| L cut |
 |
A piece of tile cut or shaped to the letter L.
|
| Laitance |
|
A layer of weak and nondurable material containing cement and fines from aggregates, brought by bleeding water to the top of overwet concrete; the amount of which is generally increased by overworking or overmanipulating concrete at the surface by improper finishing or by job traffic.
|
| Lap |
|
The length by which one bar or sheet of fabric reinforcement overlaps another.
|
| Latex |
|
A water emulsion of a synthetic rubber or plastic obtained by polymerization and used especially in coatings and adhesives.
|
| Latex-portland cement grout |
|
A portland cement grout with a special latex additive which results in a less rigid, less permeable grout than regular portland cement grout.
|
| Latex-portland cement mortar |
|
A 'mixture of portland cement, sand, and special latex additives which is used for bonding tile to back-up material. It is less rigid than portland cement mortar.
|
| Lath |
|
A wood strip or metal mesh, which acts as a background or reinforcing agent for the scratch coat or mortar coat. (TCA)
|
| Layout stick |
|
A long strip of wood marked at the appropriate joint intervals for the tile to be used. It is used to check the length, width, or height of the tilework. A common name for this item is idiot stick.
|
| Leadless glaze |
|
A ceramic coating matured to a glassy state on a formed article, or the material or the mixture from which the coating is made, to which no lead has been deliberately added. (ASTM C 21) NOTE: This does not imply that the glaze is nontoxic or that it contains no lead. Because of plant practices and conditions, a small percentage of lead,, 0.1 to 0.2% (by dry weight), expressed as lead monoxide, may be present.
|
| Leg |
|
A tile wall running alongside a bathtub or abutment. This term sometimes is used to describe a narrow strip of tile floor.
|
| Leveling coat |
|
See Plumb scratch.
|
| Light duty tile |
|
Tile suitable for limited pedestrian traffic such as entryways in single family residences.
|
| Lime |
|
Specifically, calcium oxide (CaO); also, loosely, a general term for the various chemical and physical forms of quicklime, hydrated lime and hydraulic hydrated lime.
|
| Limestone |
|
A sedimentary carbonate rock, composed chiefly of calcite (Ca C0~, but sometimes containing appreciable dolomite. (ASTM C 21)
|
| lippage |
|
a condition where one edge of a tile is higher than an adjacent tile giving the finished surface an uneven apperance
|
| Live load |
|
Any load that is not permanently applied to a structure.
|
| Load-bearing wall |
|
A wall designed and built to carry superimposed vertical and shear loads as opposed to nonload-bearing walls.
|
| Loss on ignition |
|
The percentage loss in weight of a sample ignited to constant weight at a specified temperature, usually 900-1000 C.
|
| Lugs |
|
See Self-spacing tile.
|
