Brit Reacts to 15 Differences Between American & British Houses 🏠 

I was really shocked by this couple saying Granite countertops are tacky!! Granite countertops are extremely durable and long lasting and also very expensive!!! But I guess you can’t really expect better from them since the background just shows a dull gray and white finish throughout just means they haven’t learned that dull doesn’t equal posh!😂😂😂

As someone who studied residential Architecture but I ended up in Commercial Construction. His take on Granite Countertops was stupid, they don’t add reflective flecks to make it sparkle. Granite is a natural stone that depending on it’s polishing is how much it sparkles

One of the main reasons for the wall dividing the hallway from the living room is that it is a structural support of the second floor, or of the roof in 1 story homes. Granite is "glittery" because of the minerals in the stone. Mica, quartz, and pyrite tend to be highly reflective when polished.

Granite is in higher end homes.. it’s not “everywhere”. It can be an “upgrade” on new homes and realtors or builders make it sound like “luxury”. But as compared to linoleum or formica countertops… it holds up much better than that. It cleans better as well. You can set a hot pot on it and it won’t leave a burn mark… or melt… well.. at least my quartz counters are that way.

A detached house is also called a "single family home"

I’ve ALWAYS heard British people call their dwelling a flat. I’ve never heard one say house or apartment. I honestly think you are definitely American at heart.

Basements are popular in Midwestern states as they provide some protection during a tornado. The very basic basement would be just block walls & concrete slab, or fully finished bedrooms, a second kitchen, game room, and bathrooms.

As an interior designer I can tell you granite countertops used to the standard and trend back in the 90s and early 2000s. It is also a natural stone, so the shine is a natural component. Being that is a natural stone it is a luxury material. However the price depends on the treatment it receives in the manufacturing process. Granite now a days it’s not as popular because of the business in the stone. People prefer quartz or something else that’s less visually saturated. The edges the showed (ogee) it’s also an outdated edge not used much, unless it’s for a specific design detail in a very traditional house. If you know how to use granite it can be a stunning design element. It is also a great investment in a kitchen

The lightbulb moment when Lewis figures out why American kids use their bedroom windows to sneek out was hilarious. Yes dude, that's precisely why. Which can be pretty tricky when you live in a 2 story house.

In California and other states with earthquakes, brick buildings are LESS sturdy. Wood tends to sway while bricks crack along the cement joints.

Definitely eye opening content. I am most surprised by the small square footage of Brit homes and also most of their homes being attached . I am also surprised the differences in our outlet plugs never came up on their list.

In the US you could have a home that is 1200 sf or 2400 sf yet both of them would be 3 bedroom with 2 baths. If it is 1200 sf you know the rooms will be much smaller, especially the bedrooms. Also, the larger home would probably have a separate laundryroom while the smaller would have a utility/laundry closet. At a minimum, the larger home would have at least 1 walk in closet in the master bedroom where the smaller home would have closets that would were deep enough for hangers. By knowing the square footage of the home you can have an idea of the room sizes. I have never lived in a home with stupid granite countertops. Most kitchens i have had used laminate counters and a couple had tile which are terrible because of how nasty the grout can become.

"There once was an old lady who lived in a shoe..." is a nursery rhyme.

Duplex means two connected residences, and triplex means three.

I like our granite counter top, and I feel like it's more of a symbol of wealth rather than feeling posh. Our counter top is a dark non shiny one so that probably makes the difference, we also like having both dark wood with our white walls, rather than these peoples home behind them showing mainly everything white except the floor.

My family actually works in granite and marble. Its actually much more practical for homes because A) There are literally hundreds of styles and colors not just the sad ones you showed and B) its is able to handle a lot of damage and temperature changes. In a pinch if you couldn't find a hot pad you can put a pot of boiling water on a granite counter top, and it wouldn't damage it, I can't say the same for any alternatives used for counter tops. It also withstands the test of time and damage such as rolling pins, chopping vegetables, children (looking at you siblings dearest), and can last for decades longer without fading or significant damage then just about any other counter top alternative. Plus I personally find them beautiful so that could just be a difference of opinion I suppose.

