dbark

When I called a rawl-plug a wall-plug, my US husband understood me. But he didn't understand what a Phillips screwdriver was, he called it a cross-headed screwdriver. Spackle is hilarious - what's wrong with calling it filler?
But the way they build houses here is even more hilarious - it all seems so flimsy, and the roofing material is like pieces of roofing felt that I used to put on my shed roof in the UK!

I work with very young children, age 12-24 months, and have had to learn many new terms.
Nappy = diaper
Dummy = pacifier/passy/binky
vests = onesies

Bob

Nice and easy to slice up though when working for it....

Though the the constant re-working on homes is a bit weird, well down south it has to really suck...friends of in-laws live near new orleans I think, anyway, they say they have to rebuilt the house every 5-8 years because of the humidity, the house just rots and falls apart, so they spend the summer in a hotel while they get the builders in to rebuild...what a mare...hmmm...

cindyabs

American. That's what I was thinking of a little grey thingie that goes into a inset you've placed into a hole you've drilled into masonary.

cindyabs

Gosh I've always heard it called a Phillips head or just plain Phillips screwdriver here in the US. I like the word spackle cuz it sounds nice and messy,

gruffbrown

I believe they call cavity wall anchors 'mollys', the ones with the little spring toggle that opens behind the cavity and when you tighten the screw it springs open behingd the drywall.....................remind me to get a life

cindyabs

We had our house resided last year (cedar siding) due to rot in some of the planks, but to be fair the house is 18 years old which is normal for this climate. Also had to get roof reshingled too, because idiot builders didn't put flashing in under skylights. It was an expensive year.

cindyabs

By George I think he's got it!!!!
Thanks,:P

Pulaski

You may think so, but (aside from rot issues in hot and humid climates) the structure of American houses is remarkably strong, and also light, compared to British houses built of brick and concrete. This means that American the houses are much lighter and less likely to suffer from subsidence. Even if they do subside the structure will only flex slightly, which isn't too big of a deal and certainly no sign that the house may collapse. In most cases the walls may develop a crack, or a few nails holding the plasterboard may "pop", meaning a little cosmetic repair is required - unlike in Britain where a tiny movement in the foundation can produce an structure threatening crack in the walls and/ or make the house unsaleable.

mandpete

We live in a 2 yr old house and watched it being built and obviously sent pictures over to the family as it progressed.

When my in-laws came last year my mother in law commented that the house wasn't draughty and noisy seeing as though it seemed to be built like a prefab. She was also amazed by the basement, she was expecting a cold, damp cellar. She was impressed with the A/C and can't believe that the house is warm during the winter.

Back to the thread
Boiler - furnace
Tap - faucet
Costume/cossie - swimsuit
Crawl - freestyle

Elvira

I don't suppose they've ever thought of, you know, BRICKS?

I'm willing to bet that our house in London (which is well over 100 years old) will still stand 100 years from now - long after our 7-year old CA house will have turned to dust...

Bob

Wouldn't have a clue, but they seem use to it, I think they have had the place for 18 years or so and re-built it like around 5 times....I'm sure that's just an extreme example, but bit of a hassle that's for sure..

Lynne

One embarassing event happened to a friend of mine. He had his own company and at the time employed only a few people. He was checking through his desk calendar to change appointments and reached into his desk drawer. After rummaging around he shouted to his secretary "who's pinched my damn rubber?". After a few seconds of deadly silence and getting no response he repeated his question. His secretary came into the office, bright red with embarassment and just started at him in disbelief. Once she explained that what the Brits called a "rubber" the Americans call an "eraser" and what the Americans call a "rubber" he wanted to crawl under the desk and die.

My own odd experience was seeing a sign in a store window that said "NO STROLLERS". I had no clue what they were referring to but assumed they must have meant they didn't want people just "strolling" in and mooching around. Was months before I had the courage to mention it to someone at work.

I also remember getting a weird look when I mentioned that the "perspex" at our local ice arena was badly scratched. I was informed it was "plexiglass".

gruffbrown

The same reason I've stopped calling my ciggies 'Fags' "Just going out for a fag dear"

Bob

That's because Perspex is a brand name...the plastic is actually acrylic...but they probably still wouldn't know what it was *lol*

gruffbrown

Thanks for that Bob, my life is complete now...