Something you have to remember about the US, we are generic brand Australia XD While some poor people and old folks do hang out their cloths, most of us avoid it if we can. Because when hanging out cloths, it's not just weather you have to worry about. We also have spiders, stink bugs, roaches, lizards (if you live in the south or out west), snakes, and a crap ton of birds that will poo on your cloths randomly LMAO
By the way we only have 1 faucet because we wash our hands more like a shower then a bath we run the water over our hands instead of filling up the sink
I am American. Yes, he was, as you surmised, "smoking something" on some of these things. Or more precisely, over-generalizing. The answer on many of these things is, "it depends."
For the record…Houses in the US don’t generally have the toilet seats with the openings in the front. Those are 99% of the time used in public restrooms.
Radiators are only found in much older homes. making sure as far as the rule goes that your lawn is cut is only found in HOA developments, which are useless and bad.
There are neighborhood ordinances in most cities that require you keep your lawn/trees trimmed and most HOA’s hire gardeners as part of the fee so in my HOA we don’t have to do any kind of lawn maintenance.
I have a big American flag. It graced the casket of my grandfather, a (Pearl Harbor) Navy vet. If a member of your family who was a vet dies, you go to the post office with the death certificate and you are given an American flag. For a small fee, you can also have your flag flown over the White House then have it returned to you.
I was thinking the same. Perhaps carpet is still more common in colder areas, but I’m in central Arkansas and haven’t seen much new carpet at all. I chose to install it in the bedrooms in 2005, but that’s the last time I’ve considered carpet, and its certainly not common at all in the homes for sale: I’m not buying/selling myself, but I just inherited my family’s home in a historic neighborhood that has really become super popular lately, and I’m keeping an eye on Zillow, on real estate sales around me, just watching property values around me going crazy high. I have one of the larger properties in the neighborhood-2.5 lots/.6 acres-and am trying to gauge what it’s worth now. Really high compared to what it was even 10-15 years ago, but still nothing compared to most other areas around the country! It’s no wonder we’ve had a major influx of people moving to AR from other states, especially Texas and California.
European plugs are different because most of Europe uses a 220V system as standard while the US uses a 120V standard. Also, UK plugs tend to be larger in size because they are required to have an independent fuse in every plug.
I’ve always wondered how to use a converter? Do you know? Do I set it to the EU standard of 220 or whatever, or the 140 or whatever the number is)? I’m so confused. if our current is less and then we go to Europe and use a converter so that we don’t blow the socket, and we plug it in. Do we choose the higher or the lower setting? If you knew.
European style radiators have been replaced by more "modern" methods. 1.) Baseboard heating which is actually a long radiator that runs the full length of an outside wall but is only about 7 or 8 inches tall [20 cm]. 2. ) Forced air/HVAC : air is heated and cooled in a central HVAC system and then a fan forces the air through duct work in the walls to every part of the house. 3.) Radiant heating. This is most common in bathrooms and kitchens. Before the floor is finished a pattern of tubing is laid down and then covered. Hot water is forced through the tubing which heats the floors. Believe it or not, forced hot air and radiant heating are both variations of the system that heated the public baths in Ancient Rome.
We have some pretty great basements in the US, definitely worth making a video on. When I was a kid ours was carpeted, had a ping pong table, basketball game machine, pool table, home gym, and an area with a huge TV and comfy couches for movie night and video games. My dad also had a workshop area in a separated room in the basement (not carpeted), and there was a mega large storage closet for holiday decorations and whatever else we needed to store (also not carpeted). Although ours was not, many people even have walk out basements with doors to the outside if their homes are built on a hill
I grew up in Ohio and we had a basement. The laundry and furnace were located there. My dad was a general contractor so he had a workshop area and he installed a small bathroom there. With five females in our house he got tired of the bathroom being occupied so he built his own. The house was fairly small and had 3 bedrooms. My 3 older sisters had the larger main bedroom, mom and dad had the smaller bedroom and my brother and I shared the upstairs bedroom. Our bedroom was always hot in the summer. The home did not have central air but daddy put a window unit in later. The room was small but it had a great closet. After my sisters moved out my parents moved back into the main bedroom, my brother moved into the small bedroom and I stayed upstairs. Being built in the 1950's it was not an open floor plan. My dad knocked down a wall between the kitchen and small dining area. It made the kitchen much larger. It may have been a small home but it was adequate for us. I loved that house and the neighborhood it was in. There were lots of kids to play with, a wooded area a couple of blocks away that we built paths thru and a small creek we played in. Its funny that now the area has gotten more developed. They built an elementary school where our woods were and our paths by the creek are now paved and used as a walking path thru what's left of our woods.
Just some notes. 1. Every house I've lived in has had hardwood floors. I've only had carpet in apartments I've lived in. 2. Also none of the toilets have been low to the ground. They are a comfortable height. 3. I've never even owned a kettle. If I need hot water I would boil it on the stove. 4. I don't wear shoes in my house. If I have company they could wear shoes inside. I'm not going to ask them to take off their shoes. 5. Most building codes in the US states that in order for a room to be a bedroom it must have a window and a closet. If not you can't list it as a bedroom when you sell or rent out. 6. We have a dining room and use it every day. 7. We have one flag on a flag pole year round. 8. The city of Syracuse NY where I call I home, if your grass is taller than 8 inches you must cut it or be fined. We don't belong to an HOA. That's just the law in this city.
1. The houses I've lived in have been mostly carpeted, except the one I'm in now. The trend of wall-to-wall carpets have fallen out of favor in recent decades because people believe carpets are unhygienic. It is easier to clean or replace a rug. But walking on wood floors can be loud and hard, too. 2. I think the toilets in my childhood home built in the 70s were a bit lower than once since, but I can't be sure. 3. I have an electric kettle. It does boil water faster than the stove or microwave. We use it both for things like hot tea, and jump-starting boiling water for pasta or such. 4. I also don't wear shoes in my house, but I grew up doing it and it's not my idea to take them off. Most homes I've lived in have had a non-carpeted entry area to deal with dirty shoes. 5. The window must be an emergency egress point. If you can't crawl though it as an alternate escape for, say, a fire, then you can't count it as a window for the bedroom. 6. The house I am in supposedly has a "living room" in the same area as the kitchen and the formal dining room separate off the front entry. But we use that as the living room, and dine in the space with the kitchen. 7. I've never lived in a home with a dedicated flag pole, but we fly our USA flag most of the year, except winter. 8. Most cities do have ordinances about maintaining and junk, mine is no exception. The house I'm currently in also has an HOA and I believe, on principle, they are violation of personal liberty. But this one costs very little and isn't too crazy.
@@petermiller4953 From my experience the older the house the more likelihood the closets are small or non existent. I don't know when the closet and window requirements were added to these rules. The apartment I lived in in Brooklyn when I was a kid had no closets but the building was built in the early 1900s.
Considering plug sockets were invented in the US, one would assume our way ( which dates to the 1880s) and seems to be working just fine would be adequate for everywhere.
For many reasons. Mainly the voltage and frequency that electric current is supplied at in the different regions of the world. This is to prevent end users from connecting appliance to incorrect voltage and frequency services
@ all I said was ' thank you Westinghouse." '..who gave us AC current (from Tesla) rather than DC current which Edison was pushing...are you sure you're reacting to me???
Plug sockets were in 1882 by Thomas Thayer smith a British inventor. Harvey hubbell also a Brit invented and then patterned a parallel blade plug in 1913 in America.
No radiator, we have central air that flows through the house through vents. We also have a fireplace for the winter. We have an American flag flying, and yes, I have been to Italy where there is very little water in the toilet bowl, so Adam it does do as you say 😂. In Italy the light socket did not have a button to change the current- you just plugged in the cord. We do eat in the kitchen/dining room for the most part. We mow our lawns in the summer… we used to live in a place that had an HOA (home owners association which would fine you for not taking care of the property (HOAs are meant to ensure the neighborhood remains nice looking for property value/resale purposes). Laundry has its own room but it’s small. Adam, I saw your town video and it was gorgeous! You are so very blessed to live in such a beautiful place. Take care- love the channel!
12:02 yes. HOAs ("Homeowner's Associations") are very common in the U.S. suburbs, which dictate how your property can look, and its maintenance. There are often fines for letting the grass grow too long. There are also rules about painting your house and/or doors, renovations on your home, and more.
My absolute favourite apartment in San Francisco was teeny. I converted the front hall closet into a pantry. For laundry, we either used the building’s laundry room or used a wash and fold service (they did pick-up and delivery, including dry cleaning).
I have a large flat in San Francisco...overlooking a dog park...and its' rent controlled! Thank god! Wood floors with area rugs....nobody I know has wall to wall carpet...that's from the 1950's
-The house I grew up in, and many of my friends' and relatives' houses, have tables where they belong: in the kitchen. Most of ours also have bigger tables in the separate dining room, but those only get used for nicer occasions or when there isn't enough space for everyone to fit at the kitchen table. -For those with allergies or in wildfire-prone areas, opening the windows in the spring/summer/fall isn't always an option; also, in regions where the humidity is high in the summer, it does NOT cool down at night much, if at all, especially in cities. -Baseboard heating and HVAC are much more common here. -The house I grew up in (built in '64) has a completely finished basement - most of my friends' and relatives' do, too.
Im in Portland where the climate is similar to the UK, but Ive lived all over and always use a clothes dryer. The clothes come out dryer and feel more comfortable than when I hang dry clothes
The lawn is my most favorite thing to do! I love mowing. We live in a farmhouse that is over 100 years old. Part of the basement has fieldstone walls. Radiators have been replaced with updated heating.