She mentioned she wanted to live in a stone cottage in the UK... I've lived in one...they look good in pictures, but when you're there it's cold and damp.

I have a stupid granite countertop. I love it!

Most row houses, your typical brownstone, do have the hallway between the stairs and the living room and dinning room. Usually the hallway will take you to the kitchen. Depending on the size of the plot you can have other "rooms" along thr hallway, such as a guess bathroon/lavatory and a mud room. Worked as a house painter for almost 30 years in the Washington DC area, and there are so many row houses of different sizes and styles, but the floor plan was basically the same. Georgetown, Adams Morgan, Capitol Hill and Dupont Circle, plenty of beautiful houses.

Love our granite countertops. Have had them for literally decades. Incredibly durable!

23:16 countertops in the U.S. can be made from a VAST amount of types of materials. granite, marble, soapstone, tile, laminate, Formica, 'engineered' stone, concrete, 'butcher block', ect... the list is almost endless. it's mainly just up to the taste of the home owner. a developer will usually go with granite to give a 'high end' home look. otherwise they use laminate or Formica for cheaper homes. choosing a countertop is one of the biggest choices home buyers (or people building their homes) have to decide....

6:32 my grandfather bought a 'kit house' from Sears in 1944 for $550 and built it himself. it had a kitchen, living room and bedroom. they had an outhouse. My grandmother refused to move into it until my grandfather built a working bathroom INSIDE the house, which he did. they then added another bedroom with their first child and then a master suit when their 4th child (girl, so she could have her own room from her 3 brothers). by the 1970s, my grandfather had build a new larger kitchen/dinning room. a sitting room, a second larger living room. a car port, sun room, and the house was 4 bedrooms, 3 baths with a total of 5,400+ sq ft.... and this was all on 10 acres. it built ALL of the house himself throughout those years.

I was born in the UK but grew up in Canada and now live in the USA. I did go back and live in the Uk for awhile. My mother was Welsh and my dad was from London. I subscribed after watching this video as I understand both Countries. Good video!👍👍👍

Granite is a rock that is mined from the earth, so nobody is putting “tacky glitter” in it. It’s a quality and enduring surface. Maybe you don’t like it and maybe some people like it enough to pay $$$ for it.

Granite countertops are great! Don't listen to these crazy people 😂

"Yeah, but how're you going to sneak past your parents, bruv??" 😂 Lewis. You are too much.

I live in America. Born and raised. Please don’t mistake this as putting my country down. But I recently went abroad for the first time. Paris River boat cruise. I was just surprised that never did we see anyone using plastic. No sacks, straws. No plastic sodas etc. I was so absolutely impressed. How is it in England

I have found that in the UK, the washing machines are a washer and dryer in one. In the USA, the washer and dryer are two different machines.

Granite rock comes in a million colors and a million patterns. They showed one that had a lot of movement but there are plain white ones, black, brown. etc. They also need little maintenance. You could spill wine or food on it and a wipe them away with a wet cloth. Also, I put water in my cup, put it in the microwave, remove it and then put in the tea or tea bag. It takes seconds to heat the water. Did you notice he said go up the stairs to the 2nd floor (American) instead of the 1st floor (U.K.).

Porches are a thing because of weather. In the summer they covered the sides or the houses and allowed shade. In the winter they kept the snow off the sides of the houses. Before Air Conditioning this allowed hotter air from lower floors to escape to upper floors and out windows providing a natural air circulation by sucking cooler air from the covered porches into the houses. Many times these porches were enclosed by screens keeping the bugs out of the houses.

I use my grandmother’s tea kettle on the stove. Fill it with water, it whistles when the water is ready, pour over my tea . I find the electric kettle just more clutter on the countertop.

I have granite counter tops. The good of them is that I can take a roasting pan or casserole dish straight from the oven and set it directly on the counter without damaging it. I can also cut food on it if I don't feel like getting a cutting board. Again, no damage.

