Peak Load
Time that the highest electrical load is in use.

Pebble Texture
Small drops of compounds are sprayed on drywall and flattened with a trowel or lefts as is. 

Pedestal
1. The bottom support of a vase, lamp, column, table, etc.
2. Vertical column. 

Pedestal Floor
Removable floor panels, which are held on pedestals, so that a space is available for cable or ducts to be installed beneath.

Pedestal Floor, Gridless 
Floor with removable panels with pedestal support for the panels at the four corners with no grid supports between panel edges. 

Pedestal Floor, Lay-in Grid 
Floor with removable panels with beams supporting the panels and pedestals supporting the beams. 

Pedestal Floor, Rigid Grid 
Floor with removable panels supported by beams mechanically attached to the support pedestals. 

Pedestal Lavatory 
Often used in powder rooms, these sinks are mounted on pedestal stands. 

Pediment
Decorative panel over a doorway or fireplace that is a low-pitched gable, in the Grecian style of architecture or any similar triangular shaped piece used ornamentally.

Peeling
Paint losing its bond with the surface and peeling off. 

Peel Strength 
Measurement of the bonding strength of the roofing membrane is the amount of force needed to peel the bonded roofing membrane from its substrate, in addition to the overall strength of the roof covering. 

Peen
The wedge or rounded striking head, opposite the face of a hammer, which is used for shaping or striking metal. 

Peening
Hammering or blending metal to change its surface or shape. 

Peg
Small diameter cylinder, of wood or other material, which is used to connect two or more pieces of something by being fit into a hole in each. These are often called dowels when used to strengthen joints or connect pieces. Pegs can be used to hold objects when half of the peg is left protruding. 

Pegboard
Sheet of compressed fiberboard that has small, evenly spaced holes for pegs, hooks or hangers and is used to store tools, etc.

Pelton Wheel
Invented around 1890, to improve the water wheel and to drive electrical generators, this water turbine wheel has high pressure water directed at the buckets around its outside, turning the wheel. 

Penalty
Money that will be paid by a person or business for violating a statute or legal court order. Also may be assessed for violating the provisions of a contract. 

Penalty Clause 
Provision in a contract that specifies the dollar amount or rate an individual to the contract must pay for not conforming to its terms. 

Pendant
1. An ornamental hanging object. 
2. A decorative piece suspended from a ceiling or roof, very popular in Gothic architecture. 

Pendente Lite 
Latin for pending the suit. A suit which is actually in progress and the outcome is pending.

Pendentive
One of the four concave, triangular shaped braces which form arches from one corner to another, when joined together at the top of a structure, for support of a dome over a square structure. 

Penetrating Finish 
Any one of a number of finishes which permeate the pores of the wood, providing protection. 

Penetrating Oil 
Oil finish, which protects the wood without an exterior coating, by sinking into the wood surface and hardening. The oil darkens the wood, increasing the grain contrast and appears to be a hand rubbed finish, without the labor. 

Penetration
1. The depth to which something passes into another item. 
2. The depth of a base welding metal to which the weld metal has flowed. 

Penny
Nail size that is often noted by the letter "d" after the number. One theory on the origin of this term is that the cost of certain size nails cost a number of pennies per hundred. Therefore, a nail size that costs ten pennies per hundred would be a ten penny nail. 

Pentachlorophenol
Used as waterproofing for plywood and often included as a component of shake and shingle stains and preservatives, this preservative repels water, is toxic and prevents mildew and decay. 

Pentagon
A plane figure with five angles and five sides. 

Pentahedron
A five sided solid figure. 

Penthouse
A luxury-housing unit located on the top floor of a high-rise building.