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old hand
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old hand
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Hi helen, it's good to see you back!  I understand the "catwalks" of which you speak but they are uncommon enough here that I can't think of a word for them. The "private terrace" you describe, I would call a balcony. I think that's our British heritage seeping in. I think of a deck as necessarily being made of wood, and a patio being close to the ground, and not made of wood. Usually stone, I guess, or cement.
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addict
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addict
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There is a term for a corridor such as this; it is called a VERANDAH.
I have heard this term applied to houses and public buldings (museums/libraries) and I don't quite see why it can't be similarly used for the external walkways of apartments.
A verandah (I think it must have a Portuguese root; AnnaS might know more)is a long paved corridor running along the entire length of the front of the house/building. Akin to an extended front porch. It has a roof but is otherwise open to the elements; it also usually has a decorative balustrade or a parapet interrupted by columns which support the cantilevered roof. A fine example of one such is the commonly called 'front porch' of the New York Public Library.
Might we use this term for the exterior corridors of high-rises? Back at you, board! tsuwm?
[aside]My understanding of some of the terms used above:
A terrace is not always paved; it could even be a terraced garden. A patio is always paved.
A balcony is a smallish roofed patio, attached almost like an outgrowth, to the upper storeys of buildings (both apartments and multi storeyed houses). It is usually an extension of a bedroom or of the living room to the outside, and has access only from the 'inside' of the room.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Holy cow, I hardly know where to start! This reminds me of our discussion on stoops.
2 or 3 story motels
Ok, thanks, Helen, now I know what you mean. I've always just called it the walkway, when I've called them anything, though when the hotel room doesn't have an actual, private balcony on the other side I've called it a balcony, too. Hmm--I guess when I'm standing or sitting on it, it's a balcony, but if I'm giving directions, I'll say, "Go down the walkway...".
maahey, I don't think they could be called verandahs: verandahs by definition are porches, and porches by definition (mine) have to be built on the ground. I've only ever been one place where there is what I would call a terrace (for lack of anything better, mainly); it is an elevated patio overlooking the lake. Dang--what makes a terrace a terrace, anyway? If it had been made of wood and not cement, I'd have called it a deck, no doubt.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I wouldn't call the motel walkway y'all are talking about a catwalk; the distinguishing characteristic of a catwalk, by definition, is that it's *narrow; like those above the stage, or the pathway along the side of a bridge. these are better suited to cats walking! (we have a brick fascia on the lower portion of the house that creates a narrow ledge at window level on the first floor. cats (and squirrels) like to walk on it. we call *that a catwalk.)
-ron o.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Going back up a few posts:
When I lived for a year near Tacoma, Washington, the houses didn't have garages. Instead there was a projection of roof from the side of the house, open on three sides and supported on the far side by a couple of posts. It covered the side door and the end of the driveway so as to shelter a car [sure does rain a lot in the Pacific Northwest] and permit passengers to go from house to car or the other way without getting wet.
That's what we called a "breezeway".
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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> which leads me to ask: flies? Jo?
The flies is the area to the side of the stage where the flying equipment is based in a traditional theatre design, sometimes in a fly tower. In other words the counterweighted balance system, usually up at a high level where the fly operator can bring the big backdrops and occasionally, Peter Pan, in and out of the stage area.
It's a good place to watch out for ghosts -
www.britishtheatreguide.info/articles/020298.htm
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Pooh-Bah
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"there was a projection of roof from the side of the house, open on three sides and supported on the far side by a couple of posts. It covered the side door and the end of the driveway so as to shelter a car [sure does rain a lot in the Pacific Northwest] and permit passengers to go from house to car or the other way without getting wet."
I would call that a 'car port', which term I thought was originally imported here from the western side of the pond.
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old hand
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old hand
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what makes a terrace a terrace, anyway?
It occurred to me that my own definitions for these words depend heavily on three things: (1) what it's made of, (2) whether it's at ground level or not, and (3) whether it has a roof (or the floor of another level) overtop, or it's open to see the sky. Based on these, I think my personal definitions are:
Terrace: concrete or stone, no roof, at any height
Balcony: concrete or stone, "roof" consisting of the balcony above, higher than ground level, can be recessed or "sticking out" of the building
Patio: concrete or stone, at or very near (less than a metre or so) ground level, no roof
Deck: Wood, at or very near ground level, no roof
Verandah: ground level, made of wood, the roof is an extension of the house's roof.
I still don't have a word for helen's walkway/catwalk. Furthermore, what is that same thing called when it's on the inside of, say, a mall? We must've all seen two-story malls where the middle section is open, sometimes there are fountains, and you can lean over the railing and look at the shoppers below, and you make your way around on the second floor on a very wide version of helen's catwalk.
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Carpal Tunnel
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My daughter lives in "The Terraces" at Ithaca College. Those terraces are 'terraces' because they are buildings with levels set into the hillside.
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