Dormant, tenon, classe d’emploi: the trade words you will meet on my quotes, on any French joinery quote and on this site, explained simply. So you always know what you are signing.
The time the wood spends in the room where it will be fitted, before fitting, to reach equilibrium with the ambient humidity. For a wood floor or a large table top, I allow at least one to two weeks on site. Skip this step and you harvest boards that pull apart or buckle during the first winter of heating.
A first payment when the quote is signed, which definitively commits both parties: the tradesman must carry out the work, you must pay for it. Standard practice in the French building trade is 20 to 30% on ordering, more when the supplies weigh heavy in the quote, because the acompte covers the tradesman’s materials order. Not to be confused with arrhes, which either side can forfeit to withdraw.
The art of fitting a space with furniture and elements made to measure for it. Unlike a piece bought in a shop, an agencement hugs the walls, the corners and the awkward recesses. Example: a fitted wardrobe filling a whole sloping attic wall, floor to ceiling, without a wasted centimetre.
A panel made of wood chips glued and pressed together. Cheap and very common, especially as a floor substrate or as furniture backing. Its limit: it is a soft material that will not hold a nail or a screw for long, particularly under a hardwood like oak.
A solid wood strip glued along the edge of a veneered panel. It protects the edge from knocks, hides the panel's core and allows mouldings and round-overs, just like solid wood. One of the details that set a workshop piece apart from an industrial one.
A sum paid in advance which, unlike the acompte, commits nobody definitively: you can walk away from the contract by forfeiting the arrhes, and the tradesman can withdraw by refunding you double. If the quote does not state the nature of the sums paid, French law treats them as arrhes.
The intent drawing of a piece of furniture or a fitting: layout, volumes, fronts, before the quote is signed. It is there for us to agree the direction of the project together; the detailed working drawings are made after the order. This is the stage to say everything: an erased pencil line costs less than a piece to remake.
The written document that modifies a quote already signed: work added or removed, price and schedule adjusted accordingly. It is the clean way to change your mind mid-project: signed by both sides, it protects the client as much as the tradesman. A change agreed by word of mouth usually ends in a misunderstanding when the invoice arrives.
A sliding glazed door whose panels disappear entirely into the thickness of the wall when opened. The opening is then completely clear, with no visible upright. Spectacular between a living room and a terrace, but the wall has to be planned for it from the design stage.
Raw wood, cut straight from the trunk, as opposed to reconstituted or veneered panels. A solid oak table top is oak through its whole thickness. Solid wood lives: it moves with humidity, takes on a patina, can be repaired and sanded, which makes it the material of furniture that crosses generations.
A hollow skirting board that carries services (water, electricity) along the foot of the wall, when they can go neither through the ceiling nor through a partition. Done well, in the same wood as the floor, it melts into the room and stays removable so the services can be reached.
All the signed projects waiting to be carried out, measured in weeks or months of work ahead. It is what explains tradesmen’s lead times: a well-filled order book is rather a good sign of a sound business. An honest tradesman tells you where his stands before you sign, not after.
A French scheme that obliges energy suppliers to fund energy-saving work in private homes, in the form of bonuses. The CEE bonus can be combined with MaPrimeRénov’ for certain work, such as window replacement, provided an RGE-certified business does the fitting. The amount varies with the work and your income.
The narrow face of a board or panel, the thin strip along its side. On a veneered panel, the edge is often covered with a matching band to hide the panel’s core. The quality of a piece of furniture shows a lot in its edges: done well, they are invisible.
A small bevel cut along the edge of a floorboard or a piece of timber. On a wood floor, chamfers draw a neat groove between boards: handsome, but it makes repairs trickier, since a groove cannot be filled across a whole surface.
The layer of mortar poured over the floor to level it before the covering goes down. It must dry roughly one week per centimetre of thickness before receiving a wood floor. Laying wood on a screed that is still damp condemns it: I always measure the moisture before starting.
The frame that carries a pane of glass. A fixed châssis does not open: it is used to bring in light, for example as a fanlight above a door. By extension, the word also covers the frame-plus-glazing assembly of a window.
The actually glazed area of a window, the part that lets light through, once the frame and the opening sashes are deducted. It is what shrinks with every renovation fitting over the old frame. For identical window dimensions, two units can have very different daylight openings: a point to compare between quotes.
The official classification that says where a wood can be used without degrading, from class 1 (dry interior) to class 5 (permanent contact with sea water). A deck needs class 4 timber, fit for contact with the ground and fresh water. A criterion to check on any outdoor quote.
