Design A Basement

Why do most British houses not have basements?

In films I see that many American houses have basements. Why don't we? We could do with the extra space - our houses are built too close together in the first place.

Public Comments

1. Some older houses do have basements. Many Victorian ones do. It became common practice to seal the cellar shut, but some are having them opened up again. The inclusion of a basement is a matter of design. This would be more common in wooden houses with raised floors, there would be a void under the house, whereas most British houses today are brick, on a solid concrete foundation, with a concrete or asphalt ground floor.
2. basements died out as nobody needs them, we dont have coal delivered, we dont store as much food as we have fridges to do that
3. Perhaps the water level is high there. Places in the U.S. like Florida do not have basements since the water table is high.
4. I think one reason houses in North America usually have basements is that a lot of areas are prone to tornados and you need to have a safe place to hide! I know there are sometimes tornados in the UK too but they tend not to be so severe.
5. Most of the older houses have cellars, but they don't build them with cellars anymore with the increasing risk of flooding.
6. The United states have basements mainly in the northern part b/c In colder climates, the foundation must be below the frostline if not built below frostline it can damage buildings by moving its foundation. And Plus We americans always want more space so having a basment is a major plus.
7. When older houses were built the sewer pipes were laid at ground level and the foundations were dug out and covered the pipes leaving the proposed roads at a higher level than the houses so it was convenient to have basements. Now the sewer pipes are placed in trenches below ground level and the roads are level with the ground floor level of the houses. Basements can become damp over time and many are blocked for health reasons.