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French Building and Renovation Jargon Guide

French Building and Renovation Jargon Guide

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French Alps Building & Renovation

The most common French building terms can be often found in the dictionary. However, even quite large French-English dictionaries - being aimed more at students of literature, can miss out even pretty mainstream terms.

Here's a list (listed alphabetically in English) to get you started, whether you're renovating your own place or trying to communicate with a local builder.

English	French	Type
air vent	trou d'aération or conduit d'aération	nm
alarm bell	sonnerie d’alarme	nf
angle grinder	meuleuse	nf
arch	voûte	nf
architrave	baguette	nf
asbestos	amiante	nm
awl	poinçon	nm
axe	hache	nf

bandsaw	see "saw" below
base	assise	nf
batten	latte	nf
beam	poutre	nf
bearer	support	nm
belt sander	ponceuse a bande	nf
bevel	biseau	nm
bitumen	bitume	nm
blade	lame	nf
blow lamp	chalumeau	nm
boiler	chaudière	nf
bolt	boulon	nm
bore	vriller	vt
bore hole	trou de sondage	nm
bow/bay window	oriel	nf
brace	vilebrequin	nm
bracket	tasseau	nm
bradawl	poinçon	nm
brick	brique	nf
brush (paint)	pinceau	nm
building	bâtiment	nm
building site	chantier	nm

casement window	fenêtre à battants	nf
ceiling	plafond	nm
cesspool	fosse d’aisance	nf
chimney-sweep	ramoneur	nm
chipboard	panneau de particules
clay roof tile	tuile terre cuite	nf
concrete	béton	nm
cork tile	carreau de liège	nm
countersink	fraise	nf
crack	fissure	nf
cupboard (built in)	placard	nm
custom made	fait sur commande	adj
cut out	découper	nm

damp	humidité	nf
damp proof course	couche isolante	nf
day-work	travail à la journée	nm
de-humidifier	déshumidificateur	nm
discount	escompte	nm
DIY	bricolage	nm
door handle	poignée de porte	nf
door knob	bouton de porte	nm
dormer window	lucarne	nf
double glazing	double vitrage	nf
downpipe	tuyau de descente	nm
drain	vidange	nf
draught-excluder	bourrelet	nm
dry-rot	carie sèche	nf
duct	conduit	nm

eaves	avant-toit	nmpl
estimate	devis	nm

false ceiling	faux plafond	nf
fanlight	imposte	nf
fence	clôture	nf
fencing wire mesh	grillage	nm
fibre glass (insulation)	laine de verre	nf
fire extinguisher	extincteur	nm
fire-guard	garde-feu	nm
fire proof	ininflammable	adj
firewood	bois de chauffage	nm
first floor	premier étage	nm
fit out	aménager	vt
fix	pose	vt
fixed price	prix fixe	nm
flammable	inflammable	adj
flashing	un revêtement de zinc (nm) / noue	nf
floor	plancher	nm
floorboard	planche	nf
flue	conduit de cheminée	nf
flush (toilet)	chasse d’eau	nf
foundations	fouille	nf
frame (door or window)	chambranle	nm
freeze up	se prendre en glace	vt
french window	porte-fenêtre	nf
frost stat	thermostat a gel	nm
fuel gauge	jauge fuel	nf
fuse	fusible	nm
fuse box	coupe-circuit	nm

gable end	pignon	nm
general company	entreprise générale
glass cutter	diamant	nm
glass door	porte vitrée	nf
gloss (paint)	brillant	adj
ground floor	rez de chaussée	nm
gutter roof	gouttière	nf

hacksaw	scie à métaux	nf
hammer	marteau	nm
handle	poignée	nf
handrail	main courante	nf
handyman	bricoleur	nm
hard water	eau dure	nf
hardboard	carton-cuire	nm
hardcore (rubble)	blocaille	nf
hardware (building)	quincaillerie	nf
hardwood (red)	bois exotique	nm
headroom	hauteur libre	nf
hedge	haie	nf
hinge	gond	nm
hire	location	nf
hose-pipe	tuyau d’arrosage	nm
hot plate (hob)	plaque chauffante	nf

immersion heater	cumulus électrique	nm
(more commonly)	ballon	nm
in stock	disponible	adj
invoice	facture	nf
iron (material)	fer	nm
iron (cast)	fonte	nf
ironmongery	quincaillerie	nf

jig saw	scie sauteuse	nf
joinery	menuiserie	nf
joist	solive	nf
junction box (electrical)	boite de dérivation	nf

keyhole	trou de serrure	nm

ladder	échelle	nf
lag	envelopper	vt
lampholder	douille	nf
lampshade	abat-jour	nm
landing	palier	nm
latch	loquet	nm
lawn	pelouse	nf
lawn-mower	tondeuse	nf
leak	fuite	nm
lean-to	appentis	nm
lease	bail	nm
letter box	boite aux lettres	nf
level	à niveau	nm
level (tool)	niveau	nm
(not) level	bancal	adj
lever	levier	nm
light bulb	ampoule	nf
lighting	éclairage	nm
lime	chaux	nf
linseed oil (bats!)	huile de lin	nf
lintel	linteau	nm
lock	serrure	nf

mains (sewers)	tout a l’égout	nm
mains (water)	eau de la ville	nf
maintenance	l’entretien	nm
manhole	trou de visite	nm
manhole cover	plaque d'égout or regard
masonry paint	peinture crépi	nf
meter (elec or water etc)	compteur	nm
methylated spirit	alcool a brûler	nm
mildew	moisissure	nf
mortar	mortier	nm
mould	moisi	nm
mouse	souris	nf
mouse-trap	tapette	nf
mullion	meneau	nm

