The French You’ll Need for Renovating, Restoring, and Building a Home
If you plan to renovate, restore, or even build a home in France, you’ll quickly encounter a new range of vocabulary used by builders, architects, and local authorities.
From la rénovation and la construction neuve to les travaux de terrassement, these words appear frequently in building quotes (devis), renovation plans, and planning permission documents.
In this lesson, you’ll learn the most common French terms for types of building work, how to use them in sentences, and where you might see them in real life when managing or discussing work on a property.
Talking About Building Work
French property owners and tradespeople use les travaux (works) as a general word for any kind of building, repair, or renovation.
Nous faisons des travaux dans la maison.
We’re doing some work on the house.
La rénovation de la cuisine commence la semaine prochaine.
The renovation of the kitchen starts next week.
Le chantier comprend la démolition d’un mur et une extension.
The project includes the demolition of a wall and an extension.
Describing Types of Work
Talking About Renovation and Building Work
Grammar Tips
1️⃣ Using “faire” + noun for building work
The verb faire is often used to describe having work done:
Nous faisons faire une extension. → We’re having an extension built.
Elle fait faire des travaux de rénovation. → She’s having renovation work done.
2️⃣ Using “avoir besoin de” for repairs
La maison a besoin de réparation. → The house needs repair.
Le toit a besoin d’une restauration complète. → The roof needs complete restoration.
3️⃣ Introducing the Future Tense in French
When describing building plans, the future tense (le futur simple) is often used to talk about what will happen:
La construction neuve commencera en avril. → The new build will start in April.
Le jardin aura un nouvel aménagement paysager. → The garden will have new landscaping.
To form the future tense for most regular verbs:
- Take the infinitive form (rénover, commencer, avoir).
- Add the endings: -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont.
Examples:
- je rénoverai → I will renovate
- il commencera → he/it will start
- nous aurons → we will have
This tense is very common when discussing renovation timelines or plans for work yet to be done.
Cultural Notes: Building and Renovation in France
Understanding how these words are used helps when talking with builders (entrepreneurs), architects (architectes), or local authorities (la mairie).
Planning Permission
- Un permis de construire → required for major works such as extensions or new builds (une extension, une construction neuve).
- Une déclaration préalable de travaux → needed for smaller projects such as changes to windows, roofs, or fences.
Common Building Situations
- la rénovation énergétique → energy-efficiency renovation
- la restauration d’un bâtiment ancien → restoration of an old building
- les travaux de réparation urgente → urgent repair work
- l’aménagement paysager du jardin → landscaping of the garden
When asking for quotes, you might hear:
- un devis de rénovation → a renovation quote
- le coût des travaux → the cost of the work
- le délai des travaux → the duration of the work
Useful Phrases
Talking About Renovation Plans
Le toit a besoin de réparations importantes. Nous prévoyons de rénover complètement la cuisine. Le couvreur commencera les travaux dès que possible. Nous faisons construire une extension à la maison.
Summary
In this article, we covered the key vocabulary for talking about building, renovation, and restoration work in French. You now know how to describe projects, understand building terms in quotes or planning documents, and use the right expressions when discussing your renovation or construction plans in France.