American Reacts to 4 Ways British and American Houses are Very Different

[@philbaker4155]

I love my back garden. Table chairs,, sit and chill having a cuppa coffee with the paper ,,, watching the butterfly's,,, listening to the birds .... that's why Britain has Great in the name ...

[@shirleyburke1571]

Totally agree with your comment,but I love watching my washing blowing as I have my brew lol

[@eattherich9215]

I love that we don't sit on the front porch and watch our neighbours across the street. That is deeply creepy.

[@astetic_vibezz319]

@@eattherich9215 I never thought of of it like that but yeah I spose it could be creepy. The only time I experienced that here was when I was living in moss side Manchester and the they had the carnival on. Everyone out with the BBQ’s. That was a nice atmosphere though not creepy - just my experience of having the neighbours outside in close proximity-otherwise too much ! I like my space. Gardens are the best with a gate to shut the neighbours out lol 😂 (joke !)

[@CowmanUK]

In Roman times Brittany was called Britannia Minor (Lesser Britain), versus Britannia Major (Britain) so Britain has Great in the name for that reason, really. Not that I genuinely think you believe that Britain has Great in the title because you can sit in your garden watching butterflies... but I felt the need to clarify for those who may not know.

[@lehoff]

I love this too. But I miss my house in the Med by the sea. The sound of the waves is so relaxing.

[@user-JustMe67]

I love picking diffrent states or even countries, and going on google street view for a wee wander around different neighbourhoods just for a wee nosey lol

[@lesleycarney8868]

My food disposal unit is my dog.

[@GrafindeKlevemark]

You have given me a good laugh. I had a Rottie years ago, with a great appetite. When my son had made himself 2 steaks, with pasta - I caught my Rottie very carefully taking the upper steak and slipping it below all the food on his plate so only one steak remained visible - clever boy...

[@lesleycarney8868]

@@GrafindeKlevemark That is so funny lolll. I have 3 rescues of very different breeds and we had workmen here at the house for nearly a whole year. So the dogs got to know their habit's and break times. Well they all turned up with various like french sticks with filling but they had all eaten them by mid morning. So one day our Boston terrier managed to get on the van and ate all the fillings in the rolls but left just the bread.

[@ElandBee]

Our dog was our disposal unit too, sadly no longer with us. I'm afraid the cat turns her nose up at the very idea of eating leftovers unless it's salmon!

[@lesleycarney8868]

@@ElandBee ha ha typical of a cat . . undignified

[@davidcook7887]

Is that the crappy one?

[@bookstorebinge]

Video: "a one storey ranch style home" Me, British: 😮 a bungalow

[@blackcountryme]

yes "A house like those in Bangalore" where the word came from

[@Justinian-IV]

@@blackcountryme Bravo you know a word

[@daftirishmarej1827]

​@@blackcountrymethank you - I honestly didn't know that. I live in a council one, built in the 50s or 60s (so you can imagine the state of it!) of which I am extremely grateful. Now I know where the word comes from!

[@LexAngel]

I'm in my 50s and British. Never heard the word Commonhold. Ever. And no real description of council housing or tower blocks? Not everyone is middle class or aristocracy in the UK!!!

[@InaMacallan]

Common hold was being used by the UK government in the 1980s and 90s as an option for leasehold tenants to buy their flats. It never caught on.

[@jillosler9353]

Nor everyone in the USA is rich. They have their tenements and ghettos the same as every other country. I have also seen new developments in the States being built much closer to the neighbours and leaner town houses appearing which are no bigger than a 3-bedroom house in the UK.

[@DavidLee-yu7yz]

@@InaMacallan I know them as Shared Freehold back in the day

[@sheilawallen]

Most UK residents have local access to shops/parks/schools/towns within walking or cycling distance, so we tend not to stay in our tiny homes all day.😊

[@funkypigeon3676]

As an adult, I personally love spending my free time at the local school

[@lehoff]

​@@funkypigeon3676 😂😂😂😂😂

[@lehoff]

I live near a farm and we get all our eggs daily and from the local butcher we get meat every 2 days. We don't really go to supermarket. But we're from the Med where we do daily shops really.

[@BondJFK]

so you shop all day in rain

[@sheilawallen]

@@BondJFK Despite popular myth, it does not rain all day every day. We have local weather apps on our phone and dress accordingly😘

[@enemde3025]

We DON'T all have combined washer/driers in the UK ! They are too expensive to buy and run ! Nearly everyone dries their clothes OUTSIDE on the washing line. What do Americans call BUNGALOWS ? I have NEVER heard the word " commonhold" used in the UK ! It would just be called a "block of flats".

[@JamesLMason]

I'd love to dry my clothes outside. I'd love to have an outside! 😂

[@charlottehardy822]

Apparently they call bungalows ranch houses.

[@101steel4]

​@@charlottehardy822😂😂 really? So the sauce they go on about all the time is actually bungalow sauce 😁

[@MarlynMeehan]

As I live in a flat and have no outside drying area, when they first came out I had a combined washer/drier and it was the worst thing ever. Not sure if it was particular to the brand I bought or if it is the same with every combined, but it could only accommodate a smaller amount of washing so even just from that point it was more expensive to run as you are having to do smaller loads more often. Couldn't wait to get rid.

[@NGT4LIFE]

Washer dryers are not expensive..unless you buy an expensive one.

[@martinscott-reed5379]

Stove top kettles are perfectly fine. Heating water in a microwave however is blasphemy.

[@Marcel_Audubon]

so tired of people talking about their kettle preferences. just stop. nobody's making you use a microwave, sweets

[@martinscott-reed5379]

@Marcel_Audubon if you're so tired of it, stop reading about it. Stopping the even more stupid move of commenting on those posts might be advisable. It shows an eagerness to interact rather than disappointment in the subject.

