VERNACULAR TERMS IN PHILIPPINE CONSTRUCTION

ADOBE ANCHOR – LIYABE

is a tool used to provide grip and mechanical

advantage in applying torque to turn objects—
usually rotary fasteners, such as nuts and bolts—or
keep them from turning.

ALIGNMENT – ASINTADA

Asintada is the alignment of the wall.

Arrangement or position in a straight line or
in parallel lines.

ALIGNED – KALINYA

arrange in a straight line; adjust according to a

line.

ALTERNATE OR STAGGERED – UNOSINOTRA

Descriptive of fasteners, joints,

or members arranged in two or more rows so that
the beginning of each row is offset from the
adjacent one.

ANCHOR – LIYABE
device designed to support structures, most
commonly used in geotechnical
and construction applications.
 ASTRAGAL – BATIDURA

A molding, attached to one of a pair of swinging

double doors, against which the other door strikes.

AWNING - MEDIA AGUA

a secondary covering attached to the exterior wall

of a building.

BALUSTERS - BALUSTER, BARANDILLA

Vertical members in a railing used between a top

rail and bottom rail or the stair treads. Sometimes
referred to as 'pickets' or 'spindles'.

BANISTERS – BARANDILLAS

a handrail with its supporting posts

BARREL BOLT – TRANKILYA

Safety and security items that add additional

protection to the doors and windows in your
home.
BASEBOARD – RODAPIS

a narrow wooden board running along the base of

an interior wall.

BATH TUB – BANIERA

a tub, usually installed in a bathroom, in which to

bathe.

BRACE - PIE DE GALLO

A diagonal tie that interconnects scaffold

members.

BRICK - LA DRILLO

a small rectangular block typically made of

fired or sun-dried clay, used in building.

BEAM – BIGA

a long, sturdy piece of squared timber or

metal spanning an opening or part of a
building, usually to support the roof or floor
above.
BOLT – PIERNO

a shaft or missile designed to be shot from a

crossbow or catapult; especially : a short stout
usually blunt-headed arrow

BOTTOM CHORD – BARAKILAN

The lower or bottom horizontal member of a truss.

BOTTOM CHORD – TIRANTE

The "2 by 4's or 6's" that lay on the subfloor upon

which the vertical studs are installed. Also called
the 'sole plate'.

CANOPY - MEDIA AGUA

- is an overhead roof or else a structure over which

a fabric or metal covering is attached, able to
provide shade or shelter from weather conditions
such as sun, hail, snow and rain.

CABINET HINGE – ESPOLON

a jointed device or flexible piece on which a

door, gate, shutter, lid, or other attached part
turns, swings, or moves.
CARPENTRY – KARPINTERIA
a skilled trade in which the primary work
performed is the cutting, shaping and
installation of building materials during the
construction of buildings, ships, timber
bridges, concrete formwork, etc.

CAST IRON – PUNDIDO

– a commercial alloy of iron, carbon, and silicon
that is cast in a mold and is hard, brittle,
nonmalleable, and incapable of being hammer-
welded but more easily fusible than steel

CEILING – KISAME

is an overhead interior surface that covers the

upper limits of a room.

CEILING JOIST – KOSTILYAHE

One of a series of parallel framing members used

to support ceiling loads and supported in turn by
larger beams, girders or bearing walls. Also called
roof joists.

CEMENT BRICK – LADRILYO

A type of brick made from a mixture of cement an
d
sand, molded under
pressure and cured under steam at 200°F (93°C);
used as backing brick and where there is no
danger of attack from acid or alkaline conditions.
CEMENT TILES – BALDOSA

handmade colourful tiles used as floor and wall

tiling.

CHAIN BOLT - BARAL DE KADENA

The bolt at the lower end of the chain plate,

which fastens it to the vessel's side.

CHB LAYING – ASINTA

Masonry is the term for building structures by

laying individual units (brick, stone, concrete
block) and binding them (by cement mortar
and rebar).

CLOSED STRINGER - MADRE DE ESKALERA

the a small “knee wall” rises above the treads and

closes them.

COLAR PLATE – SINTURON

– allows a structure member, such as a

longitudinal stringer to be continuous through
watertight boundaries.
COLUMN - KOLUMNA , HALIGUE

A vertical structural compression member which

supports loads.

CONCRETE SLAB - LARGA MASA

– a very common and important structural

element, are constructed to provide flat, useful
surfaces.

CONDUCTOR – ALULOD

– a component of water discharge system for

a building.