RoofIt protects the house from the weather. This slope faces the street.
ChimneyPart of the heating system that sticks up out of the roof.
DormerA small roofed structure that projects from a sloping roof. It usually has a window and lets light in.
GableThe triangular part of a wall between a roof's two slopes.
GutterIt collects the rain at the bottom of the roof. It sends the rain to the downspout.
FasciaThe upright band along the edge of the roof. The gutter is fastened to it.
DownspoutRainwater from the gutter flows down it to the ground.
Walls and entrance 7
SidingThe material that covers the outside of the walls. Long overlapping boards like these are called clapboard or lap siding.
Corner boardUpright trim at a corner of the house. The siding butts against it.
WindowAn opening in the wall, filled with glass, that lets in light.
ShuttersPanels on the outside, one each side of a window. Working shutters close over the glass to protect it.
DoorThe door people come and go by. It stands in a frame in the wall.
PorchThe covered part of the entrance. It shelters the door and the people at it.
FoundationThe base the walls stand on. Most of it is below the ground.
How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30 and kept only where two independent sources use it for that part. Read in full: (1) The Visual Dictionary of House and Do-It-Yourself (QA International), the plate 'exterior of a house' and its definitions, https://archive.org/details/the-visual-dictionary-of-house-and-do-it-yourself ; (2) Wikipedia, Siding (construction), Fascia (architecture), Soffit, Dormer, Gable, Porch, Eaves, Window shutter, Rain gutter, Downspout (text only). Read through archive.org's full-text search (passages, not whole pages): (3) Floyd Vogt, Carpentry (Thomson Delmar Learning, 2006), https://archive.org/details/carpentry0000vogt_g3o0 ; (4) James E. Brumbaugh, Complete Siding Handbook (Macmillan, 1987), https://archive.org/details/completesidingha00brum . Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work
How it works
The exterior parts of a house, on one drawing seen from the street. The right-hand block shows its roof slope. The wing on the left turns its gable toward you.
Read the full guide
Along the roof
The chimney rises through the roof and a dormer stands up out of the slope. At the bottom edge, a gutter hangs on the fascia and empties into the downspout. On the wing, the triangle of wall under the two slopes is the gable.
The walls and the way in
Siding covers the walls and stops against a corner board at each corner. Shutters hang beside a window. A porch covers the door, and the foundation carries it all.
Parts of a home often go by two names: a downspout is also a leader, and siding is also cladding.
The roof has a page of its own for the ridge, eaves, rake and soffit.
Questions and answers
What is the board under the edge of a roof called?
The fascia. It is the upright band that runs along the edge of the roof, and the gutter is fastened to it. The underside of the overhang behind it is the soffit.
What is the triangle at the top of a house wall called?
A gable. It is the triangular part of a wall between the two slopes of the roof. Gable end or gable wall means the whole wall, triangle included.
What is the covering on the outside walls of a house called?
Siding, or wall cladding. Long boards laid so each one overlaps the board below are called clapboard or lap siding.
What is the window that sticks out of a roof called?
A dormer. It is a small roofed structure, usually holding a window, that projects from a sloping roof. It lets light into the rooms under the roof.