This page of our online a to z glossary of DIY home improvement terms is for do-it-yourself terms beginning with the letter 'R'.
- Rafter
- Support timbers forming the roof shape, meeting at the ridge and supporting the roof covering.
- Rag-and-putty joint
- An oldˇfashioned, unhygienic joint between a toilet flush pipe and the lavatory bowl.
- Ragging
A decorative paint technique whereby you dip clothes into washes or glazes and use the crumpled fabric to make prints on a surface. In much the same way, you can completely cover a base colour with a wash or glaze and then selectively reveal the base colour using crumpled fabric.
- Rag-rolling
- A variant of ragging whereby you roll a cloth down over a surface. Either roll a cloth dipped in glaze over a background colour or use a clean cloth to distress a wet surface.
- Ratchet
- A mechanism which transmits movement in one direction only.
- RCCB
- A residual current circuit breaker monitors the current passing through live and neutral wires of a circuit and cuts off the supply if earth leakage occurs.
- Reaming
- The opening, widening or smoothing out of holes.
- Rebate
- A stepped rectangular recess along the edge of a workpiece, usually forming part of a joint. or To cut such recesses.
- Receding colors
- Colors that, when applied to a surface, make it appear to recede from you. Receding colours - the 'cool' colours such as blue and grey can be used to make a small room seem larger.
- Reinforced concrete
- Concrete to which metal bars, rods or mesh are added to improve strength.
- Relay
- A magnetic switch.
- Render
- A thin layer of cement-based mortar applied to exterior walls to provide a protective finish. Sometimes fine stone aggregate is embedded in the mortar. or To apply such mortar.
- Rendering
- The first coat of plaster on a brick or stone wall.
- Retaining wall
- A barrier wall which resists lateral pressure and prevents earth movements.
- Reveal
- The vertical side of an opening in a wall.
- Ripping
- Sawing wood in the direction of the grain.
- Riser
- A vertical water supply pipe that supplies water under mains pressure, usually to a storage tank in the roof; the upright part of a step.
- Rivet
- A headed metal tack for fastening materials together.
- Roller
- Fabric sleeve on a frame for applying paint. Can be made from a number of different materials.
- Room divider
- Any unit - such as a bookcase, set of shelves or screen - that can be used to divide a larger room into much smaller areas.
- Round nose chisel
- A cold chisel with a curved cutting edge used for chipping in filleted corners.
- R.S.J.
- Rolled steel joist. A heavy steel support beam set onto slate, holding up a floor or replacing a lower support wall. Usually with a cross section in the form of a capital letter I.
- Rub joint
- Glued wood rubbed together and held by suction until it sets.