[@Marcel_Audubon]

@@martinscott-reed5379 "stop reading about it" ... earlier, I was trying to figure out if you were an idiot, imbecile or moron ... but now I know - idiot it is! (the lowest level in terms of intelligence, but this highest in terms of volume of drool produced any given hour).

[@daftirishmarej1827]

Microwave??!!!!

[@martinscott-reed5379]

@daftirishmarej1827 yeah, metal box, glass door, hums a little, then beeps.

[@martynclarke5167]

The Cotswolds' 'Chocolate Box house' pictured is actually in a little village called Lustleigh in Devon.

[@stevepage5813]

@martynclarke5167 That's near enough for Lawrence. I must admit that this clip was a bit more accurate than most of his. He didn't seem to dwell on the fact that most US houses are made out of timber and plaster board (dry wall.) Here in UK materials were and most certainly are at the moment, very expensive. I suppose you get what you pay for. A lot of buildings in my area of West Yorkshire, which were constructed out of man made material, are having to be closed down because they aren't structurally sound and therefore it's not viable to do them up internally. When a lot of the surrounding buildings are made out of Yorkshire stone and even though they are hundreds of years old, they are as good as new, especially when they have been sand blasted/cleaned. When internal fixtures need modernising, it is of course worth doing as the shell is still solid. Councils think that they are saving money by using cheap external material, but as we commoners know only too well, this is of course false economy.

[@Foxhunter49]

Way before electric kettles were the norm, my grandmother always had a kettle on the gas stove, ready to make a cuppa. She lived in a terraced house two rooms upstairs, two down, a kitchen on the side and an outside loo.

[@brendamuirhead483]

I use a kettle on my gas hob…it’s a whistling kettle. I’m in Scotland.

[@Foxhunter49]

Another thing gran did was read the tea leaves once you had drunk the brew!

[@paulbromley6687]

I visited a US family living in the UK near Alconbury some years ago they were military. They had a standard English kitchen but they had their US appliances in there it looked like a dolls house with out of scale white goods, two giant step up top loader washer and dryer and a three foot wide slot in cooker. They had the standard big US truck on the drive outside. It was not cosy.

[@andrewcoogans471]

I remember there was an American family who lived close to my parent's house when I was growing up, and they had imported their car from the US, and it looked absolutely HUGE in suburban Scotland! You don't realise how big these vehicles are (or how small European vehicles are) until you see them outside their "natural habitat".

[@angelabushby1891]

Enjoyed that video, thanks

[@karenpaxton]

I used to babysit for an American family in Peterborough whose Dad was at Alconbury (if I recall from 35 years ago!). Same. A UK house but sooo American. I used to love the food and TV they'd leave for me.

[@gmdhargreaves]

Cool memories I can see that from the 90’s

[@VoiceundertheBridge]

@@andrewcoogans471 My father actually paid to ship his American car to Europe then found it so large he parked it in his garage for 4 years. Then he paid to ship it back. It would have been cheaper to buy a new car on either side. LOL/

[@johnfisher9816]

Really good episode, Joel. As usual, I'm heading back to Dorset in June, staying with friends in their thatched, "chocolate-box" house dating from the 1600's. UK village life is just delightful. Residential architecture in America and Canada is almost indistinguishable, if at all, making visiting the UK even more special. In fact, many US movies and TV shows are actually filmed in Canada, subtly disguised as America. What I really enjoy in the UK is the extensive use of stone, which varies by colour across the land, e.g., almost yellow around Bath, while being quite dark grey-black in Derbyshire. Have a great week, John in Canada

[@karencooper3428]

The honeycomb is called cotswold stone, it's stone mined in the cotswolds and nearby

[@MrDaiseymay]

Thats the reason why we have so many differnt types of house materials, back in olden days, they made their house of local materials, Cotsworld stone, Yorkstone, BathStone, Aberdeen Granite, and where there were Forests and Woodland, we see all those Black and White Timbered houses. etc etc.

[@susanwestern6434]

​@@MrDaiseymayMud as well. Cob or Clay Lump.

[@Dan-kb2oz]

One house type he seemed to miss off, which would be the closest to your Ranch house, is what we call a Bungalow. Looking much like a detached house with just a ground floor. Although it's quite common for them to have loft/attic conversions.

[@thefiestaguy8831]

I live in one. Mine doesn't. We have a loft but it's just got the usual water storage tank, insulation etc in it. A childminder I used to go to has a two storey house, then they converted the loft ("attic") into a third bedroom for their teenage son.

[@karenpaxton]

I live in a superb bungalow, too. Currently still one story. We bought it because of the huge garden!

[@astetic_vibezz319]

I live in a two bed bungalow and love it - built in the 1950’s 😊👌🏼

[@MarlynMeehan]

On the odd occasion when we get warm weather I never open my windows. All you are doing is letting more hot air in. I prefer the 'European' way of keeping not only the windows closed but also blinds/curtains which keeps the hot air and warm sunlight out. A nice fresh day with a gentle breeze is my ideal for flinging the windows open.

[@djs98blue]

Yup I’ve got an inside/outside thermometer and only open the windows on a hot day when it’s cooler out - ie at night - then close them in the day with blinds down. I know this traps hot air between blind and window but not sure I’d get planning for exterior shutters on our house! 😂

[@mhague6068]

Keeping your curtains closed (and your windows) on hot days is not a "European Way" of doing things - my mother always did that; if she were still alive, she would be 103yrs old now!) Just saying ;) On the same subject: keeping your curtains closed - any time of year - was also a sign of a grieving household and respect for the dearly departed. Something which has gradually gone "out of fashion" (mores the pity).

