In this section:
- Property Buyers Guide
- Property Sellers Guide
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Glossary of Terms.
Glossary of Terms.
Architrave
A moulding surrounding a door or window opening.
Asbestos
A fibre used in the manufacture of building products prior to 1986 usually in wall and ceiling cladding and roofing sheets. The fibre is known to cause lung cancer, so materials containing asbestos must be handled with extreme care. Contact an expert regarding removal or handling.
Auction
A public sale of property in which the highest bidder is normally the successful buyer.
Balcony
A platform, enclosed by a railing or balustrade projecting from the face of either an inside or outside wall of a building.
Baluster
Small post used to support a handrail.
Balustrade
A series of balusters supporting a handrail.
Barge board
A mainly decorative timber board that follows the border of a roof gable.
Borers
Generally timber pests that can cause damage to pine timber floorboards. Treatment is possible but replacement of damaged boards is recommended.
Building Element
A building is made up of many components or elements, there are structural and non structural elements.
Capital
The head or crowning feature of a column.
Caveat
A note on the title that an interest in the land is claimed by a third party.
Cavity Wall
A hollow wall, usually consisting of two brick walls erected a few inches apart and joined together with ties of metal.
Ceiling
The overhead internal lining of a room.
Ceiling Rose
A fitting from which a lamp may be suspended.
Cement
Obtained by crushing and burning limestone in kilns, the resulting clinker being finely ground with gypsum and with the addition of various aggregates is used for many purposes (e.g. concrete, mortar).
Chattels
Chattels are items of personal property. Real chattels are buildings and fixtures. Personal chattels are clothes and furniture. Chattels may be included in a sale.
Chimney
A structure, generally of brick or stone, containing a passage through which the smoke and waste gases from a fire or furnace may escape.
Concrete
A conglomerate artificial stone. It is made by mixing in certain proportions cement, water, sand and crushed stone, gravel or other inert material. The chemically active substance in the mixture is the cement, which unites physically and chemically with the water and, upon hardening, binds the aggregates together to form a solid mass resembling stone.
Cornice
a. Horizontal projection at the top of a wall. b. A mould placed at the junction of wall and ceiling.
Crazing
A network of fine cracks in a surface or glaze of a surface.
Cul de Sac
An access street with a blind end usually in the form of a turning space for vehicles.
Dampcourse
A physical barrier built into the foundation walls to prevent ground moisture rising up the walls and damaging brickwork, plaster and timbers. Older houses with ineffective slate and bitumen dampcourses may need new dampcourses installed.
Detached
Usually refers to a house or townhouse that is joined or attached to the neighbouring property and share a common wall.
Dry Waste
Dry waste is a floor waste not connected to an existing sewer system. This type of waste is can enhance potential for dampness which can lead to pest attack.
Dual Occupancy
A block of land which is zoned to allow two distinct dwellings to be constructed on the block.
Duplex
A construction where two buildings are attached together by a common wall. Also known as semi-detached.
Easement
An area of land, or part of an allotment, reserved by law for a specific purpose, such as access, drainage reticulation, or municipal services.
Eaves
The lower part of a roof that overhangs the walls.
Encumbrance
An encumbrance means anything that burdens title to the property. It can be a mortgage (loan), a lien (voluntary or unvoluntary) an easement or a restriction that limits the title. An encumbrance can involve money, but not always.
Facade
The face or front wall of a building.
Facscia
The painted timber board that supports the roof guttering.
Fenestration
The arrangement of windows or openings in a building.
Fibre cement
A sheet cladding product, made of mainly cement and fibres. Generally used for lining external walls and eaves.
Flashing
Generally a sheet metal product that is installed as a barrier in a wall or as part of a roof to prevent water entering a building.
Gable
The triangular end of a house formed at the end of a pitched roof, from eaves level to apex.
Hip Roof
A roof with an end roughly pyramidal in shape, with surfaces sloping upwards from all three eaves.
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time. The term "inflation" once referred to increases in the money supply (monetary inflation); however, economic debates about the relationship between money supply and price levels have led to its primary use today in describing price inflation. Inflation can also be described as a decline in the real value of money—a loss of purchasing power in the medium of exchange which is also the monetary unit of account. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. A chief measure of price inflation is the inflation rate, which is the percentage change in a price index over time.
Interest rate
An interest rate is the price a borrower pays for the use of money they do not own, for instance a small company might borrow from a bank to kick start their business, and the return a lender receives for deferring the use of funds, by lending it to the borrower. Interest rates are normally expressed as a percentage rate over the period of one year.
