GLOSSARY
Terms, explained.
Plain-language definitions of terms used across JoyHaus product pages and guides.
- Aluminium-zinc coating
- A hot-dip metallic coating on steel (for example AZ150) used for light steel framing.
- Aramid
- A high-strength synthetic fibre used in the intumescent ventilation mesh.
- Breather membrane
- A layer that blocks liquid water but lets water vapour escape from a wall or roof.
- Calcium silicate board
- A mineral board used for ceilings and partitions with moisture resistance.
- Casement window
- A window hinged at the side that swings inward or outward.
- Ceramic fibre
- A soft, high-temperature insulating fibre used for fire-glass tapes.
- Co-extrusion
- A coloured surface layer (such as ASA) extruded together with the PVC body.
- Cold-formed steel
- Steel sheet rolled into C or U sections at room temperature for light structural frames.
- Compartmentation
- Dividing a building into fire-resistant cells to limit the spread of fire and smoke.
- EPDM
- A synthetic rubber widely used for window gaskets for its weather and ageing resistance.
- Expandable graphite
- Graphite flakes that swell on heating, used in intumescent seals.
- Expanded vermiculite
- A mineral that expands on heating, added to ceramic-fibre tape to improve insulation.
- Expansion pressure
- The force per unit area that an intumescent material can exert while expanding, usually stated in N/mm².
- Expansion ratio
- How many times a material grows from its original thickness when heated, as stated by the manufacturer for defined conditions.
- Fire resistance
- How long a tested assembly keeps its integrity, insulation or load-bearing function under a specified fire test.
- Fire stopping
- Sealing gaps and penetrations in fire-rated walls and floors so that flame and smoke cannot pass.
- Fire-rated assembly
- A complete combination of products and installation details that has been tested together; a rating applies only to that combination.
- Glazing bead
- The strip that holds glass in the sash or frame; its thickness is chosen to match the glass.
- Glazing pad
- A rigid block that supports glass in a frame; fire-rated versions keep their strength at high temperature.
- Hold-down
- A connector that resists uplift at frame corners and under openings.
- Homogeneous colour
- Profile coloured through the full thickness of the material rather than only on the surface.
- Intumescent
- A material that swells when heated, forming an insulating foam or char that closes gaps and slows heat, flame and smoke.
- IP rating
- Ingress Protection code describing resistance to solids and water, for example IP54 or IP65.
- Lamination
- A decorative film bonded to the profile surface, for example wood-grain.
- Limit switch
- A switch that stops an actuator at the end of its stroke or when overloaded.
- Mullion
- A vertical or horizontal member dividing a window or façade into panels.
- Multi-chamber profile
- A profile with several internal chambers that improve stiffness, sealing and thermal performance.
- OSB
- Oriented strand board, a structural wood panel used for wall, roof and floor sheathing.
- Push / pull force
- The force an actuator can apply to open and close a sash, stated in newtons (N).
- Rack and pinion
- A gear and toothed-bar mechanism that converts rotation into linear movement.
- Reaction to fire
- A classification of how a material contributes to a fire (for example A1 non-combustible). It is not the same as fire resistance.
- Sash
- The movable frame that holds the glass in an opening window.
- Smoke control
- A designed system that removes or manages smoke; it is not the same as ordinary window ventilation.
- Steel liner
- A galvanised steel section inserted into a uPVC chamber to give the profile stiffness.
- Stroke
- The distance an actuator can move the sash from closed to fully open.
- Stud spacing
- The centre-to-centre distance between wall studs, generally 610 mm in the supplied literature.
- Thermal break
- A low-conductivity insulating section that separates the inner and outer parts of an aluminium profile to reduce heat transfer.
- Uf / Ug / Uw
- Heat-transfer coefficients of the frame (Uf), glazing (Ug) and complete window (Uw). Compare values with the same units and test conditions.
- XPS
- Extruded polystyrene insulation board.
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