VERSATEX Trimboard Glossary

To help you better understand industry jargon, we thought it would be a good idea to develop a glossary containing definitions of these terms for you.

Click on the word below to view the defintion.

A

Acetone: A colorless flammable liquid used to melt or reseal the core of VERSATEX cellular PVC trim after it has been cut or routed.
Actual Dimensions: The exact measurement of a piece of trim or trimboard.
Adhesive: A natural or synthetic compound in a liquid or semi liquid state that adheres or bonds two items together. Bond strength varies depending upon the compound. Some modern adhesives are extremely strong, and have become increasingly important in modern construction.

B

Back Band: A rabbeted moulding used to surround the outside edge of casing.
Baluster (Spindle): Vertical member used to fill an open area between railing and floor or tread, helping to support the railing.
Base Cap: A decorative moulding/trim installed flush against the wall and at the top of an S4S baseboard. Also used as a versatile panel moulding and to highlight the caps and bases of column wraps.
Base Moulding: Moulding applied around the perimeter of a room at the point of intersection of the wall and finish floor; base shoe can be used with it to create a two piece base.
Batten: A thin strip of trim, typically with a rectangular cross-section, used to cover seams between panels of exterior siding or interior paneling. Board-and-batten siding is an exterior treatment of vertical boards with battens covering the seams.
Bed Moulding: A narrow molding used at the junction of a wall and ceiling. Bed moldings can be either sprung or plain.
Bracket: Decorative exterior moulding used on porches, cornices, and as part of gable end decoration. Other applications include supporting or hiding joints between beam and wall, embellishments for doorways, supports for shelving, and hanging objects.
Brick Mould: A moulding/trim for window casings and exterior door frames that abuts the exterior facing material of the structure. It serves as the boundary moulding for brick or other siding material.
Butt Joint: Installation technique where two members (Trimboards) are joined by simply butting them together. A butt joint is the simplest joint to create since it merely involves cutting the members to the appropriate length and butting them together. It is also the weakest joint design but can be reinforced with a structural adhesive to secure the joint between the two members. Butt joints are not recommended where the ends of two Versatex boards meet.

C

Cap: Upper member of an entrance, wainscot, partition or pilaster.
Caulking: Also known as sealant. It is a compound for filling joints to prevent leakage of water and air. Terpolymer, or polymer based technology with some solvent content provides a superior bond to VERSATEX.
Casing: Molding of various widths used to trim door and window openings at the jambs. Also referred to as a lineal and window or door surround.
Celuka: Extrusion process for producing cellular PVC sheet and boards where the foam expands inward forcing two streams to fuse. Finished product has a glossy outer shell that must be sanded to accept paint. The hard surface although dent resistant causes mushrooming around fasteners. Its non-uniform cell structure exposes an undesirable coarse interior when moulded or milled.
Cells: Space created from the escape of gas during the extrusion foaming process. These small spherical spaces are what give cellular PVC its unique material characteristics.
Coefficient of Lineal Expansion: A constant expressed as a function of the products length that represents the amount of expansion when heated or contraction when cooled of a solid substance. The coefficient for cellular PVC is approximately 0.000032 in/in-F.
Column: Supporting or decorative pillar that can be either structural (load bearing) or non structural. The use of Versatex to create column wraps is an example of a non structural, non load bearing column.
Cornice: The overhang of a pitched roof at the eave line, usually consisting of a fascia board, a soffit for a closed cornice, and appropriate moldings.
Countersink: The step of recessing the head of a fastener below the surface of the trim or millwork.
Cove Moulding: A moulding with a concave profile used primarily where two members meet at a right angle; a rounded inside corner; a ceiling cornice, or opposite a bull nose.
Crown Mould: A moulding installed at a wall/ceiling juncture to add depth and aesthetic effect. Often referred to as a cornice.

D

Decorative Louver: A non-ventilation louver used as a decorative building accent.
Density: The weight of a substance per unit volume measured in either grams per cubic centimeter or pounds per cubic foot. VERSATEX cellular PVC has a minimum density of 0.55 g/cc which is equivalent to approximately 34 pounds per cubic foot.
Dentil Moulding: Series of small square blocks uniformly spaced and projecting like teeth as used in cornice, front entrances and crossheads.
Die: A stainless steel tool used to shape vinyl building products.
Door Casings/Window Casings: To case in a door or window is to enclose it with a moulding or series of mouldings. They are termed casings and included in the repertoire of most millwork suppliers. Casings range from simple beaded boards to highly complex series of profiles. In addition to mouldings, window or door casing might include such elements as corner blocks, a keystone, and base blocks.
Dormer: A structural element of a building that protrudes from the plane of a sloping roof surface. Typically a part of the original construction or as later additions to create usable space in the roof of a building by adding headroom and usually enabling the addition of window(s).
Dovetail Joint: A series of pins cut to extend from the end of one board interlock with a series of tails cut into the end of another board eliminating the need for mechanical fasteners.
Drip Cap: A moulding applied over exterior window and door frames to keep water from seeping under the siding. Commonly referred to as sills.
Durability: Permanence or resistance to deterioration. VERSATEX is impervious to moisture and is resistant to insects, mold and mildew.
Eave: The edge of a roof which usually projects beyond the side of the building generally to provide weather protection. It also refers to the lower part of a sloping roof which projects beyond the wall or the soffit.