I don't like HOA's in general but the first home I bought was in a HOA that was less 'problematic' than some of the horror stories I hear about. The basic idea is that people in a neighborhood don't want to see their land values drop due to unkempt neighbors and some certainly have stricter rules than others. The fee's with the HOA I belonged to were $27.00 per year, so just not much. And the main rules was grass needed to be kept less than 4" I think (unless its so long it's going to seed I've never heard of anyone getting complaints). You were not allowed to have broke down vehicles sitting on your lawn... things like that.
@ I have heard people talk about needing to ask permission for house color and lawn holiday decorations and permission to put up sheds and fences and all sorts of things. But you are right, having bad neighbors is worse than not having your own ability to make decisions.
I also do not agree with HOAs in principle. But the house I'm in did come with one, and it's been fine so far. It's also very inexpensive, like $100 per year.
@ My father is in a very expensive one right now. Multiple thousands per year. He mostly doesn’t mind but has to ask permission for every single thing.
Most home owner association don't allow clothed lined in your yard considering we pay rent/mortgage there's no way I am wasting my space on the clutter of hanging our laundry hanging around. In the north where it gets cold in the winter, wall to wall carpet is desirable
One more reason I like living in the semi-rural outskirts of town instead of downtown or in a neighborhood with an HOA trying to dictate what I can and can't do on my own land.
@@dawnezone8491 The very strict ones are absolutely pointless, but others can be beneficial. I live in an HOA, but it's very lax. The majority of the fees go towards the lake where everything is centered around as well as various sports fields/playgrounds. There's nothing crazy about what color you can paint your house or if you have to keep your grass 3 inches or less. It's literally just an area where the fees go towards amenities and the result is higher property value.
Radiators are pretty rare in the US. You won't find them in modern homes because we have central heat. Radiators are old fashioned and found pretty much only in very old homes.
I recently looked up on the history of radiators out of curiousity. Radiators were first used in households in 1841, but radiators were only used by the wealthy throughout the 19th century. It was only until the 1950s, it became commonplace in homes. 🤔
In the UK Radiators are the central heating they are attached to the boiler some people used to have storage heaters or a warm air system but not many people have them nowadays. Our Government want people to install heat pumps to reduce carbon emissions but the average worker can't afford them ( 6,500 to 18000 pounds or $8,091 to $22,407) but they are planning to abolish gas boilers by 2030. What does your central heating run on?
I lived in a house with radiators, it was awesome! The house had a walk out basement, coal chute, ash bin in the alley, and someone repaired the hard wood with a pipe tobacco tin. We didn't have AC though, so summers were harsh. The whole neighborhood was built with stolen materials, he was rehabbing houses a few miles away and he carted extras for the houses he built. The builder built the 14 houses custom built for each member of his family. The last original owner left in 2004ish. She was so sweet and needed an assisted living.
This is incredible insight! What a story. I'm (only) 47 years old and have only seen a Radiator in a home 1 time in my life. I'm in CA. I can only imagine relying on a radiator for heat, or on the weather for less heat. You should write a book!
There are very very few radiators in the US. In an older building. But most all buildings and homes have central heating. Because we have central air. We have furnaces and air conditioners that go through the entire house.
Yep! I'm in Houston and live in a home that's been in my family for 4 generations. It has been amazing during freezes when the power goes out. My house still has heat. Other than that, I really miss central air & heat. That moisture control in the summer is INCREDIBLE
Yes, Adam some people do have what we call a cloth's line. One thing that I never see talked about is a storm door. Most US homes have them in addition to the entrance door there is a storm door and no it is not what you think. It is simply a door in addition to the entrance door that functions as protection to the entrance door from the weather, provides additional insulation from the heat and cold and since it has a window that opens with a screen, during the summer months when it is not so hot that you need the AC on you can open the entrance door and open the window in the storm door and allow summer breezes into your home without insects coming in.
I have only seen a handful of radiators in north Carolina in my life. All of them have been at one of the schools that I went to where the building was like 80 years old
Radiators are really outdated here. We had them in my schools when I was little and I'm 51 now. When I got to high school 9-12th grade we had none. And I've never had one in a house before. So pretty much confirmed.
only very old houses have radiators these days. in the US basically everywhere has central air and heating, so it's all from the furnace or AC in the basement or a closet
I use a dryer every time. When I was a kid we didn't have a dryer so we hung them out. In the winter they froze and in summer the spiders came in with the clothes. I'd rather use a dryer.
5:55 in my current home, every floor except the bathrooms and the closets is hardwood. one bathroom and the laundry room have tile flooring, the other has heated marble flooring, and the closets are carpeted.
Radiators are often found in older homes. Newer homes did away with boilers and pipes and now have a furnace which produces forced hot air thru ducts and vents.
I wish I had a room for everything. The former owners of our home decided a huge open room was the way to go. Not "open plan" with the kitchen in view, just a big, wide, bowling alley. It's a glorified hallway. I'm so eager to chop that room into smaller rooms - a laundry room (the laundry does have a "space" near the kitchen, but not hidden away), a pet feeding room (so the kibble, water, drool, etc aren't all over the kitchen floor), and a utility room for the water heater (which can also hide the kitty box). Heck, I think I have room for a 3rd bathroom. We'd still have a dining room, 4 bedrooms, den/living room that wouldn't be touched. I am thankful for the house, and thankful that we could buy it when we did. We just need to make it work for us.
All the previous houses I lived in before my current house were built in the warly-mid-2000s and were open floor plan. I now live in a house built in 1953 where every room is separated from each other, but there are doorways with decorative arches so you can see into the kitchen, dining room and hallway from the living room. I like it so much better than open concept.
for carpet, it depends, its mostly the second floor and bedrooms that are carpeted also the vast majority of tea we drink is sweetened, though its mostly coffee we drink. For the yard, yes we love our yards, but we also have a thing call the HOA
Here in New Orleans (a previously French colony), separate closets were rare until recently because the tax code considered the closets to be "rooms" and taxed them as such. People here used wardrobes (furniture) instead of closets.
Most of the apartments I lived in there had wardrobes. Loved them. Not to mention an old town Victorian the apartment was small but the creeky wood floors were beautiful!!
9:15- central heating and cooling generally doesn't have a separate radiator; and the unit itself is usually mounted outside in the back corner of the house. My unit is in my bedroom closet (7th floor apartment.)
There are radiators in the US, but they are mostly in older buildings in the US, with the majority on the east coast, mainly in the New England region. Modern heating is handled by an HVAC forced air system, that allow for heating and cooling based on thermostat settings.
Line drying outside is a matter of preference or matter of savings for some. Most don’t like the way it makes the clothes feel differently if dried outside. Some love it though, my husband case in point. I dry his outside mine in the dryer during the summer because he likes the feel and smell of line dried clothes
I remember having a clothes line in the backyard of the house I grew up in in KY in the 80s. My mom used it on nice days in the summer to air dry our clothes. It always made them smell great.
Hey Adam Couser, when you were in Florida at the hotel, what did you think of the toilets there? Was it different or lower to the floor than in Northern Ireland or no big deal?
Let's compare. I lived in Scotland, and paid roughly $900 a month for a one bedroom flat with about 600 SF of space. I pay $1250 now for a 1700 SF house with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and a utility workshop area that is by itself 14x14 and I have both front and backyards that are massive by UK standards. I pay roughly $300 a month for all utilities but I do pay $150 for cable. In the UK I had to pay about $300 for utilities and $35 a year for television rights, and about $60 a month for internet. I had a washer in the UK, no dryer. I had no plugs in the bathroom, and only 6 in the entire house. I have 4 in each bedroom now, 2 in each bath, and 4 in the kitchen, 6 in the living and dining area. I have hardwood floors in 90% of the house here and slate in the kitchen, but I did have hardwood in the entire flat. I had ONLY a shower in the UK and it was 3'x3' square. Yeah, not cool. The water pressure in Scotland sucked but the water was better tasting. Of course, I had no AC there, and I do have it here, but I only missed it 2 days a year there. Radiator? No. I do have a tiny heater that I have on my desktop to keep my right hand warm as it gets cold when I'm working. My left I can wear a glove on, but not my mouse hand -- we have central heat; no need for a radiator, but I will say I prefer a toasty bathroom when I'm showering in the winter. I won't wear shoes in my house, but won't stop someone else from it. I don't take mine off at their place unless I'm staying a while.
It's true Adam, most homes and businesses run on central heating and air conditioning. We do not have radiators. We have one centralized unit that controls the heat in the winter and cold in the summer. The unit is generally located in the basement or attic of the home and the air, hot or cold, is pumped or blown throughout the house by means of air ducts found in each of room in the home.
My family lives in NH and growing up we lived in a 4 bedroom house with an attached garage and a finished basement with a family room just for us 3 kids and our friends to hang out in. It kept Mom happy by keeping the upstairs clean so company could drop by and Mom wouldn't be embarrassed by our mess. We had wall to wall through the upstairs except the kitchen and 2 bathrooms.. basement was tiled and had area rugs and floor pillows for kids to sit on. A second hand sofa and beanbag chairs was enough for a gaggle of teenagers. We had a piano to play down there as well as a second phone to use. Keeps friends out of mom's kitchen when calling home. Tv and record player completed our family room. Basements stay about 20 degrees cooler than the outside in the summer, so we all hung out there on the 100 degree days. water level is about 6 inches deep. Not up to the rim. Home owners associations started in the late 80's to help keep neighborhoods tidy and house prices up. They sort of killed the friendly neighborhood vibe of kids playing ball or hide and seek through the neighborhood. Childless folk like their lawns perfect. Houses with kids are to "lived in" for some. No toys visible to drivers -by left in the yard. It was the start of the "Karen" before video games pulled kids inside to play. My current neighborhood is old school kid friendly. No such thing as restricted play. Most of the houses have kids or atleast they visit on the weekends. Bikes, basketball hoops, strolling mothers abound. Pop up sidewalk chalk art and hide and seek games rule the sunny days. Snowforts and snowball fights rule the cold winter days. I wouldn't want to live anywhere that a commity of civic minded neighbors told me what my kids could do or what plants I could play t or what the color of my house best suited the neighborhood esthetic. Never buy in a HOA neighborhood!