nail	clou	nm
non-slip	antidérapant	adj
notch	entaille	nf

off-peak (electric)	heures creuses	adj
overflow (an)	tuyau d'écoulement	nm
overflow (to)	déborder	vi
overhang	surplomb	nm

padlock	cadenas	nm
partition wall	cloison	nf
party wall	mur mitoyen	nm
patio	terrasse	nf
paving	dallage	nm
paving stone	pavé	nm
pelmet	lambrequin	nm
pickaxe	pioche	nf
pipe	tuyau	nm
pipeline	canalisation	nf
pipeline gas	canalisation de gaz or tuyau de gaz
pipeline oil	canalisation de fuel or tuyau de fuel
pipeline water	conduite d'eau
plane	rabot	nm
plank	planche	nf
plaster		nm
plaster block	carreau de plâtre	nm
plasterboard	placoplâtre	nm
pliers	pinces	nfpl
plug (electric)	fiche	nf
plumb-line	fil à plomb	nm
plumbing	plomberie	nf
plywood	contre-plaque	nm
point (brickwork)	jointoyer	vt
porch	porche	nm
post (fence)	poteau	nm
preservative	agent de conservation	nm
price list	tarif	nm
prime (wood)	apprêter	vt
project manager	maitre d'oeuvre
prop	support	nm
putty	mastic	nm

quote	fixer un prix	vt

rafter	chevron	nm
rawlplug	cheville	nf
receipt	reçu	nm
recess	recoin	nm
reinforced concrete	béton arme	nm
removal	déménagement	nm
render	enduit	nm
repair	réparation	nf
residence	demeure	nf
restoration	restauration	nf
restore	restaurer	vt
ridge	faîte	nm
rising damp	infiltration	nf
rockery	jardin de rocaille	nm
roof	toit	nm
roof truss	armature à toit	nf
roofing felt	feutre a toit	nm
room	pièce	nf
rot	pourriture	nf
rough sketch	ébauche	nf
router	défonceuse	nf
rubbish (building)	détritus	nm
rubble	gravats	nmpl
rust	rouille	nf

sand	sable	nm
sand paper	papier de verre	nm
sandblast	sablager	vt
sander	ponceuse	nf
saw	scie	nf
saw: bandsaw	scie à ruban
saw: circular saw	scie circulaire
saw: fretsaw	scie à chantourner/découper
saw: panel saw	scie à guichet
scaffold	échafaudage	nm
screed	chape	nf
screw	vis	nf
screw to	visser	vt
screwdriver	tournevis	nm
semi-detached	jumelée	adj
septic tank	fosse septique	nf
service hatch	passe-plat	nm
set-square	équerre à dessin	nf
sewage	eaux d’égout	nfpl
sewer	égout	nm
sharp	tranchant	adj
shelf	étagère	nf
shingle (roofing)	bardeau	nm
shore up	étayer	vt
short-circuit	court-circuit	nm
shovel	pelle	nf
shower tray	bac de douche	nm
shutter	volet	nm
shutter (slatted)	persienne	nf
sill (door)	seuil	nm
sink (kitchen)	évier	nm
sink (bathroom)	lavabo	nm
skip	benne	nf
skirting board	plinthe	nf
slate	ardoise	nf
sliding door	porte coulissante	nf
soak away	puits perdu	nm
socket (mechanics)	douille	nf
socket (electric)	prise	nf
soil pipe	tuyau d’égout	nm
solder	soudure	nf
supplies, provision or stock	réserves

sound proof	insonore	adj
spiral staircase	escalier spiral	nm
spirit level	niveau à bulle	nm
split level	jumeau duplex	nm
spotlight	projecteur	nm
spray gun	pistolet	nm
spring (water)	source	nf
square meter	mètre carré	nm
stable (horse)	écurie	nf
stainless steel	inox	nm
staple	agrafe	nf
steel	acier	nm
step ladder	escabeau	nm
stone	pierre	nf
stop cock	robinet de fermeture	nm
storey	étage	nm
subsidence	affaissement	nm
supplier	fournisseur	nm
swing door	porte va et vient	nf
switch(one way)	interrupteur	nm
switch(two way)	interrupteur va et vient	nm

tank (heating oil)	réservoir de fioul	nm
tank (water)	citerne	nf
tap	robinet	nm
tar	goudron	nm
tarpaulin	bâche	nf
tenon saw	scie à tenon	nf
temporary support (Accro)	etais
thatch	chaume	nm
tile (floor)	carreau	nm
tile (wall)	faïence	nf
tile (roof)	tuile	nf
time-switch	minuterie	nf
transom	traverse	nf
trellis-work	treillage	nm
trowel	truelle	nf

unblock	dégager	vt
under floor heating	chauffage sous-sol	nm
undercoat	sous-couche	nf
unfurnished	non meublé	adj
uninhabited	inhabité	adj

valve	soupape nf/ robinet	nm
valve: check valve	robinet non retour	nm
valve: ball valve	boisseau sphérique	nm
VAT	TVA	nm
Veneer	placage	nm

wall	mur	nm
wall thickness	épaisseur de la paroi
wall lamp	applique	nf
washer	rondelle	nf
waste disposal unit	broyeur a ordures	nm
water heater	chauffe-eau	nm
water main	conduite principale	nf
water softener	adoucisseur d’eau	nm
waterproof	imperméable	adj
watertight	étanche	adj
waterseal (silicone)	hydrofuge	nf
wedge	coin	nm
well	puits	nm
welding	soudure	nf
wheelbarrow	brouette	nf
width	largeur	nf
window sill	rebord	nm
woodburning stove	poêle	nm
woodwork	boiserie	nf
workshop	atelier	nm
worm eaten	vermoulu	adj
wrought iron	fer forgé	nm

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Page generated at 23:47; Friday, May 16, 2008

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