He was making stuff up there at the end. Most of us have "Smart" granite countertops. And they are really durable. 👍🏻🇺🇸

They Crazy! Granite countertops are AWESOME!

Lol the realization on your face at 22:15 - my daughter and i busted out laughing 😂😂

Actually, we call a detached house a "single family home" to be specific. Most important facts when buying in a certain area is to know what the average PRICE PER SQ FOOT, so it's easy to compare different houses to determine a good buy or not. In Florida, most houses are built of concrete blocks due to the humidity and proliferation of termites.Right now, granite, quartz, porcelain, marble and even concrete are often used in kitchens and baths. Years ago everything was plastic laminate, then they came out with solid surface plastics and then the craze for natural stone became the standard.

Yep, I paid to replace my countertops with granite 🤣

I've ALWAYS heard British people say "flat." I'm a little surprised that you say apartment! I even have an American friend who lived in England for several years, and he STILL has a hard time not saying "flat."

As a remodeler, wood homes are awesome, change location of an outlet: no problem, remove partition walls, easy! Also breathable. Bathrooms feel dry 10 minutes after a hot shower even if you didn’t run the fan!

I don't know if it goes over this in the video, since I haven't finished it, but the reasons as to why detached houses are so much more common in America come down to a few factors; one, size. America is significantly larger than the UK, being almost half of a continent in size. Second, America is a lot more rural than the UK. Finally, third, the UK is much older as far as modern nations go. Older nations tend to have more attached houses due to the fact that it saved space in the urban area in an era before skyscrapers, and were generally cheaper to build. There are more, clearly, but they're less significant than these 3.

Love my granite countertops. I had melamine or tile countertops for YEARS...and always hated them. So when we redid our kitchen, I made sure to get granite. And I love them. Easy to keep clean, can sit a hot pot or pan on them without worry, don't stain (that I've found) and are damn tough (have had them for almost 13 years). Also, my granite countertops have a tiny bit of that sparkly stuff, but it's barely noticeable. I got a contrasting color to the antique white cabinets.

You're the first British person I've ever heard call them apartments instead of flat.

US homes have carpet but more updated homes may have hardwood floors. This is a matter of aesthetics and preference. Those hardwood floors can be heated. Most homes in the NE, Midwest, and Some parts of the south have basements. A rec room is a bonus room that can be used for a billiard room, children's playroom,den,man cave etc...

We also build out of wood for natural disaster reasons! Brick would crack super easily during earth quakes, so along fault lines, we dont have any brick houses. Youll also see varying roof styles depending on the region- rainy areas have pitched roofs, snowy areas have reinforced roofs, dry areas like Arizona and New Mexico often are able to have ornamental roofs bc they dont need the drainage as bad, etc!

Every house I have lived in has a front porch and either a deck or patio in the back. We love to sit on the porch and chat with neighbors as they come by. We love to have friends and family to visit in the back.

Our neighbor 2 homes away told us when we moved here that if their garage door is open, come on over. It's almost always open. They have a TV in there and people wander over with beer or wine and hang out and watch a game. It's a front porch alternative. Can't do that in the back yard. That said, we've never gone in over 10 years, introverts that we are. But I love the idea of the hospitality. Americans are pretty friendly and hospitable.

I'm one of those who is perfectly okay with my laminate countertops. I have pot holders to set down hot pots and pans. Even if I had the money, spending $10K to $15K to remodel a kitchen seems a tad on the crazy side to me. I could travel on that kind of money, and yet still come home and cook a meal without needing a $3K range. I know it helps in resale value, but since I've lived in the same house for 24 years, and have no intention of moving, I don't care. I'm probably just old school, but I like carpeting far more than hardwood, as I think it's much easier to vacuum than to sweep and mop. It's quieter too with carpeting. I also much prefer brick houses because they seem better able to keep the heat and/or cold outside where it belongs, and living in Colorado, that's pretty important to me. Seems like I'd be pretty content living in the UK, and I have considered it, just not in a city.