[@MarlynMeehan]

@@mhague6068 Closing curtains as a sign of mourning started in the 19th century after the death of Prince Albert when Queen Victoria made mourning a high art. It continued well into the 20th century. Also mirrors were covered in the home of the departed during the time of mourning. I believe that is a ritual that still continues by some today in Ireland and the Jewish faith.

[@romystumpy1197]

Yes I have black out fabric that I hook up to my windows in extreme heat in uk

[@lachlanmain6004]

Watching this and enjoying it from my 1880's, mid terraced house. it's showing its age a bit but then so am I.

[@michael7286]

There's an old saying - An English mans home is his Castle.

[@HeatherMyfanwyTylerGreey]

We did have stove top whistling kettles in the UK in the 1960's and 70's or in caravans!

[@lindamerrett6600]

I agree in the Cotswold it’s a beautiful part of the country.

[@carolineskipper6976]

A lot of Laurence's videos include gross generalisations which reflect his experiences, but not the general rule. However, this one was spot on with some interesting detail.

[@annicecooper8105]

I think it's been a loooong time since Laurence lived in the UK. Some of his pronouncements seem a little outdated. 😄

[@djs98blue]

@@annicecooper8105yup almost every comment section says this but he carries on regardless, guess he gets too many views to care!

[@brigidsingleton1596]

*Lawrence* (he spells it the English way, not the French way).

[@Thurgosh_OG]

He was wrong about most British houses having combi washer/dryers though. Most will have a washing machine, a fair number will have a tumble dryer (mostly to use in wet/cold weather, instead of on the line outside) and just a few will have a combi, because they are not efficient and costly to run but only take up 1 appliance space.

[@tantaf8908]

My house in the UK has just 5 rooms one is the bathroom and toilet combined it is an end terraced house with a front n back garden

[@CatGrindle]

Some of our houses date back before the Tudor period. The cottage I live in ... quite a large one ... dates from around 1350, i.e. around 675 years old! It's a 'crock house' which used to house animals as well as people, and originally had a fire pit. It was modernised in the Tudor period with the addition of a very robust fireplace. The house was originally built of wattle and daub, which was padded out with cob at a later date, and that is how it still stands today. The cottage still has its original wooden frame and pointy arched front door. I'm very grateful to live where I do, it so amazing. Every time I touch a bit of the wooden frame I know generations all the way back to the 14th century have touched the same piece of wood!

[@vallee3140]

sounds wonderful

[@mhague6068]

Wow! Just ... WOW!!!

[@christophermoffatt5144]

You don't see separate hot and cold taps as much nowadays, especially in kitchens, the reason why they used to be separate is because the hot water used to be (and sometimes still is) gravity fed from a large water tank (header) in the loft which fed the hot water cylinder, the weight of this water pushed the hot water out when taps were opened, this meant the water coming out the hot tap had been sitting in a tank in the loft for ages so wasn't suitable for drinking (the lids on header tanks aren't sealed so all kinds of stuff can get in), plus you get poor pressure out the hot tap, nowadays the most common set up is a gas combi boiler which does heating and instant hot water or an unvented hot water cylinder both of which are fed straight from the mains cold water so you get good hot pressure and it would be safe to drink.

[@lucyburger7427]

I have lived in very old houses from Victorian to the mid 1920s that had separate hot and cold taps.

[@suzannebaxter2888]

My home is 125yrs old and it still has the same features it was built with including all the fireplaces. I have no cavity wall insulation as I only have one layer of bricks. These were built so during spring summer and early autumn they absorb the heat from the sun and release during the winter. My house when we do have our summers is cool. I never close my bedroom windows even in winter. I value land as much as the house. My home is huge and we have a lot of out buildings. I think the way UK differ most in lifestyles is we travel more than any of the Americans. You have a grill that you use outside we have grills built into our cookers. We call those outside Barbecues. People complain about the weather even when the sun is out the birds are singing and all around you is the sounds of the gardens been mowed or the kids in the gardens. It is our national pass time to moan about the weather. My gardens are our pride and joy. We take gardening very seriously in this country. I don't understand why you have a laundry room on the floor of the bedrooms. We hang washing out. I do not have a dryer to expensive to run and I don't have a dishwasher.

[@seanpittaway5341]

We complain about the weather because our weather changes at will, we never get a chance to get used to one type, we don't get the extremes other countries do but we also don't get the constant

[@mhague6068]

@@seanpittaway5341 That is because we are between two differing weather fronts. We do get extremes (by British standards) depending on which way the wind blows.

[@stevefox3763]

Wish he had mentioned that when we put the kettle on here in the UK that we are easily drinking as much Coffee as Tea, the stereotype of the UK being a Tea only place is everywhere! One reason why the US has favoured Stove top kettles over plug in is the power system, sockets are much more limited than those in the UK where we can pull 13A from each our 240v sockets which is 3000w and have kettles that are very very fast to boil. I have seen videos about US load balancing, that is something we dont have to do on UK electrical systems in our homes, we can pull way more power from our system. The switch we have on our sockets is not used all the time, we generally dont use it when plugging in or unplugging and we dont routinely switch things off, we only use it when we specially want to remove power from something but wish to leave it plugged in. Combination washer dryers are a thing you can get but NOT the norm in the UK, we use separate machines, often with the dryer stacked on top but drying on a line outside or airing cupboard is very common whenever possible due to the massive cost of using a dryer plus it wears your clothes out faster.

