Glossary
A
acceptance of the work
réception des travaux
The moment you accept the finished work, with or without written reservations. You may hold back enough money to fix the visible defects you noted.
available flow
débit disponible
The amount of water the house supply can deliver per minute, measured with a bucket of known volume and a stopwatch at the tap nearest the planned connection. Zones are designed to use only part of it, to keep good pressure at the heads.
AWG wire gauge
calibre AWG
The North American wire size system: the smaller the number, the thicker the wire and the lower its resistance. Common landscape lighting cables run from 16 to 10 AWG; a heavier gauge reduces voltage drop on long runs.
B
backflow preventer
dispositif antirefoulement
A device fitted between the drinking water supply and the irrigation system to stop system water, which can carry soil or fertilizer, from flowing back into the drinking water. In Quebec, the connection to the potable supply and this device are plumbing work; piping installed downstream of the device is excluded from the Plumbing chapter of the Construction Code.
bank (embankment slope)
talus
A steeply sloped piece of ground that joins two levels without a wall. A grassed or planted bank holds the soil while its slope stays moderate; steeper, it erodes or slides and needs stabilization or a wall. Several cities limit its height and slope.
bedding layer (setting bed)
lit de pose
Thin layer of loose sand, screeded over the compacted base, into which the pavers settle when compacted. It is not meant to correct an uneven base.
buried course (embedment)
rang enfoui (encastrement)
The part of the wall below finished grade at its toe. It keeps the base from sliding forward. Manufacturers ask for at least 150 mm or 10% of the height, whichever is greater.
C
catch basin
puisard (regard de captage)
A small buried basin with a grate, set at a low spot. It collects surface water, keeps debris in its sump and sends the water through a solid pipe to an outlet.
certificate of location
certificat de localisation
A document prepared by a land surveyor that shows the lot lines and where the buildings and structures sit. Cities often ask for it with a permit application.
change order
ordre de modification
A written, signed document that adds, removes or changes work and its price before the work is done. It is the only sound way to approve an extra.
check valve
clapet anti-retour
A small valve that lets water through in one direction only. Fitted under a sprinkler head at the bottom of a slope, it stops the water left in the pipes from draining out of the lowest head after the zone shuts off, which causes puddles. Not to be confused with a backflow preventer, which protects drinking water.
clear stone
pierre nette
Crushed stone with no fines, roughly 5 to 20 mm. Water moves freely through it, so it goes behind walls, inside hollow blocks and around drains.
CMEQ (master electrician)
CMEQ (maître électricien)
The Corporation des maîtres électriciens du Québec. Only its members may do electrical installation work for others, lighting and its wiring included. Homeowners may not do this work themselves.
CMMTQ (master pipe-mechanic)
CMMTQ (maître mécanicien en tuyauterie)
The Corporation des maîtres mécaniciens en tuyauterie du Québec. Plumbing for others is reserved to its members, including the connection of an irrigation system to drinking water and the backflow preventer. Irrigation piping downstream of the device can be installed by a landscaping contractor.
CNESST (labour standards, pay equity, health and safety board)
CNESST
Quebec's labour standards, pay equity, and occupational health and safety board. It enforces labour standards, including the minimum wage, and health and safety rules, including the construction safety code: for example, a trench a worker enters must be shored or sloped back beyond 1.2 m deep.
compaction lift
couche de compactage (levée)
Thickness of stone spread and then compacted in one go. A thick base is built in several thin lifts, each compacted before the next; the maximum thickness depends on the plate used.
concrete adhesive
adhésif à béton
A cartridge glue that fixes caps, treads and the top courses of blocks. Set time and bead length per cartridge come from the product data sheet.
concrete sand
sable à béton
Clean, coarse sand (0 to 5 mm) that drains well. It is the recommended bedding material under pavers and slabs.
concrete slab (patio slab)
dalle de béton
Precast concrete unit that is larger and thinner than a paver relative to its face, laid the same way on bedding and base. Large formats need more care when laying and often two people or a vacuum lifter.
cubic yard
verge cube
A volume unit used in Quebec for bulk soil, mulch and stone: about 0.76 m³. At some suppliers, one yard equals a 4 ft by 8 ft trailer filled about ten inches deep. Quarries usually sell stone by the metric tonne instead.
curb cut (driveway apron)
entrée charretière
The lowered part of the street curb and sidewalk in front of a driveway. It sits on public land, so the municipality controls its width, its location and often who does the work.
cut
déblai
Soil removed to lower the ground. It is measured in place (bank volume); once dug, it takes more room in the wheelbarrow or truck because of swell. Clean cut can be reused as fill elsewhere on the lot.
