Fabricate - To cut, punch and subassemble members.

Facade - The exterior face of a building, especially the principal face.

Face Clearance - The dimension measured between the face plane of a light of glass or panel and the nearest face of its retaining frame or stop.

Fasten - To mechanically attach components together with fasteners such as screws, bolts, pins, nails, hooks, etc.

Fenestration - The arrangement and proportion of window and door openings in a building.

Fiberglass - A composite material made by embedding glass fibers in a polymer matrix. May be used as a diffusing material in sheet form, or as a standard sash and frame element.

Fin Seal - A form of pile weatherstrip that has a plastic mylar fin centered in the pile. This fin reduces air infiltration and ensures weatherstrip contact throughout the window's life.

Finger Guard - A closure strip of soft material such as rubber or plastic, which is applied at the edge of a door or to the pivot jamb adjacent to a door. It is designed to prevent damage to hands or fingers inserted between door and frame.

Finger-jointing - A means of joining individual pieces of wood together to form longer lengths. The ends of the pieces are machined to form a set of interlocking fingers, which are then coated with adhesive and meshed together under pressure.

Finish Hardware - Exposed hardware such as hinges, pivots, locks, etc. that has a finished appearance as well as a function used with doors and windows.

Fixed Light - A pane of glass installed directly into non-operating framing members; also, the opening or space for a pane of glass in a non-operating frame.

Fixed Panel - An inoperable panel of a sliding glass door or slider window.

Fixed Window - Fixed windows are not intended to open for ventilation or egress. There are no moving parts, hinges or latches. They consist of a glazed frame or a fixed sash and frame. Fixed windows are usually more air tight than windows that open. Also called Picture Window.

Flange Frame - A window frame with the head, jamb, and sill exterior perimeter leg longer than the interior perimeter leg. Also called Flush Fin.

Flashing - Sheet Material that bridges and protects the joint (gap) between the window or door frame members and the adjacent construction for the purpose of preventing water penetration by draining water away from the window or door.

Flat Filler - An extrusion which snap fits into a mating vertical or horizontal member to provide a continuous flat surface.

Float Glass - Glass formed by a process of floating the material on a bed of molten metal. It produces a high-optical-quality glass with parallel surfaces, without polishing and grinding.

Flush Bolt - A pair of rods or bolts that are mounted flush with the edge or the face of the inactive door to lock the door to the frame at head and/or sill. A flush bolt mounted in the edge is operated by means of a recessed lever.

Flush Fin - A retrofit window that has a fin pushed out to the exterior of the window or door. AKA- Z-Bar, Retrofit, stucco fin.

Flush Glazing - Glazing in which glass is set in a recess in the aluminum frame; stops are also recessed; the glazing is flush with the frame surface. These systems are also called Pocket Glazed and Center Glazed.

Foam Spacer - Foam spacer used in insulating glass windows.

Fogging - A deposit of contamination left on the inside surface of a sealed insulating glass unit due to extremes of temperatures or failed seals.

Framing - An assembly of structural aluminum extrusions consisting of a jamb, vertical mullion, intermediate horizontal, header and sill which are fitted together to form a structure into which glass or other infill material is installed.

French Hinged Door - Hinged doors that have wider panel members around the glass.

French Sliding Door - Sliding doors that have wider panel members around the glass, giving the appearance of a French-hinged door.

Fully Tempered Glass - Glass that has been heated and quenched in a controlled operation to provide a high level of surface compression. ASTM Standard C 1048-85 specifies that the surface compression be a minimum of 10000 psi. Generally considered to have four times the strength of annealed glass and two times the strength of heat-strengthened glass.

GANA - Glass Association of North America Gas Fill. A gas other than air, usually argon or krypton, placed between window or skylight glazing panes to reduce the U-factor by suppressing conduction and convection.

Gasket - A rubber or plastic pliable material used to separate glazed glass and aluminum or vinyl.

Glass - An inorganic transparent material composed of silica (sand), soda (sodium carbonate), and lime (calcium carbonate) with small quantities of alumina, boric, or magnesia oxides.

Glass Stop - A glazing bead that is either applied to or is an integral part of the framing system.

Glaze - To install glass lights or infill material.

Glazing - The act of furnishing or fitting with glass.

