ASTRAGAL
A strip of wood attached to an inactive door, sealing the gap between a French door pair.
BACKSET
Distance from the centerline of a knob or lever hub, keyhole or cylinder to the lock face on a door’s edge.
BARN DOORS
Doors that slide on top-hung track (with a bottom guide).
BI-FOLD DOORS - see folding doors
BI-PARTING DOORS
Two doors that slide apart and meet together in the middle, sliding on one track.
BI-PASSING DOORS
Two doors that slide past each other on 2 parallel tracks.
BOTTOMRAIL
Bottom horizontal member of a window sash or door.
BUTTHINGE
Hinge that is mortised into a door’s edge and door frame.
CLADDING
Metal (often brass or aluminum) attached to the exterior of a wood sash, to provide ease of maintenance.
CREMONE
A bolt lock, surface-mounted on a door face (instead of on the door edge as with other locks).
DEADBOLT
A throw bolt that adds extra security to exterior doors; usually specified for 1 inch in United States.
DK HANDLE
European-style window handle with 3-way movement to operate a tilt-and-turn or window multipoint window
lock. DK is short for the German “Dreh-Kipp” (turn-tilt).
DRAINAGE CHANNEL
Extrusion for a window sill that allows water drainage.
DUMMY
A knob or lever that doesn’t operate a latch or lock. Used as a pull, or just for aesthetic purposes.
EDGE
The side of a door stile; a sliding door leads by its edge.
ESCUTCHEON
Aback-plate plate for a handle, lever, pull or knob; with function holes for spindles or key or thumb turn cylinders.
EUROGROOVE
A16 mm. groove cut in the edge of a door or window stile to accept a European style multipoint lock.
EXTRUSION
A material (brass, aluminum, plastic, etc.) that is heated and pushed through a die to produce a track,
component or profile used to make doors or windows.
FENESTRATION
An architectural term for the arrangement of openings in a building: windows, doors, skylights, and other
operable or glazed openings. From the Latin word for window: “Fenestra”.
FIXED
Non-operable (non-opening) door or window.
FLUSH DOOR
A door with a flat face that is aligned straight with the door jamb when it is closed.
FOB
Free On Board (FOB) is a standard shipping term for when the shipper (seller) takes responsibility for
transport costs to get the shipment “on board” to a chosen freight carrier (ship, truck or plane). After it is
“on board”, the shippee (buyer) assumes responsibility for shipping costs from that point.
FOLLOWER
A lock follower is a lock spindle (hub).
FOLDING DOORS
Doors with two or more hinged panels that fold away to the jamb; a.k.a. “bi-folding” or “multi-folding”.
FOREND
Faceplate for a lock.
FRAME
A three- or four- sided structure around a door or window that consists of head, sill, jamb, and mullion.
FRENCH DOOR
A pair of hinged doors that meet and open at the middle.
GEAR-DRIVEN LOCK
A European multipoint door lock that’s activated by turning a cylinder instead of by lifting a door lever.
GASKETING
Rubber or plastic material to seal a door or window.
GLAZING
Noun: the glass in a window or door;
Verb: the process of installing glass in a sash.
GLIDER
A horizontal sliding window, or slider.
HANDING
Some handles / levers are left-handed or right-handed, when the design differs when facing each direction. To
determine handing, look at the sash from the outside; if hinges are on the left, you need a left-handed version, if
hinged on right, you need right-handed.
HEAD / HEADER
Horizontal, structural frame member placed over the rough opening of a window or doors. Also called a lintel.
HOLLOW-CORE DOOR
Flush door with two skins or door faces separated by Stiles and rails on the perimeter and hollow on the interior.
INACTIVEDOOR
The less-used door in a French door pair, without a strike.
JALOUSIE
Window with horizontal louvers that tilt out to open.
JAMBDEPTH
Width of a window or door frame from interior to exterior.
JAMB
Main vertical frame pieces at the sides of a window or door.
JIG
A tool in woodworking or metalworking that helps control the location or motion of a tool, for installation of
hardware. Some jigs are also called templates or guides.
KD(KNOCKED-DOWN)
Doors and/or hardware that are milled and prepped for assembly, and shipped unassembled to a jobsite or mill as
a ‘knocked-down’ kit.
