CUSTOM HOMES, INTERIORS, AND ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN

Here's a FREE, full color introductory guide to Custom Homes, Architectural Design, Interiors, and more.

This image-packed glossary introduces the equipment, tools, tips, techniques, structural components, and design elements involved in home construction, interiors, and landscape design.

Dream up your own ideas from this carefully curated collection of images with concise, instructional definitions.

Arm yourself with basic knowledge of home building, construction equipment, tools, terms, tips, techniques, and architecture.

Use this guide for interior decorating and landscaping ideas. Or get inspired to build custom homes of your own.

Scroll further down for related links.

Also see links to other Free Books by this author.

ABODE

The Picture Dictionary of Home Design And Architecture

by Judee Shipman

CHAPTER 55

SOD HOUSE - SPACING

SOD HOUSE: An architectural style in which the walls, floors, and/or roof of a house are made of packed earth.

Shown below, custom homes in Iceland with sod roofs.

Above image credit: thevintagenews.com

SOD DUGOUT: An architectural style in which a living space is dug into a dirt mound, then reinforced with wood framing.

Above image credit: Flickr.com

SOFFIT: The underside of the eaves of a house, where the roof extends past the exterior walls.

Above image credit: allura.com

SOFTWOOD: A category of natural woods that include cedar, cypress, fir, hemlock, pine, redwood, and spruce.

Above image credit: wikipedia.org

SOIL PIPE: A large pipe that carries waste materials to a city sewer or septic tank. Also known as a soil stack.

Above image credit: mybuilder.com

SOLAR POWERED: Powered by sunlight, as opposed to gas or electricity. Shown below, solar roof panels adorn many custom homes these days.

Above image credit: inhabitat.com

SOLAR HEATING: A home heating system that makes optimal use of natural light with design elements such as south-facing windows and reflective solar panels on the roof. Shown below, a solar heated swimming pool.

Above image credit: vrbo.com

SOLDER: To join metal pieces by way of heat fusion. Many custom homes feature soldered glass windows.

Above image credit: spectrumstainedglassstudio.com

SOLDERING GUN: A pistol-shaped electric power tool used for welding metal.

Above image credit: filetest.com

SOLDERING IRON: An electric hand tool that supplies enough heat to melt metal.

Above image credit: thearchitectsguide.com

SOLE PLATE: A horizontal framing component attached to floor sheathing and wall studs.

Above image credit: sfgate.com

SOLID BRIDGING: A wood beam placed between adjacent floor joists to prevent twisting.

Above image credit: teen10x.info

SOMMER: A weight bearing beam. Other names for it include bressummer, summer, summer tree, and somer, among others.

Shown below, bressummer beam structures in Dartmouth, England.

Above image credit: alamy.com

SONOTUBE: A cardboard tube designed to hold wet concrete in place until it dries.

Above image credit: carter-waters.com

SOUND ATTENUATION: Soundproofing a wall or subfloor with insulation.

Above image credit: brooklyninsulation.com

SOUTERRAIN: An architectural style characterized by a stone-lined underground chamber.

Above image credit: vanupied.com

SOUTHERN PLANTATION: A grand, pillared architectural style that was popular on America's southern plantations during the 19th century.

These custom homes are characterized by posh, oversized rooms, grand, pillared entranceways, and obscenely opulent design elements, made possible by the enforcement free slave labor.

Shown below, the historically preserved Bellamy mansion in Wilmington, North Carolina.