UK Compared to US Homes

I am planning on moving US CO or WA basicly wanting to know how you find the UK Bricks homes compared to US Stucco homes?

Hi jey,

Can you be a bit more specific in your points?

are you moving from colorado to washington state? or from one of those two to here in the UK?

In my experience and research, although Stucco is very popular not all US houses are mde from it. There's plenty of '4 sided' brick homes I've been looking at there. In general though, what are you concerns or views of the differences between stucco homes and brick homes here?

Theres a number of differences as such, with pro's and cons for each ...

Cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

The biggest difference I've seen, at least from Michigan where I'm from, is that here nearly all the houses are made of brick, and at home nearly all are built from timber.

I'm not sure exactly what you're trying to find out, though, so I'll check back later

I agree - houses where I'm from (Long Island) were mostly wood frames with cedar shakes on the outside, now most have some kind of aluminum siding.

If you're concerned about warmth, I wouldnt' worry, they're mostly well insulated.  I think the biggest difference you'll find is that the houses in the US in general are not as old as houses in the UK.  The oldest inhabitable home you'll find probably still dates from the 19th century.

Sorry I wasnt more specific, I am moving from the UK to the US. I am just abit concerned as almost all houses that are on Remax and other sites are Stucco etc, I am sure Stucco must be perfectly fine as so many americans live in them. But I think with being from Britain where houses apart from rare instances are made from Brick and Stone that a House any other way wouldnt feel Home. I guess its important for me because I need a little haven in a huge foreign country where I can kick back and relax for the culture shock.

Stucko is cheap to use on building a house where there is a lot of sand available.
Stucko is common in the southwestern states. They are OK but not my first choice.

Bricks aren't used as much on the west coast because of earthquakes. Least that's what I've always thought.

Jey - any house can be made to feel like "home" it just takes your things, and some time to make it feel like yours. Maybe you would prefer an older home, but I have found there are plenty of new houses here that are similar in the interior to US ones - it's just the outside that's different (of course size is vastly different).

The oldest inhabitable home you'll find probably still dates from the 19th century.

There are plenty of 18thc houses on the east coast!!

Hi Jey,

I've got family and freinds dotted about the USA and some I've not visited. Of those I have, and been to their places I haven't really paid attention to the structural build of their houses as such! been far too busy havin fun in other buildings!

But recently I've looked into housing over there and compared to experiences I've seen of the homes I've been in and of course compared to here in the UK

here I live in a 1930's semi, so everything is brick and solid walls. I'm used to it, some friends live in new houses here made of much thinner internal composite - mainly partition walls which are two layers of plasterboard with sound absorbing fill between. You have to get used to the 'thinner' made new buildings and at first will probably be annoying.

Exterior wise, most houses here are brick, and over there in the US, in newer residential areas are of this stucco and tiled roofing, with the usual partition walls of plasterboard internally. that said, for some reason, they do feel a bit more 'solid' than the newer houses i've been in here - maybe down to the size of the timber internal structure etc. or thickness of the plasterboard...

I've also noticed that older buildings there were indeed all brick or at least had 'heavier' construction internally.

Looking through all the ads for properties, they make a feature of saying stuff like '4 sided brick exterior' or '2 or 3 sided brick'  and or 'all brick' - seems that brick is a more of a premium desirability in a home and therefore gets its value increased becuase of it. Also, as items are generally much cheaper there, you'll find lots of stuff listed that are premium or high desriables here but fairly common there. I see 'Real Hardwood' floors listed in even the bottom end of flats and apartments listed, also much much more instances of granite in the kitchen and references to marble flooring as well. Here all those things you usually find in the top end of the market.

I think there are of course regional differences, on my 1st US visit, someone had great fun pointing out the house I was in was made entirely of wood! this like USUK2004 says, was in Long Island - I think there are different construction materials used for places in hurricane alley and SF/California earthquake areas and maybe for the midwest plains as well - you'll have to research the areas your interested in moving to and see what the 'common' type is.

Take advantage of the strong Sterling value and pop over there and have a look around properties for sale to get a feel. there's a lot of variance and choice but should give you a start of a better idea to help you narrow down your preferences/choices.

Be careful of the fact that Apartments and Townhomes apparently don't give you full ownership of the title as they're in shared buildings - something I heard on another web forum and currently in the process of finding out more and researching, for now, that's put me to looking for houses over there only - but I'll probably compromise on that if it's not too much of a problem once I know more.

where about are you thinking of going?! I have a few locations in my shortlist for what I want to achieve, just wondering what your reasons are etc!

cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

There are plenty of 18thc houses on the east coast!!

I'm from New York - anything older than 18th century has probably already been made a national landmark and turned into a museum!     

Hello Jey,

My knowledge is primarily with building practices in the Midwest, but one of the things you might discover in your housing search is that almost any new/newer residential construction will in fact be light frame construction http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-frame_construction more than likely out of dimensional lumber (2X4's and 2x6s mostly)  The biggest reason why almost everything in the states is built from wood is because we have a lot of it so it's inexpensive and easy.

So, for instance when you see a house advertised as stucco it is probably a wood framed house with stucco applied to the outside.  Stucco is used primarily in the west to southwest and the reason is because stucco is very good at resisting harsh sunshine.  It has portland cement in it. 

As far as brick is concerned, (as far as the midwest is concerned) If a building says brick it is more than likely light wood framed with brick applied to the outside.  That is how you get 2,3 sided brick houses.  The brick will play almost no structural role and will be merely for aesthetic purposes.  The easiest way to tell if brick is just a facade is to look at how the bricks are laid.  If all you see are the long side of the bricks then they are for sure just a facade and they are attached to the wall behind them.

All of this pertains mostly to detached houses.  In big cities you will see a lot of block buildings.  (in Chicago almost everything is block, you can't use wood because of the Chicago fire.)

I'm currently working on my masters in architecture Jey so if you have any questions about stuff you can pm if you want.

-Tyler

Hello Jey.

You haven't posted your reason for moving from the UK to the US, but if the material out of which your house is made is going to affect whether or not you can feel at home, I think you should sit back and have a long think before moving.

Have a look at the thread "Things to Think About Before You Move". It is meant for people moving the other way (US to UK), but I think it applies for any move that involves "culture shock".

I have found the home I have been looking for in the UK. I found it on the rightmove.co.uk.
3.5 acres, 19th century farmhouse with place for chickens, horses and cows.
A big item is the old tile floor. Asking price 295,950 sterling.
Well I can dream.
American wife looks at me and gives me the look "get real".

I have found the home I have been looking for in the UK. I found it on the rightmove.co.uk.
3.5 acres, 19th century farmhouse with place for chickens, horses and cows.
A big item is the old tile floor. Asking price 295,950 sterling.

That's a steal. What's the catch?