Board and Batten
Vertical siding where wood strips (battens) hide the seams where other boards are joined.

Cladding
A term used to describe the siding or materials covering the exterior of a building.

Clapboard
A long thin board, thicker on one edge, overlapped and nailed on for exterior siding.

Corner Board
Used as trim for the external corners of a house or other frame structure against which the ends of the siding are finished.

Cornice
The portion of the roof projecting out from the side walls of the house.

Counterflashing
The flashing which is imbedded at its top in a wall or other vertical structure and is lapped down over shingle flashing.

Courses
Horizontal rows of shingles or tiles.

Dentil
A molding motif that projects from the edge of a roof line or cornice.

Eaves
The extension of roof beyond house walls.

Expanded PVC
Lumber replacement material used for painted exterior trim.

Facade
Front of the house or building.

Fascia
Trimboard behind the gutter and eaves.

Fiber Cement
Alternative to wood or hardboard siding material.

Frieze Board
A Board at the top of the house’s siding, forming a corner with the soffit.

Hip Roof
A roof that slants upward on three or four sides.

Lap Siding
Siding made with tapered boards, such as clapboards, that are placed horizontally with the thicker lower edge of each board overlapping the thinner upper edge of the next board below it. Also called bevel siding or overlapped siding.

Louver
An opening with horizontal slats to permit passage of air, but excluding rain, sunlight and view.

Pitch
The angle of slope of a roof.

Ridge
The horizontal line at the top edge of two sloping roof planes.

Shake
Wood shingle formed by splitting rather than sawing.

Shingles
Pieces of wood, asbestos or other material used as an overlapping outer covering on walls or roofs.

Shutter
A movable cover for a window used for protection from weather and intruders.

Siding
Weatherproof material, as shingles, boards, or units of sheet metal used for surfacing the exterior walls of a frame building.

Soffit
The boards that enclose the underside of that portion of the roof which extends out beyond the sidewalls of the house.

Square
One hundred square feet of roof, or the amount of roofing material needed to cover 100 square feet when properly applied.