Acoustics
Quality of a place for what concerns the propagation of sounds.
Addenda
Addition of points, notes and so on to a written work in order to complete it.
Adjuvant
Said of a processing of secondary importance that is added to a main processing in order to increase its effect or to limit its side-effects.
Attic
Superstructure of a building, which includes its structure and its roof. By extension, this term also refers to the volume, space or room immediately below the roof of a building or a house.
Beam (or girder)
Long piece of wood (beam), of metal (girder), of reinforced concrete or other, used to support a floor, or as a member (piece of a structure).
Board
Wooden plank used as framework or roofing.
Cabinetmaker
Joiner that creates luxury pieces of furniture, particularly by using the veneering technique.
Caisson
Each of the hollow compartments, more or less moulded and decorated, that can structure or decorate a ceiling or a vault.
Calcitrant
Of materials (like ceramic, alloys and others) that resist to certain physical or chemical influences (like intense heat, mechanic prompting, corrosion and so on).
Calorific
That produces calories or heat.
Coating
Mortar layer applied to a wall to protect and to decorate it.
Cobbling
Floor-covering made up of cobbles or other small elements, of more or less regular shape.
Cofferdam
Temporary barrier set up in order to drain the part where works are to be done.
Concrete curing
Temporary protection of hardening concrete from a quick evaporation of water.
Condensation boiler
Boiler that recovers the heat contained in steam which is released during combustion loss and returns it in the heating circuit.
Conglomerate
Moulded building material made up of a mixture of a binder and inert materials.
Contracting authority (owner)
The contracting authority is a natural person (a private individual) or a legal entity (a company) for whom the work is done.
Crane
Lifting appliance made of a rotating arm (jib) set on variable support.
Decking
Floor of a framework.
Development
Works carried out with the purpose of improving the comfort, of transforming or changing the use of an already existing room. These plans concern :
l The rearrangement or fitting-out of bathrooms,
l The transformation of attics that are suitable for conversion into habitable and bright rooms,
l The optimization of the living-room or the lounge space,
l The rearrangement of the kitchen,
l The replacement of the carpentry
l The improving or the changing of the heating system...
(To) Draughtproof
To fill in the slits of a hole in order to stop the air and the cold from getting inside.
Dry-stone (dry-stone masonry)
A wall is said to be made of dry-stone when no binder or mortar has been used for its construction.
Earthworks
Alterations meant to alter the surface of a ground.
Equipment elements
Combination of facilities and appliances both inside and outside of an accomodation that are necessary to its practical use. For example blinds, roller shutters, bathroom sinks and so on.
Excavation
Digging or drilling a hole. Also cavity or hole, particularly in the ground.
(To) Fireproof
To treat a material in order to reduce, delay or remove its flammability.
Flashing
Cover strip made of mortar, tiles, slates and so on, in order to cover the junction of two plans, to fill an empty space, to ensure watertightness.
Floortile
Floortiles are baked clay (terracotta) tiles, of orangey-red colour.
Formwork
Form meant for the moulding and the setting of concrete. Also defines the laying of this form.
Frames (door frames, window frames)
A frame is a woodwork support in which the assembling of different pieces of wood builds up the structure of a door or of a window. By extension, the word ‘frame’ generally designates doors and windows.
Framework
Assembly of elements (that are usually metallic) which make up the structure, the framework of an object or of a masonry work etc..., or else intended to reinforce it, support it or keep it up.
FS (in French NF)
The initials FS (French Standards) are displayed on certain materials. These initials, that stand for quality, clearly show that these materials are properly manufactured in accordance with the French standards established by the AFNOR (Association Française de Normalisation – French Standardization Association).
Furring
Component used to fill an empty space, to conceal a joint, to offset loosened-up mechanical spare parts etc...
Grout
Fluid that penetrates in the joints of a masonry work.
Gypsum
Hydrated calcium sulphate that crystallizes in the monoclynic system. It is also known as plaster stone (or limestone) because when heated between 60° and 200° gypsum loses the water it has inside and turns into plaster.
Heat pump
A heat pump is a device that allows to transfer heat from the coldest environment to the hottest one, whereas heat is naturally diffused from the hottest environment to the coldest one, until the temperature is balanced. Also refers to domestic heating systems that can be used as air conditioners.
Hydraulic
That hardens and sets under water (binder, hydraulic mortar). Also refers to its relative industrial technology.
(To) Insulate
To cover with an insulating material.
Joiner
Craftsman who makes woodworks for the building industry that are made of relatively small parts (as opposed to the carpenter), or furniture without veneer nor decorations (as opposed to the cabinetmaker).
Lantern
Low construction on extra height on a roof, to lighten or ventilate.
Lime
‘Lime’ is a generic term that refers to several products obtained by heating limestone at high temperatures.
Load
Heavy burden that must be lifted or transported.
Low-temperature heating
Boiler that works in the following way : the water, which is heated to a lower temperature than in an ordinary central heating installation, circulates in a system of coated pipes, or even in radiators that are bigger than the ordinary ones.
Mains drainage
System that directly pours down the drain the household waste water.
Metal section
Metallurgic long-length product, of constant section and given shape.
Mortar
Mixture made up of sand, of a binder (lime or cement), possibly of additives and of water, used to bind the different elements of a building and to make screeds, coatings and fillers.
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