City of Virginia Beach Pattern Book


Stop order – A formal, written notification to a contractor to discontinue some or all work on a project for reasons such as safety violations, defective materials or workmanship, or cancellation of the contract.


Stops – Moldings along the inner edges of a door or window frame.


Stop valve – A device installed in a water supply line, usually near a fixture, that permits an individual to shut off the water supply to one fixture without interrupting service to the rest of the system.


Storm sash or storm window – An extra window, usually placed outside of an existing one, for additional protection against cold weather.


Storm sewer – A sewer system designed to collect storm water and is separated from the waste water system.


Story – The portion of a building between any two floors or between the floor and roof.


Strike – The plate on a door frame that engages a latch or dead bolt. Structural floor – A framed lumber floor that is


installed as a


basement floor instead of concrete. This method is used when a site has very expansive soils.


Stucco – A plaster finish, made with Portland cement as its base, that can be applied to the exterior of a home as an alternative to siding, or


Pattern Book Appendices: Appendix B: Glossary: Construction Terms


Page | 150


can be applied to the interior walls of a home for decorative purposes.


Stud – A vertical wood framing member, also referred to as a “wall stud,” attached to the horizontal sole plate below and the top plate above. Normally 2x4 or 2x6 inches and 8 feet long (sometimes 92 5/8 inches). One of a series of wood or metal vertical structural members placed as supporting elements in walls and partitions.


Stud framing – A building method that distributes structural loads to each of a series of relatively lightweight studs. Contrasts with post- and-beam framing.


Subfloor – The framing components of a floor that include the sill plate, floor joists, and deck sheeting, over which a finish floor is to be laid.


Sump – Pit or large plastic bucket/barrel inside the home designed to collect ground water from a perimeter drain system.


Sump pump – A submersible pump in a sump pit that pumps any excess ground water to the outside of the home.


Suspended ceiling – A ceiling system supported by hanging it from the overhead structural framing.


Switch – A device that completes or disconnects an electrical circuit.


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