We have put together probably one of the most comprehensive pole building glossaries found on the internet today. And if you are like most people, if you can't see it, you still don't understand it very well.

If there is any pole building term you still don't understand, or one not yet listed here, please use the Contact Us page to email us. We will be glad to send drawings or pictures for illustration.

Click on the and a pop-up box will appear to give you a picture or drawing to show you what the glossary term means.

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We have put together probably one of the most comprehensive pole building glossaries found on the internet today. And if you are like most people, if you can't see it, you still don't understand it very well.

If there is any pole building term you still don't understand, or one not yet listed here, please use the Contact Us page to email us. We will be glad to send drawings or pictures for illustration.

Click on the and a pop-up box will appear to give you a picture or drawing to show you what the glossary term means.

D
D Exposure: Flat, unobstructed areas exposed to wind flowing over open water (excluding shorelines in hurricane-prone regions) for a distance of at least one mile. Shorelines in Exposure D include inland waterways, the Great Lakes and coastal areas of California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. This exposure shall apply only to those buildings exposed to the wind coming from over the water. Exposure D extends inland from the shoreline a distance of 1,500 feet.
 
Dead Load: The vertical, gravity load due to the combined weights of all permanent structural and nonstructural components of the building, including but not limited to walls, floors, roofs, ceilings, stairways, built-in partitions, finished, cladding, and other similarly incorporated architectural and structural items, and fixed service equipment, including the weight of cranes. These loads are constant in magnitude and location throughout the life of the building.
 
Deck: An exterior floor supported on at least two opposing sides by an adjacent structure, and/or posts, piers or other independent supports.
 
Deflection: The displacement of a structural member under load. Deflection limits are not normally required for unfinished post frame buildings; however need to be considered for finished buildings incorporating gypsum wallboard, etc.
 
 
Design Loads: Those specified by the building codes to be used in building design. They include snow, wind, seismic and dead.
 
Design Strength: The product of the nominal strength and a resistance factor (or strength reduction factor).
 
Diaphragm: A structural assembly - including the timber framing (truss chords and purlins), structural sheathing (e.g. plywood, metal cladding), fasteners and fastening patterns - capable of transferring in-plane shear forces through the cladding and framing members.
 
Diaphragm Action: The lateral resistance to racking of the building provided by the roof and wall coverings. The design relies upon the roof to act as a deep beam supported by the endwalls. This deep beam supports the tops of the sidewall columns when they are laterally loaded by wind pressure.
 
Diaphragm Design: The design of a post frame, including the roof truss, sidewall posts, endwalls, shear connectors, chord splices and ground anchorages, in which the diaphragm strength and stiffness are utilized to transfer applied horizontal loads to the ground.
 
Dimensional Lumber: Wood members from two nominal inches to, but not including, five nominal inches in thickness, and two or more nominal inches in width.
 
Door Guide: An angle or channel guide used to stabilize or keep plumb a sliding or rolling door during its operation.
 
Dual Pitch Roof: A gabled roof system where the slope on one side is steeper than the other.
 
Duration of Load: The period of continuous application of a given load, or the aggregate of periods of intermittent applications of the same load.
 
Dynamic Loads: Result from the dynamic effect of cranes, hoists and materials handling equipment.