Plat
Plan or map of a specific land area, showing the boundaries of individual properties.

Plat Book
Public record of maps showing the division of streets, blocks and lots and providing the measurements of the individual parcels.

Plat Map
Map showing land, with township, streets, improvement, lot lines, etc., within a specific area.

Plate
1. Smooth, flat, thin piece of metal or other material and used on a wall or door as a protective cover.
2. Horizontal framing piece that forms the top or bottom of a framed wall with studs being fastened to the bottom plate, which is already attached to the subfloor) and rafters and joists being fastened to the top plate.
3. Covering one material with a thin coating of another, which bonds to it.

Plate Cut
Angle cut in a rafter that permits it to fit into the top plate of a wall instead of balancing on it.

Plate Girder
Structural piece consisting of a build up of steel plates and angle iron which are attached together, forming a strong, lightweight section.

Plate Glass
Large smooth sheets of ground and polished glass, 1/16 inch thick or more, which are used for large expanses of glass, where strength and thickness is needed.

Plate Rail
The bottom fence rail, which is supported by a concrete foundation, and to which the rest of the fence is fastened.

Platen
Electric resistance welding machine part which puts force, during welding, on the parts being welded.

Platform
1. A raised horizontal surface of wood, stone, metal, etc.
2. Raised flooring or stage for performers.
3. A statement of principals and policies.

Platform Framing
House framing which has the wall framing resting on top of the subfloor with each story being built up as a separate unit. Balloon framing, another type, has the studs running from the bottom of the first floor to the top of the second floor.

Platform Stairway
Stairway which has a landing or a change of direction between floors. Platinum Steel, gray, malleable, ductile metallic chemical element, resistant to corrosion; used for ignition fuses, acid proof containers, jewelry, etc. Atomic Number 78. Atomic Weight 195.09.

Platted Land
Property that has been segregated into parts.

Play
Free movement that exists in a mechanism that is not, at that time, working.

Pleadings
Formal allegations by all of the parties to an action including complaints, answers and replies to counterclaims.

Pledged Account Mortgage (PAM)
Type of home purchase loan under which a sum of cash contributed by the owner is set aside in an account pledged to the lender. The account is drawn down during the initial years of the loan to supplement periodic mortgage payments. The effect is to reduce the payment amounts in early years.

Pledgee
Individual to whom a mortgage or property is pledged.

Pledgor
Individual who is responsible for making the payments on a mortgage on property that has been pledged.

Plenum
1. Container designed to contain compressed gas, when the pressure surrounding the container is less than that within.
2. HVAC system accumulation and distribution chamber for connection of ducts.

Plexiglass
Trademark for a transparent plastic material made of methyl ethacrylate, which is used on windows and the inner panes of double pane storm windows.

Pliable
1. Easily bent or molded.
2. Flexible.
3. Easily influenced or persuaded; tractable.
4. Adaptable; readily adjusting.

Pliers
Small pincers in a variety of forms, often with serrated jaws, which are used to grip small objects.

Plinth
1. The square block at the base of a pedestal or column.
2. A course of brick or stone along the base of a wall.
3. A flat block at the base of door trim.
4. The base that holds a statue.

Plot
Parcel of land or small lot.

Plot Plan
Scale diagram showing the proposed or existing use of a specific parcel of land; the location of the structure in comparison to the boundaries of the property, utility services, compass directions, etc.

Plottage
The combining of several smaller contiguous land lot to make a larger, more useful and valuable piece.

Plottage Value
The result of combining two or more parcels of land so that the one larger parcel has more value than the sum of the individual parcels.

Plough
Cutting a groove along the wood grain of a board, like the rectangular groove that is but into a piece of wood for the insertion of the end of another piece.

Plow
Any of the various tools, such as a wood plane, used for cutting a groove or a furrow in wood.