Balloon Frame - A method of timber frame construction popular in America during the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth centuries. All vertical load-baring elements consist of continuous tall members called studs which extend the full height of the frame.
 

 
Baluster - A miniature column or other form of upright which, in series, supports a stair handrail or porch railing.
Bargeboard - A board which hangs from the projecting end of a roof and outlines the gables; often elaborately carved and ornamented.
 

Baroque - An architectural style prevalent in Italy, Germany and Austria in the 17th and 18th centuries; characterized by an interpenetration of oval spaces; curved surfaces; and prominent use of ornament, sculpture and color.

 
Battlement - a low wall rising above a roof and consisting of alternating solid and open areas. Historically, battlements were defensive features of fortresses; later they were used as decorative features on Gothic and Gothic Revival style buildings.
 

 

 
Beveled Glass - Decorative glass with thick panes cut and beveled (cut at a 45 degree angle) on the edges to create a prism-like effect.
Board and Batten Siding - a type of exterior wooden siding composed of vertical boards. The joints between the boards are covered by narrow vertical strips called battens.
Bousillage - A mixture of Spanish moss, mud and sometimes animal hair which was placed between wooden timbers to create the walls of Creole houses.
 

 

 

Boxed Column - A supporting column which is square shaped rather than circular, usually with a Doric capital.

Braced Frame-  a heavy timber frame with one or more diagonal members (braces) to keep the structure upright and from sliding to one side or the other.
Bracket - An overhanging supporting member which projects from beneath a shelf, cornice or eave. Brackets are sometimes in the shape of an inverted L and are often used as decoration.
Buttress - In Gothic architecture, a thickening out-jutting of the wall to support an overhead beam or roof arch.

 

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