This page of our online a to z glossary of DIY home improvement terms is for do-it-yourself terms beginning with the letter 'T'.
- Tamp
- To pack down firmly with repeated blows.
- Tamping
- The positioning and agitating of freshly poured concrete in the form.
- Template
- Accurate shape or pattern cut from card or similar thin material, used as a guide for cutting or drilling.
- Tenon
- A tongue-like projection cut in a piece of wood to fit into a mortise.
- Tenon saw
- Straight-edged saw with reinforced back for rigidity, used for cutting joints.
- Terminal
- A connection to which the bared ends of electrical cable or flex are attached.
- Tertiary colour
- A colour made by mixing a secondary colour with an equal amount of colour next to it on the colour wheel.
- Terminal
- A mechanical device at which electrical connections are made.
- Terra cotta
- Baked clay of a high quality.
- Terrazzo
- A ground and polished flooring material of coloured stone or marble embedded in cement.
- T fitting
- A T -shaped water pipe or drain used to form branch lines off the main.
- Thermoplastic
- Material which softens and remains pliable under heat.
- Thinners
- A solvent, such as turpentine, used to dilute paint or varnish.
- Thixotropic paints
- Term used to describe paints that have a jelly-like consistency until stirred or applied, at which point they become liquefied.
- Thread
- Spiral grooves cut into a bolt or screw, allowing it to grab the wood or plug securely.
- Tie rods
- Steel rods used to hold concrete forms together while filling.
- Timber connectors
- Toothed washers which increase the friction in a bolted lap joint.
- Toggle switch
- A switch operated by a movable lever or rocker button.
- Tone
- Degree of light and shade in a colour.
- Tongue
- The projecting part of a board which fits into a groove.
- Tongue-and-groove panelling
- A type of panelling that is easy to assemble. Each board has on one side a tongue and on the other a groove into which a tongue can fit.
- Top coat
- The outer layer of a paint system.
- Torque
- A rotational force.
- Tortoise-shelling
- Paint technique that seeks to imitate or at least give the overall effect of natural tortoise-shell.
- Translucent
- Allows light to penetrate but is not transparent.
- Transom
- A horizontal dividing member of a window frame. The window above a door.
- Transparent oil glaze
- Also known as "scumble" glaze, this is thinned with white spirit before being brushed over the surface. It can be tinted with stain or an oillbased paint.
- Trap
- A bent section of drain pipe below a bath, sink etc. that holds water and thus form a seal preventing sewer gases from entering the house.
- Tread
- The horizontal part of a step.
- Truss
- A beam and steel rod triangular structure which supports loads over a long span.
- Try square
- Parallel-sided metal blade set at a right angle in a stock for accurate marking and checking of 90 degree angles.
- Turn
- To shape wood or metal on a lathe.
- Two-pipe system
- Central heating system where the hot water is fed through one pipe and the cooled water from each radiator is returned by another.
- Two way switch
- Two switches which control an electric advice from different locations.
