The first time we went to the builders merchant yard in our area in the beautiful 7 Valleys region, I was absolutely stumped when my husband said at the counter “ask them where the acro props are”. Well I could speak French fairly well but I had hardly come across the word for acro prop before in English let alone French and I couldn’t even begin to describe one so he drew a picture and eventually after much humorous help from the staff, order was restored and acro props were found!
There are some good books on the Amazon website which give extremely comprehensive glossaries for building terms in France. As a matter of fact I’ve rarely seen the word acro prop crop up in any dictionary I’ve seen. Perhaps you’ll never need it either but just in case, here to help you is a petite English to French glossary of building terms.
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Acro prop | Étai de maçon acier |
| Bath-tub | Baignoire |
| Beam | Poutre |
| Brick | Brique |
| Breeze block | Parpaing, |
| Central heating boiler | Chaudiére |
| Concrete | Béton |
| Connect | Raccord |
| Copper pipe | Tube cuivre |
| Doors, shutters and windows | Menuiserie |
| Earth rod | Piquet de terre |
| Electricity supply line | Ligne alimentation |
| Expenses | Frais |
| Foundation | Fondation |
| Frame | Cadre |
| Heating | Chauffage |
| Insulation | Isolation |
| Ironwork | Quincaillerie (eg handles for windows and doors) |
| Levelling | Nivellement |
| Lighting | Allumage |
| Mixer tap | Robinetterie mitigeur |
| Plastic sheeting | Film polyane (type used under concrete as dampproof course) |
| Quotation for work | Devis |
| Reinforced concrete floor | Dalle béton armé |
| Removal | Enlèvement |
| Reservoir/storage tank | Cuve |
| Roof tile | Tuile |
| Rubble, rubbish | Gravats |
| Sand | Sable |
| Shower | Douche |
| Sink (kitchen) | Evier |
| Sink (bathroom) | Lavabo |
| Shutter | Volet |
| Socket | Prise |
| Step | Marche |
| Stone | Pierre |
| Tap | Robinet |
| Window | Fenêtre |