[@MrDaiseymay]

FOOD DISPOSAL THING. When we moved into our house 40 yrs ago, there was one of those fitted, except i'd never seen one before, and wondered what a electric switch did on the wall. so I turned it on--and a teriffic howling racket began, quickly followed by a torrent of rotten food , which showered us all. As the house had been empty for 10 months , the stink was aweful.

[@pyeltd.5457]

Get rid of it

[@nicolad8822]

We had one in a flat I lived in. It ate a teaspoon and died. Waste of time. You shouldn’t be macerating food waste and flushing it anyway.

[@amz7290]

Dryers are something of a luxury over here usually, especially if your poorer, as they are one of the most expensive electronics to run in a home. Lots of us tend to just dry our clothes outside (Ngl I'm from the same original town as 'Lost in the Pond' he's from the posher part, you don't have a semi detached generally if your in the poorer parts) We have stovetop and electric kettles, I have both in case I run out of electric or gas at anypoint so I can swap and change, which is something he didn't point out also, our utility's are a little different in places too, as in lots of us have top up cards and keys for gas and electric.

[@fleuriebottle]

The UK had sink waste disposal units but they were short lived due to breaking down so often with limitations on what you could put into them. Our current waste disposal is superb. A food waste caddy sits on the counter near the sink where just scrape food waste away then collected weekly by the local authority.

[@valeriedavidson2785]

Sink disposal units are now banned in Britain. There was one in a flat I moved into in the 1960's so they have been here a long time.

[@miriamleaver6620]

My husband installs AC and is seeing more and more households having it fitted in the UK. Hes been fitting it in shops/shopping centres since the late 80’s but it is really taking off now in houses. A lot of people in the UK think it only works on cooling but it does work on heating too and has been a cheaper heating solution for us.

[@bordersw1239]

Made my own fly screens here in the U.K. 2cmx1cm wood , L brackets for the corners. Paint to appropriate colour, staple fibreglass insect mesh to frame. Use Velcro on frame and window surround. Costs about £10 per window. Cat proof too.

[@ElandBee]

Never heard of Commonhold and I'm well stricken in years. We also have built in wardrobes, mixer taps and a separate washing machine and tumble dryer. Lucky us!

[@PokhrajRoy.]

14:39 One of my viral comments was about Electric Kettles. It turned into a forum honestly.

[@FranzSchmidtYoutube]

14:30 Electric kettles much _faster at heating_ with 240V vs 110V (draws more that 4x less current for similar wattage) - explains the prevalence in UK (and most of world, except the Americas North of the Equator) 🤓

[@lorraine4143]

if you ever visit England again , your welcome to pop by and have a cup of tea at mine ! you can see how the british really live

[@michael7286]

Speaking about English garden's ... Years ago many working families would have an outside loo ( Toilet ) in the garden. Bath time would be a tin bath in front of the coal fire.

[@jillosler9353]

Go back a hundred years (or less) in America and they also had outside toilets and tin baths. Don't forget it was Britain that started the Industrial Revolution that gave us indoor electricity and eventually all the modern conveniences we take for granted now.

[@gillianrimmer7733]

It wasn't that long ago. I grew up with an outside toilet shared with 2 other families and no indoor plumbing except for one cold water tap in the kitchen. I didn't live in a house with indoor plumbing until I was 10 in the 1960s. This wasn't some kind of rural place - it was a terrace house in Leeds.

[@ThornyLittleFlower]

Last year i went into the back garden once to have a bbq and haven't been back since. Really hoping this 🤞 year will be better. Glad you were lucky enough to visit on a heatwave week but that's all it ever is. A week of heat then if we are lucky after a cool spell we might get another one. Our summer is blasts of sun ☀️ between the clouds.

[@mariokrings]

7:14 You can easily have a house with three levels, even in Texas. It just shouldn't be made of paper mache. In Europe almost all houses are made of concrete or build with bricks. Have you seen what happened in Acapulco? Dude this city got wrecked by that heavy hurricane, but the main structures of it's buildings are just fine. All they have to do is put back glas in the windows, reconstruct fences and gardens and the houses interior if it got damaged. And thats it.

[@thefiestaguy8831]

That's my point when Americans harp on about their "larger houses that cost less" than in the UK.... that's because they're trashy houses made from wood and low quality materials. In the UK pretty much every house is made from brick or stone. These houses last HUNDREDS of years not tens of years like in the USA. They don't fall to pieces or get blown about in a storm, they stand strong and firm. The bungalow I live in with the parents was not far from where the 1987 hurricane happened, completely intact, trees down across the road, massive oak trees that had stood for decades or longer were down, most houses were either not damaged or minor damage like a few roof slates missing, window smashed etc. In America where the houses are made of weaker materials, in a tornado or a hurricane a plank of wood can become a missile and puncture right through it. That same piece of wood wouldn't have a chance getting through the TWO layers of bricks my house was made with.

[@Lin.J333]

I live in a banjo ..and where the biggest estate was built for the east Ender's in the 50s who moved from the slums .it was lovely and still had green areas of space and Kept well with beautiful paks by gardeners and park keepers and most were proud to live in a house with inside toilet and bath ...sadly this past 15 years they have passed on or moved on and those we have now do not appreciate what they have or outside surrounding areas ...we do not have regular Gardner's or street sweepers or park keepers and many leave their front gardens an eyeseore..the houses ,yes are far smaller than America ..but.never had a problem its 3 bed two rooms downstairs and normal size kitchen for terraced house . We have rotten rain damp dull weather too much

[@kevinturner3997]

I don't think you would get a mortgage for an American style wooden house in the uk.

[@juliawigger9796]

Only under specialist mortgage brokers.