E

Embossing: A wood grain pattern (VERSATEX Timber Ridge) rolled or formed into the face of an extruded vinyl building material to create a wood-like appearance.
Expansion and Contraction: Commonly refers to construction material expanding when heated up or contracting when cooled with changes in outside temperature.
Extruder: Machine that converts raw PVC compound (powder or pellet) to molten plastic which then forces it through a sheet or profile die of the finished shape.

F

Fascia: An architectural term referring to a flat, horizontal band. In building, it refers to the wide trim that runs along the roof line.
Fastener: Generic term for nails, screws, bolts, and metal hardware.
Flashing: Continuous pieces of material, typically made of wood, wood composite or PVC, preferably of an impervious nature installed to prevent the passage of water into a structure from an angle or joint. Flashing may be exposed or concealed.
Flat Trim: A Moulding that has no decorative profile and is available in either S4S or textured material.
Flute: One of the long, parallel, rounded, decorative grooves on the shaft of a pilaster.
Frieze Board: A decorative, often sculptured, horizontal band along the upper part of a building or a wall in a room. In house construction, a horizontal member connecting the top of the exterior cladding with the soffit.
Free Foam: An extrusion process where a chemical or gaseous blowing agent is introduced into the polymer melt while the melt is being mixed by the screws in the barrel of the extruder. As the melt exits the die, it expands a predetermined amount forming cellular PVC. This process offers the advantages of a uniform cell structure, smooth exterior surfaces and superior cutting, routing or shaping with a density similar to a pine board.

G

Gable: In house construction, the portion of the roof above the eave line of a double-sloped roof.
Gloss: View of material appearance. Materials with smooth surfaces appear glossy, while very rough surfaces reflect no specular light and therefore appear matte. Also expressed as lustre in mineralogy, or sheen in certain fields of application.
Gingerbread: Lavish or superfluous ornamentation especially in architecture.

H

Half Round: A moulding whose profile is a half circle. Typical uses include screen, bead, shelf edge, or panel mould.
Historic Sill: The bottom horizontal moulding of a window surround designed to match the style and look of colonial window sills.
Hot dipped galvanized (HDG): Fasteners that have been single or double dipped in molten zinc (usually 0.85 oz/ft2); hot dipping usually provides the best corrosion protection for building materials used in damp conditions.

I

Inside Corner Post: The vertical member located at the inside corner of the house frame that accepts whatever siding or exterior cladding is used on the home.

J

J-Channel: Accessory available through siding manufacturers for installing trim work. J-channels are butt up against the trim work allowing the siding to be cut and fit into these channels.
Jamb: The two sides of a door or window frame which contact the door or sash.

K

Keystone: Traditionally topmost member of an arch. Most often appears as part of an entryway surround or window crosshead.

L

Light Reflecting Value (LRV): Commonly used for paints, it is the measure of the amount of light that is reflected off a surface and is proportional to luminance. The higher the LRV value, the lighter the color.
Lineal: Molding of various widths used to trim door and window openings at the jambs. Also referred to as casing and window or door surround.
Louver: A building component installed into the side wall to allow ventilation and/or decoration on a building. Styles may be square, rectangle, triangle, quarter or half round.

M

Methyl Methacrylate Adhesive (MMA): An organic compound usually amber or white in color used as an adhesive or nail hole filler. Common brand names include Fill N Fasten, Trimbonder or Bond & Fill.
Miter Joint: A joint made by beveling two parts to be joined, usually at a 45° angle to form a 90° angle.
Moulding: Ornamental strip used to decorate a surface, often used to accent or emphasize the ornamentation of a structure and to conceal surface or angle joints

N

Nominal Dimensions: The identifying dimensions of a piece of lumber; for example, a 1 x 4 is the name for a rough-cut piece ¾” thick by 3 ½” wide. Nominal dimensions are usually larger than actual dimensions.

O

On Center (o.c.): A point of reference for measuring; “16 in. o.c.” means 16 inches from the center of one object to the center of another.

