What is a piscina?
A piscina is a stone basin set in the wall beside the altar, draining to consecrated ground — a standard feature of medieval church architecture.
What is a piron?
A piron is the Dutch and Belgian roof finial set at a ridge end or roof apex, usually in fired clay, lead or zinc — function, difference from a king post, maintenance.
What is a pyramid roof?
A pyramid roof has four equal slopes meeting at a single point — covering hip rafters, the apex detail and ventilation.
What is piping?
Piping is the washing away of sand beneath a dike or sheet pile wall by seepage, forming a hollow channel — with seepage path and countermeasures explained.
What is a pingo?
A pingo is an ice-cored hill from the last ice age; its remains — pingo scars — are deep, peat-filled hollows that can dictate a building’s foundation.
What is pilotis?
Pilotis are the columns that lift a building clear of the ground — a core principle of Le Corbusier’s modernism, with real building physics consequences.
What is a setting-out peg?
A setting-out peg is a timber or steel stake used to set out a building: it fixes position, line and level before any digging starts.
What is a pipe clip?
A pipe clip fixes a pipe to a wall, ceiling or floor — with support spacings, fixed and sliding points, and the mistakes that cause noise.
What is a pigment?
A pigment is an insoluble colour powder that colours paint, concrete, mortar and plaster — with dosage, colour fastness and common mistakes.
What is a pictogram?
A pictogram is a standardised graphic symbol that conveys information without words — in construction mainly for safety, escape routes and hazardous substances.