Builders, of course, are fine people. Some of my best friends are builders, really. I guess the only problem I have with them, when it comes down to it, is that nothing they say is true. That and the fact that they're not very good with math. Otherwise, I love the guys.
Builders speak their own language.
Unfortunately, there are no library tapes you can check out to get familiar with it. Only experience can help you learn to translate the stuff. To most of us, a month or so means four to six weeks. To builders, it means no more than a year. If a builder says the painting's almost finished, it means that his crew has purchased the paint.