I never air dry my clothes, unless they're more inclined to shrink in the dryer. The dining room is usually reserved for holidays and Sunday dinners. I have wood floors throughout the house and I buy big rugs for each room. Radiators are mostly in older homes but they are being renovated with central heating. No one in my neighborhood has the American flag hanging. Yes you have to keep your lawn cut or the city can fine you but it has to be really bad and or your neighbors complain constantly 😂
Most American homes have furnaces that supply heated air via ducts throughout the home rather than radiators, sometimes coupled with an AC system for hot weather cooling.
My small city in Wisconsin has a city ordinance to keep our lawns mowed in the summer and sidewalks shoveled in the winter. They mail you a warning and if you don’t comply, they come and do it and send you a hefty bill. I love outdoor work so I’ve never had one.
most houses up north have carpet because of the cold.. but in Florida (where I live) we have no carpet at all.. As for radiators.. I havent seen one in 40 years
Most new houses here in the US have carpet in the bedrooms, but something hard surfaced everywhere else. LVP (luxury vinyl plank) has gotten really popular because it looks great and it's easy to take care of. A few years ago we did a mild renovation and got rid of ALL the carpet (tile in the kitchen and bathrooms; hardwood floors everywhere else). We live in FL and just about all the homes built in the last 20 years are in an HOA. We only pay $178 a year but get very little in return. Their latest was not allowing garbage cans to be outside except on the day of garbage collection. Yes, that rule was in the covenants, but was ignored for the 20+ years we've been here. Found out that it just says that they can't be seen from the street. I just built a 48 inch tall fenced-in "blind" and that was the fix.
A lot of this depends on where you live in the US. 1. Our home is above average for where I live at about 2300sq ft. I used to live in a 1400sq ft home. 2. Yes to all of it - we even have a walk-in storage closet, walk-in pantry, and converted a coat closet by garage door into an appliance closet. 3. Big laundry room and my washer is so tall I have a grabber to get small things out of the bottom of it. Yes, mine is top loading - it was a scratch and dent discount at more than half off - I'm not complaining. 😁 As for hanging, nope. Not in our hot humidity 10 months of the year. Takes too long to hang dry. 4. No basement in my current home. We do have bonus room over the garage though that isn't counted in our square footage since it's not really finished. I had a basement in my home growing up with a game room, pool table, ping pong table, and TV/playroom. 5. Yes I have a formal dining. I'm thinking about converting it. 2/3 of it to a craft room and the rest to a bigger walk-in pantry. 6. 9 smoke detectors hardwired and we change the backup batteries every 6 months. 7. I'm in the southeast. My entire house is wood or tile. I HATE carpet because I hate vacuuming. My Roombas love it though. BTW my home was built in 2001, so he's not completely correct. 8. My toilet is tall. But yes, a lot of people have toilets so low I call them kiddie toilets. 9. Never seen a toilet with little water. Every one I've had or used is half full. 10. 🤷♀️ 11. We run a/c about 9 months of the year. We might get a week or 2 where we can open windows in early spring and a week or 2 with nothing on in late fall or early winter. And nope, not many radiators. Our 1970s home I grew up in had central heat. My grandparents on both sides had 1950s homes with baseboard heaters. I had 1 friend with a home built in the 30s I think and they had radiators but no longer used them. 12. We don't require you remove your shoes at our home, but we don't wear shoes ourselves. 13. We also have outlets in our bathrooms and close to our sinks. 14. I have a kettle, but I love tea. 15. Don't have a garbage disposal myself. Unless you count the pig. 16. Yes, I have US flag and one of the local college about 5 minutes away. 17. I have about 3 acres of beautiful green grass (somebody else cuts it for me), 5 acres of patchy grass, weeds, chicken coops, pasture, a barn, sheds, and trees, and 12 acres of pristine woodlands and a creek. My parents bought this land in the early 80s for 1/10th of what it would cost today.
I think there good things about both styles of homes. I love some of the older Irish homes with their snug and cozy rooms divided by doors. I think it makes more sense to heat. I was confused by the shower timers and I don't even want to tell you how long it took me to figure out the cooktop had a switch that needed to be turned off and on! I prefer carpeting in bedrooms because the floors are warmer in the winter. I prefer gas stoves over electric because if the power goes out I can still cook and food cooks faster. I think this guy is off his rocker! Of course we have kettles!
Rules regarding lawn maintenance are few and far between. America has many people that live in rural locations. Unless there is a subdivision or Home Owners Association (HOA) involved… there won’t be any regulations about home/yard maintenance.
The home I grew up in was an 80 acre farm that was part of the Underground Railroad. The basement was a dirt floor, with a wood burning furnace as the heat source. There was also a well in the basement for water, along with a walk in closet/storage area that used to open up into a secret passageway that led to another home about 1/4 mile away. There was a wooden set of stairs in the kitchen that went up into my bedroom. The cool thing was there was another hiding space under those stairs. The bottom step lifted up into a small room. As kids we could fit, but I think it may have been less for humans to hide, and more for weapons/provisions.
A closet is required by building code (in addition to a window) for a room to be considered a bedroom. Having said that, we also use a dresser in addition to a closet for clothes you fold. Back to the closet bring required for code, a wardrobe is acceptable by code, but it's not the norm. If you do see it, it's more common in conversions where a non-bedroom was made into a bedroom. Even then, people usually just build a closet. I do like wardrobes though. I've never had one, but I like the idea of them.
Electricity generation was first set up here in the US. The plugs are mostly different due to the US using 120v 60hz power@15amps where the UK uses 220v 50hz 20amp power. That means you can pull a lot more electricity through the socket in the UK, so they are bigger, with thicker tines on the plug to carry that power without over heating. The biggest reason however, is safety. Since the US was first we didnt have the benefit of experience when setting up our grid that Europe did. 110v power if you touch uninsulated say wire, will cause your arms to contract, and curl in toward your chest, killing you. 220v power cause contractions so hard and fast it blows you off the wire, causing less damage. So there ya have it.
In the US, while there are radiators in older city locations, most of the modern properties have a combined "forced air unit" that combines both the A/C and the heat (typically gas furnace). I live in Arizona, so Air Conditioning is kind of a survival tool. Also, we immediately remodeled our bathrooms when we bought the place (it was a rental for 16 years prior, so everything was kind of trashed) and we deliberately bought "tall" toilets and bidet seats to top them off. Life changing, man!!!
I only had carpet whenever I rented. All of the homes I've owned have hardwood or tile floors because of allergies in my family. A finished basement has been a must for every home I've owned, some with wet bars, bathrooms or a second kitchen and additional rooms, as mentioned. Great reaction!
For clarity, N American toilets are syphonic... they need a larger volume of water in the bowl to 'draw down' to start emptying, and then syphonic action takes over to 'suck' the water down. UK toilets are 'flush down' ... they rely on a 'head' of water - perhaps only a couple of feet - that sluices the bowl down. Many older Brit houses have a tank mounted near ceiling height to force everything down. Syphonic toilets are available in the UK, but in general they are more expensive. Further, whereas UK's are higher than US toilets, US toilets are about 14" high (a few are 15" or more), and do pose a difficulty for older people to get off of.
yes, most people in the u.s dont have radiators. we either use electric heaters or electric blankets. for heat during the winter time. or if your house is big enough or a in a wooden rural area. Fireplaces or wood stoves
I live in Louisiana. It’s hot as hell in the summer and we never dry clothes outside. We have a dryer. If I have an article of clothing that can’t be dried it gets hung in the laundry room to dry.
My daughter moved to Scotland and hates the laundry situation. One machine that washes/dries but doesn't dry well so everything has to be hung up regardless.
Most houses in my neck of the woods, the southeastern part of the USA, have what are called heat pumps, where one giant machine outside of the house does all of the heating and cooling through a network of ventilation and regulated by one central thermostat. You'll recognize it in a real estate listing as "Central Heat and Air Conditioning" (CHAC). Our thermostat can be set anywhere from 50F to 86F (10C - 30C). I usually tend to keep it set at 72F in the summer and 68F in the winter.
No carpet in the kitchen, carpeted bathrooms used to be a thing lol. I think the popular thing now is carpeted bedrooms and most other areas hard flooring with rugs.
When I was a kid (in the 60's), we had a "wringer/washer" and hung our clothes out on a line in warm weather, and in the basement in winter. Later we had a large washer and dryer in our larger 4 BR house in a "utility" room. Now IN MY 60's I have a small washer/spinner in my 1 BR apartment and use a drying rack. We had a basement (teenage years) with a pool table (billiards to you brits), and a ping-pong table. PLUS an extra bed room, family room. and laundry room. Most places I've lived (until now) were wall-wall carpet, as a teen we had (don't laugh because it had a different meaning here) SHAG carpet in the bathroom, which was a THICK pile that needed to be RAKED to keep it from matting down. And YES, we even had a thin carpet in the kitchen! (the 70's was a unique time with GREEN "avocado" appliances and colored toilet paper to match the decor) The ONLY place I ever saw a "radiator" was in GRADE SCHOOL in the 60's. Pretty much everywhere here has "forced air" heating/cooling where the air is heated or cooled at the unit and pushed into each room by a fan. My dad used to keep the heat in winter LOW so as kids we'd get up on Saturday mornings and go to the living room to watch T.V. with our blankets over the heating ducts (after cranking up the thermostat of course). I've NEVER HAD a "tea kettle". I've had a stove top coffee percolator though 🙂 IF (and it's only occasionally) I want tea, I'll put a cup of water in the microwave, and toss in a tea bag after it's done. Yes, there are (in many places) LAWS about how long your grass is. If it gets too long, you can be fined. I guess it's the trade off for not having to pay a tax to WATCH T.V.....