Glazing Bead - A light member applied to a frame or door stile or rail to hold glass or infill in a fixed position.

Glazing Gasket - A preformed elastomeric or plastic material applied between the face of the glass and the glazing pocket of the framing to seal and secure glass into frames by a dry glazing method without using compounds or tapes.

Greenhouse (Garden) Window - A three-dimensional window that projects from the exterior wall and usually has glazing on all sides except the bottom, which serves as a shelf.

Greenhouse Effect - The property of glass that permits the transmission of short-wave solar radiation, but is opaque to long-wave thermal radiation. The interior of a car heating up in direct sun illustrates the greenhouse effect.

Grids Between the Glass - Aluminum bars in varying thicknesses and profiles sealed between insulating glass panels to simulate muntin bars.

Grille - A term referring to windowpane dividers or muntins, usually a type of assembly which may be detached for cleaning.

Hairline Joint - The fine line of contact between abutting members with the maximum joint width limited to 1/64".

Hand of Door - The designation for describing the direction a door swings. Visualize your back to the hinge or pivot jamb. If the door swings right, it is a right-handed door. If the door swings left, it is a left-handed door.

Hardware for the Physically Challenged - Hardware designed specifically to accommodate the needs of the physically challenged and to provide for ease of operation and accessibility.

Haze Factor - The percentage of light through a glazing material that is not diffused. (A 100% haze factor would equate to 100% of the light being diffused.

Head or Header - The horizontal frame member which forms the top of a frame.

Heat Fusion - A welding method to join PVC frame and/or sash members by heating the cut ends, squeezing them together, and allowing the assembly to cool.

Heat Gain - The transfer of heat from outside to inside by means of conduction, convection, and radiation through all surfaces of a house.

Heat Loss - The transfer of heat from inside to outside by means of conduction, convection, and radiation through all surfaces of a house.

Heat Treating - The process where aluminum extrusions are heated and cooled to make these materials hard.

Heat-Absorbing Glass - Window glass containing chemicals (with gray, bronze, or blue-green tint) which absorb light and heat radiation, while reducing glare and brightness. Also see Tinted glass.

Heat-Strengthened Glass - Glass that has been heated and quenched in a controlled operation to provide a degree of surface compression. ASTM Standard C 1048-85 specifies that the surface compression be between 3500 and 10000 psi. Generally considered to have two times the strength of annealed glass.

Heating Degree Day - Term used by heating and cooling engineers to relate the typical climate conditions of different areas to the amount of energy needed to heat and cool a building. The base temperature is 65 degrees Fahrenheit. A heating degree day is counted for each degree below 65 degrees reached by the average daily outside temperatures in the winter. For example, if on a given winter day, the daily average temperature outdoors is 30 degrees, then there are 35 degrees below the base temperature of 65 degrees. Thus, there are 35 heating degree days for that day.

Hermetically Sealed Unit - An insulating glass unit that is sealed against moisture. The unit is made up of two lites of glass, separated by a spacer (at the full perimeter) which contains a moisture absorbing material. The unit is then completely sealed, creating a moisture-free air space.

HERS - Home Energy Rating System. A California home energy rating certification program.

High-Impact Acrylic - Glazing material which has an impact modifier blended with the acrylic resin to meet specific impact requirements.

Hinge - A hardware device that connects a sash to a frame and enabling it to swing open or closed.

Hinge Backset - Depth of the hinge leaf that is mortised into a door stile or doorjamb.

Hinge Reinforcement (Back-Up Plate) - A metal plate attached to the door and/or doorframe to receive a hinge.

Hinge Stile - The vertical structural member of a door to which the hinges are attached and about which the door pivots.

Hinged Windows - Windows (casement and awning) with an operating sash that has hinges on one side. See also Projected Window.

Hip - The intersection between two sloping surfaces forming an exterior angle.

Hollow Extrusion - An extrusion having an enclosed cavity within it.

Hopper - Window with a sash hinged at the bottom.

Horizontal Slider - HS have two or more sash (panels) within a frame. They may have one moving and one fixed sash (XO or OX), two moving sash on either side of a fixed sash (XOX), or two adjacent sash may slide by each other (XX). Most have rollers to ease operation.