ABSTRACT
The term ‘builder’ is often used loosely. In some cases it is taken to mean only the building contractor, in others it also covers electricians and installers of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning equipment and other trades. Similar terms in other languages may or may not include architects, consulting engineers and even suppliers. Another vague term is ‘engineer’, sometimes synonymous with architect, sometimes-as in the FIDIC series of contracts-meaning the client’s representative on site. The muddle is by no means limited to the English language; only the French have a clear-cut definition of le constructeur, namely in the modern version of the Civil Code.
