BACK-BUTTER: The spreading of a bond coat to the backs of ceramic tile just before the tile is placed.
BACK WALL: The wall facing an observer who is standing at the entrance to a room, shower or tub shower.
BACKING: (CARPET)- Material that forms the back of the carpet, regardless of the type of construction. (1) Primary Back -- in a tufted carpet, the material to which surface yarns are attached. May be made of jute, cotton, woven or non-woven synthetics. (2) Secondary Back -- also called "double backing." Any material (jute, woven or non-woven synthetics, scrim, foam or cushion) laminated to the primary back.
                (CERAMIC)-Any material used as a base over which ceramic tile is to be installed. See Substrate.
BACK-MOUNTED TILE: See mounted tile.
BACK SEAMS -- Seams made when the carpet is face down are called "back seams." Those made with the carpet face up are called "face seams."
BALANCED CUTS: Cuts of tile at the perimeter of an area that will not take full tiles. The cuts on opposite sides of such an area shall be the same size. Also the same size cuts on each side of a miter.
BALUSTER [BANNISTER, BANISTER] -- One of a set of small pillars that support a handrail on a stairway. A small column or other vertical shape when placed in a series constitutes a miniature colonnade which is called a balustrade.
Balustrade - a rail and row of supporting posts, especially along a stair or porch.
Band Course --See Belt Course
BASE: One or more rows of tile installed above the floor. See Cove.
BASEBOARD -- A board skirting the lower edge of a wall
Base Course --Continuous horizontal course that sets on the brick ledge. It is the first course set in a wall.
BASE SHOE- A molding designed to be attached to base molding to cover expansion space. Similar to quarter round in profile.
BASTARD SAWN- Lumber (primarily hardwoods) in which the annual rings make angles of 30 Degrees to 60 Degrees with the surface of the piece. (Also known as Rift Sawn)
(See Eased Edge)
BEAM -- A large, horizontal cylinder, or spool, on which strands of yarn are wound prior to the manufacture of some tufted and woven carpet.
BEARDING -Long fiber fuzz occurring on some cut pile fabrics, which may result in matting and pilling
BEATING BLOCK: A block used to imbed tiles in a flat plane. The method used is called "Beating In".
Bed Joint --The joint which the stone sets on. It is normally filled with mortar or backer rod and sealant.
Belt Course --Continuous horizontal course incorporated in a wall above the base course and below the frieze.
BENCH MARK: Permanent reference point or mark.
BENT NEEDLES -- (1) Needles in the tufting machine permanently pushed out of place causing a streak or grinning, running lengthwise because of off-standard tuft spacing across the width. (2) A needle in the Jacquard that is out of alignment with punched hole in pattern cards.
Bevel --See Chamfer
BICOTTURA: Method for producing tile by firing it twice (first fire is for body, second is to fuse glazes or patterns in glaze onto the body). Usually, there are two glazes on the tile, first a non-transparent glaze on the body, then a transparent glaze on the surface.
BINDING -- A strip sewed over a carpet edge for protection against unraveling
BISQUE- The refined mixture of clay, water and additives that has been shaped into the body of a tile.
Black Onyx - a black opaque stone.
BLEEDING -- Transfer of fiber dyes to a liquid medium. These dyes may be redeposited on other fibers and cause staining.
BLEND -- A fabric containing a mixture of two or more fibers or yarns, or a combination of two or more fibers spun into yarns.
Bloodstone - dark green opaque stone with red spotting.
Blue Lace Agate - light blue translucent stone with white or milky banding. Has a very delicate appearance.
BOARD FOOT- A unit of measurement of lumber represented by a board I foot long, 12 inches wide, and 1 inch thick or its cubic equivalent. in practice, the board foot calculation for lumber 1 inch or more in thickness is based on its nominal thickness and width and the actual length. Lumber with a nominal thickness of less than I inch is calculated as 1 inch.
BODY -- (CARPET)-The compact, solid, firm, or full feel of a fabric. (See HAND).