D
deposit
acompte
Money paid up front at signing. Outside itinerant sales, the law sets no cap: keep it as small as possible and provide for a refund if the work is not done on time.
downspout
descente pluviale
The vertical pipe that brings water from the gutter to the ground. Its water should come out away from the foundation, onto a surface that absorbs it, never into the foundation drain.
drip irrigation
goutte-à-goutte
Slow watering through small emitters at the base of plants, with no spray. It suits beds, hedges and planters; it gets its own zone, because it puts down water at a very different rate from sprinkler heads.
dry well
puits percolant
A pit filled with clear stone, or a precast chamber, that takes water from roofs or hard surfaces and lets it soak into the ground. It needs soil that absorbs (an infiltration test), a good distance from the foundation and compliance with municipal rules.
dry well (usage note)
puits perdu
In everyday landscaping usage, a clear-stone pit or perforated chamber that takes clean rainwater (downspouts, drains) and lets it soak in: a dry well. Note: the OQLF reserves "puits perdu" for a well that receives wastewater to purify it in the soil, and calls the grated well that collects runoff a "puisard" (catch basin). A yard dry well must take only rainwater; how well it works depends on the soil, and a city may regulate it.
E
edge restraint
bordure de retenue
Plastic, aluminium or concrete edging that closes the free sides of a paved area. Anchored on the base, it stops the pavers from sliding outward and the joints from opening.
estimated price
prix estimatif
A price given as an estimate at signing. The contractor must justify any increase, and you pay it only if it comes from work or expenses the contractor could not foresee.
excavator
pelle mécanique
A digging machine whose boom and bucket sit on a turntable that swings, on tracks or wheels. It digs, loads trucks and does rough grading. In Quebec people also say "pelle" or "excavatrice"; "pépine" usually means a backhoe loader, which has a bucket at each end.
F
fill
remblai
Soil or granular material added to raise the ground. It goes down in thin layers, each one compacted; placed in one thick layer, it settles for months and makes new hollows. The calculator counts it as compacted volume, then converts it to the volume to order.
fixed price (lump sum)
prix forfaitaire (à forfait)
An overall price agreed for defined work. It does not change if the work takes more or less time, unless agreed otherwise or changed in writing.
freeze-thaw cycles
gel et dégel
The alternation of periods when water in the ground freezes, expands, then thaws. Wet fine soil (silt, clay) heaves when it freezes and loses bearing strength when it thaws. Pavers, block walls and lawns hold up when water is drained away: slopes outward, a thick enough free-draining base and no work on frozen ground.
French drain
drain français
A trench lined with geotextile and filled with clear stone around a perforated pipe sloped to an outlet. It collects groundwater and carries it away. The same French term also names a house's foundation drain.
frost depth
profondeur de gel
Depth to which the ground freezes in winter. In Quebec it exceeds one metre under cleared surfaces and increases northward. Paving does not go below it: it floats on a free-draining base.
frost heave
soulèvement par le gel
Swelling of the ground when the water in it freezes into ice lenses. Wet fine soil (silt, clay) under a base that is too thin lifts the paving unevenly, then lets it drop at thaw.
G
geogrid
géogrille
A polymer grid laid in layers in the compacted backfill behind a wall. It ties the wall into the soil mass so they act together. Its length, type and layer spacing are designed: that is an engineer's job.
geotextile
géotextile
A permeable fabric placed between native soil and stone. It lets water through but keeps fines from clogging the stone or mixing into the base.
GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter)
DDFT (disjoncteur différentiel de fuite à la terre)
A device that cuts power in a fraction of a second when it detects current leaking to ground, for example through water or a person. It protects outdoor outlets. A plug-in landscape transformer goes into a protected outdoor outlet; adding an outlet or a circuit is work for a CMEQ electrician.
grading
nivellement
The work that gives the ground the heights and slopes you want: lower the high spots, fill the hollows, compact, then shape the final surface. Good grading moves water away from buildings and on to the street, a swale or an area that absorbs it, without sending it to the neighbour.
