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parc d’équipements vecteurs et accélérateurs
se réserve de présenter el et soutenir son Mémoire de Sortie
Apr 11, 2007 11:25
17 yrs ago
3 viewers *
French term

barbacane

French to English Tech/Engineering Construction / Civil Engineering ventilation
A section referring to a compartmentalized basement:
Ventilation:
Naturelle : amenée d'air frais dans les couloirs, ***barbacanes*** ou réservations ménagées en partie haute dans les cloisons des caves sur couloir.

I found a definition in French on granddictionnaire.com:
Baie étroite pratiquée en partie haute ou basse d'une cloison (principalement de cave) pour servir d'aération.
This sounds like exactly what I'm looking for but, alas!, no English term was provided.

Thanks in advance!
Proposed translations (English)
4 breather hole
3 +3 weep hole
2 ventilation slot / slit

Discussion

Conor McAuley Apr 11, 2007:
A typical weephole amounts to no more than a crevice created by omission of mortar between adjacent bricks ***Weepholes provide an air passage between*** an outer ...
www.freepatentsonline.com/5203795.html

Proposed translations

1 hr
Selected

breather hole

I agree a weephole can be to let condensation (and therefore air) out, but if you are uncomfortable about it, how about "breather hole".

For the Penguin Dict. of Building it is the hole letting condensation out of the space between two panes of secondary (as opposed to double) glazing, but I see no reason why it could not be used and understood elsewhere.
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3 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "I think this gets the idea across well. The main point of a weephole is water/condensation, whereas here the main point is ventilation. Even Conor's added website referred to air circulation specifically between outer and inner walls. Anyway, I just wasn't comfortable with using that term!"
10 mins

ventilation slot / slit

I can't think of a more 'proper' term either!
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+3
9 mins

weep hole

or weephole

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Note added at 21 mins (2007-04-11 11:47:28 GMT)
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Not necessarily just for water; you'll find "weep vent", "weephole vent", "ventilation via weepholes", etc. It ventilates to allow moisture out by evaporation.

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Note added at 31 mins (2007-04-11 11:57:22 GMT)
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"Where the brick veneer adjoins a sloping roof line, common sense dictates that weepholes would be redundant in this location for water removal, but some must be installed to allow air movement."
See page 12:
http://www.monierbrick.co.nz/design-notes/C1-ABC-Two-Storey-...
Reference:

http://iate.europa.eu/iatediff/SearchByQuery.do

Note from asker:
Hi Kari, I found weephole as a definition but am concerned it is related to water rather than air. Does it actually apply to both?
Peer comment(s):
agree Conor McAuley : Confirmed by Routledge Tech Fr-En Dictionary / see my link above
1 hr
agree Julie Barber : http://www.weepa.com.au/weepholes.shtml says here that they are for both drainage and ventilation
1 hr
agree Evi Prokopi (X)
4 hrs
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