LEVER-DRIVEN LOCK
A multipoint door lock that’s activated by lifting a lever.
LIFTSLIDE (ORLIFT&SLIDE)
Sliding door system designed for multiple large panels of up to 880 pounds and/or 10’by 10’each.
LOCKFACE
A lock faceplate or for end; visible after installation.
LOWPROFILE
A term describing a component that doesn’t project very far out from the sash or frame; low profile sill track is
desirable because people are less likely to trip over it; low profile handles and locks are more compatible with curtains.
MORTISE LOCK
A quality door lock popular in older American homes and in Europe; has long, elegant face plate on the door’s edge.
Gaining new popularity in America due to improvements in installation technologies. Also spelled mortice.
MULLION
A vertical framing member dividing two lights of glass.
MULTIPOINTLOCK
A locking system securing a window or door at two or more locking points.
MUNTIN
A strip (wood, metal, pvc) dividing panes of glass in a sash.
OIL-RUBBEDBRONZE (US 10-B)
A chemical finish coated on natural brass, adds a dark brown color by artificially speeding the aging process.
OPERABLE
Doors and windows that open for ventilation or egress.
PANEL
Door component mounted within the stile and rail frame.
PASSAGE LATCH
Passage hardware has a knob or lever with a latch and no lock; for interior use such as a hall, closet or kitchen door.
PATENTCYLINDER
A locking mechanism activated by a key or thumb turn; a universal lock style in Europe.
POCKETDOOR
Door that slides away into a pocket in a wall.
PRE-HUNGDOORS
Doors hinged and installed in the jamb at a factory.
PRIVACYLOCK
Keyless lock operated by a thumb-turn knob; for interior use such as bath or bedrooms. Usually includes an
emergency egress/exit function to unlock door from outside. Also called a WC lock.
PROFILECYLINDER
Cylinder used to activate a mortise or multi point lock with a key and/or thumb turn knob.
PROUD
Refers to the measurement of how far a window or door handle projects (sticks out) from the sash. A large handle
is very proud; a low-profile handle is not very proud.
PZ / PZW
A lock function that uses European style profile cylinders.
RAIL
Horizontal frame pieces at the top and bottom of a door.
SASH
An operable window leaf or door panel, consisting of stiles and rails assembled into a frame to hold glass.
SASH BALANCE
A concealed iron weight used to counter-balance the sash of older double-hung windows.
SCREWHINGE
Hinge for doors or windows, used widely in Europe, which doesn’t need mortising (unlike butt hinges).
SIDELITES
Tall, narrow glazed units adjacent to an entry door. Can be fixed or operable (for ventilation).
SILL
Main horizontal frame piece on the bottom of a window or door; also an accessory attached to deflect water.
SINGLE HUNG
Similar to a double-hung window, except that the bottom sash is operable and the top is fixed.
SKIN
A single piece of material used as the face of a door.
SOLID CORE DOOR
Flush door filled with solid material inside the door skins.
SPINDLE
A spindle is the center post inserted through a lock.
SPINDLE HUB
Center opening in a lock that the spindle goes through.
STILE
Main vertical frame pieces at the sides of a sash or door.
STILE-AND-RAILDOOR
Traditional wood door made with vertical stiles and rails; openings are filled with raised wood panels or glass.
STRIKE
Component attached or recessed into a frame or inactive door, which catches a locking device such as a shoot bolt,
latch or deadbolt. Also called a keep.
STRUCTURALMEMBER
A load-bearing framing piece, or header, usually of wood or steel.
THERMALBREAK
A notch in a threshhold that creates a temperature break between indoors and outdoors, to keep the cold out.
THUMBTURN
A turn knob or turn piece that activates a lock.
TRIM
Decorative door or window hardware such as handles, escutcheons, roses or strikes.
TRANSOM
A small window above a door or above another window.
US 10-B
Code for a popular chemical finish; see oil-rubbed bronze.
WEATHERSTRIPPING
Material used to seal the openings or gaps of operable windows and doors, preventing air & water infiltration.
a thumb-turn knob; for interior use such as a bath or bedroom. Includes emergency egress function.
YALE CYLINDER
A locking mechanism activated by a key or thumb turn; a universal lock style in Europe.