GST (goods and services tax)
TPS (taxe sur les produits et services)
The 5% federal tax on most goods and services, including the labour and materials of a landscaping contract. It is shown separately from the QST. A business stays a small supplier, with no duty to register, while its taxable sales do not exceed 30,000 CAD in one quarter or over four consecutive quarters.
guard (guardrail)
garde-corps
A barrier along an open side when the walking surface sits high above the ground next to it. Municipal rules often set that threshold at 600 mm.
H
hand-dig zone
zone de creusage manuel
A strip at least 1 m wide on each side of the locate marks. No bucket digging there: the pipe or cable is exposed by hand or by vacuum until you can see it.
handrail
main courante
The rail you hold going up or down. For an exterior stair serving a dwelling, it is generally required beyond three risers.
head-to-head coverage
couverture tête à tête
The spacing rule for sprinkler heads: each head's spray reaches the next head. Areas near a head get more water than areas far from it; full overlap evens out the watering and avoids dry strips. Put a head in each corner first, then along the edges, then inside.
I
Info-Excavation
Info-Excavation
A free service that takes your locate request and passes it to the member owners of buried networks (power, gas, telecom, water). They come and mark their lines on the ground before you dig.
interlocking concrete paver
pavé uni
Precast concrete unit laid dry on a thin sand bed over a compacted stone base. The units hold together through friction in sand-filled joints and through an edge restraint on free sides. "Pavé uni" is the common Quebec name.
irrigation controller
contrôleur d'arrosage
The timer that opens each zone in turn on a schedule. It plugs into a 120 V outlet; the wires running to the valves are low voltage. A rain mode pauses watering without erasing the program.
irrigation zone
zone d'arrosage
A group of sprinkler heads controlled by one valve that water at the same time. Heads with the same needs (sunny lawn, shaded lawn, drip beds) are grouped together, and each zone's flow is kept within what the water supply can deliver without losing pressure.
isolation joint
joint de désolidarisation
Flexible joint left through the full paver thickness where paving meets a fixed element founded below frost (house foundation, step on piers, garage slab). It lets the paving move with frost without catching on the fixed element.
itinerant merchant
commerçant itinérant
A business that solicits or signs a contract with a consumer away from its own address, for example at your door or at your home after soliciting you. It needs an OPC permit and you get 10 days to cancel.
L
lawn roller
rouleau à gazon
A weighted drum, often filled with water, pushed over fine-graded soil or freshly laid sod to press roots into firm contact with the soil. It is used light: it is not a tool to compact a base.
leveling pad
coussin de nivellement
A compacted layer of crushed stone at the bottom of a wall trench, dead level. The first course sits on it; any error here multiplies all the way up the wall.
lighting hub
moyeu de raccordement
A junction where a home-run cable from the transformer splits into equal-length leads to a few nearby fixtures. Each fixture then gets nearly the same voltage, and there are fewer splices than on a daisy-chained cable.
low garden wall
muret
A short block wall that holds back little or no soil: a bed edge, a planter, a seat wall. As soon as it holds back a slope or a load, treat it as a retaining wall.
low-voltage transformer
transformateur basse tension
A device plugged into 120 V that supplies about 12 V to landscape fixtures. Multi-tap models (for example 12, 13, 14 and 15 V) make up for voltage drop on long runs. It is sized above the total fixture load, following the maximum load its maker states; a photocell or timer switches it on and off.
M
MG-20 (0-3/4 in crushed stone)
MG-20
Crushed stone graded 0 to 20 mm, fines included. Compacted in thin lifts, it makes a hard, stable base under pavers, steps and walls.
MG-56 (0-2 1/4 in crushed stone)
MG-56
Coarser crushed stone (0 to 56 mm) used as a subbase under the MG-20, mostly under driveways and harder-working surfaces.
mini excavator
mini-excavatrice
A small excavator, about 0.8 to 3.5 tonnes for the most rented models, narrow enough to pass through a gate or a side path. It rents by the day or week, often with delivery. A first-time operator digs much more slowly than an experienced one and must keep the machine away from locate marks.
modified Proctor
Proctor modifié
A laboratory test that finds the maximum dry density of a soil or aggregate and the moisture content that achieves it, using a high compaction energy. Specifications state the required compaction as a percentage of that maximum, checked on site with a test device.
mulch
paillis
A layer of wood chips, bark or other material spread on top of planting beds to keep the soil moist, protect it and hold back weeds. It is sold in bags or in bulk by the cubic yard; keep it away from trunks and stems.
municipal drop-off depot (ecocentre)
écocentre
A municipal site where residents drop off materials such as soil, stone, concrete, wood or renovation debris. Each municipality sets what it accepts, the quantities, proof of residence and fees; contractors are often refused or charged.