My current home does have a basement but it's far from being a second living space despite it being the exact square foot as the upstairs. There is a pool table, darts, and table tennis but it's dark and uninviting. The rest of it is storage, the boiler, and the oil tank. If it wasn't for our laundry being down there, we most likely wouldn't go down that often. We also have baseboard heating which is somewhat like a radiator. They are very low to the ground, not much more than above your ankle. They are also safe to touch, even when running, because ours uses hot water instead of steam.
We do have different sockets for kitchens and bathrooms and other wet areas. They shut themselves off when they sense water or when the electricity is dangerous. Those have a switch to turn them back on.
Smoke detectors are code most places. (Required in new construction at least). Wall to wall carpet was bigger prior to 2000. Now many new homes are using hardwood, tile or laminate flooring. “comfort height” toilets are becoming more popular. They are taller than the older style mentioned in the video. ac/Heat is provided primarily with heat pumps.
The southwestern part of the US--states like New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and Utah--only rarely have basements. Out here there are layers of very hard concrete-like stone called caliche (ca-leech-ee). It is extremely difficult to remove while building homes--used to be dynamited out--and expensive, so homes were built without basements. In some places now they will build basements, so I guess they've found an easier way to get through the caliche.
I only recently started using a Kettle. And I LOVE it. But I mostly use it for cooking. I heat it anytime I need hot water so I don’t ad cold water to already heated pot, tea, etc… Some neighborhoods have some simple rules, mostly just not letting your grass get overgrown.
I live in Southern California. We have central heating and air conditioning. Summer temps run from 95-115°F (35-46°C). Living without A/C is not an option. It’s also very expensive to run the A/C… around $1100 per month in summer! Even with solar it’s $600/month now. However, in winter we don’t even turn on our heater, which is natural gas.
I moved from the South to the Northeast 3½ years ago and my current house is very different than the houses I used to live in. This is the oldest (built in 1953) and smallest house I've ever lived in. It's only 950 ft², but I do have a finished basement the same size as the house, although it's not as glamorous as the ones described in this video. I use it as a 3rd bedroom and my laundry room is down there too. This is my first house with a basement. My house is all original hardwood, which I love. I also have the original vintage red door with 3 square windows running vertically down the center. I went overboard with smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. I have a smoke detector in the hallway, in both bedrooms and in the kitchen. I also have a carbon monoxide detector because I have a gas stove. I have both downstairs in the laundry room part of the basement because I have gas heat, a gas water heater and a gas clothes dryer, which I didn't know existed until I moved into this house. All the houses I lived in before were built within the last 15 years and all slightly different versions of the same style house, but I prefer my little old house over my bigger, newer houses. It has more character. My kids are grown so it's the perfect size house for me. Oh, and as far as the forgotten dining room, I use my dining room table to apply my makeup. 😄
Hanging clothes to dry isn't unheard of, but it's pretty rare. Usually if your house has space for a washer, it has space for a dryer. I don't know many people who hang clothes to dry, and it's generally done by people who are very green-conscience or trying to shave pennies off their electric bill. Air-dried clothes tend to be stiffer off the line than machine dried clothes, so even when people have a nice climate to hang clothes in, most won't. (Also, most newer homes only put carpeting in the bedrooms, or in the upstairs only while leaving the downstairs wood/tile/etc. That being said, you can find house from the 70s and whatnot with carpeted kitchens and bathrooms.)
Here in Arizona outside clothes lines are not used too much because in late spring to early autumn, it’s so HOT🔥 they dry to a wrinkled up stiff mess by the time you can get your basket out to hang them up
Hey Adam! My son and I live in an apartment. But we always (weather permitting) hang clothes outside on the porch railings. "Unmentionables" and socks will go in the dryer. Towels too. But jeans, T-shirts and the like will be hung outside. Oh and blankets too. The fresh air smell on our laundry is one of my favorite scents. So, yeah, we don't have to hang dry our clothes; we choose to! And yeah, we have a flag on our porch! Cheers mate! Love your channel!
We use the dining room for formal dinners, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. We don't use it that much during the rest of the year and eat at the kitchen table, which will easily seat eight.
I live in North Texas where its hot (near Dallas/Ft Worth). Its one of the worst places for outdoor allergies, so NOBODY I know hangs their clothes on a line outside, just collecting all those allergens you're about to wear.
Fashions change on a 20-30 year cycle. In the 1920-30s, hardwood floors with area rugs were the norm. In the 50s-80, many older homes had the hardwood floors covered with wall to wall. Beginning in the 90s and continuing today, the fashion is back to hardwood floors and even ceramic tile or stone with area rugs.
A lot of newer houses have what are sometimes called climate control systems where in addition to setting the temperature you can also set the humidity percentage as well, allowing a total control of all aspects of the air in your home.
I'm 76 years old & I've never seen or been in a home with a radiator. I understand they were more common in the '40's & '50's , but today they are pretty much gone!
When it comes to washing you can either wash them in your washing machine or hang them out to dry (on a sunny day). I have a ranch style home which include 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, living room, kitchen, dining room, family room, and laundry room, walk in closets in each bedroom, pantry and closet to hold all my towels and 2 car garage big back yard. Now new houses are built with 3 car garages.
Wall to wall carpets get really dirty, and then if you have them cleaned they may get moldy. I prefer wood floors and area rugs. I even got a washable rug for my living room. Love my garbage disposal. My kids used to call it “Sinky” like it was a pet. We have radiators, but we dont use them much because oil is too expensive and our house is insulated like a tent. We use space heaters and electric blankets and keep the house around 14 degrees. In summer we have room air conditioners.
Safety Considerations: Both British and American wiring systems prioritize safety, but their approaches differ slightly. The British system’s emphasis on incorporating fuses within plugs and widespread use of RCDs enhances protection against electrical faults and shocks. In the US, the NEC continually updates standards to address emerging safety concerns and technological advancements. While British and American wiring systems share fundamental principles of electrical engineering, differences in voltage, plug design, color coding, circuit protection, and regulatory frameworks necessitate distinct approaches to electrical installations. Understanding these disparities is essential for electricians, engineers, and homeowners to ensure compliance, safety, and efficiency in electrical systems.
The reason for the outlets is because in the states our outlets run on 120 volts and in most of the eu and I’m going to guess uk is 220-240 volts on average thus eliminating the need for a switch on our outlets.
The size of American homes has grown with every generation. The ranch-style houses that were popular in the '60s and '70s averaged more like 1200-1500 square feet. Gas stoves are common in many parts of the US. I've had gas stoves most of the places I've lived. We do have some sinks with separate taps in the bathroom, but it's not that common. Radiators are old-fashioned, not found in buildings built after mid 20th century. Some neighborhoods have Homeowners Associations (HOAs) which pass rules about how you mow or landscape, what vehicles you can park in front of your house, what kind of fence you can have, whether you can have a clothesline or a vegetable garden...let's just say some are more reasonable than others.
I use to work in construction in California and majority of new houses floor are hardwood unless customer ask for carpeting most now just buy large rugs for each room.
I lived in Europe when a young teen The closet vs wardrobe was so bizarre! What a waste of space! lol. I also remember how hard it was to get a warm flow of water for a shower! Thx Adam
Streams live reacts www.twitch.tv/adamcouser
Check out Colin Furze. Over in UK he built the ultimate basement and tunnel system. Also under his garage.
Tea kettle on the wood stove, space with dirt floors under house, USA, Maine woods
Something you have to remember about the US, we are generic brand Australia XD While some poor people and old folks do hang out their cloths, most of us avoid it if we can. Because when hanging out cloths, it's not just weather you have to worry about. We also have spiders, stink bugs, roaches, lizards (if you live in the south or out west), snakes, and a crap ton of birds that will poo on your cloths randomly LMAO
By the way we only have 1 faucet because we wash our hands more like a shower then a bath we run the water over our hands instead of filling up the sink
I am American. Yes, he was, as you surmised, "smoking something" on some of these things. Or more precisely, over-generalizing. The answer on many of these things is, "it depends."
For the record…Houses in the US don’t generally have the toilet seats with the openings in the front. Those are 99% of the time used in public restrooms.
Same here in the UK
9:19 radiators were used more back in the day but now a days in newer builds and early 2010 builds there aren’t any. We have built in ac/heat units.
Heat pumps are more efficient than the boilers needed for radiators and gas furnaces are far simpler and easier to maintain.
Radiators are only found in much older homes. making sure as far as the rule goes that your lawn is cut is only found in HOA developments, which are useless and bad.
So true, my house is 98 years old and its even had its radiators changed to baseboard heaters.
Also there may be a city or town ordinance
@@Spankmepink rather have a radiator any day than baseboard
There are neighborhood ordinances in most cities that require you keep your lawn/trees trimmed and most HOA’s hire gardeners as part of the fee so in my HOA we don’t have to do any kind of lawn maintenance.
I haven't seen a radiator in a home in decades.
I have a big American flag. It graced the casket of my grandfather, a (Pearl Harbor) Navy vet. If a member of your family who was a vet dies, you go to the post office with the death certificate and you are given an American flag. For a small fee, you can also have your flag flown over the White House then have it returned to you.
Thank you for his service
RIP
@@darcyjorgensen5808 Yep it’s true!