A manufacturing technique for composite deck boards: the board is wrapped in a protective polymer skin over its whole surface. It blocks stains and fading, and separates the good composites from the entry-level ones. If you choose composite, insist on solid co-extruded boards.
The vertical board that closes the space between two steps of a staircase. A staircase without risers, an open-riser staircase, looks lighter and lets light through. On an old staircase that sings, the rubbing between tread and riser is often the culprit.
On a wood floor, the thickness of sandable wood above the boards’ interlocking. It determines how many times the floor can be renovated in its life: go below it and you hit the joint, and the floor is done for. On an engineered floor, aim for at least 3 to 4 mm of noble wood.
A drawer runner that lets the drawer come out over its full depth: you see the bottom of the drawer and reach it without diving in. Partial runners, cheaper, keep the last third of the drawer inside the cabinet. On a kitchen drawer opened twenty times a day, the difference is felt for years.
The first step in the workshop: cutting the pieces to the required dimensions out of the rough boards. Good cutting anticipates the direction of the grain and keeps knots away from the wrong places. Part of the strength and the beauty of the finished piece is decided right there.
A simplified French planning authorisation, to be filed at the town hall before certain work: a pergola, a garden shed, a change to the façade, sometimes a simple window replacement. Processing generally takes a month. Skipping it exposes you to enforced compliance, even a fine: always check your commune’s PLU before signing.
A mild acid product that removes the grey oxidised layer on the surface of outdoor wood and brings back its original colour. It is applied before a saturateur, never on its own as regular maintenance. It is the gentle alternative to the pressure washer, which damages the fibres.
Dismantling and removing what is there before the new work: the old kitchen, the tired wood floor, the worn-out window. It takes time, makes a mess, and ends at the tip: it is a real work item. It is also the classic omission of abnormally low quotes: check it is in there, disposal included.
The complete replacement of a window, old frame included: everything is removed back to the masonry before the new unit goes in. It is longer and more expensive than a renovation fitting, but you keep the whole glazed area and start again on a sound base. It is what I recommend when the old frame is damaged.
A quote where every item has its own line: named supplies, labour, travel, with quantities and unit prices. It is the only document that lets you compare two tradesmen other than by the figure at the bottom of the page. Above €150, a written quote is in fact a legal obligation in France, not a favour.
The fixed frame of a window or door, the one sealed into the wall that never moves, hence its French name (the sleeping one). The moving parts close onto it. In renovation, if the existing dormant is sound, the new window can be fitted over it without breaking the wall.
Document Technique Unifié: France’s codified rules of the trade, written down work by work. Each job has its own: NF DTU 51.4 for timber decks, 51.1, 51.2 and 51.11 for wood floor installation. It is the text an expert opens in the event of a dispute: a serious tradesman works to it even when nobody is checking.
The French test that measures the hardness of a wood: a steel cylinder is pressed into the surface and the indentation is measured. The higher the score, the better the wood takes heels, knocks and chair legs. Oak sits around 5 to 7, softwoods around 1.5: a figure to look at closely for stair treads.
The furniture trade, where menuiserie is the building trade. The cabinetmaker works noble woods, veneers and fine joints, for one-off pieces. My changing table in walnut burr is cabinetmaking; a front door is joinery.
The éco-prêt à taux zéro: an interest-free loan, granted by the banks and guaranteed by the French state, to fund energy renovation work, including window replacement. It is available with no income conditions, but requires fitting by an RGE-certified business. The conditions evolve: check on france-renov.gouv.fr.
The area of the vertical shadow cast by a construction, posts and roof overhangs included. It is this, and not the usable area, that the town hall looks at to decide whether your pergola needs a simple prior declaration or full planning permission.
The traditional render of old stone or cobble walls. Unlike cement, lime lets the wall breathe: moisture evaporates instead of staying trapped in the masonry. On an old building, rendering with cement is one of the worst possible mistakes: the wall rots behind it.
A cut made in one piece of wood to receive another. When a stair tread slots into its support, it sits in an entaille. Well executed, it transfers the loads through the wood itself, not only through the screws.
Quite simply the species of tree the wood comes from: oak, larch, walnut, Douglas fir. Each species has its grain, its colour, its hardness and its resistance to moisture. Choosing the right species for the right use is half the trade.
The share of the sun’s heat the glazing lets in: an Sw of 0.5 lets half the solar energy through. In the mountains, this free winter heating counts for a lot. The 2026 grants impose a minimum Sw, so that the window captures the sun’s gains instead of only insulating.
