Quoins are decorative stones at the corners of brick or stone buildings. Sometimes they are made of bricks on a stone building, or of contrasting coloured bricks on a brick building. In older buildings quoins were structural, and added strength at the corners. In more recent buildings, quoins are decorative, and are added to make a building look stronger, or simply give it an 'older' style look. Quoins on a house that is made from timber or any other light building material are purely decorative.
A rail is a long, thin piece of wood or metal that is fixed in place horizontally. Rails are often used like in the picture as a guard to stop people going past them. They can be fixed to a wall as a support somewhere people might need them, like in a shower cubicle.
A special type of rail is found on a railway track.
A ramp is a surface that is sloped to make it easy for things with wheels to get between a low place and a higher place. The ramp in the photo is for people to get in and out of a truck.
Ramps are often used inside multi-storey car parks so cars can drive up to the top. Ramps are also used as well as stairs to get into a building. People can walk up stairs easily, but ramps are needed for people who are in a wheelchair, for people with prams, or for anyone who simply has trouble climbing stairs.
Sis forSandcastle
A shack is a small, simply-built house. Shacks are often seen near the beach or in the wilderness.
Another word for shack is hut.