Thank you for your service
most older homes in the east coast will have radiators, but a lot of homes just have central air HVAC systems
I haven't seen a new home with wall to tall carpet since the 90's in the U.S. It's still pretty common in bedrooms though.
I was thinking the same. Perhaps carpet is still more common in colder areas, but I’m in central Arkansas and haven’t seen much new carpet at all. I chose to install it in the bedrooms in 2005, but that’s the last time I’ve considered carpet, and its certainly not common at all in the homes for sale: I’m not buying/selling myself, but I just inherited my family’s home in a historic neighborhood that has really become super popular lately, and I’m keeping an eye on Zillow, on real estate sales around me, just watching property values around me going crazy high.
I have one of the larger properties in the neighborhood-2.5 lots/.6 acres-and am trying to gauge what it’s worth now. Really high compared to what it was even 10-15 years ago, but still nothing compared to most other areas around the country! It’s no wonder we’ve had a major influx of people moving to AR from other states, especially Texas and California.
Newer homes are usually built with tile or linoleum. Hardwood is more of a luxury, and carpet is mostly in bedrooms.
European plugs are different because most of Europe uses a 220V system as standard while the US uses a 120V standard. Also, UK plugs tend to be larger in size because they are required to have an independent fuse in every plug.
But he should understand that some items such as kitchen stoves, clothes dryers and water heaters operate on 220 volts here.
I’ve always wondered how to use a converter? Do you know? Do I set it to the EU standard of 220 or whatever, or the 140 or whatever the number is)? I’m so confused. if our current is less and then we go to Europe and use a converter so that we don’t blow the socket, and we plug it in. Do we choose the higher or the lower setting? If you knew.
European style radiators have been replaced by more "modern" methods. 1.) Baseboard heating which is actually a long radiator that runs the full length of an outside wall but is only about 7 or 8 inches tall [20 cm]. 2. ) Forced air/HVAC : air is heated and cooled in a central HVAC system and then a fan forces the air through duct work in the walls to every part of the house. 3.) Radiant heating. This is most common in bathrooms and kitchens. Before the floor is finished a pattern of tubing is laid down and then covered. Hot water is forced through the tubing which heats the floors. Believe it or not, forced hot air and radiant heating are both variations of the system that heated the public baths in Ancient Rome.
A formal dining room is used for larger amounts of ppl, special occasions
And to use as a desk to spread your paperwork out on........
We got rid of our dining room and made it into a large upstairs laundry room. Kept the downstairs plugs ins /drain but it's so much handier now.
We have some pretty great basements in the US, definitely worth making a video on. When I was a kid ours was carpeted, had a ping pong table, basketball game machine, pool table, home gym, and an area with a huge TV and comfy couches for movie night and video games. My dad also had a workshop area in a separated room in the basement (not carpeted), and there was a mega large storage closet for holiday decorations and whatever else we needed to store (also not carpeted). Although ours was not, many people even have walk out basements with doors to the outside if their homes are built on a hill
Because of our type of soil, Texas generally doesn't have basements.
I grew up in Ohio and we had a basement. The laundry and furnace were located there. My dad was a general contractor so he had a workshop area and he installed a small bathroom there. With five females in our house he got tired of the bathroom being occupied so he built his own. The house was fairly small and had 3 bedrooms. My 3 older sisters had the larger main bedroom, mom and dad had the smaller bedroom and my brother and I shared the upstairs bedroom.
Our bedroom was always hot in the summer. The home did not have central air but daddy put a window unit in later. The room was small but it had a great closet. After my sisters moved out my parents moved back into the main bedroom, my brother moved into the small bedroom and I stayed upstairs.
Being built in the 1950's it was not an open floor plan. My dad knocked down a wall between the kitchen and small dining area. It made the kitchen much larger.
It may have been a small home but it was adequate for us. I loved that house and the neighborhood it was in. There were lots of kids to play with, a wooded area a couple of blocks away that we built paths thru and a small creek we played in. Its funny that now the area has gotten more developed. They built an elementary school where our woods were and our paths by the creek are now paved and used as a walking path thru what's left of our woods.
Depends in Michigan. Some of them are decent, a lot of them look like horror movie sets 😂
Just some notes.
1. Every house I've lived in has had hardwood floors. I've only had carpet in apartments I've lived in. 2. Also none of the toilets have been low to the ground. They are a comfortable height.
3. I've never even owned a kettle. If I need hot water I would boil it on the stove.
4. I don't wear shoes in my house. If I have company they could wear shoes inside. I'm not going to ask them to take off their shoes.
5. Most building codes in the US states that in order for a room to be a bedroom it must have a window and a closet. If not you can't list it as a bedroom when you sell or rent out.
6. We have a dining room and use it every day.
7. We have one flag on a flag pole year round.
8. The city of Syracuse NY where I call I home, if your grass is taller than 8 inches you must cut it or be fined. We don't belong to an HOA. That's just the law in this city.
1. The houses I've lived in have been mostly carpeted, except the one I'm in now. The trend of wall-to-wall carpets have fallen out of favor in recent decades because people believe carpets are unhygienic. It is easier to clean or replace a rug. But walking on wood floors can be loud and hard, too.
2. I think the toilets in my childhood home built in the 70s were a bit lower than once since, but I can't be sure.
3. I have an electric kettle. It does boil water faster than the stove or microwave. We use it both for things like hot tea, and jump-starting boiling water for pasta or such.
4. I also don't wear shoes in my house, but I grew up doing it and it's not my idea to take them off. Most homes I've lived in have had a non-carpeted entry area to deal with dirty shoes.
5. The window must be an emergency egress point. If you can't crawl though it as an alternate escape for, say, a fire, then you can't count it as a window for the bedroom.
6. The house I am in supposedly has a "living room" in the same area as the kitchen and the formal dining room separate off the front entry. But we use that as the living room, and dine in the space with the kitchen.
7. I've never lived in a home with a dedicated flag pole, but we fly our USA flag most of the year, except winter.
8. Most cities do have ordinances about maintaining and junk, mine is no exception. The house I'm currently in also has an HOA and I believe, on principle, they are violation of personal liberty. But this one costs very little and isn't too crazy.
My apartment has zero closets in any of the bedrooms. Hell, one of the bedrooms may as well be just for storage(which my brother and I use it for)!
@@petermiller4953 From my experience the older the house the more likelihood the closets are small or non existent. I don't know when the closet and window requirements were added to these rules. The apartment I lived in in Brooklyn when I was a kid had no closets but the building was built in the early 1900s.
@@marvincalderon7753 I ask company to take their shoes off. I also have little booties that go over their shoes if they’d prefer that instead. 😂
Considering plug sockets were invented in the US, one would assume our way ( which dates to the 1880s) and seems to be working just fine would be adequate for everywhere.
🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 preach
For many reasons. Mainly the voltage and frequency that electric current is supplied at in the different regions of the world. This is to prevent end users from connecting appliance to incorrect voltage and frequency services
Thank you Westinghouse!
@ all I said was
' thank you Westinghouse."
'..who gave us AC current (from Tesla) rather than DC current which Edison was pushing...are you sure you're reacting to me???
Plug sockets were in 1882 by Thomas Thayer smith a British inventor. Harvey hubbell also a Brit invented and then patterned a parallel blade plug in 1913 in America.
No radiator, we have central air that flows through the house through vents. We also have a fireplace for the winter. We have an American flag flying, and yes, I have been to Italy where there is very little water in the toilet bowl, so Adam it does do as you say 😂. In Italy the light socket did not have a button to change the current- you just plugged in the cord. We do eat in the kitchen/dining room for the most part. We mow our lawns in the summer… we used to live in a place that had an HOA (home owners association which would fine you for not taking care of the property (HOAs are meant to ensure the neighborhood remains nice looking for property value/resale purposes). Laundry has its own room but it’s small. Adam, I saw your town video and it was gorgeous! You are so very blessed to live in such a beautiful place. Take care- love the channel!
I agree. I grew up with wall-to-wall carpeting but prefer just using area rugs where I want them.
12:02 yes. HOAs ("Homeowner's Associations") are very common in the U.S. suburbs, which dictate how your property can look, and its maintenance. There are often fines for letting the grass grow too long. There are also rules about painting your house and/or doors, renovations on your home, and more.
It’s not always HOAs, sometimes it’s the borough. Our borough also requires a yearly inspection.
My absolute favourite apartment in San Francisco was teeny. I converted the front hall closet into a pantry. For laundry, we either used the building’s laundry room or used a wash and fold service (they did pick-up and delivery, including dry cleaning).
I have a large flat in San Francisco...overlooking a dog park...and its' rent controlled! Thank god! Wood floors with area rugs....nobody I know has wall to wall carpet...that's from the 1950's
-The house I grew up in, and many of my friends' and relatives' houses, have tables where they belong: in the kitchen. Most of ours also have bigger tables in the separate dining room, but those only get used for nicer occasions or when there isn't enough space for everyone to fit at the kitchen table.
-For those with allergies or in wildfire-prone areas, opening the windows in the spring/summer/fall isn't always an option; also, in regions where the humidity is high in the summer, it does NOT cool down at night much, if at all, especially in cities.
-Baseboard heating and HVAC are much more common here.
-The house I grew up in (built in '64) has a completely finished basement - most of my friends' and relatives' do, too.
Im in Portland where the climate is similar to the UK, but Ive lived all over and always use a clothes dryer. The clothes come out dryer and feel more comfortable than when I hang dry clothes
The lawn is my most favorite thing to do! I love mowing. We live in a farmhouse that is over 100 years old. Part of the basement has fieldstone walls. Radiators have been replaced with updated heating.
Most houses don’t have HOA rules but some communities do. I have never lived in an HOA community and I hear they are a pain in the posterior.
