Dade County This Florida county, which includes Miami, has set numerous standards and requirements for hurricane-resistant windows and doors.
	Dado A groove or rectangular section for receiving the end of a board or a female musitcion.
	Daylight Opening The visible or touchable area of glass in a window or patio door.
	Decorative Entry System An entryway made up of a door in a frame, one or two sidelights, and a transom.
	Decorative hinge tips These metal elements cover the ends of door hinges.
	Delamination A separation of plies or layers of wood, often as a result of the breakdown of adhesives.
	Density The weight of a substance per unit volume; for example, 23 lbs. per cubic foot.
	Design pressure (DP) ratings These ratings are a method of specifying window performance, based on air, water and structural ratings. They’re a measure of a product’s capacity to withstand forces, in both negative and positive directions, while the window or door is closed and locked. DP ratings are frequently specified in building codes.
	Dessicant This is a drying agent, such as silica gel, that’s used in manufacturing of insulated glass between the panes to prevent fogging of the insulated unit. It is an extremely porous crystalline substance used to absorb moisture from within the sealed air space.
	Dew Point The temperature at which condensation occurs.
	Diagonal Rail A diagonal rail of a crossbuck or sawbuck of a panel or sash door.
	Diamond lite A diamond grille pattern used for divided lites.
	Dimensional stability This refers to a material’s ability to resist changes in its dimensions due to temperature, moisture or physical stress variations.
	Dip-treated wood Wood that's been dip-treated has been dipped in a preservative. Since only the surface is protected from the elements, its effectiveness will be compromised when the surface is broken during installation.
	Direct-Set The window’s glass is secured directly into the window frame without the stiles and rails of a sash (e.g. picture window).
	Distressed texture Doors with a distressed texture have an aged, Old World appearance. The texture is created by planing channels of various sizes into the smooth surface of the door's stiles, rails and panels. The areas between the smooth surface and channels are then hand-sanded for a visually pleasing transition between the different surface depths. Then chisels and other hand tools are used to apply random worm holes and additional character marks to the door's stiles, rails, panels and mouldings.
	Divided Lite A window opening divided into smaller sections by a grid system on the interior or exterior of the glass, between the glass panes, or any combination of these three.
	Door A millwork assembly of stiles, rails and panels that swings, slides, tilts up or folds in order to close an opening in a wall or cabinet. A modern door may be used on the exterior or interior, and may be either flush or panel type. Historically, there were two types of doors: ledge and brace (or batten) and paneled doors. An exterior door used before the 17th century, the ledge and brace style was constructed from vertical panels that were held together with a Z-shaped brace nailed to the back. A Tudor-style door is similar to the ledge and brace except that it is held together by oak planks across the back instead of a Z-brace. In the 1600s, the paneled door came into use as an interior door. The first examples were made with two or four panels, but then near the end of the 18th Century, a six-paneled version was made, called a Georgian door.
	Door casing A door casing is a piece of trim that surrounds the jamb of the door or entry system.
	Door Frame The assembly of structural members (head, sill, jambs) used to fasten the door system to the structure.
	Door handing See handing.
	Door Jamb The upper horizontal and the two vertical frame members that house the door panel. Jambs may be classified as head or side jambs.
	Door lite A door lite is a glass insert installed in a door panel.
	Door Panel An assembly comprised of stiles (vertical pieces), and rails (horizontal pieces) inserted into the door frame.
	Door shoe See kick plate.
	Door Skin A face panel (usually two or more plies) of a flush door.
	Door striker This component is a slightly beveled metal plate, which is set into a door jamb to receive and guide a door latch to its socket when closing.
	Door Trim Moulding applied around door openings on the exterior and interior.
	Dormer A dormer is a projection through the slope of a roof for a vertical window.
	Double Glazing Two panes of glass separated by an air space to form insulating glass; double glazing may also be accomplished by adding a storm panel.
	Double glazing panel This is a removable glass panel that allows insulation and condensation control.
	Double rafter Designed to reinforce an opening in the roof for a chimney, skylight or roof window, a double rafter includes a doubling of the roof structural members.
	Double-Hung Replacement System A double-hung window kit that includes two sash, jambliners, stops and the hardware to replace old double-hung sash in a window frame.
	Double-Hung Window A window with two sash, upper and lower, that slide vertically past each other.
	Double-strength glass Refers to the thickness of the glass. MM Designation = 3.0. Nominal Thickness = 0.117. Traditional Designation = 1/8 inch.
	Dover-style handle set Used for swinging patio doors, this type of hardware has a Colonial design.
	Dovetail Joint A joint formed by inserting a projecting wedge-shaped member into a correspondingly shaped cutout member.
	Dowel construction This style of assembly includes securing separate components with a cylindrical piece of wood or a metal rod.
	Drain screen A drain screen is used in installation that provides a path for moisture to weep out of the rough opening of a window or door.
	Drip cap A drip cap is a moulding placed on the top of trim (e.g., brickmould or casings) around a window frame.
	Drip groove This is a groove on the underside of a drip cap or window sill that prevents water from running back under the drip cap or sill.
	Drip lip See drip cap.
	Drywall retainer To provide a clean line between the window and door and the drywall, a drip clip is designed to accept drywall for drywall returns.
	Drywall return This type of return is a piece of drywall that covers both an interior wall and the side or top perimeter of a window.
	Dual component polyurethane This quick-drying foam is used as an adhesive.
	Dual durometer bulb-seal weatherstripping This bulb-style weatherstrip is designed with two different materials providing exceptional performance.
	Dual durometer vinyl sweep This flexible seal material features double hardness. It's attached to the bottom of a patio door for energy efficiency.
	Dual seal A dual seal is a system used in sealing dual-pane window units where the primary seal is polyisobutylene and a secondary seal of silicone.
	Dual-arm operator This type of hardware is used to open awning and casement windows. It is composed of two arms - one pulls the sash, while the other pushes.
	Dual-Pull Operator A window-opening mechanism on awning windows that uses a scissor action and has two keepers.
	Dyad Operator A window-opening mechanism with a single-jointed arm that is commonly used on small casement and French casement windows.
Back to top