American front porch culture (or, in cities, front steps culture or chairs-on-sidewalk culture) is about the neighborhood. Sit outside and chat with the neighbors as they walk by, maybe even offer them coffee if you're having it. This is not an invitation into the house. Behind the house is more private, though, except MAYBE for the people on either side.

I have a “stupid” granite countertop, and I love it. It doesn’t have any glitter sparkles. Because it is usually colder, it is perfect for rolling out pie crusts and noodles

I absolutely love the "Yo, is that why..." moments on this channel.

Our normal household voltage is 120v rather than 210 in the UK, so it takes something like a kettle 2x as long to boil (I have one, and it's not a huge difference, but it makes a US microwave faster than a US kettle.) FWIW, our homes have 2-phase 240v coming in, but it only uses the full 240 for dedicated things like clothes dyers, electric stoves/ovens, and air conditioners.

We're from south Louisiana. I always use my regular old kettle for boiling water for our tea. I see it as a sin to make tea in the microwave. People have no patience. Also, granite was really popular in the late 80's and 90s, but now people are choosing quartz or marble.

Pre-war homes in the US usually had a foyer. Homes build right after WWII do frequently enter directly into a living room in the US. This is because right after WWII homes were being built fast and cheap to provide housing for soldiers coming back and creating families. But homes being built now are back to including a foyer. Granite became popular in kitchens because you can put a hot pot directly on it without the stone cracking or burning, plus it doesn't stain like marble, and it is easy to clean. If you don't like a shiny granite, just opt for a honed finish.

Love my Granite countertops 😂

One of the reasons we know the size of our house in the US is that we are taxes based upon the square footage of livable area of the house

One of the American room not used so much is the Dinning room most Americans use the kitchen more.

Basements are used in the northern parts of the US to get the foundations below the frost line, as narrow trenches are dangerous.

When it comes to closets, some are as big as bedrooms. The coolest closet I've seen had to washer and dryer inside of it. That made so much sense to me!

Our kitchen island has a “stupid granite countertop” because you can create pie crusts and other pastries on it. It can be warm or cold for your needs. Not stupid but VERY functional. I love them. The rest of the kitchen has formica countertops. I can replace them about 10 times for the cost of one time granite countertops.

Two things I do not understand about British homes - not having a clothes dryer and then not having any combination of the following: AC, ceiling fans, and window screens. I get not having AC, but if y’all open your windows to get cool, keep the bugs out with screens and circulate the air with ceiling fans. I’d love to have outlets that we could turn off. Great idea.

I believe the "There Was An Old Lady Who Lived In A Shoe" old English nursery rhyme is a Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme. "There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. She had so many children, she didn't know what to do. She gave them some broth without any bread; Then whipped them all soundly and put them to bed." The other none violent version to the rhyme is; "There was an old woman Who lived in a shoe, She had so many children, And loved them all, too. She said, "Thank you Lord Jesus, For sending them bread." Then kissed them all gladly and sent them to bed."

7:26 in the U.S. we do houses by BOTH size and rooms.... we know that small size but many rooms means that the rooms are going to be very small. most Americans even know how much they are paying PER sq ft. like $8/sqft. and such.... we're very 'up' on what something costs vs what we're getting for our money...

I guess one of the perks of knowing the size of your house in the US is because the value can increase if you add more square footage to the house. So it’s good to know what you’re starting out with and if you build a sunroom, back deck, or extra garage you would roughly know how much value the extra square footage adds to the home when it’s time to sell.

Granite countertops suck heat from their surroundings, which means our food cools down faster and can come right off the stove before dinner. It also makes sure that people can leave any food that's too hot for them on the countertop and let it cool down quickly enough for them to enjoy before having to rush off to the next part of their scheduled day.

You have to remember that in the UK, you have hundreds of years in-fill time, meaning that there has been a LOT more time for properties to be sub-divided and built on. US also has a lot more space to build into. If you look at our oldest cities, Boston, New York City, etc. also have narrower roads and row houses, similar to the terrace homes they shared.

