Text C. Elements of a Building. Skin and Interior Construction.

The skin of a building consists of both transparent elements (windows) and opaque elements (outside walls). Windows are traditionally glass, although plastics are being used, especially in schools where breakage creates a maintenance problem. Most parts of a window come from a lumber mill, already cut in the proper sizes. Window sashes are made of wood or metal, usually either aluminum or lightweight steel.

Walls are built to enclose areas and carry the weight of floors and roofs. The wall elements, which are used to cover the structure and are supported by it, are built of a variety of materials: brick, precast concrete, stone, opaque glass, plastics, steel, and aluminum. Wood is used mainly in house construction; it is not generally used for commercial, industrial, or public buildings because of the fire hazard.

Interior construction includes (1) walls, (2) floors and (3) doors.

Rooms are made by building inside walls after the outside walls have been attached to the foundation. Inside walls, also called partitions, have studs and must be supported by plates, joists, and girders.

If plaster is to be applied, the interior walls must first be covered with lath, or strips of wood, metal, or plasterboard.

To provide for greater flexibility within buildings, movable or easily disassembled partitioning systems are used. Such partitions may be metal, prefabricated plasterboard components, accordion like rolling curtains, or, if noise is a problem, leaded curtains that move either horizontally or vertically.

Most houses have several different kinds of doors, each designed to address a particular need. All doors are classified as either exterior or interior models.

Typical weather-tight exterior doors (тут были гиперссылки?!) include the front entry door, back door, French doors, glass sliders and patio doors. Exterior doors provide security and maintain a comfortable indoor climate. They are made to be particularly strong, weather-resistant and energy efficient. In addition, a front door is usually designed to project a handsome first impression.

Lighter-weight interior doors are used between rooms, on closets and in similar applications. They include folding doors, bypass doors, and conventional hinged doors.

Bypass door is a door that has 2 or more sections. They can slide from each direction on an overhead track. Conventional hinged doors may be either right or left handed. A door that opens toward you and has the door knob on the right is right handed. A door hinged on the opposite side is left handed.