N
natural runoff
écoulement naturel des eaux
Water that flows by itself from higher land to lower land. The lower neighbour must receive it, but the upper owner may not make things worse by concentrating or redirecting water toward them.
NEQ (Quebec enterprise number)
NEQ (numéro d'entreprise du Québec)
The number that identifies an enterprise registered in Quebec. It ties a quote to the right legal name; the RBQ advises putting it in the contract.
O
OPC (consumer protection office)
OPC (Office de la protection du consommateur)
The Quebec body that enforces the Consumer Protection Act. It recommends a written contract describing the work, the products, the total price, payment terms and the warranty. It issues itinerant merchant permits: a contract signed at your home after a sales visit can be cancelled within 10 days.
outlet (drainage outlet)
exutoire
The place where water from a lot, a swale or a drain is released without causing damage: the street, a ditch, a grassed or planted area that absorbs it, or a dry well. Without an outlet, a drain or swale fills up and does nothing.
P
perforated drain pipe
drain perforé
A slotted pipe that collects water in a clear stone trench and carries it to an outlet. Without an outlet and a fall, it does nothing.
photocell
photocellule
A light sensor that turns lighting on at dusk and off at dawn, often combined with a timer that switches it off earlier in the night. The one on a plug-in transformer is set without an electrician; a control hard-wired to 120 V is electrician's work.
plate compactor
plaque vibrante
A machine with a vibrating base plate that is walked over stone to compact it, lift by lift. Reversible models go forward and back and deliver more force.
polymeric jointing sand
sable polymère
Jointing sand mixed with a binder that hardens once wetted. It limits weeds and joint erosion, but it must go on fully dry pavers and joints, and every grain must be cleared from the surface before wetting.
pool enclosure
enceinte de piscine
Fence, wall or combination of both that controls access to a residential pool. In Quebec its dimensions, openings and self-closing, self-latching gate are set by provincial regulation, and municipalities can be stricter.
precipitation rate
taux de précipitation
The depth of water a zone puts down per hour, in mm/h (or in/h). In metric, it is 60 times the zone's flow in L/min, divided by its area in m²; in imperial, 96.25 times the flow in US gpm, divided by the area in ft². It is used to work out the run time that delivers the water you want.
Q
R
rain sensor
sonde de pluie
A sensor wired to the controller that pauses watering after enough rain. Some municipalities require one on automatic systems; check your drinking water bylaw.
RBQ (Quebec building authority)
RBQ (Régie du bâtiment du Québec)
The Quebec body that issues construction contractor licences, administers the Construction Code and keeps the public licence register. The licence number (format XXXX-XXXX-XX) must appear on advertising, quotes and contracts. Much landscaping on private land needs no licence, but electrical, gas and plumbing work for others always does.
RBQ licence
licence RBQ
A licence from the Régie du bâtiment du Québec, required to act as a construction contractor for others. Its subcategories say which work the business may do. Common landscaping on private land is exempt.
retaining wall
mur de soutènement
A wall that holds back soil where the ground level changes. It has to resist the push of that soil and of the water in it, so it needs a buried toe, a drainage zone and, depending on height, the load above and the soil, geogrid and an engineer's input.
reversible plate compactor
plaque vibrante réversible
A heavier vibrating plate that goes forward and backward, used for thick bases, driveways, fill and trench bottoms. It delivers more force than a light forward plate, but it is heavy to handle and move: rent it with a trailer or have it delivered.
riser
contremarche (hauteur de marche)
The vertical height of one step, measured from the top of one tread to the top of the next. Every riser in a stair must be the same.
run (tread depth)
giron
The horizontal depth of a step, from one nosing to the next. A run that is too short leaves no room for the foot.