I have an old-fashioned whistling tea kettle that I boil my water in on top of the gas stove for tea. Hallways and foyers are for keeping the cold air in the entryway instead of opening the door directly into the living room.

Duplexes are 2 homes connected by a common wall, triplexes are 3 homes all joined together, with one in the middle. Mostly, these are used as Rental Properties. "The Old Lady Who Lived In the Shoe," is a children's poem they keep mentioning.

I am gonna take a wild guess here about the hallway. Maybe the wall that divides the hall from the living room is a supporting wall.

My Mom's a trained baker and had Corian counters installed instead of granite or tile. They're great.

My American 3 bedroom 1 bath is 1300sq ft. This is modest but fine by American standards. However I've also seen houses on Zillow that are 3 bedrooms that are- literally-- 7,000 sq ft. 😳 Admittedly, they will have more than one bathroom. Lol. But that's why we don't go just by rooms-- some homes have massive bedrooms and some just are big enough for a bed.

Hon I am a Brit living in Canada, our houses are the same as America but I still prefer England.

A duplex is 2 different dwelling or homes connected, a triplex, meaning 3, will hold 3 families in a separate but connected dwelling.

People in the UK are adopting American names and phrases. They now say apartment for flat, mom for mum, the phrase 'you guys' etc. We could have a 1000 sq ft 3-bedroom house or a 5000 sq ft 3-bedroom house in the US. A lot of the earth in the UK is rock so it's hard to dig a basement. They don't have basements in Florida because of the sand and water in the ground.

Basements are the best Bro. Finished basements are often called Man Caves and you decorate them with sports memorabilia.

The reason historically British homes did not have closets is because houses were taxed based on the number of rooms and a closet was counted as a room. Wardrobes are not. This might also explain the difference between UK listings focusing on the number of rooms because property taxes in the US are usually based on square footage.

When we lived in Iowa, my mom hung clothes outside on a clothesline. There's nothing better than climbing into bed with fresh, crisp sheets hung outside to dry! And, on those cold days, the clothes came in stiff. And, now in Arizona, they dry so fast. But I bought my mom a dryer because she was getting older & it was easier for her to do.

There are basically 3 things to identify a home (property), A) 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath, 2 car garage, etc. B) sq foot or sq meters of the living space C) total size of the property, such as 1.5 acres or whatever that is in sq meters. There are other things to consider such as property tax, basement, utilities ( natural gas and sewer are typically optional ), school district, internet options, and many others. But the big 3 are the main thing.

FIND VIDEO ON LOG CABIN HOMES!!! THEY'LL KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF.. SO AWESOME

Our mother in law units are 1,000 sqft. We had 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, a family room, kitchen, dining room, 2 halls and a covered patio. 1400 sqft with a 2 car garage, parking in the backyard and parking in the driveway and side yard. If needed we could have parked 8 cars off street if you included the garage. A house isn't a house without closets. Wardrobes take up floor space.

The difference between a duplex and a triplex is exactly what the prefix makes it sound like: a duplex is basically two homes that share walls and yards but aren't connected inside, a triplex is three. Also, it's funny that the average 1 bedroom apartment in the UK is smaller than my one room studio apartment in Texas.

I boil my water in the microwave. I have never had an issue with the handle of my mug getting hot. The rest of the cup does. And dispite what anyone says, it doesn't change the flavor of the water. The water is fine. I have been doing it fore most of my life and have never had any issues. It is so bizarre to me that people think that it is super weird. Try it some time and you will see that it is fine and very convinient.

One reason they didn't list regarding wood houses is they hold up a heck of a lot better in an earthquake than brick houses.

UK downstairs hallway are for structual beams to hold up the second floor which is why they can not be taken out unless a hallway walls are replaced with structual pole beams.

With porches, if you know your neighbors, it's preferable to enjoy life in the front because people will pop by or shout across the street having an entire conversation while we just sit on our porch swings. It's more of a cultural thing here in Texas and the South.

American here, I use my Keurig for hot water to do my chamomile tea. It works the same as a kettle.

