This page of our online a to z glossary of DIY home improvement terms is for do-it-yourself terms beginning with the letter 'S'.
- Safety glasses or goggles
- Protective eye wear which should be worn for any work that produces dust or particles at high speed.
- Sanding
- Generic term for using abrasives on surfaces, either by hand or by a sanding machine.
- Sanding block
- Shape for holding abrasive paper during sanding.
- Sash window
- Vertically sliding window frame housed in a box and operated on runners or with cords.
- Satin finish
- A painted surface having a dull lustre.
- Sawhorse
- A four-legged trestle.
- Scaffold tower
- Sectional scaffold frames built up to provide a stable working platform.
- Scale
- The deposit left when water is heated to the point where dissolved hard-water salts are deposited.
- Scarfing
- The joining of the ends of two pieces of timber with sloping lap joints so they appear continuous.
- Score
- To scratch a line with a pointed tool.
- Scraper
- Tool designed for removing unwanted finishes or coverings on wood or walls. Narrow-bladed scrapers are for paint, wide-bladed ones for wallpaper.
- Scratchcoat
- The bottom layer of cement.
- Screed
- A thin layer of floor levelling compound; A shortened name for screed batten.
- Screed batten
- A thin strip of wood fixed to a surface to act as a guide to the thickness of an application of plaster or render.
- Screw eye
- A metal screw that has a loop at the head end.
- Scribe
- To mark with a pointed tool; to match the edge of a material to the contours of a wall or floor.
- Scriber
- A pointed instrument for marking a workpiece by scratching.
- Sealant
- Paste squeezed into crevices to form a waterproof seal, such as around a bath.
- Seam
- Edges of fabric turned back and sewn together.
- Seasoned timber
- Timber that has been stacked and allowed to dry to render it stable.
- Self-grip wrench
- Also known as a mole grip, this has jaws controlled by an adjuster to exert great force on objects.
- Set
- Angle at which saw teeth are bent to give clearance in a kerf; when glue has hardened.
- Sett
- A small rectangular paving block.
- Shakes
- Natural splits in timber occurring along the grain, caused by uneven shrinkage.
- Shave hook
- A scraper shaped for removing old paint from mouldings. The head can be triangular, pear-shaped or a combination of the two.
- Sheathing
- The outer insulation on electrical wiring.
- Sheers
- Lightweight net curtains.
- Shims
- Thin strips of wood, often wedge-shaped, used for levelling timber battens.
- Shingles
- Thin pieces of wooden building material, with one end thicker than the other, which are overlapped to cover roofs and walls.
- Shiplap boards
- Lumber with rebated edges that is joined with half-lap joints.
- Shooting board
- A device for holding a plane at the proper angle for making accurate angular cuts.
- Shoring
- Timber which is used as a temporary brace during repairs.
- Short circuit
- The accidental rerouting of electricity to earth, which increases the flow of current and blows a fuse or trips a circuit breaker.
- Short grain
- When the general direction of, wood fibres lies across a narrow section of timber.
- Silicones
- Chemical substances used in lubricants, polishes and other commercial products.
- Sill
- Horizontal beam at the foot of a door or window. The lowest horizontal member of a stud partition.
- Siphonage
- The flow of liquid created by suction as result of below atmosphere pressure.
- Size
- A gelatin-like filling and sealing material.
- Skarsten scraper
- Tool for smoothing wood surfaces or removing paint, available in long- and short-handled versions with a selection of blades.
- Skew nail
- To drive nails in at an angle to prevent the work being pulled straight out.
- Skirting
- Wooden boards placed at the junction of floor and walls.
- Sleeving
- Yellow-and-green insulation tubing for slipping over the bare earth wire of cable at connections.
- Sleeper wall
- A low masonry wall that serves as an intermediate support for ground-floor joists.
- Slip stone
- A sharpening stone with rounded edge for irregularly shaped woodworking tools.
- Slow bend
- A type of plumbing elbow which has a gradual bend.
