| Aerosol droplet transmission | Transmission of infectious agents in droplets from respiratory secretions. |
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| ‘Active’ heating and cooling systems | ‘Active’ means a heating and cooling system that requires additional energy to make the house warmer or cooler; includes gas, fire and electricity systems. |
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| ARIA | Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia, an agreed numeric measure of how remote any town is within Australia |
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| ‘As-built’ drawings | A set of drawings that include all changes made during the construction process. |
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| (AP) Lands | Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands, an Aboriginal controlled area of land in the north west of South Australia |
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| AS | Australian Standard |
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| AS/NZS | Joint Australian and New Zealand Standard |
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| BCA | Building Code of Australia. The Building Code of Australia (BCA) is Volumes One and Two of the National Construction Code (NCC). The BCA is produced and maintained by the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) on behalf of the Australian Government and State and Territory Governments. The BCA has been given the status of building regulation by all States and Territories. |
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| Booster | Electric element that can be switched on to supplement (boost) the temperature of hot water (usually on solar hot water systems). |
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| Black water | Blackwater is a term used to describe wastewater containing faecal matter and urine. It is also known as foul water, or sewage. It is distinct from greywater or sullage, the residues of washing processes. |
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| Capstan | Level tap handles with a single outlet (spout) that can be used by people with limited mobility |
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| CCA | Copper Chrome Arsenate treatment for preserving timber |
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| CED | Common effluent disposal, waste water is treated in local septic tanks and combined into a ‘common’ effluent line and piped to a point for final disposal |
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| Certificate of completion | Documentation indicating a building is safe to inhabit. |
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| Certificate of compliance/certification | Document confirming correct construction and/or installation by a licensed tradesperson, for example electrical or water and drainage works. |
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| Check | Visual inspection to confirm the location of an item or to determine whether there are safety risks–for example, check there are hot and cold water taps specifically for the washing machine. |
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| Conduit | A tube or trough to protect electrical wiring. |
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| Convective cooling | Venting of high level hot air to draw in cooler air from lower levels. |
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| Crowding | When the population of the house regularly exceeds the capacity of functioning health hardware facilities of the house. |
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| Cyclical maintenance | Regular assessment and fixing of houses as opposed to emergency maintenance needed when things fail. For example, a cycle of maintenance that ensures a pre-summer fix and a pre-winter fix or an annual maintenance check of all houses. |
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Detailed drawing | Large-scale drawing showing exactly how components of a house are to be made. For example, a drawing may show a bathroom is three metres by four metres and the location of the bath, shower, window and door; a detailed drawing would show how the waterproofing of the floor meets the walls, the exact fall of tiles to the floor waste, and the location and heights of towel rails, hooks and soap holder. |
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ELCB | Earth leakage circuit breaker, may be similar to an RCD – residual current device. Both aim to disconnect the power supply before injury to people occurs. |
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Effluent | Waste water |
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| Flange | A covering piece usually associated with protecting water from entering the junction between a tap and a wall. |
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| Frog flap | A covering flap to a dry wastewater drainage pipe to prevent the entry into the house of ‘frogs’ or other insects or vermin. |
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| GPO | General Power Outlet, more commonly known as a power point. |
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| Grey water | Waste water from the shower, laundry, basins and kitchen. |
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| Health hardware | Originally used by Dr Fred Hollows to describe the physical equipment necessary for healthy, hygienic living. The equipment must have design and installation characteristics that allow it to function and to maintain or improve health status. In a water supply system, health hardware includes both the bore and the basin plug, as well as the shower rose, taps and drain. |
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| HWS | Hot water system/supply |
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| Impetigo | A bacterial skin infection characterized by microscopic, pus filled blisters. |
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| Incandescent | A light bulb that contains a filament which glows white (incandesces) when powered by an electrical current. |
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| International Protection (IP) rating | Scale indicating the capacity of electrical fittings to withstand environmental factors (water, salt, dust); the higher the rating, the better protected the fittings are from environmental harm and the greater the level of safety for residents. |
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| Lagged | Insulated. As used in the Guide this applies to hot water pipes. |
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| Load test | An electrical load applied to the electrical system of the house, to ensure all wiring and electrical fittings have been installed correctly and have not been damaged during the building process. |
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| Nib wall | A small wall at right angles to a main wall |
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| NOHSC | National Occupational Health and Safety Commission (Australian) |
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| No-volt relay | An electrical device that prevents the automatic re-starting of electrical appliances after power failure to reduce combined loads on generating systems, often used with air conditioners |
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| Package treatment system | A self contained system of tanks and pumps, usually for an individual house (but can apply to a small community), for treating both grey and black wastewater. |
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| Proprietary system | As used in this guide, usually refers to a pre-existing solution for a building component that can be purchased directly from a supplier and not needing to be designed and constructed by each project. For example a proprietary shelving system may contain the shelves, support brackets and wall fixing system that can be purchased as an item. |
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| mm | Millimetres |
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| Potable | Means safe to drink (usually associated with water). |
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| RCD | Residual current device, may be similar to an ELCB – residual current device. Both aim to disconnect the power supply before injury to people occurs. |
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| Resting trench | An additional wastewater disposal trench able to accept excess waste water at peak load times, which is designed to be empty at low load times. |
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| Rocker switch | A type of electrical switch. |
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| Sacrificial anode | A replaceable component of a material specifically selected for the prevailing water quality that corrodes before other parts of a hot water system, such as the element or cylinder. |
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| Safety switch | An electrical device to disconnect the power supply before injury to any person. May also be known as an RCD or ELCB |
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| Smoke alarm | A device that detects the presence of smoke and activates an alarm, also known as ‘smoke detector’. |
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| Specification | Written description of work usually accompanying a detailed drawing, particularly information that may not be easily shown on the drawing, for example type of kitchen bench material, fittings and method of waterproofing the kitchen sink. |
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| Structure, structural component | Structure of a building includes the parts needed for the structure to be stable, or to stand up. For example, floor beams and joists are structural components that support the floor, and if some were removed the floor would collapse, sag or move noticeably. |
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| Swale | A low earth mound, usually shaped to a common contour line, to help control water erosion. |
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| Test | Activity that can be performed by housing managers or residents, for example test power points using a power point tester available from electrical and major hardware stores. |
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| Thermal mass | Mass within a building such as brick, concrete, stone or earth that stores both heat and cold. |
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| Thermal performance | How efficiently a building can provide a comfortable living environment for residents, particularly when external conditions are extreme. |
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| Trade test | Requires a licensed tradesperson to conduct more complex or dangerous assessment of parts of a house or infrastructure.The licensed tradesperson should be able to certify, in writing, that the test has been conducted and that the item passed the test. |
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| Trench doming | Plastic hoop segments that have been designed to create underground effluent disposal soakage trenches |
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| Tundish | A way to collect usually small quantities or wastewater produced from hot water systems. |
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| UPK | Uwankara Palyanyku Kanyintjaku, the report title for a public and environmental health review produced in 1987 for the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands. Work in this report established the nine healthy living practices and the connections between the living environment and health. |
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