A separate piece of wood inserted into two facing mortises to join two elements, instead of cutting the tenon in the solid. It is the principle of Domino-type joints. Properly glued, it is strong, quick, and invisible once the piece is finished.
A finishing strip that fills the gap between a cabinet and the wall or ceiling. It is how kit kitchens and standard wardrobes adapt to the room. True bespoke hardly needs any: the piece is built to the exact dimensions, wonky walls included.
The protective coat applied to raw wood: oil, wax or varnish, the vitrificateur of wood floors. It is the finish that takes the daily wear, so it is the finish you maintain, each kind by its own rules. Before cleaning or reviving a piece, identify yours: the product that feeds one clogs the other.
A finish that feeds the wood in depth instead of covering it with a film. The wood keeps its natural touch and can be repaired locally: a scratch on an oiled worktop is sanded and re-oiled in ten minutes. In exchange, oil has to be reapplied every one to three years.
A fitting where no support is visible: the shelf seems to come straight out of the wall. Two main techniques: a batten fixed to the wall that slots into a groove cut into the thickness of the shelf, or an aluminium angle housed in a channel cut into the back of the panel. The second carries far higher loads.
The compulsory insurance of every French building tradesman: it covers for 10 years the damage that compromises the soundness of the work or makes it unfit for use. The quote must name the insurer and the area covered, that is the law. Mine is held with SMA BTP and the certificate is attached to every quote.
The useful depth of a stair step, where the foot actually lands. Comfortable staircases sit around 24 to 28 cm of tread depth; below that, the descent turns pointy, especially in socks. Together with the riser height, it decides whether a staircase is climbed without thinking or holding the handrail.
The turn to silvery grey of wood left outdoors without protection. It is a surface reaction to UV, not decay: the wood stays sound underneath. If you like the grey, there is nothing to do; if not, a dégriseur then a saturateur give the wood back its original colour.
Everything that keeps the building standing and watertight: foundations, load-bearing walls, floors, roof structure, roofing. In renovation it always comes first: no fit-out lasts on a sick structure.
The pivotal stage of a project. Hors d’eau: the roof and the façades no longer let the rain in. Hors d’air: the windows and doors close the building. Until that stage is reached, no interior work sensitive to moisture should begin.
Said of a material that absorbs and releases the moisture of the ambient air. Wood is hygroscopic: humid air, it swells; dry air, it shrinks. That is why solid wood furniture “works” with the seasons: it is normal, and a well-built piece allows for it.
The key criterion of the ten-year décennale warranty: the work is unfit for its purpose when it can no longer fulfil the role it was built for. A house letting water in on all sides, yes; a scratch or a creaking door, no. This criterion, together with damage to soundness, decides whether a defect falls under the décennale or a simple repair.
The wood or aluminium member fixed to the ground onto which the boards of a deck or the boards of a wood floor are screwed. It is the invisible skeleton of the work. A deck that degrades fast is almost always a lambourde problem, not a board problem.
A wall or ceiling cladding made of interlocking wood boards. Long associated with chalets, it is back in modern form: wide boards, vertical layouts, pale or painted woods. It is also a good way to dress a damaged wall without major work.
A composite deck board hollowed out inside to save material. Cheaper than a solid board, but more fragile to knocks, noisier underfoot, and it heats up more in the sun. It is the entry-level composite: I advise against it.
On an old wood floor, a board that can no longer be saved: worm-eaten, split, rotten or sounding hollow. It is replaced individually with wood of the same species and the same thickness before sanding. A few dead boards do not condemn a floor, far from it.
Solid wood staves, finger-jointed then glued side by side to form a wide, stable panel. Real wood without the distortions of a single-piece board: it is the material of oak and beech worktops, and of solid wood carcasses.
The master piece of a staircase: the inclined beam that carries the steps. A central-stringer staircase has a single beam down the middle, which gives a very light look. The stringer’s design determines the strength and the style of the whole staircase.
A growth that forms on the trunk of certain trees. Once sawn, it reveals a unique swirling figure, much sought after in cabinetmaking. It is almost always worked as veneer, as on my changing table in walnut burr.
A panel of fine wood fibres pressed with a resin (Medium Density Fibreboard). Perfectly homogeneous and stable, it is the best base there is for lacquered fronts: no joins, no fibres showing through. It hates water and has no raw charm: everything is in the finish.
A particleboard covered with a decorative resin-impregnated sheet. It is the standard material of kitchen and wardrobe carcasses, artisans included: a good thick melamine board is stable and cleans well. Not to be confused with stratifié, which is thicker and more resistant.
