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Glossary of DIY Home Improvement Terms - G

This page of our online a to z glossary of DIY home improvement terms is for do-it-yourself terms beginning with the letter 'G'.

• G-clamp - G-shaped clamp with large screw for securing wood or metal to a workbench.
• Galley kitchen - Narrow kitchen formed by locating units on two sides of a corridor.
• Galvanized iron - Rust inhibitive zinc-coated iron.
• Garnet paper - A red-coloured abrasive.
• Gauge rod - A rod, marked in courses, to ensure accuracy when building a wall.
• Gel - A substance with a thick jelly-like consistency.
• Gland nut - Compression unit for sealing the spindle of a water tap.
• Glassfibre - Glass strands bonded together into a mat or cloth. When impregnated with a chemically setting resin, it forms a rigid structure.
• Glaze - A liquid finish, usually colourless, to which paint or pigrnents are added. Once applied to a surface, the glaze is worked with various tools and brushes to create decorative effects.
• Glazing - The process of fitting glass into windows or doors; the glass panes in window frames or doors.
• Gloss paint - Oil-based paint that provides a shiny finish. Gloss is used mainly for woodwork and metalwork, for interior and exterior surfaces.
• Glue gun - Gun-shaped device loaded with glue sticks, which it heats. The glue dries instantly on application.

  
  
  A glue gun

• Going - The horizonral measurement between the top and bottom risers of a stair or the depth of one tread.
• Grain - Direction of growth of wood fibres; decorative texture on the surface of timber.
• Grasscloth - Hessian, interwoven with strips of grass to form a sheet wallcovering material.
• Gravity circuit - A heating circuit which utilises the natural circulation properties of hot and cold water in pipework.
• Grommet - A ring of rubber or plastic used to line a hole to protect electrical cable from chafing.
• Groove - A long narrow channel cut in plaster or wood in the general direction of the grain. or To cut such channels.
• Grout - A thin mortar used in filling the joints and cavities between tiles.
• Grounds - Strips of wood fixed to a wall to provide nail-fixing points for skirting boards, door casings etc.
• Gullet - The notch formed between two saw teeth.
• Gusset - An angle bracket or brace of wood or metal used to strengthen a corner.
• Gutter - A plastic or metal trough attached to a building's edge to collect and conduct water.