Whether you are painting a room, assembling furniture, or making small repairs around the house, knowing some home improvement vocabulary in Spanish can be extremely useful. You may need these words when buying supplies, following instructions, talking about a renovation, or doing a DIY project yourself.

There is no single Spanish expression that corresponds perfectly to every use of English home improvement. Depending on the situation, you may hear words such as reforma (renovation), reparación (repair), mantenimiento (maintenance), or bricolaje (DIY).

Home Improvement Vocabulary in Spanish

In this article, you will learn essential home improvement vocabulary in Spanish, including common terms, tools, materials, decorating words, useful verbs, and everyday home improvement tasks.

Home Improvement and DIY Terms

Let’s start with some general words related to improving, maintaining, or repairing a home.

  1. La reforma (renovation, remodeling)
  2. La reparación (repair)
  3. La obra (building work, construction work)
  4. El mantenimiento (maintenance)
  5. El bricolaje (DIY)
  6. El proyecto (project)
  7. La mejora (improvement)

Two important words to know are reforma and reparación. A reforma normally involves making changes or improvements to a house or apartment, while a reparación means fixing something that is damaged or no longer working correctly.

The word bricolaje is especially common in Spain and refers to small construction, decoration, maintenance, or repair jobs that people do themselves rather than hiring a professional.

These general terms are a useful starting point when learning home improvement vocabulary in Spanish.

Estamos haciendo una reforma completa del salón porque queremos cambiar el suelo, pintar las paredes y renovar todos los muebles.

We are completely renovating the living room because we want to change the flooring, paint the walls, and replace all the furniture.

El propietario llamó a un profesional para hacer la reparación de la tubería que llevaba varios días perdiendo agua.

The landlord called a professional to repair the pipe that had been leaking water for several days.

Herramientas: tools

Tools are an essential part of any DIY project or home improvement vocabulary in Spanish. Here are some of the most useful ones:

  1. El martillo (hammer)
  2. El destornillador (screwdriver)
  3. El taladro (drill)
  4. La sierra (saw)
  5. Los alicates (pliers)
  6. La llave inglesa (adjustable wrench)
  7. La cinta métrica (tape measure)
  8. El nivel (spirit level)
  9. La escalera (ladder)
  10. El cúter (utility knife)

In some Spanish-speaking countries, different terms may be preferred. For example, desarmador is widely used instead of destornillador in Mexico and some other parts of Latin America.

Learning the names of basic tools is one of the most practical parts of home improvement vocabulary in Spanish, especially when you need to buy or borrow something.

Necesito un martillo y unos alicates para terminar esta reparación antes de que lleguen nuestros invitados.

I need a hammer and some pliers to finish this repair before our guests arrive.

Antes de colocar la nueva estantería, utiliza la cinta métrica y el nivel para comprobar cuidadosamente su posición en la pared.

Before putting up the new shelving unit, use the tape measure and level to check its position on the wall carefully.

Materials and Supplies

You also need to recognize the small materials and supplies used for repairs and DIY projects. Knowing these words makes home improvement vocabulary in Spanish particularly useful when visiting a hardware or DIY store.

  1. El tornillo (screw)
  2. El clavo (nail)
  3. La tuerca (nut)
  4. La arandela (washer)
  5. El pegamento (glue)
  6. La cinta adhesiva (adhesive tape)
  7. El papel de lija (sandpaper)
  8. El yeso (plaster)
  9. La madera (wood)
  10. El cemento (cement)

It is useful to distinguish tornillo from clavo. A tornillo is a screw and is normally inserted by turning it, while a clavo is a nail and is usually driven into a surface with a hammer.

These words are particularly useful when shopping for supplies and form an important part of home improvement vocabulary in Spanish.

Compramos tornillos, clavos, pegamento y varias piezas de madera para construir una mesa sencilla para el jardín.

We bought screws, nails, glue, and several pieces of wood to build a simple table for the garden.

Necesitamos un poco de yeso y papel de lija para reparar cuidadosamente las pequeñas grietas que han aparecido en la pared.

We need some plaster and sandpaper to carefully repair the small cracks that have appeared in the wall.

Painting and Decorating

Painting is one of the most common ways to improve or redecorate a home. Spanish has several useful words specifically associated with painting and decorating.

