Shopfront glossary
What the words on your quote mean.
| Awning | A retractable fabric cover projecting from the shopfront, shading the window and pavement. It can also carry the shop name along its front edge. |
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| Barrel | The horizontal tube at the head of a roller shutter that the curtain winds around. It may hold the springs on a manual shutter or a motor on an electric one. |
| Bi-fold | A door or screen with hinged leaves that fold and stack to one side, opening up most of the frontage in good weather. |
| Blind box | A housing built into the top of a shopfront that holds a retractable awning when closed. Traditional examples often sit within the fascia or cornice. |
| Bottom rail | The horizontal section at the foot of a shutter curtain. It adds stiffness and often carries the lock on manual shutters or the safety edge on powered ones. |
| Canopy | A fixed projecting roof over an entrance or walkway, usually in glass or metal. It can need planning permission as well as a highway licence. |
| Cill | The horizontal member at the bottom of a window, shaped to shed water. On a shopfront it usually sits on top of the stall riser. |
| Console | A scrolled or shaped bracket at the end of a fascia, similar to a corbel. It closes off the fascia neatly and often carries carved detail. |
| Corbel | A projecting bracket at the top of a pilaster that appears to support the cornice above. Corbels are a common decorative feature on older shopfronts. |
| Cornice | The projecting moulding along the top of the fascia. It finishes the shopfront and throws rainwater clear of the sign and glazing below. |
| Critical location | A part of a wall or door where people are more likely to hit the glass. In England, Approved Document K expects safety glazing or protection there. |
| Curtain | The moving part of a roller shutter, made of linked laths. It can be solid, perforated, punched or built as an open grille. |
| Curtain walling | A non-load-bearing glazed facade hung from the building structure, common on showrooms and offices. BS EN 13830 is the product standard. |
| Deemed consent | Automatic permission in the advertisement regulations for signs within set limits. In England, no application is needed if the sign stays within those limits. |
| Door closer | A device that returns a door to its closed position at a controlled speed, fitted on the surface or concealed. BS EN 1154 covers its performance. |
| Emergency exit device | A lever handle or push pad for escape doors used by people who know the building and its exits. BS EN 179 covers these devices. |
| Euro cylinder | The keyed part of many aluminium door locks. It slides into the lock case and can be changed without replacing the whole lock. |
| Express consent | Consent granted by the council after an application, for a sign that falls outside deemed consent. In England it usually lasts five years. |
| FD30 | A fire door rating meaning the doorset has been tested to hold back fire for 30 minutes. FD60 is the 60-minute equivalent. Both come from BS 476-22, and doors tested to BS EN 1634-1 are rated E30 or E60. |
| Fanlight | A glazed panel above a door or transom. Fanlights bring in extra daylight and often carry traditional lettering or leaded detail on older fronts. |
| Fascia | The horizontal band above the shop window that carries the shop name. Its depth is often controlled by council design guidance, especially on older streets. |
| Floor spring | A closing mechanism set into the floor under a door, controlling how it swings and closes. It also carries the weight of the door on a pivot. |
| Glazing bar | A slim bar dividing a window into smaller panes, typical of traditional timber fronts. In Scotland it is often called an astragal. |
| Guide rail | The vertical channel at each side of a roller shutter. The curtain runs up and down inside it, and the rail resists attempts to force it out. |
| Halo lighting | Lighting set behind solid letters so a glow appears on the background around them. It is a common choice for lit fascia lettering. |
| Impact class | A rating under BS EN 12600, which uses a pendulum test to show how flat glass behaves when struck. Safety glazing guidance refers to it. |
| Intumescent strip | A strip fitted to a fire door or its frame that swells when heated. It seals the gap around the door and helps hold back fire. |
| Laminated glass | Two or more panes bonded to a plastic interlayer that holds the glass together when it breaks. It is covered by BS EN 14449. |
| Lath | One of the interlocking strips that make up a roller shutter curtain. Laths are usually aluminium or steel, and damaged ones can often be replaced individually. |
| Listed building consent | Permission for work affecting the character of a listed building. It is separate from planning permission, and in England working without it is a criminal offence. |
| Manifestation | Markings on glass doors and screens that make the glass visible. In England, Approved Document K places them in bands at 850 to 1000 mm and 1400 to 1600 mm. |
| Manual override | A hand chain, crank or release that lets you open a powered shutter or door when the motor or power supply fails. |
| Mortice lock | A lock fitted into a pocket cut in the door edge, not on its surface. BS 3621 is the standard for domestic-style mortice locks. |
| Mullion | A vertical bar dividing panes of glass within a frame. Mullions help carry wind load and set the rhythm of the frontage. |
| Panic hardware | A horizontal bar across an exit door that releases the latch when pushed. BS EN 1125 covers it, and it suits people who may not know the door. |
| Patch fitting | A metal fitting clamped to the corner of a frameless glass door. Patch fittings hold the pivots and locks, so no door frame is needed. |
| Pilaster | A flat column at each side of a traditional shopfront. It frames the shop and appears to carry the fascia and cornice down to the pavement. |
| Plinth | The solid base at the foot of a pilaster. It takes the knocks and wet at pavement level, and is often stone or painted timber. |
| Powder coating | A dry paint powder sprayed onto metal and cured in an oven. It gives aluminium a tough, even finish in colours set by a system such as RAL. |
| Qualicoat | A quality label for coatings on architectural aluminium. It relates to the coating process and performance, and has nothing to do with choosing a colour. |
| RAL | A colour reference system with numbered shades, widely used for aluminium frames, shutters and powder coating. It sets the colour, not the quality of the finish. |
| Recessed entrance | A doorway set back from the building line, creating a small lobby. It shelters customers and can help with level access, but may need protecting out of hours. |
| Safety edge | A sensor strip along the bottom of a powered door or shutter. It stops or reverses the movement if it meets an obstruction. |
| Sealed unit | Two or more panes joined around the edge with a sealed gap between them, also called double glazing. When the seal fails, the unit mists inside. |
| Security glazing | Laminated glass tested to resist manual attack. BS EN 356 grades it from P1A to P5A by ball drop and P6B to P8B by axe. |
| Shutter box | The housing at the head of a shutter that holds the rolled-up curtain and barrel. It can sit inside the shop, outside it or behind the fascia. |
| Sightline | The visible width of a frame seen from the front. Slim sightlines mean less frame and more glass, which matters on a small frontage. |
| Soffit | The underside of a projecting part of a building, such as a recess ceiling or cornice. On a shopfront it often hides wiring and shutter gear. |
| Spacer bar | The strip around the edge of a sealed unit that holds the panes apart. Warm-edge spacers reduce heat loss at the edge of the glass. |
| Stall riser | The solid panel below the shop window, normally timber, brick, stone or tile. It lifts the glass off the ground and protects the frontage from knocks. |
| Thermal break | A strip of low-conductivity material, usually polyamide, joining the inner and outer parts of an aluminium frame. It reduces heat loss and cold surface condensation. |
| Threshold | The strip at the foot of a doorway where the inside floor meets the outside. For step-free access in England it should be level, or no more than 15 mm high. |
| Toughened glass | Glass heat-treated to make it far stronger than ordinary glass. It breaks into small, blunt pieces and is covered by BS EN 12150. |
| Transom | A horizontal bar across a glazed frame, separating upper and lower panes. In a shopfront it often divides the main window from the fanlight above. |
| Valance | The fabric strip hanging from the front edge of an awning. It usually carries the shop name and gives the awning a finished look. |