Efflorescence

Related terms

• Concrete

  A mix of cement, aggregate, and water that cures into a hard structural material used for footings, slabs, and foundations. Curing time a…

• Egress Window Well

  An excavated, retained, and drained well allowing a code-compliant egress window below grade — required to make a basement bedroom legal.

• Differential Settlement

  Uneven sinking of parts of a foundation, the cause of most serious structural cracking, sticking doors, and sloping floors.

• Expansion Joint

  A deliberate separation that lets adjacent concrete or structure move with temperature and load without cracking or buckling.

• Deflection

  How much a beam or joist bends under load. Code limits it (e.g., L/360) so floors don't feel bouncy or crack finishes even when not at ri…

• Expansive Soil

  Clay-rich soil that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, cyclically stressing foundations. A leading cause of foundation cracking and mo…

• Dead Load

  The permanent weight of the structure itself — framing, finishes, roofing. The baseline load every member is sized for.

• Exterior Waterproofing

  Excavating to the footing and applying a membrane/coating plus drainage to the outside of the foundation — the most thorough (and costly)…