pressure-relieving joint

pressure-relieving joint

In panel-wall masonry, an open joint left at specified horizontal intervals to allow for expansion and contraction; commonly below horizontal supporting hangers at each floor to allow for expansion and contraction and to prevent the weight of higher courses from being transmitted to the masonry below. Such joints are stopped with flexible caulking compound to exclude moisture.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.