[@thefiestaguy8831]

Why would you want an American style house? Made of cheap crappy materials. American houses are built to last 30-50 years. Meanwhile my house was built in the 1960's and still going strong, a relative who lives two doors along, her bungalow was built in the 1930's from scratch, still standing strong and just as intact as it was almost 100 years ago. There's an abandoned church not too far from me that was built in the 1600's.... plenty of buildings in the UK made in the 1300's.

[@rosieg1603]

Yes you would , my home is wooden construction built in 1959 I had no problem 😁

[@nicolad8822]

You do, there are increasing numbers of timber framed houses.

[@Tannadeechee]

You would. Majority of all housing built in Scotland since mid to late 60s are timber framed, with brick outer walls.

[@AnnThorpe-d3w]

We have mixed taps in bathrooms and in kiitchens. When was the last time he came to the uk. Not everybody has washerdryer we have washing and dryers.

[@kathrynhobbs8874]

To quote Horace Rumpole, ‘a back yard is redolent with images of a place for dustbins, bicycles and possibly a cage for ferrets’

[@DeeLayy87]

We’ve mostly only had these extreme heatwaves in recent years. It used to be very unusual, hence the lack of air conditioning. We’ve not adapted to global warming yet. Right now it’s springtime so flooding is the issue.

[@crackpot148]

Waste disposal units are not uncommon in the UK. They have been installed in apartment blocks (yes, we use the term apartment, too) for many decades. The last apartment block I lived in (1975-1978) was built in the early 1960s. It had elevators, wood parquet floors with underfloor heating, built in closets, waste disposal units (aka garbage grinders) and each apartment had a balcony. We also had air conditioning but no one ever felt the need to use it. This was a Ministry of Defence married quarters facility to house Royal Marines and their families in Walmer in Kent.

[@Sundablakr]

I'm British and actually bought myself a portable AC unit just for my bedroom during that summer you spoke about, because seriously, fuck that. I haven't used it a great deal since then but I really appreciate it when it's needed.

[@101steel4]

I've had AC for years. Bought one years ago when I lived in London. Summer nights there are hell without it.

[@grahvis]

@@101steel4. In London, I am not surprised, hot days in summer can be very oppressive. I live on the coast of Mid-Wales, no problem there, no matter how hot.

[@101steel4]

​@@grahvisI live on the east coast now. Lovely breeze, but can still be very hot in summer. AC still definitely needed.

[@pyeltd.5457]

@@101steel4 But it rains every day from the 1st of Jan to the 31st of Dec. Summer time is like icy hail.

[@angelh5762]

I just run a fan and hang damp sheets up works a treat to cool the air.

[@KayHutchinson-x1i]

What is it with the single taps I don’t have any in my UK house mine are all mixed taps

[@BrewmasterAdaryn]

It’s generally older houses. Back when they were built the hot water was kept in a storage cistern and cold was mains so they didn’t want cross contamination. The hot water storage wasn’t so controlled (safety etc). These days it’s not a problem .

[@crackpot148]

My present home was built in the 60s. It is brick built has cavity walls with cavity insulation and the loft is fully insulated, including spray foam insulated roof tiles. The house is as solid as a rock. It has a lounge, dining room, large kitchen and separate utility room and toilet downstairs. The upper floor has three double bedrooms and a bathroom. This is a standard build in this town. The insulation ensures the house is economical to heat in winter. It is never too warm in summer as long as the south facing living room windows remain closed with blinds drawn and the north facing rear windows and its blinds are open. All windows are triple glazed. There's farm land to the rear so we have removable fly screens on the rear windows. Our only cold water only taps are those on the outside walls front and back which were specifically installed for the use of garden hoses. They are in insulated boxes but, nevertheless, are isolated and drained in the winter. All taps indoors are single mixer taps installed during the original build. Operation is by lifting the single lever by degrees to effect low flow to full flow and temperature is controlled from cold, through warm, to hot by rotating the raised lever from left to right.

[@lucyburger7427]

In the US we also call row houses town homes.I lived in a row house in PA. About 20 years later I saw same house for sale advised as a town home. I guess it makes it sound more hoity toity.

[@harrythompson6977]

offices and commercial is commonly air-conditioned surrey/ london its getting more popular but just small freestanding plug in units i got it for my animals not myself, you should find some videos of britain's luxury homes or areas such as the burwood estate or st georges hill both in surrey they a lot larger and more american but rarely get any light

[@fleuriebottle]

Should you ever visit us again, please visit Wales. I live in Cardiff which is the capital city which is vibrant and has much to offer, especially for young people. Much night life with great clubs, pubs and restaurants. You can stay at my house with good homemade food and I would be a great guide to this magical part of the UK.

[@paulharvey9149]

Please don't run off with the idea that we all have washer/drier machines in the UK, as they are well-known to be very expensive to run and not particualrly effective, particularly in drier mode. Families tend to prefer separate washing machines and tumble driers, but as energy prices have risen sharply over the last few years and people are becoming more aware of the environmental damage caused by excessive energy consumption, the latter have in many cases been relegated to a backup we use only during exceptionally wet periods. There is a move to cheaper, heated airers on which items can be hug or draped across - while ordinary folding airer devices have never really gone out of fashion. Years ago, we had pullies suspended from our kitchen ceilings - because kitchens were usually the warmest room; and I've even heard of people having them re-installed! As for the washing, we had twin tubs before automatic machines - a washer and a spinner, and overlapping that we had mangles - and lines suspended between poles out in our gardens - which were also used when the washing took place, either in a wee building with a big solid-fuelled boiler inside, for that very purpose - or maybe even in a communal laundry facility run by the local authority - and lines suspended between poles in the parks, for that purpose! Have you ever seen Tony Roper's "The Steamie," I wonder? It's set in such a communal facility in Glasgow, on Hogmanay of 1953. Might be one for you to watch on Patreon....