I don't like HOA's in general but the first home I bought was in a HOA that was less 'problematic' than some of the horror stories I hear about. The basic idea is that people in a neighborhood don't want to see their land values drop due to unkempt neighbors and some certainly have stricter rules than others. The fee's with the HOA I belonged to were $27.00 per year, so just not much. And the main rules was grass needed to be kept less than 4" I think (unless its so long it's going to seed I've never heard of anyone getting complaints). You were not allowed to have broke down vehicles sitting on your lawn... things like that.
@ I have heard people talk about needing to ask permission for house color and lawn holiday decorations and permission to put up sheds and fences and all sorts of things. But you are right, having bad neighbors is worse than not having your own ability to make decisions.
@ HOAs can cost $100 and even up to $1000 per month and they can legally put a lien on your home if you can’t pay them.
I also do not agree with HOAs in principle. But the house I'm in did come with one, and it's been fine so far. It's also very inexpensive, like $100 per year.
@ My father is in a very expensive one right now. Multiple thousands per year. He mostly doesn’t mind but has to ask permission for every single thing.
I always look forward to your videos.
Most home owner association don't allow clothed lined in your yard considering we pay rent/mortgage there's no way I am wasting my space on the clutter of hanging our laundry hanging around. In the north where it gets cold in the winter, wall to wall carpet is desirable
The creation of HOA is the biggest rip-off on the american people. It is so bizarre!
@@dawnezone8491 it has its purpose
One more reason I like living in the semi-rural outskirts of town instead of downtown or in a neighborhood with an HOA trying to dictate what I can and can't do on my own land.
@@dawnezone8491 The very strict ones are absolutely pointless, but others can be beneficial. I live in an HOA, but it's very lax. The majority of the fees go towards the lake where everything is centered around as well as various sports fields/playgrounds. There's nothing crazy about what color you can paint your house or if you have to keep your grass 3 inches or less. It's literally just an area where the fees go towards amenities and the result is higher property value.
@@Do0msday Well that sounds like one of the more sensible ones :D
2:25 we have IKEA, they just mean we don't use wardrobes.
A true American walk in closet could actually house a British family of three
Radiators are pretty rare in the US. You won't find them in modern homes because we have central heat. Radiators are old fashioned and found pretty much only in very old homes.
I recently looked up on the history of radiators out of curiousity. Radiators were first used in households in 1841, but radiators were only used by the wealthy throughout the 19th century. It was only until the 1950s, it became commonplace in homes. 🤔
In the UK Radiators are the central heating they are attached to the boiler some people used to have storage heaters or a warm air system but not many people have them nowadays. Our Government want people to install heat pumps to reduce carbon emissions but the average worker can't afford them ( 6,500 to 18000 pounds or $8,091 to $22,407) but they are planning to abolish gas boilers by 2030. What does your central heating run on?
@@paulinetill1043 electricity.
Our house still has steam heat and radiators, but it is getting harder to find replacements if one has to be replaced.
I lived in a house with radiators, it was awesome! The house had a walk out basement, coal chute, ash bin in the alley, and someone repaired the hard wood with a pipe tobacco tin. We didn't have AC though, so summers were harsh. The whole neighborhood was built with stolen materials, he was rehabbing houses a few miles away and he carted extras for the houses he built. The builder built the 14 houses custom built for each member of his family. The last original owner left in 2004ish. She was so sweet and needed an assisted living.
This is incredible insight! What a story.
I'm (only) 47 years old and have only seen a Radiator in a home 1 time in my life. I'm in CA. I can only imagine relying on a radiator for heat, or on the weather for less heat.
You should write a book!
There are very very few radiators in the US. In an older building. But most all buildings and homes have central heating. Because we have central air. We have furnaces and air conditioners that go through the entire house.
Not true...In all the northeast we have radiators. Almost every apt has them
@ very few in the entire United States! As I said older building do! But as a percent it’s very small.
Yep! I'm in Houston and live in a home that's been in my family for 4 generations. It has been amazing during freezes when the power goes out. My house still has heat. Other than that, I really miss central air & heat. That moisture control in the summer is INCREDIBLE
Yes, Adam some people do have what we call a cloth's line. One thing that I never see talked about is a storm door. Most US homes have them in addition to the entrance door there is a storm door and no it is not what you think. It is simply a door in addition to the entrance door that functions as protection to the entrance door from the weather, provides additional insulation from the heat and cold and since it has a window that opens with a screen, during the summer months when it is not so hot that you need the AC on you can open the entrance door and open the window in the storm door and allow summer breezes into your home without insects coming in.
I have only seen a handful of radiators in north Carolina in my life. All of them have been at one of the schools that I went to where the building was like 80 years old
Radiators are really outdated here. We had them in my schools when I was little and I'm 51 now. When I got to high school 9-12th grade we had none. And I've never had one in a house before. So pretty much confirmed.
Radiators are more common in commercial buildings or apartments that have a central steam boiler to supply them.
only very old houses have radiators these days. in the US basically everywhere has central air and heating, so it's all from the furnace or AC in the basement or a closet
Depiction of water in toilets is wrong ! Isn’t that high !
Now, if you DO have a clogged toilet, then it's very high!
I use a dryer every time. When I was a kid we didn't have a dryer so we hung them out. In the winter they froze and in summer the spiders came in with the clothes. I'd rather use a dryer.
5:55 in my current home, every floor except the bathrooms and the closets is hardwood.
one bathroom and the laundry room have tile flooring, the other has heated marble flooring, and the closets are carpeted.
Radiators are often found in older homes. Newer homes did away with boilers and pipes and now have a furnace which produces forced hot air thru ducts and vents.
I wish I had a room for everything. The former owners of our home decided a huge open room was the way to go. Not "open plan" with the kitchen in view, just a big, wide, bowling alley. It's a glorified hallway. I'm so eager to chop that room into smaller rooms - a laundry room (the laundry does have a "space" near the kitchen, but not hidden away), a pet feeding room (so the kibble, water, drool, etc aren't all over the kitchen floor), and a utility room for the water heater (which can also hide the kitty box). Heck, I think I have room for a 3rd bathroom. We'd still have a dining room, 4 bedrooms, den/living room that wouldn't be touched. I am thankful for the house, and thankful that we could buy it when we did. We just need to make it work for us.
All the previous houses I lived in before my current house were built in the warly-mid-2000s and were open floor plan. I now live in a house built in 1953 where every room is separated from each other, but there are doorways with decorative arches so you can see into the kitchen, dining room and hallway from the living room. I like it so much better than open concept.
for carpet, it depends, its mostly the second floor and bedrooms that are carpeted
also the vast majority of tea we drink is sweetened, though its mostly coffee we drink. For the yard, yes we love our yards, but we also have a thing call the HOA
It's only in the south where most tea is sweetened. In the PNW most people drink it unsweetened
Here in New Orleans (a previously French colony), separate closets were rare until recently because the tax code considered the closets to be "rooms" and taxed them as such. People here used wardrobes (furniture) instead of closets.
Most of the apartments I lived in there had wardrobes. Loved them. Not to mention an old town Victorian the apartment was small but the creeky wood floors were beautiful!!
9:15- central heating and cooling generally doesn't have a separate radiator; and the unit itself is usually mounted outside in the back corner of the house. My unit is in my bedroom closet (7th floor apartment.)
There are radiators in the US, but they are mostly in older buildings in the US, with the majority on the east coast, mainly in the New England region. Modern heating is handled by an HVAC forced air system, that allow for heating and cooling based on thermostat settings.
Line drying outside is a matter of preference or matter of savings for some. Most don’t like the way it makes the clothes feel differently if dried outside. Some love it though, my husband case in point. I dry his outside mine in the dryer during the summer because he likes the feel and smell of line dried clothes
I remember having a clothes line in the backyard of the house I grew up in in KY in the 80s. My mom used it on nice days in the summer to air dry our clothes. It always made them smell great.
I live in Texas. I dry my clothes in the dryer 😂😂
Hey Adam Couser, when you were in Florida at the hotel, what did you think of the toilets there? Was it different or lower to the floor than in Northern Ireland or no big deal?
Let's compare. I lived in Scotland, and paid roughly $900 a month for a one bedroom flat with about 600 SF of space. I pay $1250 now for a 1700 SF house with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and a utility workshop area that is by itself 14x14 and I have both front and backyards that are massive by UK standards. I pay roughly $300 a month for all utilities but I do pay $150 for cable. In the UK I had to pay about $300 for utilities and $35 a year for television rights, and about $60 a month for internet. I had a washer in the UK, no dryer. I had no plugs in the bathroom, and only 6 in the entire house. I have 4 in each bedroom now, 2 in each bath, and 4 in the kitchen, 6 in the living and dining area. I have hardwood floors in 90% of the house here and slate in the kitchen, but I did have hardwood in the entire flat. I had ONLY a shower in the UK and it was 3'x3' square. Yeah, not cool. The water pressure in Scotland sucked but the water was better tasting. Of course, I had no AC there, and I do have it here, but I only missed it 2 days a year there. Radiator? No. I do have a tiny heater that I have on my desktop to keep my right hand warm as it gets cold when I'm working. My left I can wear a glove on, but not my mouse hand -- we have central heat; no need for a radiator, but I will say I prefer a toasty bathroom when I'm showering in the winter. I won't wear shoes in my house, but won't stop someone else from it. I don't take mine off at their place unless I'm staying a while.
It's true Adam, most homes and businesses run on central heating and air conditioning. We do not have radiators. We have one centralized unit that controls the heat in the winter and cold in the summer. The unit is generally located in the basement or attic of the home and the air, hot or cold, is pumped or blown throughout the house by means of air ducts found in each of room in the home.
