This page of our online a to z glossary of DIY home improvement terms is for do-it-yourself terms beginning with the letter 'G'.
- G-clamp
- G-shaped clamp with large screw for securing wood or metal to a workbench.
- Galley kitchen
- Narrow kitchen formed by locating units on two sides of a corridor.
- Galvanized iron
- Rust inhibitive zinc-coated iron.
- Garnet paper
- A red-coloured abrasive.
- Gauge rod
- A rod, marked in courses, to ensure accuracy when building a wall.
- Gel
- A substance with a thick jelly-like consistency.
- Gland nut
- Compression unit for sealing the spindle of a water tap.
- Glassfibre
- Glass strands bonded together into a mat or cloth. When impregnated with a chemically setting resin, it forms a rigid structure.
- Glaze
- A liquid finish, usually colourless, to which paint or pigrnents are added. Once applied to a surface, the glaze is worked with various tools and brushes to create decorative effects.
- Glazing
- The process of fitting glass into windows or doors; the glass panes in window frames or doors.
- Gloss paint
- Oil-based paint that provides a shiny finish. Gloss is used mainly for woodwork and metalwork, for interior and exterior surfaces.
- Glue gun
- Gun-shaped device loaded with glue sticks, which it heats. The glue dries instantly on application.
A glue gun
- Going
- The horizonral measurement between the top and bottom risers of a stair or the depth of one tread.
- Grain
- Direction of growth of wood fibres; decorative texture on the surface of timber.
- Grasscloth
- Hessian, interwoven with strips of grass to form a sheet wallcovering material.
- Gravity circuit
- A heating circuit which utilises the natural circulation properties of hot and cold water in pipework.
- Grommet
- A ring of rubber or plastic used to line a hole to protect electrical cable from chafing.
- Groove
- A long narrow channel cut in plaster or wood in the general direction of the grain. or To cut such channels.
- Grout
- A thin mortar used in filling the joints and cavities between tiles.
- Grounds
- Strips of wood fixed to a wall to provide nail-fixing points for skirting boards, door casings etc.
- Gullet
- The notch formed between two saw teeth.
- Gusset
- An angle bracket or brace of wood or metal used to strengthen a corner.
- Gutter
- A plastic or metal trough attached to a building's edge to collect and conduct water.