S
setback (batter)
fruit (retrait par rang)
The small step back of each course from the one below, which leans the wall into the retained soil. It depends on the block and its locking system; a vertical wall has no setback and a lower unreinforced height.
shoring
étançonnement
A structure that holds trench walls so they cannot collapse on workers: a rented trench box or shoring designed by an engineer.
skid steer (compact loader)
chargeuse compacte
A small front-bucket loader, on wheels or tracks, that moves soil and stone around the lot, spreads fill and loads trucks. It replaces dozens of wheelbarrow trips, but it needs a wide enough access and leaves ruts on soft ground.
slope (grade)
pente
How steep a surface is, in percent: the difference in height divided by the horizontal distance, times 100. A 5 cm drop over 2.5 m is a 2% slope. Drainage guides ask for a steeper slope next to foundations than on the lawn, and set a maximum beyond which a wall or a stabilized bank is needed.
small supplier
petit fournisseur
A business whose taxable sales stay under $30,000 in a quarter and over four quarters. It does not have to register for GST and QST and must then not charge them.
sod
tourbe
In Quebec, the everyday word for sod: strips of farm-grown turf with a thin layer of soil and roots, sold in 2 ft by 5 ft rolls (10 ft²) and on pallets of 70 rolls. In standard French, "tourbe" means peat; "gazon en plaques" avoids the confusion.
sod cutter
coupe-gazon motorisé
A machine with a horizontal blade that slices existing turf into even strips, with a few centimetres of roots, so it can be lifted quickly. It rents by the half day or day; the blade is sometimes sold separately.
sprinkler head
asperseur
A buried watering head that pops up under water pressure. Spray heads water in a fixed fan over short distances; rotors turn and throw farther. The two types are not mixed in one zone, because they put down water at different rates.
static water pressure
pression statique
Water pressure in the pipes when no tap is running, read with a gauge screwed onto an outdoor tap. It limits which heads you can use and how far they throw; too high makes heads mist, too low leaves gaps in coverage.
stone dust (screenings)
poussière de pierre
Finely crushed stone with a high share of fines, still often used in Quebec as bedding. It holds water and can pump up through joints; several public specifications refuse it under pavers and call for concrete sand.
stride rule (Blondel formula)
règle du pas (formule de Blondel)
A comfort rule: two risers plus one run add up to about one stride, 600 to 660 mm. A low step therefore needs a longer run.
stripping (sod and topsoil)
décapage
Removing the sod and topsoil before digging or grading. Stripped topsoil is kept in a separate pile, without mixing it with subsoil, so it can go back on top at the end.
surcharge
surcharge
Extra load at the top of a wall: a driveway, parking, a pool, a building, a slope. It pushes harder than soil alone and takes the wall outside the manufacturers' height charts.
swale
noue
A wide, shallow, grassed or planted channel that guides surface water to an outlet. It needs a continuous fall and gentle sides.
swell (bulking)
foisonnement
The increase in volume of soil once it is dug: one cubic metre in place becomes more than one cubic metre in the truck, because the grains are no longer packed. Clay swells more than sand or gravel. Truck trips and containers are sized on the swollen (loose) volume.
T
topsoil
terre végétale
The top layer of soil, rich in organic matter, where lawn and plants grow. A lawn typically has 100 to 150 mm of it; a thicker layer holds rainwater better. It is not fill under hard surfaces, because it settles. In Quebec, BNQ 0605-100 covers growing soils and surface preparation.
track carrier (power wheelbarrow)
brouette motorisée
A small walk-behind tracked carrier with a tipping bucket that moves soil, stone or mulch where a loader cannot go. It saves a lot of effort when the backyard can only be reached through a narrow passage.
trench
tranchée
A long, narrow excavation for a drain, a pipe or a wall. Beyond 1.2 m deep, nobody goes in unless the walls are shored or sloped back.
V
W
wall cap
couronnement
The flat unit that tops the last course of a wall. It is glued with concrete adhesive so it stays in place.
winterization (irrigation system)
hivernisation (système d'arrosage)
Getting an irrigation system ready before the first frosts: shut off the water, then empty the pipes by manual drains, automatic drains or a compressed-air blowout. Blowouts carry risks; Rain Bird recommends a specialist. An above-ground backflow preventer is also insulated without blocking its vents, and the system is started up again in spring.