Jambs
Side surfaces of an opening in a wall.
Lien
A legal claim against a property that must be paid off when the property is sold.
Lintel
A beam spanning an opening.
Lot Number
A lot is separately identifiable piece of land, part of a building, or air space, that is created when a plan of a subdivision is registered.
Mantel
A shelf over a fireplace.
Mortar
A composition of lime and/or cement and sand mixed with water in various proportions.
Mortgage
A mortgage is the transfer of an interest in property (or the equivalent in law - a charge) to a lender as a security for a debt - usually a loan of money. While a mortgage in itself is not a debt, it is the lender's security for a debt. It is a transfer of an interest in land (or the equivalent) from the owner to the mortgage lender, on the condition that this interest will be returned to the owner when the terms of the mortgage have been satisfied or performed. In other words, the mortgage is a security for the loan that the lender makes to the borrower.
Mud tunnels
Termites build protective access tunnels from the ground up the side of foundation walls and slabs to the structural timbers of a building.
Outbuilding
A building or use not intended for human habitation including a carport, garage, shed, greenhouse.
Pantry
A room for storing provisions.
Parapet
A low wall at the edge of a roof, balcony, bridge, or terrace.
Parting (Party) Wall
The wall between two adjoining buildings.
Pediment
A triangular or other geometrically shaped decoration above doors, windows, etc.
Pergola
Generally an open timber framed roof structure over a deck or entertaining area.
Pilaster
A rectangular pillar attached to a wall but treated as a column with a capital, shaft and base.
Pitch
The angle of inclination to the horizon of a roof of stair.
Plaster
Material of a mortar-like consistency used for covering walls and ceilings of buildings usually made of Portland mixed with sand and water.
Pointing (Brickwork)
The finishing of mortar joints of bricks with coloured grout.
Pointing (Roof Tiling)
The finishing of joints between ridge tiles with mortar and matching colour.
Porch
A covered entrance to a building.
Purlin
Roof rafters require support over a certain distance to prevent sagging, a purlin is a structural beam that supports the rafters. Struts support the purlin.
Quoins
The corner stones at the angles of buildings.
Rates
Rates are fees payable to the local council and the water authority for services provided to a property.
Reserve price
A seller's (vendor) minimum sale price for the property.
Retaining wall
A wall built to hold back earth or other solid material behind it.
Reveal
The thickness of wall from the wall face to the door or window frame. The remainder of the thickness of wall is known as the 'jamb'.
Sarking
A fabric type material that is installed on top of the roof rafters but below the roof tiles or roofing sheets that prevents tranfer of moisture or condensation.
Sash
The framework in a window, into which the glass is fitted.
Semi-detached
Usually refers to a house or townhouse that is joined or attached to the neighbouring property and share a common wall.
Setback
From a boundary or building, means a horizontal distance from that boundary or building.
Sisalation
A brand of sarking.
Skillion
A type of roof frame design. Generally a flat type roof where there is little or no access to inspect the roof frame timbers.
Skirting
The trim fixed on a wall at its junction with the floor.
Stamp Duty
A state government tax on conveyance or transfer of the property calculated on the total value of the property including chattels.
Strip footing
A footing or rectangular cross-section, poured in a continuous horizontal strip for placement under a length of wall.
Studs
The vertical members in the wall framework of a building.
Subfloor
Tthe horizontal surface on which the underlay or floor covering is to be laid.
Surveying
The science of measuring land.
Termites
Were called white ants, there are several species of termites such as coptotermes that can cause major damage to structural timbers.
Terrace Housing
A group of one or two storey dwellings separated by party walls. Also known as row housing.
Terrazzo
Material produced by setting irregular fragments of marble in a matrix of cement, and rubbing them down to a smooth surface.
Timber Pest
The main timber pests that cause damage to buildings are termites, anobium or furniture borer and lictus borer.
Title Search
A search of title records to confirm that the seller is the legal owner of the property and that there are no outstanding liens or claims.
Veneer
A brick veneer house has load bearing timber wall frames, the exterior brick wall is basically a protective skin of brickwork.
Wall
An upright structure of definite dimensions for enclosing space constructed of stone, brick or other suitable building material.
Water ponding
When a property has poor site drainage, rain water or seepage can collect and pond under the building often the entire storm water drainage system will need repair or replacement, sometimes a pit and pump are installed under a house to remove the ponding water.
Weepholes
Located in the exterior walls above the dampcourse or flashings, usually a hole 1cm wide by the height of a brick to allow any moisture inside the wall cavity to escape.
White ants
See "termites".