Apartment repairs includes a wide range of fix-up jobs from light plumbing (= things to do with pipes and water) through light electric jobs (= things to do with lighting and electricity) to painting the walls and fixing door frames. Do you know how to talk about them in English? This page will help you talk about the problems that you may have in your home.
Apartment repairs almost always cause problems unless you are good at fixing things because a good handyman (= Mr Fix-it, a repair person) is hard to find. It is also hard to explain what went wrong sometimes, so we’ll publish a few posts that will show you how to explain what the problem is and who to call. So let’s see three common problem areas: plumbing (=things to do with water pipes in the bathroom and the kitchen), electricity (=lighting, lamps, electric cords), and general problems with doors and windows.
Apartment repairs – What can go wrong?
AUDIO PICTURE DICTIONARY
Hover your mouse over the words to hear how to say them.
Download the picture dictionary TOOLS and PROBLEMS IN THE APARTMENT.
The tap / faucet is leaking / dripping.
The toilet is clogged.
The window is broken.
The door is warped. It sticks.
There is a power outage/blackout in our apartment.
The lock is jammed. The key won’t turn in it.
a plunger
a hammer
a screwdriver
a wrench
a drill
Words for FIXING a problem
The following words can be used to talk about what you do about the problem to fix it. They are synonyms, which means that they all mean the same thing and can be used with all kinds of problems in the apartment.
repair (repaired, repaired)
I got the lock repaired. It just needed a little oil, the key turns easily in it now.
I got the lamp in our bedroom repaired.
fix (fixed, fixed)
The super(intendent) fixed the toilet – I didn’t need to call a plumber.
Can you recommend a good handyman? My door lock is jammed.
mend (mended, mended)
The glazier mended the window frames. They were bent and drafty, but now they are all good.
Do you think you could mend this door handle? It’s so loose, it may come off anytime.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Related posts
Guessing in English – What to say when you don’t know what to say?
More Problems in the apartment – How to talk about them?
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