[@jillosler9353]

Joel, they stopped building houses made out of wood in London after the Great Fire in 1666. Had the houses been made of brick back then it wouldn't have been such a disaster - but the Fire did dispose of the plague-carrying rats so overall it did more good than harm! But the rebuilds were brick.

[@Lin.J333]

It's horrible dull today ..bit of sun then disappears for cool breeze ..I want to weed the front but the weather is a let down ..I love my tea ..yes electric kettle ...no walk in wardrobe ..normal wardrobe.. which is just fine and normal for most .

[@lehoff]

My house is only 100 years old but it's glorious. Added insulation and triple glazing and solar panels and underfloor heating it's pretty modern and comfortable. We only have 2 floors but we have a large garden outhouse which is my gym, study. My cousin that moved to the States said his house is old (but 5 years ago😂😂).

[@divinelife732]

i love how you get our humour x

[@Naomi_NaeNae]

Most people here in the UK have fans, either on their ceilings or just stand ones and maybe the odd people with the portable AC which isn’t as popular but we do have them and it’s quite common to have one because we are wimps and can’t handle the heat we get once a year lol.. Also I love how our houses are brick and not wood, our houses are properly built but I do love how big the American ones are, you can also buy a big house in America probably for the same price you would pay for a normal one here but I guess it’s because our houses aren’t cheap to build.

[@raystewart3648]

Council Housing does not mean all the residents are of one colour and or all are unemployed. Projects it seems in the US both of these are defined as Unemployed. People can live in a Council House here in the UK with hundreds of thousands of pounds in their banks. There is no Class Divide here in the UK compared to the Projects in the US.

[@MajiSylvamain]

I agree anyone can live in a council house, Council housing has affordable rent, but the houses are good, solidly built, especially in Derbyshire and north west Leicestershire where I grew up, there is nothing wrong with a council house, especially when your working class on a low income, I totally disagree with the discrimination that council housing is like the projects in the US, well not up here in the Midlands anyway (villages and small towns)

[@MajiSylvamain]

I live in a prefab cement house made with a quartz mix built in the sixty by the waterboard, though now it's a council house but at least the rent is cheap and it's a seriously solid building, I have built in wardrobes, a large attic and a front and back garden, central heating. Double glazed windows and lots of cupboard space, it doesn't even feel that small... England is the best place to live. But I'm bist 👌😹🐈👍

[@Alan_Hero]

Hope your well Joel. Happy Easter

[@timjackson1904]

He didnt mention Bungalows, great for the retired as they only have a ground floor. Think they were a thing in the 1930sto 50s but no one builds them now. In fact, 2 near me were derelict and were knocked down and a block of flats built....2rents goes to 6!

[@lg_believe333]

Actually british bungalows are making a comeback because it’s proving to be a cheaper way for 1st time buyers to get onto the housing market, adding a loft conversion to it to make it like a conventional house. That’s why bungalows in certain areas have shot up in price.

[@susanwestern6434]

​@@lg_believe333The problem is that pensioners want bungalows to downsize to.

[@karenpaxton]

I love my bungalow. Been here some years now. We chose it for the large garden! Would be worth a lot for the property space now, I'm sure.

[@vallee3140]

@@karenpaxton same here, we moved from a semi house to a detached Bungalow, in which the rooms are all larger than we had before. We have a huge garden, which we were so grateful for during Covid, I felt sorry for people in flats with young children.

[@vallee3140]

I live in Lincolnshire, and they are building hundreds of Bungalows here, even young people want them.

[@brianhepke7182]

No... actually, at Joel's favourite food emporium, Tescos having coffee.... Wifi here as in many establishments. Lived in and worked on Canadian houses for three years... very much in the American style... like huge embellished "garden sheds"😂... (no disrespect to my friends over there). Due to them all being made of wood. I tend to think of a yard as a paved area and a garden where plants and grass are prevalent. Fun video nonetheless not to be taken too seriously.

[@mariokrings]

18:58 The beauty of capitalism isn't it? So you have these huge houses _with rooms which are bareley used,_ and on the other hand batalions of homeless without shelter....

[@martinarscott3524]

I fitted waste disposal many years ago and it was the worst thing I ever did - the waste pipe was forever getting blocked and flooding the kitchen.....I guess we're above average size wise, 1,300sq ft with just the 2 of us left living here now but it's handy when the kids visit at Christmas :) I was in Malta without aircon during their worst heatwave - 140 degrees, so I've experience HOT! I generally find the UK more oppressively hot than other countries

[@cdrundles]

I wish there were videos about you. You seem like such a a nice guy.

[@keithdeley7236]

Sockets not outlets

[@vallee3140]

Joel we dont get rain 5 times a day, not normally, wish we did as I hate the heat. That year you came with the heat wave on was awful, could have done with lots of rain then.

[@falconvelocity]

I have fly screens. They're awesome! Getting AC installed next week 😉

[@CarrotsAndOtherVeg]

In the past I have lived in high density housing in the UK. I didn’t feel that I had minimal space as I was only a number of yards from green, open spaces. Additionally, it is chilly here for many months of the year. Higher density housing is (generally) warmer. Now we live in a large house, we worked hard and saved for it. I never take my good fortune for granted.

[@ziggystardust3060]

It's mind boggling that you have what we call bungalows (single story houses) throughout Texas due to all those infamous tornados!!! Just like in The Wizard of Oz. 😮 🌪️ 🏠🌪️

[@grahvis]

The smaller size of houses in Britain are not just due to the population density. Many houses in places where there is plenty of room are not large. The reason is probably more due to the cost of heating unnecessarily large rooms.