I can explain the microwave water thing really easy. We don't consume instant coffee, we have coffee pots or single serve brewers. When we make iced or sweet tea, we boil a big pot on the stove. For most of us, we only need a cup of water when we aren't feeling well and we aren't feeling well so a couple mins in the microwave and you have your cup of tea, or ramen or reheated soup. Those with kettles are usually pour over coffee drinkers or tea drinkers

So interesting. There are things we take for granted here in the US. However a lot of the homes they showed in the video are larger and def more expensive. There are a lot of smaller ranch homes and smaller older homes. Many homes don't have walk in closets, but every bedroom has to have a closet to be counted as a bedroom. Granite is an upgrade. Newer homes are often built with granite in developments, but there are a lot of homes with formica or butcher block. Our homes are larger than the brit homes, but many are not huge. Most have a garage, but not all.

Kitchen has granite in our house. Bathrooms have limestone. Any other countertops are wood or what is called “manufactured” stone. Basically ground up or crushed stone mixed with a binder and then molded to the shape you want.

Southern homes in the USA always had porches, some even wrapped all the way around the sides until air conditioning became common. For decades it was hard to find new houses with a porch but they are making a comeback in some places. I have fond memories of porch swings.

Some people make tea in a coffee maker or a Keurig. Southerners make tea by the gallon. We put tea bags in a small pot of water, bring the water to a boil, then turn it off. Let the tea steep for at least 30 minutes and the mix it with water and sugar until the pitcher is full.

The funny thing is when he was mentioning the hallways and drawing the picture... that was exactly how my cousin's house was, but at the back part of that hallway it was the kitchen. Also I noticed there were no door knobs on the front door! Although I didn't really go to that many houses just a couple, but I did notice they didn't have real doorknobs they just had a lock they turned and used to open the door! Where we actually have a full door knob in addition to a deadbolt lock. Oh and the stairways are narrow and steep. Regarding drying the clothes I was staying with a cousin in England and she hung up my clothes on the line. I had to tell her don't put my underwear out there 😱😳 so she put them on the radiator.

My spouse likes making our home look posh, and he insisted on installing a granite countertop. To make it worse, he only installed it for the kitchen island and left the other obviously faux marble countertops alone. It instantly uglified our kitchen. The other mistake he made was insisting on restaining our hardwood floors in a light wood tone while leaving all of the vertical wood elements in a medium wood stain. He thinks it gives the home character, and unfortunately he's right. He did replace our deck with a larger deck, a covered porch, and a patio and installed a balcony off of our bedroom, so he's wonderful with outdoor spaces, at least.

I’ve used an electric kettle for well over ten years and I wouldn’t want to use a stove top kettle again due to the fact it’s another heat source that adds heat to the house and in a Texas summer, it’s good to avoid excessive heat sources indoors. I’ll quickly warm up a little bit of water in the microwave for certain cooking purposes but never for consumption.

22:25 ... Nope. Can't knock down those walls. Since we have already established that UK homes are mostly made of brick or stone, those walls are load-bearing walls. They support the upper floors or roof. In the US, houses made of wood have fewer load-bearing walls, so we don't need all those interior walls. Timber/wood homes are much lighter, so upper floors or the roof do not need so many supporting walls below them. A brick/stone house does need those interior support walls or the middle of the upper floors or roof are going to collapse.

Granite, marble, & quartz are typically used for kitchen countertops, as they can be polished to an incredible flatness and high shine while being impervious to most spills and heats, while dissipating heat from hot pans readily. The example shown is a course pink granite, and those tend to have both high quartz content as well as mica flakes, which will make it "glittery". Typically, Grey Granite does not have that glitter. While marble looks really good, it tends to stain far easier, and it is sometimes difficult to remove coffee, tea, and water ring stains that were created by a glass being there less than an hour. Other materials are countertops made of an epoxy over plywood, and since about 1965 there are also several high density plastic options, DuPont's is brand named, Corian which is both machinable and mold-able, and can be made to resemble stone, particularly marble, and is an excellent option for seamless countertop/sink combos. Almost all older Southern houses, built before the age of wide spread air conditioning, have porches specifically to help cool the house in the summer, and had fireplaces for winter. Almost all modern houses have central heating and A/C, and it's hard to find one with a working fireplace (even in the South, we have winter storms which can wipe out the electricity for days, so a working fireplace, IMO, is a necessity to provide optional heat and cooking capabilities during power outages).

