La Langue: « La perceuse est très propre avec l’aspiration » — aka the day my 17th-century walls met a drill with a vacuum

Aix old-building upgrade: interphone swap + dust-free hammer drill with aspiration. French vocab, tips, and the yaourtophone era.

This morning, our building did that very French thing where time collapses.

On one side: a 17th-century immeuble that still creaks like it’s auditioning for a period drama.
On the other: a brand-new interphone arriving with the confidence of a gadget that has never once been ignored by a stubborn stone wall.

And right in the middle: me, mentally preparing for The Great Plaster Snowstorm of 2026—you know the one: dust on the floor, dust on your soul, dust somehow inside a closed drawer across the room.

Instead… nothing.

Because the hero of today’s episode wasn’t the interphone.

It was the drill.

Out with the “tin can and string,” in with… a vacuum-powered hole-punching spaceship

Let me explain my (very scientific) understanding of our old system: it was basically a “tin can and strings” situation—except instead of two kids in a backyard, it was grown adults yelling “ALLÔ???” into a plastic handset while the other person yelled back from the street like they were calling cattle.

Is this a French thing too? Apparently France has its own poetic version of the tin-can phone: le téléphone à ficelle, and—my personal favorite—le yaourtophone (because yes, French childhood science can involve yogurt pots). (Wikipedia)

So today felt like:

• Goodbye, yaourtophone vibes.

• Hello, modern interphone that probably has an opinion about my parcels.

The revelation: la poussière didn’t show up

Here’s the moment that genuinely shifted my brain:

I saw the technician bring out what I assumed was a regular perceuse (drill), then he added a chunkier mode—more like a marteau perforateur (rotary hammer / hammer drill)—because our walls are basically plaster in front of stone.

I braced for chaos.

And then I watched the drill bite into the wall while a dust-extraction attachment (aspiration) quietly did its job… and the wall stayed clean. No beige cloud. No gritty air. No “why does Todd's coffee taste like renovation?”

Just neat holes, like the wall had politely agreed to cooperate.

Some manufacturers even claim these systems can remove around 97–98% of dust during drilling (which feels believable now that I’ve seen the sorcery in person). (YouTube)
And there are also “hollow bit” systems designed specifically for dust-free drilling by extracting dust through the bit. (ac-elearning.bosch-pt.com)

I did not know this technology existed. I have been living like a caveman.

The line of French I couldn’t say before (but I can now)

Today’s accidental sentence (and yes, I’m proud of it):

« La perceuse est très propre avec l’aspiration. »
“The drill is really clean with the suction/dust extraction.”

Also: French people might say it a few different ways depending on vibe:

• « C’est super propre, ça. » (So clean, that.)

• « Ça ne fait pas de poussière. » (It doesn’t make dust.)

• « Il y a une aspiration intégrée. » (There’s built-in extraction.)

A tiny curated vocabulary list for “renovation day”

Because this is exactly the kind of moment where your brain goes blank and you forget every noun you’ve ever learned:

• un interphone — intercom

• un combiné — handset

• une platine (de rue) — outside entry panel

• la gâche électrique — electric door strike (the clicky unlock part)

• le plâtre — plaster

• la pierre — stone

• la poussière — dust

• percer / faire un trou — to drill / make a hole

• une perceuse — drill

• un marteau perforateur — rotary hammer / hammer drill

• l’aspiration / l’aspirateur — suction / vacuum

Micro-script you can steal (for next time a technician shows up)

Because one day you will need this, and it will be when you’re in pajamas holding your phone like a translator hostage.

• « Vous voulez que je dégage l’espace ? »
  Do you want me to clear the area?

• « Je peux protéger le sol ? »
  I can protect the floor?

• « Ça va faire beaucoup de poussière ? »
  Will it make a lot of dust?

• « Ah, avec l’aspiration—c’est nickel. »
  Oh, with extraction—it’s perfect.

Quick copropriété reality check (because France)

If you’re new to living in a French building: interphone changes are often handled at the copropriété level (shared building governance), meaning choices/maintenance can be decided collectively and managed as part of the common areas. (Syndic One)
(Which explains why upgrades sometimes appear suddenly, like a surprise season finale.)

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French learner tips by level (so everyone wins)

A1:
Say one true thing and smile: « C’est propre ! » / « Pas de poussière ! »

A2:
Add the “how” and “why”: « Il y a une aspiration. Ça ne fait pas de poussière. »

B1:
Get curious: « C’est une perceuse spéciale ? Vous l’utilisez souvent ? »

B2:
Sound like you belong in a meeting: « C’est impressionnant—ça réduit la poussière et c’est mieux pour la santé. »

Advanced:
Go full building-nerd (respectfully):
« Vous utilisez un système d’aspiration embarqué / un foret creux pour l’extraction des poussières ? » (ac-elearning.bosch-pt.com)

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Links / rabbit holes (if you love the details)

• Dust removal systems for drilling (examples + setup vids): (YouTube)

• “Hollow bit / dust-free drilling” concept: (ac-elearning.bosch-pt.com)

• Interphone + copropriété basics: (Syndic One)

• The very French joy of téléphone à ficelle / yaourtophone: (Wikipedia)

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Your turn (come comment 👇)

Have you ever had a surprise modern upgrade in an old French building—interphone, boiler, fiber internet, mysterious new lock, anything? Did it feel magical… or like the building was judging you?

And language nerd bonus: what’s your favorite French “tool word” you’ve learned so far (mine is currently gâche électrique—it sounds like a tiny villain in a Pixar film)?