Differences between US and U.K. homes

[Youngatheart00]

Just a ponderous thread as it’s my day off and I’ve been thinking, mainly following the abundance of Netflix we’ve all watched over the past year, but also some of my travel experiences (not recently, obviously!)

Some of the differences I’ve noticed are;

• many more of the US homes seem to be fully open plan downstairs. Some don’t even seem to have doors between the rooms?

• the bathroom count / ratio to bedrooms is much higher! (Eg 3 bed / 3 bath or even 2 bed / 2.5 bath)

• heating systems, I don’t recall seeing radiators, instead vents in the floor, are these used to flip between hot and cold air depending on the time of year? How effective / efficient are they compared to our big radiator bars here?

• toilets - they seem smaller and the flushing mechanism is different

• baths - they also seem smaller, short and strangely blocky

• Space and size - all of the bathroom stuff is unusual when the overall size of homes, even cheaper ones, is so much larger. And some ‘back yards’ are absolutely huge! Obviously more land space in the US compared with the U.K. but still, notable but often not much privacy / fencing?

• waste disposal units - what ARE these?

• closets - I haven’t seen any free standing wardrobes. Are these just not used in the US?

Anyone got any others to add or any comments?

I'm reanimating this thread to ask our American friends just what is it with their apparent dislike of parquet flooring?

In the UK it's perhaps infused with nostalgia for school flooring, and the smell of polish? Anyway, parquet flooring throughout is VERY desirable here.

I watch a few of the US property flipping shows, and I'm baffled as to why we have such divergent opinions?

This is such an great thread.
I love watching property shows! The American vocabulary is interesting - such as wainscotting, crown molding, baseboards, ship-lap, ranch-style, mid-century modern.

I love the pot-fillers they have above the stoves. Frequently the microwave seems to be placed above the stove, which seems very dangerous, if you're lifting out a bowl of hot soup.
Calcatta marble seems to be very sought-after.

Hmm, @BitOfFun I don't know! I do know a good friend had gorgeous parquet under (rather nasty) carpet in her living room, and refused to pull it up to expose the floor. Sadly, she died and her DH very quickly ripped up all the carpets, and the floors are gorgeous!

I think it is just less often seen here, not exactly hated, other than by those too trendy tv show hosts. Each to their own. Any good quality wood floor is a good thing to me. One of the big selling points for this house (to me, I mean) was the lovely floors - the entire house has an inlaid double band of darker wood around each room - it is lovely (hard to describe though!) so here tis.

I don't think I've seen parquet flooring in any friends' houses but it is for sale at Home Depot so someone must be buying it...?

That is lovely flooring 2018sofarsogreat. I'm well jel. We have oak floorboards but they are absolutely knackered and we need to get them refinished. We were just about to hire someone to do it then Covid happened.

@2018SoFarSoGreat- really gorgeous!

Just because a house is built of wood does not mean it's flimsy. And from the many issues faced by buyers of new homes in the UK it's clear that building with brick does not guarantee quality in any way.

Exactly. And those of us who live in places prone to earthquakes, as some in the US are, know that brick and concrete don't perform well!

Building codes can be interesting. I had a deck built last fall. My handyman has it flush with the house. He explained that if it is flush with the house it is considered a "floating platform " and there's no need to get planning permission. If it is bolted to the house, it's a deck and permission must be granted. Don't know if that's a local code or for the whole state.

@BitOfFun, I would hazard a guess that parquet flooring isn't as popular in the US because so many floors are made from beautiful hardwood, and parquet is seen as a faddy poor relation.

It's a lot cheaper than real hardwood.

By' real hardwood' I mean planks/boards - parquet is real wood of course.

It's a lot cheaper than real hardwood.

That's interesting. In the UK there isn't so much of a difference.

Solid oak boards are typically in the £50-70 per sq metre range ($3.40-4.74 per sq foot) including tax.

Parquet flooring is typically in the £40-50 range ($2.71-3.40 per sq foot) including tax.

You can, of course, pay much more than this especially for boards that are very wide and/or long. We were looking for some really wide boards, 240mm (9.5") and 300mm (12").

They're difficult to find in the UK as it's mostly engineered floors at that width but we were looking at upwards of £100 per sq metre ($6.80 per sq foot) for 240mm (9.5") boards and almost £200 ($13.60 per sq foot) for 300mm (12") boards.

I have Canadian Maple flooring. Nightmare , it scratches at the slightest thing. Frankly wish I had gone for the cheaper laminate option that looks great .

American homes seem to have the washing machine in the bathroom, not kitchen/utility, which the more I think about it. Makes more sense...

I've never lived in a house or seen one in the US with the washing machine in a bathroom. It's usually in a separate laundry room. Ours is upstairs because that's where all the bedrooms are.

I have lived in two houses where the washing machine and dryer were in the garage.

Really? Every U.S. house I seem to look at on YouTube has one. Maybe it’s an ‘influencer’ thing

I’ve only been on a few homes in the U.S and they all has laundry rooms or cupboards’ (the size of my bathroom) where the washing and drying machines are and space for the ironing board .

The thing that gets me about U.S houses is the electric points in a bathroom. I know their plugs are different but aren’t British plugs safer as they have a third (grounding) prong... which makes me question this even more!

To be able to blow dry my hair in a bathroom though (dreams...)

We had plugs in our old downstairs bathroom. They were up high though.

I don't really understand the whole discussion on parquet floors. Actual parquet floors, as opposed to some laminate rip-off, are more expensive and add value to a home. I've only heard other Americans speak of them with envy as they aren't that common, at least with the people I associate with.

Never heard of rugs in front of stoves either, though are common in front of kitchen sinks.

Only doors in my house are for bedrooms and bathroom. It's a small house and doors for the kitchen and dining room would make it look even tinier.

Most of the real estate shows on American tv tend to be on larger, prettier houses, rather than the older drab boxes that many people live in (though I've seen shows with less showy, more ordinary houses too).

Not a comparison of uk and USA but a couple of friends who live in very old houses have the upstairs toilet in a little room separate to the bath which I really like

Doesn’t parquet cost a lot more than boards to lay? All those individual blocks?

Most of the real estate shows on American tv tend to be on larger, prettier houses, rather than the older drab boxes that many people live in (though I've seen shows with less showy, more ordinary houses too).

The only US show I've ever seen is called "Masters of Flip" which is on ITVBe in the UK and, I believe, HGTV in the States.

They have a couple that who do up smaller houses in Nashville TN

Doesn’t parquet cost a lot more than boards to lay? All those individual blocks?

Yes.

A local firm to us charges between £15-25 per sq metre to fit laminate or boards and £60 per sq metre to fit parquet.

@thenameshastings

Not a comparison of uk and USA but a couple of friends who live in very old houses have the upstairs toilet in a little room separate to the bath which I really like

My 70s-built house has that. People have said why don't you knock the wall down, but it is our only toilet, so I think that would be stupid. Who wants to be interrupted when having a bath because someone wants to use the loo!?

@The90swereadecadeago you may be able to dry your hair in the bathroom in the US but it’ll take you DAYS due to shitty voltage even with a good hairdryer! I deduced this is why blowouts at tha hairdressers were so damn popular

@LittleMy77 😄 Ahhh that makes sense with the fact that a lot of Americans don’t have electric kettles, I’ve heard it takes too long to boil so they use kettles on the stove?