Building or renovating in Bali? Navigating the local construction scene requires more than just blueprints; it’s about understanding the language used by contractors and tradesmen. This guide translates common Indonesian building terms into English, bridging the communication gap and ensuring your project runs smoothly.
Laying the Foundation: From Land to Concrete
- Land and Preparation: Before any construction begins, you need land (tanah). In Bali, land is often measured in are (100 square meters). If you’re building on former rice fields (sawah), you may need to use fill (urugan) due to the typically muddy (lumpur) or clay-like (lempung) ground.
- Foundations: The process starts with digging (galian) for the foundations (pondasi). These are often built from riverstone (batu kali), forming walls (tembok) or piers (setempat).
- Concrete and Reinforcement: A critical component is reinforced concrete (beton bertulang). Concrete (beton) is usually made with aggregate (kerikil or koral), sand (pasir), cement (semen), and water (air). Adding reinforcing steel (pembesian) creates the strong reinforced concrete.
- Structural Elements: Beams (balok), often referred to as “sloof,” are cast along the foundation to distribute the weight. Columns (kolom) are then added, with ring beams (balok ring) at the top of the walls to lock everything together.
Walls, Roofs, and Ceilings
- Wall Construction: Walls (tembok or dinding) may be made from lightweight concrete blocks (batako) or red brick (bata merah) held together with mortar. A smooth cement render (plester) with a smooth finish (aci) is commonly used.
- Roofing: Roofs (atap) can be gabled (atap pelana) or hip (atap limasan). The roof frame (kuda) uses wood (kayu) or lightweight galvanized steel (baja). Rafters (kasau or usuk) and lathes (reng) support the roofing material, which may include roof tiles (genteng), wood shingles (sirap), or corrugated iron (seng gelombang). You’ll also find features like fascia boards (lis plank) and gutters (talang).
- Ceilings: Inside, ceilings (plafon) are installed, sometimes with a soffit (plafon overhang) in areas like eaves. Materials can range from thin plywood (triplex) to waterproof fibreboard (Kalsiboard) or plasterboard/gypsum.
Finishing Touches: Floors, Plumbing, and Electrical
- Flooring: Floors (lantai) are often covered with ceramic tiles (keramik lantai), though marble (marmer) and wood (kayu) such as teak (jati) or coconut (kelapa) are also used.
- Plumbing: Water (air) usually comes from a well (sumur) or bore (sumur bor), pumped up with a well pump (pompa sumur) and flowing through pipes (pipa). Plastic pipes (pipa plastik) are common, but older houses might have galvanized steel pipes (pipa galvanis). You’ll see taps (kran), washbasins (wastafel), showers (shower), and toilets (toilet duduk or toilet jongkok). Wastewater flows to a septic tank (tangki septic or tangki kotoran).
- Electrical: Electricity (listrik) is supplied by PLN to an electricity meter (listrik meteran), and then to a distribution panel (panel) with contact breakers (mcb). From here, it’s distributed via cables (kabel) to plug sockets (stop kontak) and lights (lampu), which are controlled by switches (saklar).
Maintenance and Troubleshooting
Understanding maintenance terms is crucial:
- Leaking: Bocor
- Broken or Not Working: Rusak
- Worn Out: Buruk
- Electrical Item Not Working: Mati
- Burned Out: Bakar
- Blocked Pipe: Pipa buntu
- Working Properly: Baik
Tools of the Trade
Knowing the names of common tools is also beneficial:
- Hammer: Palu
- Screwdriver: Obeng
- Drill: Bor
- Saw: Gergaji
- Tapemeasure: Metran
- Spanner: Kunci pas
- Chisel: Pahat
- Ladder: Tangga
- Wheelbarrow: Kereta sorong
Other useful items include paint (cat), varnish (vernis), nails (paku), nuts (mur), bolts (baut), screws (sekrup), glue (lem), and duct tape (pita bebek).
By understanding these terms, you’ll be better equipped to communicate effectively with your construction team and manage your project successfully in Bali.
