Sealants, Adhesives, and Fillers Glossary

What do the building and DIY terms on this site mean?

This glossary defines the trade and building terms that appear across Selleys' how-to guides and product pages — the words a data sheet or a set of instructions assumes you already know. Each definition below is Selleys' own.

If you are here because a product instruction used a term you did not recognise, the entries most often looked up are cure (what a sealant is doing after it skins), butt joint and abrade (surface preparation, which decides whether an adhesive holds).

Glossary of terms

Abrade

To roughen a surface with an abrasive such as steelwool or sandpaper usually to assist with adhesion when glueing.

Acoustic batts

Sound-insulating material used for noise reduction.

Adhesive

A substance capable of holding materials together by surface attachment. It is a general term and includes cements, and glue.

Architrave

The trim surrounding a door frame or window.

Batten

A length of squared timber or metal used to hold something in place or as fastening against a wall.

Bulkhead

Feature used to cover a change in ceiling heights. Often used in kitchens to define it as a separate area from the living and dining spaces.

Butt Joint

A simple type of joint, where two pieces of wood are ‘butted’ together; one piece is pushed against another and attached using nails, screws or glue, etc.

Clamps

Tools used to hold wooden components together while they are glued, until the glue has set. Also used to hold timber steady while it is worked on.

Cornice

A decorative moulding at the joint between an interior wall and a ceiling.

Cure

To change the properties of an adhesive by chemical reaction and thereby develop maximum strength.

Double glazing

Consists of two glass panels approximately 3mm-4mm thick, with a 10mm gap between them used for energy efficiency and noise reduction.

Easement

A right held by one person to make use of the land of another. For example, land set aside for drainage and sewerage pipes.

Eaves

The lower portion and edge of a roof that overhangs the walls.

Expanding Foam

A foam usually contained in an aerosol, that expands and hardens once sprayed from the container. It’s very useful for filling awkward gaps, cracks and cavities, and has many other uses from insulation to adhesion to waterproofing depending on the type of expanding foam. Be careful when using this product, due to its expanding nature, as it’s easy to use too much.

Expansion Joint

A gap left to allow expansion to occur in a structure. These are mainly in masonry walls or pathways, driveways etc. Expansion joints are usually filled with a flexible sealant

Fittings

Items that can be removed without damaging a property, such as garden ornaments, lighting and drapes.

Fixtures

Items that are attached to the property and cannot be removed without causing damage to the property, such as bathroom suites, built-in wardrobes and kitchen stoves.

Jamb

The vertical and pieces of a door frame that the door is pushed against when closed. From the French Jambe for ‘leg’.

Joist

Big, strong, lengths of material, made from timber, concrete or metal, that support roofs, ceilings and floors. The floorboards in your home are attached to these.

Laminating (Timber)

The glueing of two or more pieces of timber to together to build up the timber thickness

Mechanical Fastener

A mechanical fastener is something used to assist in holding materials together. Some examples are Nails, Screws, Bolts.

Mitre Joint

A simple joint used for 90 degree joins such as in architraves,door jambs, gyprock cornice etc where the ends to be joined are cut at 45 degree angles

Riser

The back peice of a step which rises up to meet the underside of the tread above. It can also run down from the front of a concrete tread onto the tread below. This is called a Step & riser down.

Stringer

A timber or other support for cross members in decks. In stairs, the support on which the stair treads rest.

Tread

The flat part of a step that you walk on.

Terms that matter most when choosing a product

Cure is the one worth understanding properly. A sealant or adhesive that has skinned over is not cured — it has formed a surface film while the material underneath is still reacting. Selleys' data sheets give the two figures separately for that reason, and the difference decides when a joint can take water or load.

Abrade matters because most adhesive failures are bond-line failures rather than material failures. Roughening a smooth surface gives the adhesive something to key into.

Butt joint describes the weakest common timber joint — the end grain offers little for glue to hold — which is why Selleys' woodworking guidance so often pairs glue with a mechanical fixing.

Common questions

What is the difference between curing and drying?

Drying is solvent or water leaving the product. Curing is a chemical reaction that develops strength — Selleys defines it as changing the properties of an adhesive by chemical reaction to develop maximum strength. A product can feel dry long before it has cured.

Why does surface preparation keep coming up?

Because adhesion is a surface property. Abrading gives mechanical key, and cleaning removes the oils and dust that otherwise sit between the adhesive and the substrate.

Where are these terms used?

Throughout the how-to guides and on the product pages, particularly in the directions and limitations sections of technical data sheets.