Fillet
The word ‘fillet’ comes from the Latin ‘filum’, meaning ‘thread’
In classical architecture, a fillet is a narrow band with a vertical face. Fillets are often interposed as rectangular or square ribbon-like bands between curved mouldings and ornaments. They may also be found between the flutings of columns.
Types of fillet include:
- Raised: A fillet that is raised in a band from an architectural element.
- Scotia: A concave moulding between two fillets. This is also one of the elements used in the attic base of columns.
- Sunk: A fillet that is depressed in a band between two other architectural elements.
- Tænia: A fillet that is part of the entablature and positioned directly above the architrave.
In modern construction, the term ‘fillet’ can be used to refer to any thin strip of material, for example a tile fillet, in which roof tiles are set into mortar beneath a parapet to form a flashing, or a mortar fillet, used in place of a flashing at the joint between roof slates and a wall.
In engineering, the term ‘fillet’ can be used to refer to a round joint between two parts connected at an angle.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Architrave.
- Balustrade.
- Bas-relief.
- Classical orders in architecture.
- Cornice.
- Elements of classical columns.
- Entablature.
- Fluting.
- Frieze.
- Keel moulding.
- Moulding.
- Pedestal.
- Pediment.
- Pilaster.
- Rustication.
- Soffit.
[edit] External references
- Doric Column - Moulding
Featured articles and news
Change of use legislation breaths new life into buildings
A run down on Class MA of the General Permitted Development Order.
Solar generation in the historic environment
Success requires understanding each site in detail.
Level 6 Design, Construction and Management BSc
CIOB launches first-ever degree programme to develop the next generation of construction leaders.
Open for business as of April, with its 2026 prospectus and new pipeline of housing schemes.
The operational value of workforce health
Keeping projects moving. Incorporating unplanned absence and the importance of health, in operations.
A carbon case for indigenous slate
UK slate can offer clear embodied carbon advantages.
Costs and insolvencies mount for SMEs, despite growth
Construction sector under insolvency and wage bill pressure in part linked to National Insurance, says report.
The place for vitrified clay pipes in modern infrastructure
Why vitrified clay pipes are reclaiming their role in built projects.
Research by construction PR consultancy LMC published.
Roles and responsibilities of domestic clients
ACA Safety in Construction guide for domestic clients.
Fire door compliance in UK commercial buildings
Architect and manufacturer gives their low down.
The new towns and strategic environmental assessments
12 locations of the New Towns Taskforce reduced to 7 within the new towns draft programme and open consultation.
Buildings that changed the future of architecture. Book review.