Woodwork for the building: windows, doors, staircases, wood floors, cupboards. By extension, the word also means the works themselves: the French say “menuiseries extérieures” for windows and doors. It is my original trade, later completed by cabinetmaking.
The unit of measure of kitchens and storage: one metre of cabinetry counted along the wall. Prices are often expressed this way: on the French market, an artisan-made fitted wardrobe generally runs from €1,200 to €2,500 per linear metre, fitting included. Handy for comparing two quotes, provided you check what each metre includes.
The cavity hollowed into one piece of wood to receive the tenon of another piece. The mortise-and-tenon is the great classic of joinery: it holds by the interlocking of the wood itself, not only by glue or screws. Well executed, it lasts for generations.
A construction method where the structure is a grid of timber studs and rails, filled with insulation then clad. Light, quick to put up and naturally insulating, it is the principle behind most timber extensions and roof lifts.
A spring mechanism housed in the carcass of a cabinet: a light press on the front opens it, which does away with the handle. It is the solution for clean fronts, with nothing sticking out. Reserve it for quality hardware so the mechanism lasts.
The moving part of a window or door, the part that opens, as opposed to the dormant which stays sealed into the wall. The French also say “vantail”. A window with two ouvrants is a double-leaf window.
Three layers of solid wood glued together with the grain crossed. Crossing the fibres neutralises the movement of the wood: you get the stability of a panel with the look and durability of solid wood. Widely used for shelves, shelving units and bespoke fitting out.
A panel made of solid wood sections joined end to end with small glued teeth, then glued edge to edge. It is genuine solid wood, more stable and more economical than a top in long continuous boards. The flip side: the eye picks up the joins. For a table top meant to be shown off, I recommend full-length boards instead.
A staircase with offset steps, one for the right foot, one for the left. It climbs steeper than a classic staircase while staying comfortable, and takes up almost half the space. The ideal solution to reach a mezzanine or a loft.
A thin sheet of real wood glued onto a panel. You get the look and the touch of fine wood, with the stability of a panel and a gentler price than solid wood. It is also the only way to work certain exceptional woods, such as walnut burr.
The finishing strip fitted at the foot of the walls, where they meet the floor. It protects the bottom of the wall from knocks and hides the expansion gap left around a wood floor. A detail, but it is the detail that finishes a room.
The plan local d’urbanisme, the document that sets each commune’s building rules: siting, heights, materials, colours. To be consulted at the town hall before any project visible from the outside: pergola, windows, façade. Every commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées has its own rules.
The complete sanding of a wood floor down to bare wood, in several ever-finer passes. All the old finish and the grey patina are removed to start again on clean wood, ready to receive a stain or a new finish. It is the key step in renovating a wood floor.
A weak point in the insulation through which the cold crosses the building envelope: a lintel, a wall junction, a badly fitted window frame. It gives itself away by the condensation and the black marks it causes. A careful window installation is precisely about not creating any.
A wood floor installation where the boards clip together over an underlay, without being glued or nailed to the subfloor. It is the fastest and the most economical installation, but also the noisiest. It is reserved for engineered and laminate floors.
Heat-bending a laminate sheet around a rounded edge. That is what gives worktops their curved, one-piece fronts, with no seam on the edge where water could seep in.
All the metal parts of a piece of furniture: hinges, drawer runners, gas struts, handles. It is often what makes the difference in lifespan between two pieces that look identical: a drawer still gliding perfectly after fifteen years, that is the hardware.
The inclined face of the roof, seen from inside: the sloping ceiling of attic rooms. It governs the whole under-eaves fit-out: every piece is drawn to its exact angle, measured on site. Well used, a rampant yields cubic metres of storage on floor area nobody was using.
The day you sign off the finished project with the tradesman, ideally with a signed report, with or without reserves. It is not a formality: it triggers payment of the balance and starts the legal warranties, including the décennale. Take the time to open and try everything, and note in writing what remains to be put right.
Ground water climbing up the walls like blotting paper. Old houses have no capillary break: their walls manage water by evaporating it, provided they stay breathable. Blocking that evaporation with a cement render condemns the wall.
Reconnu Garant de l’Environnement: the label awarded to businesses qualified for energy renovation work. Without RGE fitting, no MaPrimeRénov’, no CEE bonus, no éco-PTZ. Check a business’s qualification on france-renov.gouv.fr before signing.
An insulating strip inserted into the profile of an aluminium window to stop the cold crossing the metal from one side to the other. Essential in the mountains: aluminium without a thermal break condenses and turns icy in winter.