  1. Pintar (to paint)
  2. Decorar (to decorate)
  3. La pintura (paint)
  4. La brocha (paintbrush)
  5. El rodillo (paint roller)
  6. La capa (coat, layer)
  7. El papel pintado (wallpaper)
  8. El barniz (varnish)
  9. La pared (wall)
  10. El techo (ceiling)

A brocha is generally used for smaller areas, corners, and details, while a rodillo is practical for covering larger surfaces such as walls.

The word techo normally means ceiling when talking about the inside of a room, although it can also refer more generally to the roof or covering of a structure. Tejado is used for a sloping tiled roof.

Vamos a pintar las paredes del dormitorio de un color más claro para que la habitación parezca más grande y luminosa.

We are going to paint the bedroom walls a lighter color so that the room looks bigger and brighter.

El pintor aplicó una segunda capa de pintura al techo porque la primera no cubrió completamente las manchas oscuras.

The painter applied a second coat of paint to the ceiling because the first one did not completely cover the dark stains.

Useful Home Improvement Verbs

Knowing the objects is helpful, but verbs allow you to explain what you are actually doing. These are some of the most important verbs in home improvement vocabulary in Spanish:

  1. Arreglar (to fix)
  2. Reparar (to repair)
  3. Instalar (to install)
  4. Montar (to assemble, to install)
  5. Desmontar (to disassemble)
  6. Taladrar (to drill)
  7. Atornillar (to screw in)
  8. Desatornillar (to unscrew)
  9. Clavar (to hammer in, to nail)
  10. Lijar (to sand)
  11. Medir (to measure)
  12. Cortar (to cut)
  13. Pegar (to glue, to stick)

Notice that several nouns and verbs are closely related:

  • El taladro → taladrar (drill → to drill)
  • El tornillo → atornillar (screw → to screw in)
  • El clavo → clavar (nail → to nail)

Arreglar and reparar can both mean to fix or to repair. Arreglar is very common in everyday speech, while reparar often sounds slightly more specific or technical.

Antes de pintar el mueble, vamos a desmontarlo y lijar todas las piezas para conseguir una superficie mucho más uniforme.

Before painting the piece of furniture, we are going to disassemble it and sand all the pieces to get a much smoother surface.

Primero debes medir la distancia entre los agujeros y después taladrar la pared con mucho cuidado para colocar correctamente la estantería.

First, you must measure the distance between the holes and then carefully drill into the wall to position the shelf correctly.

Common Home Improvement Tasks

Finally, let’s combine the vocabulary into common expressions that describe typical DIY and home improvement jobs.

  1. Pintar una pared (to paint a wall)
  2. Colgar un cuadro (to hang a picture)
  3. Montar un mueble (to assemble a piece of furniture)
  4. Cambiar una bombilla (to change a light bulb)
  5. Instalar una estantería (to install a shelf)
  6. Taladrar la pared (to drill a hole on the wall)
  7. Poner un tornillo (to put in a screw)
  8. Clavar un clavo (to hammer in a nail)
  9. Lijar una mesa (to sand a table)
  10. Barnizar una puerta (to varnish a door)
  11. Medir la pared (to measure the wall)
  12. Empapelar una habitación (to wallpaper a room)

Learning these combinations is often more useful than memorizing individual words because they show which verbs and nouns naturally occur together.

With this home improvement vocabulary in Spanish, you will be better prepared to talk about renovations, describe DIY projects, shop for tools and materials, and understand basic instructions when working around the house.

Este fin de semana queremos montar un mueble, colgar varios cuadros y pintar una pared del salón antes de reorganizar la habitación.

This weekend, we want to assemble a piece of furniture, hang several pictures, and paint a living-room wall before rearranging the room.

Para instalar la estantería correctamente, primero debes medir la pared, marcar los agujeros y comprobar que todo esté perfectamente nivelado.

To install the shelf correctly, you must first measure the wall, mark the holes, and check that everything is perfectly level.

Exercises

Learning home improvement vocabulary will help you describe common DIY projects, understand basic instructions, and talk about tools, materials, and repairs more confidently. These practical words and expressions can be useful whether you are improving your own home or simply discussing everyday household tasks, so let’s do some exercises to practice them.

Feel like reviewing more vocabulary? In our blog, you can find exercises with many vocabulary terms.

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

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Vocabulary