             (CERAMIC)-The structural portion of a ceramic tile. The term also refers to the material or mixture from which the tile is made.
BOND: The adherence of one material to another.
BOND COAT: A material used between the back of the tile and the prepared surface. Suitable bond coats include pure Portland cement, dry-set Portland cement mortar, latex Portland cement mortar, organic adhesive and epoxy mortar or adhesive.
BOND STRENGTH: A bond coat's ability to resist separating from the tile and setting bed. Measured in pounds per square inch (psi).
BOW- The distortion of lumber in which there is a deviation, in a direction perpendicular to the flat face, from a straight line from end to end of the piece.
BOWED PATTERN ---Visible curved lines in the width or length of either pattern or plain goods
BOX SCREED: Essentially a box screed is a jig used to apply mortar onto the back side of large-sized ceramic, marble and granite tiles which may vary in thickness, in order to achieve a uniform unit of thickness of the tile and mortar combined.
BREAKING STRENGTH: Physical property that indicates the tile's ability to withstand loads. ANSI A 137.1 requires minimum strength of 250 lbs. for floor tile.
BRICK-VENEER TILE: Tile produced by several methods to simulate the appearance of brick.
BROADLOOM -- Carpet wider than 27 inches -- usually 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18-foot widths, and up to 30 feet in chenille or custom tufted. "Broadloom" is not a type or weave of carpet, nor a pattern or color; it is simply a designation of width.
BROCADE -- A carpet or rug in which a raised pattern or engraved effect is formed using heavy twisted yarn tufts on a ground of straight fibers. The colors of the two fibers are often the same.
Bronze - a metal alloy of copper and tin; although brown when fresh, it weathers to a more commonly seen green color.
BROOM FINISH: The surface texture obtained by sweeping a broom over freshly poured concrete.
BROWN COAT: The second coat in a three-coat plaster or mortar application.
BRUSSELS--A term sometimes used to describe a loop pile carpet woven on the Wilton loom
BUCKLING -- Wrinkling or ridging of the carpet after installation, caused by insufficient stretching, dimensional instability, or manufacturing defects.
Bughole --An air void in concrete.
BULKED CONTINUOUS FILAMENT [BCF] -Continuous strands of man-made fiber made into yarn which has been texturized to increase bulk and covering power.
BULKING -- Processing yarn, usually by mechanical means, to fluff it and give more coverage with the- same weight. Also known as texturizing and lofting.
BULLNOSE--(CARPET)-Colloquial name for step return, the bottom step.
                  (CERAMIC)- A trim tile with a convex radius on one edge. This tile is used for finishing the top of a wainscot or for turning an outside corner. Convex molding which usually starts at the top of the unit and returns to the predominant face.
BULLNOSE CORNER: A type of bullnose trim with a convex radius on two adjacent edges.
BUNDLE-- A parcel of relatively small sawed, machined, or other wood products assembled and bound together to facilitate handling, e.g., lathe, molding, or split items. The Bundle, usually bulk piled, may be bound with twine, wire, or strap.
BURL- A swirl or twist of the grain of the wood which usually occurs near a knot, but does not contain a knot.
BURLING -- A hand-tailoring operation to remove any knots and loose ends, to insert missing tufts of surface yarn, and otherwise check the condition of the fabric. Also a repair operation on worn or-damaged carpet; reburling.
Burlington Stone  (see samples)-- quarried stone from the English Lake District. It is a stone which stands among the world's finest and which is treasured by architects, designers, developers and contractors in many countries around the globe for its durability, functionalism and natural beauty.
BUSHHAMMER: A hammer that has a rectangular head with serrated or jagged faces. The bushhammer is used for roughing concrete to provide a bond for mortar or thin-set tile.
BUTTERFLY: A term commonly used for inside comer angles for trim shapes such as A13 106, AF 200, AK 106 and AU 106.
BUTTERING: See Back-Butter.
BUTTONBACK TILE: Tile that have projections on the bondable side. Many of these projections are round and therefore the term "buttonback". Some projections are quite thick and can also be other shapes, such as square.