P

Pilaster: Vertical column, often ornamental, that projects slightly from the wall. Most are purely decorative. May be rectangle or half round; often has a base (plinth block), shaft (middle section), and capital. Most often used as simulated columns in entryway and other door openings.
Plastic Filler: A plastic based material used to fill in and smooth any surface dings, dents or holes in wood or cellular PVC.
Prime Coat Finish (Primer): A paint finish intended for a later application of paint. The first coat of paint in an application that consists of two or more coats.
Profile: Side view of a lineal or trim piece.
PVC: Polyvinyl chloride, the polymer resin used to manufacture vinyl building products.

Q

Quarter Round: A moulding shaped like a quarter of a circle used as a base shoe, or inside corner.

R

Rafters: One of a series of sloped structural members, that extend from the ridge or hip to the downslope perimeter or eave, designed to support the roof deck and its associated loads. A type of beam, which supports the roof of a building typically made of wood. Exposed rafters are a feature of traditional roof styles.
Rake Mould: Trim members that run parallel to the roof slope and form the finish between the wall and a gable roof extension.
Recommended Span: The distance a building material can safely traverse without being supported underneath.
Relief Angle: The downward bevel on the back of cutting teeth that prevents them from dragging on the bottom of the cut as they swing through an arc.
Rosette: A square block with a circular decorative design in the center typically used as a corner block as part of the casing around windows and doors.
Rout: To hollow out an area in the face of a piece of trim.

S

Scarf Joint: Method of joining two members end to end by beveling the two parts to be joined at a 45° angle or 30°/60° angle. This style of joint is favored because it yields a barely visible line between the two pieces.
Scotia: Concave molding with a lower edge projecting beyond the top and so used at the base of columns as a transition between two torus moldings with different diameters.
Shingle Mould: A moulding originally designed to be used on the rake of a building or around the exterior window frames.
Shutters: A solid and stable exterior window treatment usually consisting of a frame of vertical stiles and horizontal rails. Set within this frame can be louvers (operable or fixed, horizontal or vertical), and solid panels. Shutters may be employed for a variety of reasons, including controlling the amount of sunlight that enters a room, to provide privacy, to protect against weather and to enhance the aesthetics of a building.
Siding: The outer covering or cladding of a house meant to shed water and protect it from the effects of weather. It may also act as a key element in the aesthetic beauty of the structure and directly impact its property value. Siding may be formed of horizontal boards or vertical boards (known as weatherboarding in many countries), shingles, or sheet materials. Avoiding wind and rain infiltration through the joints is a major challenge, met by overlapping, by covering or sealing the joint, or by creating an interlocking joint such as a tongue-and-groove or rabbet. Since building materials expand and contract with changing temperature and humidity, it is not practical to make rigid joints between the siding elements. Siding may be made of wood, metal, plastic (vinyl), masonry , or composite materials. It may be attached directly to the building structure (studs in the case of wood construction), or to an intermediate layer of horizontal planks called sheathing.
Soffit: The underside of an overhanging cornice.
Span: The distance between supports.
Stainless Steel (fasteners): A steel alloy with a minimum chromium content of 10% that will not stain, corrode, or rust as easily as ordinary steel. There are different grades and surface finishes of stainless steel to suit the environment to which the material will be subjected to during its lifetime. Its superior corrosion resistance makes it an ideal fastener for us with VERSATEX.
Starter Strip: A siding support element usually installed at the base of the home that provides support, spacing, while acting as a flashing element between the foundation and the siding.
Stealth: VERSATEX patent pending trim technology for starter strip (skirt board), corner and window surrounds where the product is grooved to discreetly accept any siding product. The system features both a ¾” x ¾” pocket and 1” x 1” pocket.
Sunburst: A semielliptical shape, the lower center of which contains a sun-like figure with fanned sun rays radiating from there.

T

T&G (Tongue and groove): A method of fitting similar objects together, edge to edge, used mainly with wood: flooring, parquetry, paneling, and similar construction. Tongue and groove joints allow two flat pieces to be joined strongly together to make a single flat surface. Tongue and groove boards have also been used for sheathing buildings.
Trim: A strip of material with various cross sections used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood, but may be made from plastic or reformed wood. The finish materials on a building, such as mouldings, applied around openings (window trim, door trim) or at the floor and ceiling of rooms (baseboard, cornice, and other mouldings).
Transom Sill: A moulding applied to a window sill exterior that also acts as a drip edge.

U

UV Stable: Ultraviolet sunlight stable. Sun rays will not affect the short term surface quality of the product.

W

Wainscoting: A lower interior wall surface that contrasts with the wall surface above it. An interior/exterior wall composed of two different wall surfaces, one above the other.
Weathering: Photochemical degradation of the surface of a material caused by the combination of sunlight (UV radiation), water, and abrasion by wind-blown sand, dirt, or other particulates. In wood and other building materials, weathering is characterized by color change. Excessive weathering of unfinished wood can cause checking, cracking, and splintering.
Woodgrain (Timber Ridge): Special moulded-in texture on the surface of VERSATEX PVC trim resembling rough cut cedar or other wood species.