If you are new to working in the construction industry the amount of terminology can be daunting to get to grips with. To help inform you we have created a glossary with some commonly used plant hire and construction terms.

• Aggregate is one of the main substances used to make concrete. Aggregate is made from a mixture of ground sand and stone.


• Belt sanders are used for sanding rough surfaces. Belt sanders have two rollers the first is motorised while the second helps to move the belt along with the others motion.


• Chain Pitch is the distance measured between three consecutive rivets divided by two.


• A Disc Sander is a sander with a rotating sanding disc positioned on an arbour.


• An Elastometer is a substance with stretchy, elastic properties. Examples include natural and synthetic rubber.


• A Façade is the front of a building. The term is often also used to describe an artificial front added to a building.


• Gauge is used to measure the thickness of metals and wires.


• A Hawse is a fixed guide used to help retrieve wire rope in winches.


• Infiltration is used to describe the flow of unwanted air into a home when measuring heat loss and efficiency.


• Joint Cement is an agent that is mixed with water and applied to wooden joints to treat them.


• Kickback is when a chain saw temporarily loses control due to contact between the top of the chain and an unintended surface or because of problems with the tension of the chain.


• A Lubricator is part of a pneumatic tool that adds lubricant into the system.


• MIG Welders (or metal inert gas welders) are different to normal welders in that the welding rod is fed a continuous roll through the handle.


• A Nipple is a short length of tubing or piping.


• Orbital Sanders use an orbital, circular motion to smooth edges.


• A Pass in welding is a single phase of a welding operation along one joint.


• RPM stands for revolution per minute and is often used to measure the speed of chainsaws and circular saws.


• Spatter is the name for particles of metal which fly off surfaces whilst welding.


• Ternerplate is sheet metal coated with lead and tin to form an alloy.


• Uprights are props used to support the sides of trenches.


• VMU stands for a visual mock up which is a model of a forthcoming project.


• Weld Metal is the part of metal which has melted during welding.