Kit home

A kit home is a structure that contains prefabricated components, and that is put together by a contractor.  Kit homes are composed of pieces, such as walls, floors, ceilings, and the like, that are manufactured in a production facility and shipped to distribution centers, where the pieces are put together in kits.  These kits are then made available for purchase by prospective home owners and are transported to a buyer´s lot, where a house is put together by a contractor approved by the kit home producer.  Kit homes tend to be less expensive than homes that are built on-site.

Knee wall

A knee wall is a half-wall or a wall-like structure, usually between three and five feet high.  In many instances, a knee wall is located in the attic or loft of a house or other building in order to provide support to the structure´s roof rafters.  A knee wall may also be placed in a home as a decorative feature, for aesthetic purposes rather than for use as a structural support.  They may be located in living rooms or dens to provide architectural detail, and sometimes as a partial divider to hide a storage space.  Knee walls may be composed of a number of different building materials, including concrete, stone, brick, wood, or other materials.  Exposed brick and stone knee walls are popular choices for aesthetic detail.

Knob-and-tube wiring

Knob-and-tube wiring refers to an old-fashioned type of home wiring system.  Knob-and-tube wiring systems were commonly composed of copper conductors, insulated by cloth, that ran across interior walls or in ceiling cavities and passed through joists and stud drill-holes via protective insulating tubes made of porcelain.  The tubes were supported by porcelain knob insulators, and additionally insulated by flexible cloth sleeves in places where the conductors entered a lamp, switch, or other wiring device.  Knob-and-tube wiring presented a fire risk; modern construction has replaced this type of system with less hazardous fuses and circuit breakers.