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UK House Buyers Glossary - F

This page of our online a to z glossary is for UK house buyers terms beginning with the letter 'F'.

• Fascia Board - a wide board which carries the gutter round the eaves of a building.
• False Ceiling - a ceiling built with a gap between it and the floor above. A false ceiling is created to provide space for cables and pipes or to lower the height of the room.
• Finial - a carved or moulded ornament on top of a pinnacle, gable or spire.
• Fireback - the wall behind a fire.
• Firring - these are strips of wood on the inside of a brick, stone, or concrete wall to give a level surface for adding boarding, etc.
• Fixed rate mortgage - with a fixed rate mortgage the interest charged on a mortgage is a fixed amount over a set period (perhaps two years).
• Flashing - metal which is placed at the joints between walls and the roof to prevent water entering through the gaps.
• Floor Loading - the weight that the structure of a floor is capable of safely supporting.
• Footings - courses of brickwork or masonry resting on the foundations. Footings are made wider than the walls in order to give greater strength.
• Foundations - the lowest part of a building, that transmits the weight of a building to the ground on which it is built. Foundations are usually made of concrete and are made wide to spread the load over a greater area.
• Framing - the timber or steel skeleton of a building.
• Freehold - when a property is freehold it means that you have outright ownership of property and the land on which it stands.
• Fresco - an artistic decoration made by an artist with water colour on fresh plaster.
• Full structural survey - the most comprehensive, and therefore most expensive, survey available. A full structural survey will examine all aspects of a property.