This essential dictionary and phrase book provides every term you need to know when buying, maintaining, renovating or building a home in France. Accessible and comprehensive, it includes the technical words you won't find in an ordinary dictionary for tools and equipment and every aspect of painting, carpentry, roofing, plumbing and drainage. It also equips you with terminology for planning structural changes such as extensions and determining boundaries. An appendix of emergency phrases will make this a book you'll want to keep by the phone at all times. Whether you own a home or work in France, this book will help you talk to French tradesmen with authority and avoid costly misunderstandings as you pull down the language barrier brick by brick.
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Review
"Includes hundreds of up-to-date words that you won't find in an
ordinary dictionary!"
-- Brit Mag, May - June 2007
... plain alphabeticalised sailing. There are key words for every possible scenario. ...this is what we have all been waiting for. -- Living France Magazine, August 2006
The practical know-how to turn your pie-in-the-sky scheme into
reality.
-- The Mail on Sunday
This is what we have all been waiting for. --Living France magazine
ordinary dictionary!"
-- Brit Mag, May - June 2007
... plain alphabeticalised sailing. There are key words for every possible scenario. ...this is what we have all been waiting for. -- Living France Magazine, August 2006
The practical know-how to turn your pie-in-the-sky scheme into
reality.
-- The Mail on Sunday
This is what we have all been waiting for. --Living France magazine
About the Author
Richard Wiles is the author of the bestselling Bon Courage! He lives in France
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By seemore
Format:Paperback
Very useful for basic building materials and tools but really only for DIY use. If you're doing a complete refurb with French builders or setting up your trade in France then spend a bit more money on the "Concise Dictionary of House Building Terms", don't be frightened by the price, it's well worth it. I own both copies and this one stays on the bookshelf most of the time, and the other is on site or in the van.
26 of 28 people found the following review helpful
By K. Saunders
Format:Paperback
We purchased this before we moved to France to help us obtain quotations etc., on a property we own. The book is in ten sections of different trades - not in alphabetical order - so if you want a word, you have to hunt through all the ten sections to find the right one, if it is there at all. This may be OK going from English to French, but if you have a French word and you don't know which trade it comes under (because you don't know the word, right?) you are left hunting between the ten sections and your regular dictionary as well. If at the back there was a complete list of French to English, then English to French as well as the ten sections, It would be getting 5 stars, however it doesn't so it fails as a dictionary, as it's not in alphabetical order. Shame.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By Dusty Fog
Format:Paperback
This book even makes good bedtime reading. We have found it most useful and now even know the French names of building and decorating items we don't even need. I particularly liked the breakdown of terms into easily definable areas of renovation. Keep a copy in the car for handy reference, you never know when one needs a pied-de-biche.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By D. N. Bebb
Format:Paperback
This book is not perfect but for the reasonable book you get, it is exceedingly cheap. I have written my list of requirements hundreds of times using this book and presented it at the builders merchant without a problem. On occasions clarification has been required and where this has happened, I have written the solution in the book (I hate writing in books but have made an exception in this case). When I see things in catalogues and manuals that are not covered in the book, again I write them in. What started out as a reasonable purchase is gradualy becoming invaluable with the notes I am adding based on personal experience. At its price, I can't see where you can go wrong.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By VJC
Format:Paperback
It looks good on first reading and I thought it would be useful ....BUT once you start getting serious you find it is broken up into different sections which means that you simply cannot find a new strange word unless you can guess rooughly what section it will be in! Also, although it has a good number of words you quickly find things missing (or perhaps I haven't looked in the right section!).
So good for bedtime reading, but no good for serious discussions with the architect ......
So good for bedtime reading, but no good for serious discussions with the architect ......
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By H. D. Doel
Format:Paperback
We purchased this book to help us with our French renovation project. Unfortunately the book is not laid out in true dictionary form but split into sections according to topic. Unfortunately we found that if we were searching for a French translation we first had to spend time looking through the book trying to guess in which section the word might appear. It's much quicker to purchase and use a comprehensive French/English dictionary, which, confusingly, gives different translations from the ones in this book (if you find them)!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Cadurcien
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
All of the terms in this book can be found in a good dictionary like Harper Collins Robert. You won't find the local terms for materials or trades. I find this book useless.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By E. Bastian
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
My husband, who like many struggles to learn French, finds this book very useful. I also find it very helpful when preparing his quotations for work, even though I am now fluent in French. The French really do appreciate it when the British try to make themselves understood and this book helps my husband to buy his supplies more easily. Recommend it to those who are undertaking works on their home, as an inexpensive handbook of terms, which can be used alongside a normal dictionary.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disapointed.
The book is usefull for maintaining an existing property, but not for building one.
Important words like hip are not there,i was building a roof at the time and all of the... Read more
Important words like hip are not there,i was building a roof at the time and all of the... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Dave
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not really essential
Got to say bit dissapointed with the content - would be better off putting the money towards a decent french dictionary..... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Dave B
4.0 out of 5 stars
reluctant translator
This is exactly what I need. My partner has a very rustic house in France which we visit about twice a year. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Sharon Crawford16
4.0 out of 5 stars
French Building Terms
As I have a renovation to do on our house in Brittany, this book will prove invaluable for this project. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Mr. Henry Y. Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars
Practical, clear and concise
I purchased this book as I had found that the regular dictionaries just did not cope with the requirements of a renovation project when dealing with the equivalent to Builders... Read more
Published on 6 Aug 2009 by D. S. Hutchinson
4.0 out of 5 stars
New owner
Most helpful - a few french words can make you sound more experienced when dealing with workmen in France
Published on 2 Jan 2008 by Sam Scorer
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