My family lives in NH and growing up we lived in a 4 bedroom house with an attached garage and a finished basement with a family room just for us 3 kids and our friends to hang out in. It kept Mom happy by keeping the upstairs clean so company could drop by and Mom wouldn't be embarrassed by our mess. We had wall to wall through the upstairs except the kitchen and 2 bathrooms.. basement was tiled and had area rugs and floor pillows for kids to sit on. A second hand sofa and beanbag chairs was enough for a gaggle of teenagers. We had a piano to play down there as well as a second phone to use. Keeps friends out of mom's kitchen when calling home. Tv and record player completed our family room. Basements stay about 20 degrees cooler than the outside in the summer, so we all hung out there on the 100 degree days. water level is about 6 inches deep. Not up to the rim. Home owners associations started in the late 80's to help keep neighborhoods tidy and house prices up. They sort of killed the friendly neighborhood vibe of kids playing ball or hide and seek through the neighborhood. Childless folk like their lawns perfect. Houses with kids are to "lived in" for some. No toys visible to drivers -by left in the yard. It was the start of the "Karen" before video games pulled kids inside to play. My current neighborhood is old school kid friendly. No such thing as restricted play. Most of the houses have kids or atleast they visit on the weekends. Bikes, basketball hoops, strolling mothers abound. Pop up sidewalk chalk art and hide and seek games rule the sunny days. Snowforts and snowball fights rule the cold winter days. I wouldn't want to live anywhere that a commity of civic minded neighbors told me what my kids could do or what plants I could play t or what the color of my house best suited the neighborhood esthetic. Never buy in a HOA neighborhood!
Our washer and dryer are typically inside a separate closet or in a separate room (laundry room) but itself
I never air dry my clothes, unless they're more inclined to shrink in the dryer. The dining room is usually reserved for holidays and Sunday dinners. I have wood floors throughout the house and I buy big rugs for each room. Radiators are mostly in older homes but they are being renovated with central heating. No one in my neighborhood has the American flag hanging. Yes you have to keep your lawn cut or the city can fine you but it has to be really bad and or your neighbors complain constantly 😂
From my understanding, radiators are more common in older houses but also more common in the northern states.
Most American homes have furnaces that supply heated air via ducts throughout the home rather than radiators, sometimes coupled with an AC system for hot weather cooling.
My small city in Wisconsin has a city ordinance to keep our lawns mowed in the summer and sidewalks shoveled in the winter. They mail you a warning and if you don’t comply, they come and do it and send you a hefty bill. I love outdoor work so I’ve never had one.
most houses up north have carpet because of the cold.. but in Florida (where I live) we have no carpet at all.. As for radiators.. I havent seen one in 40 years
Most new houses here in the US have carpet in the bedrooms, but something hard surfaced everywhere else. LVP (luxury vinyl plank) has gotten really popular because it looks great and it's easy to take care of. A few years ago we did a mild renovation and got rid of ALL the carpet (tile in the kitchen and bathrooms; hardwood floors everywhere else). We live in FL and just about all the homes built in the last 20 years are in an HOA. We only pay $178 a year but get very little in return. Their latest was not allowing garbage cans to be outside except on the day of garbage collection. Yes, that rule was in the covenants, but was ignored for the 20+ years we've been here. Found out that it just says that they can't be seen from the street. I just built a 48 inch tall fenced-in "blind" and that was the fix.
A lot of this depends on where you live in the US.
1. Our home is above average for where I live at about 2300sq ft. I used to live in a 1400sq ft home.
2. Yes to all of it - we even have a walk-in storage closet, walk-in pantry, and converted a coat closet by garage door into an appliance closet.
3. Big laundry room and my washer is so tall I have a grabber to get small things out of the bottom of it. Yes, mine is top loading - it was a scratch and dent discount at more than half off - I'm not complaining. 😁 As for hanging, nope. Not in our hot humidity 10 months of the year. Takes too long to hang dry.
4. No basement in my current home. We do have bonus room over the garage though that isn't counted in our square footage since it's not really finished. I had a basement in my home growing up with a game room, pool table, ping pong table, and TV/playroom.
5. Yes I have a formal dining. I'm thinking about converting it. 2/3 of it to a craft room and the rest to a bigger walk-in pantry.
6. 9 smoke detectors hardwired and we change the backup batteries every 6 months.
7. I'm in the southeast. My entire house is wood or tile. I HATE carpet because I hate vacuuming. My Roombas love it though. BTW my home was built in 2001, so he's not completely correct.
8. My toilet is tall. But yes, a lot of people have toilets so low I call them kiddie toilets.
9. Never seen a toilet with little water. Every one I've had or used is half full.
10. 🤷♀️
11. We run a/c about 9 months of the year. We might get a week or 2 where we can open windows in early spring and a week or 2 with nothing on in late fall or early winter. And nope, not many radiators. Our 1970s home I grew up in had central heat. My grandparents on both sides had 1950s homes with baseboard heaters. I had 1 friend with a home built in the 30s I think and they had radiators but no longer used them.
12. We don't require you remove your shoes at our home, but we don't wear shoes ourselves.
13. We also have outlets in our bathrooms and close to our sinks.
14. I have a kettle, but I love tea.
15. Don't have a garbage disposal myself. Unless you count the pig.
16. Yes, I have US flag and one of the local college about 5 minutes away.
17. I have about 3 acres of beautiful green grass (somebody else cuts it for me), 5 acres of patchy grass, weeds, chicken coops, pasture, a barn, sheds, and trees, and 12 acres of pristine woodlands and a creek. My parents bought this land in the early 80s for 1/10th of what it would cost today.
I think there good things about both styles of homes. I love some of the older Irish homes with their snug and cozy rooms divided by doors. I think it makes more sense to heat. I was confused by the shower timers and I don't even want to tell you how long it took me to figure out the cooktop had a switch that needed to be turned off and on! I prefer carpeting in bedrooms because the floors are warmer in the winter. I prefer gas stoves over electric because if the power goes out I can still cook and food cooks faster. I think this guy is off his rocker! Of course we have kettles!
Rules regarding lawn maintenance are few and far between. America has many people that live in rural locations. Unless there is a subdivision or Home Owners Association (HOA) involved… there won’t be any regulations about home/yard maintenance.
The home I grew up in was an 80 acre farm that was part of the Underground Railroad. The basement was a dirt floor, with a wood burning furnace as the heat source. There was also a well in the basement for water, along with a walk in closet/storage area that used to open up into a secret passageway that led to another home about 1/4 mile away.
There was a wooden set of stairs in the kitchen that went up into my bedroom. The cool thing was there was another hiding space under those stairs. The bottom step lifted up into a small room. As kids we could fit, but I think it may have been less for humans to hide, and more for weapons/provisions.
A closet is required by building code (in addition to a window) for a room to be considered a bedroom. Having said that, we also use a dresser in addition to a closet for clothes you fold.
Back to the closet bring required for code, a wardrobe is acceptable by code, but it's not the norm. If you do see it, it's more common in conversions where a non-bedroom was made into a bedroom. Even then, people usually just build a closet.
I do like wardrobes though. I've never had one, but I like the idea of them.
Electricity generation was first set up here in the US. The plugs are mostly different due to the US using 120v 60hz power@15amps where the UK uses 220v 50hz 20amp power. That means you can pull a lot more electricity through the socket in the UK, so they are bigger, with thicker tines on the plug to carry that power without over heating. The biggest reason however, is safety. Since the US was first we didnt have the benefit of experience when setting up our grid that Europe did. 110v power if you touch uninsulated say wire, will cause your arms to contract, and curl in toward your chest, killing you. 220v power cause contractions so hard and fast it blows you off the wire, causing less damage. So there ya have it.
In the US, while there are radiators in older city locations, most of the modern properties have a combined "forced air unit" that combines both the A/C and the heat (typically gas furnace). I live in Arizona, so Air Conditioning is kind of a survival tool. Also, we immediately remodeled our bathrooms when we bought the place (it was a rental for 16 years prior, so everything was kind of trashed) and we deliberately bought "tall" toilets and bidet seats to top them off. Life changing, man!!!
I only had carpet whenever I rented. All of the homes I've owned have hardwood or tile floors because of allergies in my family. A finished basement has been a must for every home I've owned, some with wet bars, bathrooms or a second kitchen and additional rooms, as mentioned. Great reaction!
For clarity, N American toilets are syphonic... they need a larger volume of water in the bowl to 'draw down' to start emptying, and then syphonic action takes over to 'suck' the water down. UK toilets are 'flush down' ... they rely on a 'head' of water - perhaps only a couple of feet - that sluices the bowl down. Many older Brit houses have a tank mounted near ceiling height to force everything down. Syphonic toilets are available in the UK, but in general they are more expensive. Further, whereas UK's are higher than US toilets, US toilets are about 14" high (a few are 15" or more), and do pose a difficulty for older people to get off of.
yes, most people in the u.s dont have radiators. we either use electric heaters or electric blankets. for heat during the winter time. or if your house is big enough or a in a wooden rural area. Fireplaces or wood stoves
I live in Louisiana. It’s hot as hell in the summer and we never dry clothes outside. We have a dryer. If I have an article of clothing that can’t be dried it gets hung in the laundry room to dry.
My daughter moved to Scotland and hates the laundry situation. One machine that washes/dries but doesn't dry well so everything has to be hung up regardless.
Most houses in my neck of the woods, the southeastern part of the USA, have what are called heat pumps, where one giant machine outside of the house does all of the heating and cooling through a network of ventilation and regulated by one central thermostat. You'll recognize it in a real estate listing as "Central Heat and Air Conditioning" (CHAC). Our thermostat can be set anywhere from 50F to 86F (10C - 30C). I usually tend to keep it set at 72F in the summer and 68F in the winter.