- Soakaway
- A hole, usually about 1.5 m cube, filled with rubble to accept non-foul waste water.
- Soffit
- The underside of part of a building such as an archway or the eaves ete.
- Soft jaws
- Fibre or soft metal covers which fit over the jaws of a vice to protect the work.
- Soft solders
- Any low temperature solders.
- Softwood
- Timber from coniferous trees.
- Solder
- Alloy of tin and lead; to join the surfaces of metals together with fused solder.
- Sole plate
- Wooden member which forms the bottom rail of a stud partition; A wooden member used as a base to level a loadbearing timber-frame wall.
- Solid floor
- Concrete slab laid over a bed of compacted hardcore. Modern solid floors incorporate a damp-proof membrane.
- Solvent
- That liquid which is capable of dissolving a certain material.
- Spacers
- Small pieces of wood used to hold concrete forms or tiles desired distances.
- Spalling
- Flaking of the outer face of masonry caused by expanding moisture in icy conditions.
- Spandrel
- The triangular infill below the outer string of a staircase.
- Spatterlng
- Simple distressed paint effect achieved by splattering one or more colours on to a previously painted surface. Achieved by dipping the bristles of a stiff brush in paint and flicking it at a surface.
- Spirit level
- Vial containing liquid and an air bubble fitted into a holder, which can be of a number of designs and sizes, for checking levels.
- Splicing
- The connection of two wires without a fitting.
- Sponging
- Decorative paint technique using a sea sponge or equivalent either to dab a top coat (or coats) of a wash or glaze over a base coat or to remove selected areas of an overlying wash or glaze.
- Staff bead
- The innermost strip of timber holding a sliding sash in a window frame.
- Steel rule
- Accurate tool for measuring and laying out. Can also be used as a straightedge.
- Steel wool
- Matted steel strands used as an abrasive for smoothing metal and wood.
- Stencilling
- A way of decorating surfaces by dabbing paint through a motif (or motifs) cut out of acetate or similar medium onto a surface.
- Stiles
- Vertical members of doors or windows.
- Stillson wrench
- Heavy-duty wrench with a moving jaw operated by a nut, for gripping round objects.
- Stipple
- Raising or texturing a surface finish with tiny dots, using the bristle tips of a brush.
- Stippling
- Creating a 'speckled' effect using one of two similar techniques. Either cover a base coat with a glaze or wash and, while it is still wet, strike it with a flat-faced brush, so that flecks of the base colour are revealed, or simply apply speckles by dipping a brush into a glaze or wash and then stab with it at the base coat.
- Stopcock
- Brass tap fitted on a mains pipe to enable water supply to be switched off.
- Stopper
- A wood filler made in colours to match various kinds of timber.
- Storm window
- An extra window fitted externally to reduce heat loss, noise, etc.
- Straight edge
- A metal or wooden strip one of whose surfaces can be used to draw an exactly straight line.
- Stranded Hemp
- Soft, rope-like material which is packed into plumbing joints to render them waterproof.
- Stretchers
- Bricks or blocks placed lepnthwise in a wall.
- Striker plate
- A jamb-mounted plate which receives the latch or bolt of a lock.
- String
- Board running at each side of staircase to hold the treads and risers.
- Stucco
- An exterior wall surface of a plaster-type material.
- Stud partition
- Wall constructed from timber sections and covered with a finishing material.
- Subfloor
- Rough boards or plywood placed on floor joists to which the final finishing material is applied.
- Subsidence
- A sinking of the ground caused by the shrinkage of excessively dry soil.
- Sugar soap
- An alkaline preparation, available in crystal form to be mixed with water, which is used to clean and degrease painted surfaces.
- Swag
- A loop of draped fabric, suspended across the top of a window, either as a pelmet or on its own as a window treatment. A wide window may have a series of swags.
- Swan-neck bend
- A double bend commonly found in rainwater down pipes.
- Sweating
- The condensation of moisture on a surface.
- Switch
- A directing or controlling device for the current flow in a circuit.