[@pyeltd.5457]

Half arse developers.

[@nicolad8822]

Not really. Regular people could just not afford the materials to build a large house, or the house was built for workers to live in as part of their job.

[@grahvis]

@@nicolad8822. Many farmhouses were built from local materials. Even on large farms, the houses are not large.

[@jedrick001]

Houses are getting smaller in the uk as developers want to cram as many houses as possible into the land they purchase. I lived on an estate and the developers did a land swap with another developer and they put 34 houses on the same land the previous owners planned 30. The reason being money.

[@etherealbolweevil6268]

That would be housing for the scum who have to work for a living. The ruling class and the affluent don't cram themselves into paltry houses.

[@timjerrom7173]

This is so true, everything is bigger in America "it did not help that one of my first chances to experience this was a Skyscraper" but from cars, roads, houses in comparison it's just soo huge. How you doing Doc?

[@astetic_vibezz319]

I’m happy in my two bed bungalow (they don’t have stairs for any Americans who don’t know - all one level) a lovely back and front garden (surrounded by woods in the back) a mountain on one side and a lake on the other. It may be small but it’s comfortable, peaceful and very pretty 😊🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[@vallee3140]

sounds dreamy

[@astetic_vibezz319]

@@vallee3140 I’m very greatful for my home. Thankyou

[@lookoutleo]

In USA you have fly screens on windows , we don't , I have home made ones that just about work

[@lazrseagull54]

The window in the thumbnail, that allows you to fully open the window when the handle is horizontal and to tilt the window to air the room when the handle is vertical isn't very common at all in the UK, but standard in other parts of Europe. British windows tend to open outwards or on older houses, you have to slide them upward into the frame. The walls are also usually too thin to install the blackout roller shutters that are common on the outside of many houses on the continent so residents hang up their own curtains on the inside.

[@whitedeath996]

I was hoping it would be mentioned in the video as I work in the uPVC business but it wasn't 😂 you are right though, tilt and turns aren't common at all, even opening inwards regular windows are rare.

[@BlackMoth1971]

Our first house in the US came with standard, uniformed landscaping. Being European the second year I replaced petunias with onions. To make the water bill worthwhile...

[@Thorpeman]

Where are the US trailer parks? I saw some places in Miami that looked like they were made from driftwood 😳

[@adlad75]

Trailer parks exist across the USA, varying in size and levels of decent to poor.

[@rangerginger8717]

Aussie (Ex Ireland) here! UK heat waves ROFLOL! When there it was 16-17C +/- 53F they were in shorts, sunbaking, and all in the outdoors in parks!! We were cold, coats, scarfs & gloves!!!! Even if it gets into 30Cs that is still cooler than our heatwaves! Where I live we had a high of 48C (Approx 120F), it got so hot that the spiders in our pergola joints died from the heat & fell to the ground! It was one way of getting rid of them! Of course we do have to remember that temperature is taken in the shade & not in the sun. This is because there is radiant heat from the ground etc as it is warmed up by the sun! Yes, that is why we can cook eggs etc on the roads!! Many of us have been burnt by our seatbelt clips when we get into a car that was in the Sun! BTW some of our shopping centres have build covers so that shoppers get shade when buying groceries & some have put solar panels on the top to help power the centres! BTW most Aussie houses are 1 story, but with AC!! We have bigish blocks of land!

[@charlottebridge8232]

Very interesting thank you! From the UK. :)

[@MarlynMeehan]

It always baffles me how many people live in 'trailers' in the US when they are in an area that gets hurricanes and/or tornadoes on a regular basis. Surely common sense tells you it is a recipe for disaster.

[@fayesouthall6604]

They often are movable with help

[@geoffnichols3831]

98 degrees not in the U.K. the south of the country may get hot, but that is just a small part of the country, the rest if it get in the 80's that's a good summer, which is not that often, the only regular weather is rain, if we go a week or so without rain we have a so called drought, remember the U.K. is an island, so most places are within a hundred miles of the coast, the seas around the U.K. decide the weather.

[@Lily-Bravo]

The houses in the past were built of local materials, so the Cotswolds which is where I live now, has the older houses made of the local limestone, with stone tiles on the roof. Stone tiles are very very expensive now and many houses were reroofed with concrete tiles. There was a period in the 1980s where you could get a grant for a new roof and in my village a lot of people had concrete replace the stone. The stone was not thrown out though it was recycled on to houses in more preserved villages. I don't think Lost in the Pond showed a Cotswold house, as not many are thatched. It looked more like a cob house, like those in Dorset. These are made of mud and a fibrous material like straw or animal hair and maybe lime, basically a mud hut with a thatched roof of reeds. Where I used to live the predominant original building material was oak, and the traditional houses were half timbered with wattle and daub in between, wattle being woven sticks and daub being the old mix of mud, hair and maybe lime. Cottages were timber framed with weatherboard or brick with tile hung walls. In areas near rivers, clay was used to make bricks.

[@cameonet]

THANKS! I wish he'd made some US vs UK apartment and house rental comparisons by size and locations. My Spokane WA, US cozy 2br/1bath 780 sqft apartment rent was suddenly increased by $615.00 last March 2023, and I wasn't alone! It was a huge story on the local news at the time. A lot of people were "priced out" of their apartments or rental houses due to these sudden outrageous rent increases across the city.😡 😅Fortunately, mine didn't go up again this year, but it could in the future. I've been here 12 years and can't afford to move.🤞🙏

[@petretepner8027]

In Europe (I think including Britain), a "duplex" is a two-storey apartment.

