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Sacrificial flashing Lead flashing at the foot of a slate slope where it meets a lead roof or gutter, to take the wear of the water running off the roof Related Words  Gutter ; Lead Saddle bar A horizontal metal bar set across a window opening filled with stained or leaded glass. Copper wires soldered to the cames are used to tie the window to the bar, thus supporting the leadwork of the window. Related Words  Cames; Copper; Leaded glass; Stained glass Saddleback tower A tower which terminates in a small pitched roof. Related Words  Pitched roof Sandstone A common type of building stone. Most sandstones are 'freestones', that is, they can be cut into blocks without any very obvious grain. Some sandstones are soft, and decay rapidly, others can be very hard. Cream-coloured sandstones were formed under water, and many of the red sandstones show evidence of having been formed of windblown material. When indenting new stone into an existing wall the replacement should resemble as closely as possible, both chemically and in appearance, the surrounding stone.     Sarking In Scottish slated roof construction, the timber boarding to which the slates are nailed.   Sash and case window The commonest form of 'traditional' window in Scotland, in which two sections of glazing are mounted into frames (sashes) which can slide past each other in a case. The weight of each sash is counterbalanced by a weight (sash weight, linked to it by a cord running over a pulley, so that when opened the sashes stay in place. Each sash weight runs up and down a slot in the side of the case. Where sash windows have been installed in an historic church they should be retained, and repaired if necessary.   Services engineer See Mechanical and Electrical Engineer. Related Words  Mechanical and electrical engineer Skew, skewput The term skew has two meanings in the building trades: 1. One slope (pitch) of a roof,  and 2. The upper edge of one side of a gable, especially the top, sloping course of an exposed gable head. A skewput is the bottom stone of a skew. In late-18th and early-19th century churches the skewputs are sometimes made with carved scrolls, or simply rounded on their upper faces - scrolled or rolled skewputs. If water is penetrating a gable, it frequently comes from skews where the pointing has worn away.      Related Words  Gable, gabled; Pitched roof; Pointing Slaister The spreading of mortar over the face of a wall, adjacent to the joints in the masonry. In a wall made of hard, non-porous stone, slaistering with lime mortar can help rainwater to evaporate, rather than penetrating to the inner face of the wall. Related Words  Joint; Lime mortar, render, limewashing; Masonry; Mortar Slater A building trades craftsman or firm specialising in the repair and construction of slate roofs. Not all roofers are skilled in slating, and vice versa. Related Words  Roofer Slates Slate is a rock formed by subjecting fine soil to heat and pressure. It can be split into fairly thin layers. There were historically many kinds and colours of slates used for roofing churches. The commonest were West Highland, or Scotch slates, from Argyll, bluish grey in colour, and Welsh slates, thinner, and usually grey or purplish. Greenish slates were quarried near Aberfoyle, or brought from Cumberland. More recently Spanish and Chinese slates have been imported, but their durability is questionable. In repair work every effort should be made to match the existing slates. In Scottish weather thin slates are easily damaged, and should be avoided.   Snecked Snecked rubble is a form of wall construction in which squared and often finely-dressed stones are laid in an irregular manner. The coursing is broken up by smaller stones called snecks. The surface of stones in a snecked-rubble wall is often stugged.   Snowboard A projecting board mounted along the line of a roof skew so as to slow down snow sliding down the skew. Related Words  Skew, skewput Soakaway Where there is no main drainage, rainwater from a roof can be channelled into a hole filled with coarse gravel, from which the water can gradually soak into the surrounding soil. This is known as a Soakaway.   Soffit The underside of an arch or door or window opening.   Soil pipe A vertical pipe linking a water-closet or urinal into a sewer. It will extend above the eaves of the building, and have an open top, sometimes with a ventilating cap.   Solum In law, the solum of a building is the area it covers, measured from the outer edges of its foundations. It is sometimes used to describe the damp-proofing of the surface of the ground under the floor of a building   Spandrel The roughly triangular space between arches, or between an arch, its abutment, and a built edge above. Related Words  Abutment; Arch Spire, spirelet A pyramidal extension from a tower, usually four or eight-sided. A spirelet is a small spire.   Stained glass Panels made of glass of different colours to which painted decoration has been applied. The pieces of glass are joined together by cames. The lines of the lead cames are known as lead lines. If the glass is not painted, the panel is said to be made of leaded glass.  Related Words  Cames; Lead; Leaded glass Stainless steel See steel.   Steel A form of iron containing a small proportion of carbon and other elements. The carbon hardens and toughens the material, which is widely used in structural engineering. Steel is also used to make gates and railings, corrugated 'iron', nails, protective grilles, and in plastic-coated form is used as a roof covering. Stainless steel is an alloy of iron with chromium and nickel, used in sheet form as a cladding material, and also used for making nails for roofing.  Related Words  Corrugated iron Steeple Often used as an equivalent term to spire, but also specifically used as part of the term 'crown steeple', and to refer to the classically-inspired vertical features built from the mid-18th to the mid-19th century.   Related Words  Classical; Crown steeple; Spire, spirelet Stone slab roof A way of protecting the top of a vaulted roof. Carefully-cut slabs of stone are laid so that alternate sloping courses overlap each other, and the slabs in each course also overlap each other, as in a slate or tile roof. Related Words  Slates Stone slate roof A roof covered with split stone, laid as for true slate. Stone slates are thicker than true slates Related Words  Slates String course A band of stone or brick which projects from the face of a wall. String courses may be stepped up and down. They may be plain or moulded. They can be purely decorative, but can also help to shed water from the face of the wall.   Structural engineer An engineer whose responsibility is to calculate or assess the strength and stability of building structures, working alongside architects. Related Words  Architect Stugged Used to describe a flat stone surface which has had regularly-spaced small indentations made on it.     Sub-roof As the term suggests, a roof covering an offshoot from the main body of a building.   Swan neck An angled section of pipe, usually linking a rhone to a downpipe. Related Words  Down pipe; Rainwater goods; Rhone