Building permit procedures have been simplified in recent years. This helps to speed up the process if the building project is completely in accordance with the development plan and the technical requirements and if the development is secured. The building documents must be submitted to the municipalities.

The building application must be submitted with all documents in triplicate. The associated construction plans must be prepared by an authorised person. The local authority checks the application in advance and forwards it to the competent licensing authority. After the examination, the permit can usually be granted after two to three months.

Deposit of a certain value, e.g. money, securities as collateral (custody account) for a possible obligation that might arise from the violation of a right, e.g. non-compliance with a contract.

Scheduled reduction of the building value in bookkeeping and cost accounting. Depreciation takes into account the technical, economic and fashionable age depreciation of a building. Depreciation can be considered as an expense for tax purposes. As a rule, depreciation amounts are calculated either according to the acquisition value or the remaining book value.

The spacer contains a drying agent to dehumidify the volume of air or gas enclosed in the hermetically sealed space between the panes and to prevent fogging of the inner pane surfaces. In the case of spacers made of hollow profiles, it is filled in loose form during insulating glass production; the spacer profiles are then usually perforated towards the space between the panes. With other spacer systems, the drying agent is incorporated into the material.

All measures which are necessary for the construction of the house, but which are not in the building plot itself. E.g. the connection to the water and waste water supply as well as the connection to the gas, electricity or telephone network. In general, the municipality is responsible for these connections. The property owner will share the costs according to the municipal fee schedule.

The dew point, also known as the dew point temperature, is the temperature of humid air that must be kept below the dew point at unchanged pressure in order for water vapour to be separated as dew or mist. At the dew point, the relative humidity is 100%. The air is then saturated with water vapour. The more water vapour the air contains, the higher is its dew point temperature. The dew point can therefore be used to determine the absolute humidity.

The designations DIN Left and DIN Right refer to the arrangement of the strips on a window, i.e. whether they are arranged on the right or left. In order to determine the DIN directions of a window or door, one must stand on the side of the window where the hinges are located or where the hinges are visible.

Abbreviation DIN EN 13556: PSMN

Botanical name: Pseudotsuga menziesii, family Pinaceae

Distribution: west coast of North America, in Europe, Chile and New Zealand cultivated trade names: Douglas fir, Douglas fir (D); Douglas fir, Oregon pine; Douglas vert (FR); douglasia (IT).

Short description
Oregon Pine, Red fir or Yellow fir, as Pseudotsuga menziesii is called in North America, is one of the most important tree species supplying sawn timber in its natural area of distribution. Very good growth characteristics in native locations made the Douglas fir, as it is called in Germany, also interesting for European forestry.

The first stands were planted in Germany at the end of the 19th century. Today, the Douglas fir accounts for approximately 1.7 % of Germany's total forest area, or 179,607 hectares. Douglas firs cultivated outside their natural range are mostly characterized by a high proportion of juvenile wood with broad annual rings and a high proportion of branches, which significantly distinguishes the wood characteristics from fine-grained wood from North America.

Oregon pine is one of the tallest trees on earth, trunks from virgin forest stands usually 20 m knotless and 0.9 to 1.5 m thick, round and straight-edged.

Color and structure
The sapwood is white to yellowish-grey and, depending on the age of the tree, narrow to wide. It is thus distinguished from the core, which is light yellow-brown to reddish-brown in fresh condition and darkens considerably. The abrupt alternation of early and late wood within an annual ring results in pronounced grain on the tangential surfaces and contrasting stripes on the radial surfaces. Depending on age, native, young stands tend to form broad annual rings (5 to 10 mm). Fine-grained qualities (1 to 3 mm) are imported from North America. The small scattered resin channels are hardly visible in fine-grained material and contain a very volatile resin. This gives fresh wood in particular a pungent aromatic and unique smell.

Overall character
Straight grained structured wood, sometimes very decorative, but rich in knots.

Deviations
European qualities, with a high proportion of juvenile wood and knots, do not yet correspond to the qualities of imported wood.

Machinability
The workability of Douglas fir is essentially dependent on the width of the annual rings. Narrow-ringed wood can be worked very well. Wider growth rings and knots increase the inhomogeneity of the fabric and thus the risk of splitting, chipping or fibre tearing during nailing, screwing or planing and profiling. Fine qualities are easy to cut. After removal of any resin residues, bonding is just as good as surface treatment is problem-free. The impregnability of the heartwood, however, is poor. Contact with iron ions triggers pronounced grey-black discolouration reactions in Douglas fir.

Drying
Douglas fir can be dried technically well and quickly. Mild drying and subsequent storage for as long as possible are recommended to avoid intensive resin leaks.

Natural durability (DIN-EN 350-2)
The natural durability according to DIN EN 350 is classified in class 3-4 for European wood and in class 3 for wood from North America without restrictions, depending on the origin.

Areas of application
The Douglas fir is suitable for outdoor use without ground contact as well as for decorative use indoors. The wood is mainly used in gardening and landscaping, for children's playgrounds, exterior cladding (facades) and in the USA as weatherproof glued building plywood, as well as for frame construction, floors and stairs. Fine qualities are in demand for sailing boat masts and decorative veneers.

Remarks
Due to similar trade names of some firs (Fir from the USA), confusion may occur between the different ranges. Contained terpenes, are allergenic.

Douglas fir - Technical properties
Weight fresh640 - 800 kg/m³
Bulk density air-dry (12-15% u)0.35 - 0.51 - 0.77 g/cm³
Compressive strength u12-1542 - 68 N/mm²
Flexural strength u12-1570 - 100 N/mm²
Modulus of elasticity (bending) u12-1511 000 - 13 200 N/mm²
Hardness (JANKA) ⊥, converted3.1 - 7.3 kN
Hardness (BRINELL) ⊥ to fiber u12-1517 - 30 N/mm²
Differential shrinkage (radial)0.15 - 0.19 %
Differential shrinkage (tangential)0.24 - 0.39 %pH-Wert≈ 3.66
Natural durability (DIN-EN 350-2)Class 3 - 4(Eu), 3(nAm)

A front door must meet many requirements: In the best case, an entrance door offers a friendly reception, matches the style of the house and its inhabitants visually and is equipped with good thermal insulation.

Lift and slide doors as a modern and elegant version of the balcony door, in combination with other floor-level elements, are part of a modern facade design. Due to the large window area, these doors allow more light into the rooms and the living area to appear more spacious. In addition, lift and slide doors ensure a smooth transition from inside to outside. Due to this barrier-free design, they are also suitable for older people or people with disabilities.

Lift and slide doors can only be pushed open by the closing mechanism and not tilted.