[@walterfillingham]

Living in the Scottish Highlands, I find houses particularly in England look really small compared to houses in the Highlands, particularly new builds. Even the old houses here are much larger than in England. In Scotland our houses were traditionally built from local stone, whilst English houses are mostly brick.

[@malex4321]

Being from NC living in the UK for 18 years I can say that air conditioning is a luxury that I miss during the heatwaves.

[@ivielectro8662]

it's worth mentioning that the plug sockets are much more different than most people realise. If you wanna know how exactly, you should react to "Why British Plugs & Sockets are the BEST in the WORLD!" by Science and Stuff. The British plugs and sockets have so many safety features, with one exception, when they fall on the floor, they almost always land with the pins facing up, so if you accidentally step on one bare-foot, well... let's just say you'll wish it was a Lego XD.

[@lucyburger7427]

Aren't they screwed in somehow? They are here.

[@Sunshine-q5c]

That summer 2 years ago was the last time it was sunny in the uk

[@ellebee6712]

I like the idea of insect screens as they keep the houseflies out that crap on your paintwork and just want to walk all over your food and you! Not many houses here have them. 🇬🇧

[@chrissmith2114]

In UK we have 230 volts supply, which means a 3KW kettle only draws 13 amps, while in USA a 3KW kettle would draw 26 amps, which would melt those ridiculously flimsy and dangerous plugs right off the wall and set fire to the ( wooden ) house...

[@Marts30_72]

Summer usually arrives on a Tuesday and it's autumn by the weekend. When you was here it got to 43 degrees C so was a little warm. Luckily 99% of the year doesn't go over 18 degrees and it rains - every 10 minutes. I shit you not. The south is a lot warmer than the north, good, the southerners need to sit under a bunson burner 24/7 and as soon as you hit Scotland it's either cold and sunny or 3 feet deep of snow. Think Canada, apart from 99% of the Scots are drunks. Love your videos 👏👌

[@angelh5762]

😂

[@pyejammiesfanfic640]

I live in a mid terraced house which we describe as a two storey telephone kiosk. It is small, too small and no aircon. I pray for those years where we don't have more than a few days over 90F. I would love to have screens on the windows but they wouldn't keep spiders out anyway and I don't mind creepy crawlies.

[@pamelsims2068]

Feels like US homes are also big because they use cheap flimsy materials.......clapper boarding on the out side and plasterboard on the inside. I always feel I could put my fist through the wall. But most British houses are usually brick or stone ....mine is double red brick built. Solid as a rock!

[@astetic_vibezz319]

I’ve noticed that. Even though they have the space, I don’t think their homes are as strong, sturdy or weather wearing. I mean no comparison between ‘wood’ and ‘brick’- my house is a 1950’s build, also solid brick. Only now the roof needs changing. In America I read they need to change their roof every two years. That’s a hassle, cheap labour. Why not do it properly right at the start and spend that extra in the beginning? Save a lot of money in the long run - I have been lucky enough not to even think about my roof until now

[@petretepner8027]

Tiny as British houses are, it used to be common in upper working/lower middle-class houses to have a "front room" kept for receiving "important" visitors like the vicar, coffins before a funeral etc., and otherwise left empty and never used by the family. Both my grandmother and aunt had such a room. One vocabulary difference he did not mention is "residence", very commonly used in the American TV shows I watch, but in the UK tending to imply a rather grander house than most of us live in.

[@lucyburger7427]

Here that little room was called a parlor. We had one in our Victorian row home.

[@junecotter6819]

Well maintained waste disposal units are great for getting rid of food scraps….. the downfall is, we have an ongoing problem with fat balls in the UK sewer system. Add to these the food scraps, which can often contain melted fat; which solidifies when it gets cold…. the result….. bigger fat balls in the sewers!! Plus, if your council already recycles your food waste, then you reduce what is available to their system…. Which by the way has been constructed using public funding… ie your money….. A final thought. If you’re in a block of flats, the sludge goes into the communal waste system. When random things (or fat) blocks it and it goes wrong…. Better get your wallet ready!!! Oh and just for clarity…. I’ve used waste disposal systems for years in the UK and have experienced the good and the bad….. result….. i wont have one again 😏

[@eattherich9215]

In the nearly 40 years since I first bought property, I have only ever had a sink food waste disposal unit once. It was a very long time ago and maybe it wasn't a good enough unit but whatever, I never tried another. These days, I am glad that the council has a food waste scheme. In the summer, I freeze it until the collection day.

[@missprimproper1022]

I expected Lawrence to highlight that in the UK we have ground floors, first floors, second floors etc. whereas in America, the bottom/ground floor is called the "first floor". Very confusing. We rarely have "basements" in the UK although some terraced houses have "cellars" which are now mainly used for storage. Cellars were originally used to store coal and food items that needed to be kept cool so they didn't spoil, like cheese, milk, vegetables and meat. This was in Victorian days before the invention of refrigerators.

[@soul146]

He forgot to mention UK new builds come with a feature of having piss in the corner. As a joiner making these shit new houses, i can say brickies love to piss in the corners whilst building them aha

[@leehallam9365]

I don't think newness leads to bigger houses. The newer houses tend to be smaller in the UK.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

3:55 Classic wordplay 😂

[@TacticalFlatcap]

How dare you! we only get rain once a week, and it lasts for 7 days typically

[@Dragon_Slayer_Ornstein]

The one thing that confused me when he was talking about grid power is the national grid in both the UK and USA are the same company.

[@kynby24]

Waste disposal. Scares the bejesuz out of me!