Falling Out of Escrow
Situation where one of the parties is unable to satisfy the conditions of the purchase and sale contract.

False Advertising
Descriptive and misleading fashion of advertising.

False Header
1. Also referred to as clipped header, brick is cut, up to half its size, to set up a pattern.
2. Short length of lumber, which is fitted between two horizontal supports (joists).

False Personation
A criminal act of falsely representing another individual to gain profit or an advantage.

False Rafter
Normally used where a roofline has been changed this extension to a rafter goes over a cornice.

False Set
Concrete consistency lost within a short time of its mix.

Falsework
Structural supports, which are used only temporarily during construction.

Family Limited Partnership
A limited partnership whose interests are owned by member of the same family so that gift and estate taxes may be reduced, although the freedom or transferability of ownership is not available.

Family Room
Room in a home designed for leisure time that often includes a television and other entertainment amenities.

Fan
Device which consists of one or more revolving blades or vanes which are attached to a rotary hub and operated by a motor and is used to move air for cooling or to force air into the firebox of a boiler.

Fan, Axial
Small portable fan, in which the airflow and the fan shaft are parallel.

Fan Centrifugal
Often used in forced air heating and air conditioning systems, these quiet fans consist of a rotating, cylinder-shaped cage with lengthwise slots, into which pieces of metal are fitted, cut around the circumference of its outer wall. The cylinder rotates the blades, which move the air out through the slots, allowing it to exit vertically to the cage axis.

Fan Inlet Vanes
Blades placed at a fan opening (inlet) to direct and control airflow.

Fanlight
Technically, the term refers to a semi-circular window, in the shape of a fan, which is used over a window or door. However, the term has become used for any window over a window or door.

Fannie Mae
Federal National Mortgage Association, a congressionally chartered, shareholder-owned company that buys mortgages from lenders and resells them as securities on the secondary mortgager market.

Farad
A unit of electrical capacitance, equal to the amount that permits the storing of one coulomb of charge for each volt of applied potential. A measurement of the ability of a device to store an electrical charge.

Farm Credit Agency
An agency of the federal government that makes mortgage loans on rural property to farmers and to individuals who provide services to farmers and ranchers. Loans are made at below-market interest rates. Borrowers are required to purchase stock in their local land bank association, which serves as additional security for the loan.

Farmer's Home Administration (FMHA)
U.S. Department of Agriculture agency, which provides credit to qualified farmers and rural residents.

Fascia
1. Horizontal, flat trim pieces that are used around the outer end of roof rafters at eave/wall junctures.
2. Horizontal bands, with each band projecting out from a wall a bit more than the one below. This creates a tiered molding around a window or door.
3. Board connecting the ends of the roof rafters and providing a surface to support gutters.

Fascia Backer
The structural support to which fascia is attached. Fasten To join or attach. To secure, as by locking.

Fastener
Any means of holding two materials together. Screws, clips, nail, etc. fall into this category of hardware used to connect building materials.

Fastener Depression
Installation of sheetrock or wallboard, in which the nail or screw head depressions are improperly filled and still remain visible after finishing of the wallboard has taken place.

Fat Edge
Painting defect resulting from an excess of paint being applied to a vertical surface, so that the paint drips down and builds up on the edge of a surface. Paint that is applied in thin, even coats eliminates this unsightly defect.

Fat Lime
Also called rich lime, or quick lime, calcium oxide (CaO) is a caustic lime that is created by burning a pure or nearly pure limestone. It is mixed with water, making it putty-like in substance, and is used in finish coats of plastering.

Fat Mortar
Stick mortar that is rich in lime and contains a high percentage of cement.

Faucet
Valve mechanism, which is used to control the flow of water to a sink or other appliance.

Fault
1. Something that mars the appearance, character, structure, etc. A flaw.
2. A defect or point of defect in a circuit, which prevents the current from coming through.
3. A fracture in the earth's surface.

Faying Surfaces
Closely connected surfaces, such as in a tongue and groove, which is an interlocking joint.

FDIC
see Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.