decorative interior metalwork for supporting lighting fixtures, dropped ceilings, etc.

Microlam: A manufactured structural beam of wood.

Migration: The moving from place to place.

Mil Thickness: The measurement used to determine the thickness of a coating.

Milar (Mylar): A brand of strong, thin polyester film used in photography, recording tapes, and insulation.

Millwork: Woodwork, such as doors, window casings, and baseboards, ready-made by a lumber mill.

Mineral Spirits: A volatile distillation product of petroleum, used as a thinner for paints and varnishes.

Mineral Stabilizers: Finely ground inert materials added to asphalt coatings for durability, increasing resistance to fire and weathering.

Mineral-Surfaced Roofing: Shingles and roll roofing that are covered with granules.

Minispread: A smaller version of the widespread faucet with separate spout and handles.

MIP (Male Iron Pipe): Pipe with threads located on the outside of a pipe or fitting.

Miter Joint: A joint that forms a corner; usually both sides are bevelled at a 45-degree angle to form a 90-degree corner.

Mixing Valve: A valve receiving water from both a hot-water and a cold-water line and controlling the relative amount of water admitted from each.

Mobile Home Aluminum Roof Coating: A durable application designed to prolong the life of mobile home roofs by reflecting the sun's rays and reducing energy costs.

Mock-Up Testing: Air, water and structural testing of existing or new glazing systems.

Modified Bitumen Roof: A roof covering that is typically composed of a factory-fabricated composite sheet.

Modulus: A quantity that expresses the degree to which a substance possesses a property, such as elasticity.

Moisture Content of Wood: The weight of the water contained in the wood, usually expressed as a percentage.

Molding: A strip of contoured wood or other material placed just below the juncture of a wall and a ceiling.

Monitor: A raised construction straddling the ridge of a roof and having windows or louvers for lighting or ventilating a building.

Monopost: An adjustable column used to support a beam.

Mopping: In roofing, mopping is the application of hot bitumen to the roof.

Mortar Types: Type M, S, N is suitable for general use. Type O is recommended for load-bearing walls of solid units.

Mortgage: A loan secured by real estate.

Mortgage Broker: A firm which represents numerous lenders and helps consumers find various mortgage options.

Mortgage Company: A company that borrows money from a bank to lend to consumers in order to buy homes.

Mortgage Deed: A conveyance of property, upon condition, as security for the payment of a debt or the preformance of a duty, and to become void upon payment or performance according to the stipulated terms; also, the written instrument by which the conveyance is made.

Mortgage Origination Fee: A fee charged to a borrower (especially for a mortgage loan) to cover the costs of initiating the loan.

Mortgagee: One that holds a mortgage.

Mortise: A usually rectangular cavity in a piece of wood, stone, or other material, prepared to receive a tenon and thus form a joint.

Mud Cracks: Cracks developing from shrinkage of a coating when applied too heavily.

Mudsill: The lowest sill of a structure, usually placed in or on the ground.

Mullion: A vertical member, as of stone or wood, dividing a window or other opening.

Muntins: A strip of wood or metal separating and holding panes of glass in a window.

Muriatic Acid: The former name for hydrochloric acid, commonly used as a brick cleaner.

Mushroom: The occurrence of a caisson concrete pier spreading out and hardening to become wider than the foundation wall thickness.