As for WHY any American might want to live in the UK: NHS The MONTHLY cost for medical health insurance for a self-employed individual runs around: Age 21 - $451 Age 27 - $473 Age 30 - $512 Age 40 - $576 Age 50 - $805 Age 60 - $1,224 Those are just the monthly cost of the insurance plan. Before the insurance company pays anything, one must first meet their annual deductible (out-of-pocket cost) for medical health care services. Deductibles can run from $100/year to $8,000/year. The lower the deductible, the higher the monthly insurance payment; the higher the deductible, the lower the monthly insurance payment. Some medical health insurance plans cover prescription costs, some do not. Some medical health insurance plans cover an annual eye exam plus one pair of glasses OR contacts every 2 years (personal choice), some do not include vision coverage. Dental care is not part of medical insurance plans. One either pays for dental care out-of-pocket or they buy a dental insurance policy (which also has an annual deductible).

19:06 - That only happens with low quality mugs.

They were generally speaking of middle or upper class homes in the suburbs. City houses are a lot smaller. Yards are smaller. Some don’t have garages or even off street parking. In regards to hallways/walls … they are structural and support the upper floors.

The spring of '86: I would put away my textbooks, done with homework at about 10:30 to 11 pm, pull a denim jacket out of my closet, put my Walkman in the inside pocket with fresh batteries and a good casette of hard rock music, then climb out the front window. I would carefully tip toe across the roof, to the corner where I had to hold on tightly as I made the dangerous step around that corner onto the next roof. Once on that roof, I had to be very very quiet because my silly father sat up all night watching the tele. But across that roof, I leaned over to reach into the elm tree that was growing there. Down that tree, I would quietly sneak around the lake front of the house, to then climb through the garage window at the opposite side of the house. Once in there, I had to be careful moving around the cars parked there as I raised the door about a foot. Then I would grab my pedal bike, lay it down on the cement and slide it under the door as quietly as possible before I then rolled myself under that door. Standing up, I hopped on my bike, pushed the play button and cranked up the volume to 10 before I began riding off toward my girlfriend's home. She lived 4 miles away, toward town, beside the Country Club. The roads around the lake were very hilly and filled with many dangerous curves but they were not traveled that much at that time of the night, so early in the year, plus -- I had removed all reflectors from my bike so that I could ride, hidden from any police that might be curious to stop me, riding my bike between 11 pm and 6 am. My girlfriend's home was just built to be snuck in and out of! The wall beside her garage had open bricks, just like a ladder, to get up and down easily..... Her front roof was flat! and her bedroom window slide silently back and forth! --Not squeky, up and down like mine! After 4 to 5 hours of additional cardiovascular exercise there, I would get dressed, give her a kiss good night, then perform the whole routine in reverse to get myself home by 6 am to wake up for the school day! --On more than one morning, I was tapping off my alarm clock as I crawled through the window! :-D Was in the best shape of my life due to that workout as well as the weight training I performed in the school gymnasium each day. Pretty fortunate too.... Cause I got run over by a pick up truck while on my pedal bike 3 months later! --During daylight hours! The nurses who cared for me in my coma told me, "Jeffrey, you have a heart that simply refused to stop!" --That's what American bedroom windows are good for! 😀

Granite countertops were a builder’s trend from the early 2000s. They were popular because they are durable. That particular type of beige and black granite is unpopular now because it is a really out-dated look. Newer homes may still use granite with less annoying patterns or colors, but quartz, manufactured stone, wooden butcher block, or concrete became more popular for countertops. Trends change constantly, so Americans tend to use whatever material they prefer when having a house built. They don’t all have granite countertops. Apartments normally have laminated countertops so they can be replaced cheaply.