Dictionary of Interior Designing

Habitable room - A room occupied or designed for occupancy by one or more persons for study , living , sleeping , eating , kitchen but not including bathroom , water closet , store , pantry , corridor etc.

Head room - It is the clear vertical distance between the tread of a step and the soffit of the flight or the ceiling of a landing immediately above it and it should not be less than 2.14m.

Halving joint - This joint is used in members crossing or meeting at an angle. In this method , each member on opposite sides is cut to half of its thickness , at the joint and lapped.

Hand rail - It is provided to render assistance in negotiating a stair-way. It is supported on balustrades and usually run parallel to the slope of the stair.

Haunch of an arch - It is the portion of the arch situated centrally between the key and skew backs.

Hazardous buildings - These shall include any building or part of building which is used for the storage , handling , manufacture or processing of highly combustible explosive materials or products which are liable to burn with extreme rapidity and which may produce poisonous fumes or explosions.

Header - It is a full brick or stone which is laid with its length perpendicular to the face of the wall.

Heading bond - In this type of bonding , all the bricks are laid as headers on the faces. The overlap , which is usually of half the width of the brick is abtained by introducing a three-quarter bat in each alternate course at quoins.

Hip rafters - These are the rafters which form the hip of a sloped roof. These rafters run from the ridge to the corners of the wall to support the covering over the hip.

Housed joint - In this joint , the entire end or thickness of one member is let into the notch in another. This is commonly used in works of heavy nature.