A product that feeds outdoor wood in depth without forming a film on the surface. Unlike varnish, it does not flake: when it is worn, you clean and reapply, with no sanding. It is the standard upkeep for decks and cladding.
Everything that comes after the structure: insulation, partitions, wiring and plumbing, windows and doors, floor and wall coverings. As opposed to the gros œuvre, it does not hold the building up, but it is what makes it habitable, and it is what demands the strictest order of works.
Between the kit and true bespoke: industrial ranges adjustable in width or height, recut to approach your dimensions. It is better than standard, but filler strips usually remain necessary. Workshop bespoke, on the other hand, is built to your exact measurements.
The damper built into a hinge or a runner, which brakes the door or the drawer at the end of its travel for a soft, silent close. French catalogues also say “fermeture amortie”. No more slamming fronts: on a cabinet opened twenty times a day, it is the detail that marks out good hardware.
The set of solives, the parallel beams that carry a floor. It is the floor’s skeleton: if the solivage is straight and sound, everything laid on it will be too. When it tires, the floor sags or vibrates: it can be reinforced without demolishing everything.
One of the horizontal beams that carry a floor. They bear on the walls or on master beams, and take the floorboards nailed or screwed on top. When the joists have sagged or rotted, it is the structure of the floor that needs attention, not just the floorboards.
Sheets of kraft paper impregnated with resin and hot-pressed onto a panel. Not to be confused with mélaminé, which is thinner and less resistant: a good laminate takes years of kitchen life. For floors, the word means a wood-look floor with no noble wood on the surface.
Compact is a thick high-pressure laminate (HPL), built up from several layers of kraft paper and two decorative faces, impregnated with thermosetting resin. Rot-proof and highly resistant, it allows worktops only 11 to 13 mm thick. That slimness demands a specific supporting structure: it is not a worktop that fits like a standard one.
Reproducing exactly, on a piece of wood or a panel, the shape and the flaws of a wall: bumps, hollows, out-of-plumb surfaces. The cabinet or shelf then hugs the wall instead of leaving a gap. It is the gesture that separates bespoke from standard, especially in old houses where nothing is straight.
A natural substance present in some woods, such as oak or chestnut. In contact with metal and water it reacts and leaves black stains, hence the marks under a watering can forgotten on a deck. It is also what naturally protects these woods from insects and fungi.
The male part of a traditional joint: a tongue cut at the end of one piece of wood, which slots into the mortise hollowed in the other. The mortise-and-tenon holds through the wood itself: it is the signature of furniture and joinery that last.
The opening cut into the upper floor to let the staircase through. Its dimensions command everything: the shape of the staircase, its pitch and the headroom above the steps. Enlarging it is possible, but then you touch the structure of the floor: that is carpentry work, not finishing.
The deformation of a board that curls across its width, like a roof tile, when one face dries faster than the other. It is the typical risk of a wood floor laid on a still-damp subfloor or of a badly ventilated deck. Well-acclimatised, well-laid wood does not cup.
The insulation coefficient of the glazing alone (g for glass). The lower the figure, the less heat escapes: a recent double glazing sits around 1.1, a triple goes down to 0.5 to 0.8. Not to be confused with the Uw, which judges the complete window.
The insulation coefficient of the complete window, glazing plus frame (w for window). It is THE figure to compare between two quotes. In 2026, aim for 1.3 or less: it is also the threshold required for the grants, together with a sufficient solar factor.
Two panes bonded on a plastic film, like a windscreen. On impact, the glass cracks but does not fall out: safer against break-ins and domestic accidents. It is the glazing I recommend on the ground floor and on glazed doors.
The varnish for floors, usually polyurethane, which forms a hard, waterproof film on the surface of the wood. The French also say “vernir” or “vernis-vitrifier”: it is the same thing. It comes in several sheens, from deep matt to gloss.
The application of a vitrificateur in several coats to a wood floor sanded back to bare wood. The wood is protected by a film that stands up to traffic and cleans easily: it is the most durable finish for a room that lives a lot. Allow a renovation every ten to fifteen years.
A mechanical ventilation system whose vents open more or less according to the humidity of the air. It ventilates hard when needed, during the shower or the cooking, and saves the heat the rest of the time. It is the right standard in renovation: insulating without ventilating is manufacturing condensation and mould.
Ask me directly: I add the useful terms to the glossary, and I will walk you through your quote line by line. I speak English, so feel free to call or write in English.
+33 6 03 57 45 47A reply within 48 hours, or in writing: contact@agencementklein.fr