3:02 I always a use dryer.
dryer make clothes softer
No carpet in the kitchen, carpeted bathrooms used to be a thing lol.
I think the popular thing now is carpeted bedrooms and most other areas hard flooring with rugs.
When I was a kid (in the 60's), we had a "wringer/washer" and hung our clothes out on a line in warm weather, and in the basement in winter. Later we had a large washer and dryer in our larger 4 BR house in a "utility" room. Now IN MY 60's I have a small washer/spinner in my 1 BR apartment and use a drying rack.
We had a basement (teenage years) with a pool table (billiards to you brits), and a ping-pong table. PLUS an extra bed room, family room. and laundry room.
Most places I've lived (until now) were wall-wall carpet, as a teen we had (don't laugh because it had a different meaning here) SHAG carpet in the bathroom, which was a THICK pile that needed to be RAKED to keep it from matting down. And YES, we even had a thin carpet in the kitchen! (the 70's was a unique time with GREEN "avocado" appliances and colored toilet paper to match the decor)
The ONLY place I ever saw a "radiator" was in GRADE SCHOOL in the 60's. Pretty much everywhere here has "forced air" heating/cooling where the air is heated or cooled at the unit and pushed into each room by a fan. My dad used to keep the heat in winter LOW so as kids we'd get up on Saturday mornings and go to the living room to watch T.V. with our blankets over the heating ducts (after cranking up the thermostat of course).
I've NEVER HAD a "tea kettle". I've had a stove top coffee percolator though 🙂 IF (and it's only occasionally) I want tea, I'll put a cup of water in the microwave, and toss in a tea bag after it's done.
Yes, there are (in many places) LAWS about how long your grass is. If it gets too long, you can be fined. I guess it's the trade off for not having to pay a tax to WATCH T.V.....
My current home does have a basement but it's far from being a second living space despite it being the exact square foot as the upstairs. There is a pool table, darts, and table tennis but it's dark and uninviting. The rest of it is storage, the boiler, and the oil tank. If it wasn't for our laundry being down there, we most likely wouldn't go down that often. We also have baseboard heating which is somewhat like a radiator. They are very low to the ground, not much more than above your ankle. They are also safe to touch, even when running, because ours uses hot water instead of steam.
We do have different sockets for kitchens and bathrooms and other wet areas. They shut themselves off when they sense water or when the electricity is dangerous. Those have a switch to turn them back on.
My current little apartment has a stackable w/d in the bathroom. I wouldn’t dream of hanging up my clothes to dry.
Smoke detectors are code most places. (Required in new construction at least). Wall to wall carpet was bigger prior to 2000. Now many new homes are using hardwood, tile or laminate flooring. “comfort height” toilets are becoming more popular. They are taller than the older style mentioned in the video. ac/Heat is provided primarily with heat pumps.
The southwestern part of the US--states like New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and Utah--only rarely have basements. Out here there are layers of very hard concrete-like stone called caliche (ca-leech-ee). It is extremely difficult to remove while building homes--used to be dynamited out--and expensive, so homes were built without basements. In some places now they will build basements, so I guess they've found an easier way to get through the caliche.
I only recently started using a Kettle. And I LOVE it. But I mostly use it for cooking. I heat it anytime I need hot water so I don’t ad cold water to already heated pot, tea, etc…
Some neighborhoods have some simple rules, mostly just not letting your grass get overgrown.
I always take off my shoes when I walk in the door at home and friends' houses. And I do have a tea kettle.
I live in Southern California. We have central heating and air conditioning. Summer temps run from 95-115°F (35-46°C). Living without A/C is not an option. It’s also very expensive to run the A/C… around $1100 per month in summer! Even with solar it’s $600/month now. However, in winter we don’t even turn on our heater, which is natural gas.
I moved from the South to the Northeast 3½ years ago and my current house is very different than the houses I used to live in. This is the oldest (built in 1953) and smallest house I've ever lived in. It's only 950 ft², but I do have a finished basement the same size as the house, although it's not as glamorous as the ones described in this video. I use it as a 3rd bedroom and my laundry room is down there too. This is my first house with a basement. My house is all original hardwood, which I love. I also have the original vintage red door with 3 square windows running vertically down the center.
I went overboard with smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. I have a smoke detector in the hallway, in both bedrooms and in the kitchen. I also have a carbon monoxide detector because I have a gas stove. I have both downstairs in the laundry room part of the basement because I have gas heat, a gas water heater and a gas clothes dryer, which I didn't know existed until I moved into this house. All the houses I lived in before were built within the last 15 years and all slightly different versions of the same style house, but I prefer my little old house over my bigger, newer houses. It has more character. My kids are grown so it's the perfect size house for me. Oh, and as far as the forgotten dining room, I use my dining room table to apply my makeup. 😄
Hanging clothes to dry isn't unheard of, but it's pretty rare. Usually if your house has space for a washer, it has space for a dryer. I don't know many people who hang clothes to dry, and it's generally done by people who are very green-conscience or trying to shave pennies off their electric bill. Air-dried clothes tend to be stiffer off the line than machine dried clothes, so even when people have a nice climate to hang clothes in, most won't.
(Also, most newer homes only put carpeting in the bedrooms, or in the upstairs only while leaving the downstairs wood/tile/etc. That being said, you can find house from the 70s and whatnot with carpeted kitchens and bathrooms.)
Here in Arizona outside clothes lines are not used too much because in late spring to early autumn, it’s so HOT🔥 they dry to a wrinkled up stiff mess by the time you can get your basket out to hang them up
Older homes have radiators in colder areas...but most of us have vents in the walls that blow hot or cold air depending on the season.
Hey Adam! My son and I live in an apartment. But we always (weather permitting) hang clothes outside on the porch railings. "Unmentionables" and socks will go in the dryer. Towels too. But jeans, T-shirts and the like will be hung outside. Oh and blankets too. The fresh air smell on our laundry is one of my favorite scents. So, yeah, we don't have to hang dry our clothes; we choose to! And yeah, we have a flag on our porch! Cheers mate! Love your channel!
We use the dining room for formal dinners, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. We don't use it that much during the rest of the year and eat at the kitchen table, which will easily seat eight.
A lot of homes here have forced air heat. I have had
both steam radiators and hot water baseboard heat too.
I haven’t turned on the heat (forced air HVAC) since 1995, but during the summer my a/c goes nuts. Of course, 113°F isn’t unusual where I live.
I live in North Texas where its hot (near Dallas/Ft Worth). Its one of the worst places for outdoor allergies, so NOBODY I know hangs their clothes on a line outside, just collecting all those allergens you're about to wear.
Our entire house is hardwood or tile. We do have lots of area rugs - big and small - to define spaces and feel more cozy.
Fashions change on a 20-30 year cycle. In the 1920-30s, hardwood floors with area rugs were the norm. In the 50s-80, many older homes had the hardwood floors covered with wall to wall. Beginning in the 90s and continuing today, the fashion is back to hardwood floors and even ceramic tile or stone with area rugs.
A lot of newer houses have what are sometimes called climate control systems where in addition to setting the temperature you can also set the humidity percentage as well, allowing a total control of all aspects of the air in your home.
I'm 76 years old & I've never seen or been in a home with a radiator. I understand they were more common in the '40's & '50's , but today they are pretty much gone!
I heard that in the UK, people can’t have walk in closets because anything with a wall is considered a room and gets taxed.
When it comes to washing you can either wash them in your washing machine or hang them out to dry (on a sunny day). I have a ranch style home which include 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, living room, kitchen, dining room, family room, and laundry room, walk in closets in each bedroom, pantry and closet to hold all my towels and 2 car garage big back yard. Now new houses are built with 3 car garages.
Wall to wall carpets get really dirty, and then if you have them cleaned they may get moldy. I prefer wood floors and area rugs. I even got a washable rug for my living room.
Love my garbage disposal. My kids used to call it “Sinky” like it was a pet.
We have radiators, but we dont use them much because oil is too expensive and our house is insulated like a tent. We use space heaters and electric blankets and keep the house around 14 degrees. In summer we have room air conditioners.
Safety Considerations: Both British and American wiring systems prioritize safety, but their approaches differ slightly. The British system’s emphasis on incorporating fuses within plugs and widespread use of RCDs enhances protection against electrical faults and shocks. In the US, the NEC continually updates standards to address emerging safety concerns and technological advancements.
While British and American wiring systems share fundamental principles of electrical engineering, differences in voltage, plug design, color coding, circuit protection, and regulatory frameworks necessitate distinct approaches to electrical installations. Understanding these disparities is essential for electricians, engineers, and homeowners to ensure compliance, safety, and efficiency in electrical systems.
The reason for the outlets is because in the states our outlets run on 120 volts and in most of the eu and I’m going to guess uk is 220-240 volts on average thus eliminating the need for a switch on our outlets.
The size of American homes has grown with every generation. The ranch-style houses that were popular in the '60s and '70s averaged more like 1200-1500 square feet. Gas stoves are common in many parts of the US. I've had gas stoves most of the places I've lived. We do have some sinks with separate taps in the bathroom, but it's not that common. Radiators are old-fashioned, not found in buildings built after mid 20th century. Some neighborhoods have Homeowners Associations (HOAs) which pass rules about how you mow or landscape, what vehicles you can park in front of your house, what kind of fence you can have, whether you can have a clothesline or a vegetable garden...let's just say some are more reasonable than others.
I use to work in construction in California and majority of new houses floor are hardwood unless customer ask for carpeting most now just buy large rugs for each room.
I lived in Europe when a young teen The closet vs wardrobe was so bizarre! What a waste of space! lol. I also remember how hard it was to get a warm flow of water for a shower! Thx Adam