There is a floor in my argument...

[John Gray]

But it's really a serious question about the numbering of floors of a multi-storeyed building!

Which countries of the world call the lowest floor of a building the ground floor (or in a lift, floor G, or 0) (example, the United Kingdom)
and which countries call the lowest floor of a building the first floor (or in an elevator, floor 1) (example, the United States)?

I'm particularly interested in whether there are any differences between the countries of the European Union.

Thanks!

[HansV]

Yes, there are differences within the EU. See Storey on Wikipedia.

[HansV]

I once stayed in a hotel in Barcelona (Catalunya, Spain) where the 1st floor was what you and I would call the 2nd floor (and Americans the 3rd floor). If I remember correctly, it went something like Ground Floor, Main Floor, 1st Floor, 2nd Floor etc.
I have no idea whether this is normal usage, or limited to that particular building.

[aardvark]

A couple buildings that I frequent in my work have the following:

Building 1: Bottom floor is called the Basement, next floor up is the Ground floor, then comes floors 1- 4 (on the elevator they are labeled (B, G, 1,2,3,4 respectively on the elevator)

Building 2: Bottom floor is called the Lower Level, then 1- 3 (LL, 1, 2, 3, 4 respectively on the elevator)

This is in Ohio, USA .

[John Gray]

Thanks, all - the reason I ask is for signage for our building, which has but four storeys, G/0, 1, 2, 3. However we get a number of visiting people from various parts of the EU and elsewhere, so I was wondering what provision we might have to make to cover all these possibilities.

In the University of Newcastle Computing Laboratory building the mainframe was kept in the Basement, and there was an intermediate floor above this called the Mezzanine. Then another nine floors, G(round)-8.... But it was quite a number of years ago, so the building may have sunk!

[Bigaldoc]

A couple buildings that I frequent in my work ...

I agree with you - there is NO standard that I'm aware of in the USA. Because of what I do, I'm in and out of a lot of local buildings in the Lexington, Ky. area and what I've seen in elevators is similar to your examples.

[HansV]

Thanks, all - the reason I ask is for signage for our building, which has but four storeys, G/0, 1, 2, 3. However we get a number of visiting people from various parts of the EU and elsewhere, so I was wondering what provision we might have to make to cover all these possibilities.

I think it's better to stick with the current convention (G/0, 1, 2, 3). Visitors should catch on quickly enough, and providing two numbering systems next to each other would probably cause greater confusion.

[DaveA]

There is one thing that you may find in a lot of the taller buildings, is that the 13th floor is in the basment and there is really a small dead space between the 12th and 14th floor in some buildings.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteenth_floor" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for more information

[Leif]

There is one thing ... the 13th floor is in the basment ...and there is really a small dead space...

I make that two things

[jonwallace]

I work on Level 6 in our Hospital. That's one floor down from the front door on level 7...

Level 1 is awaaayy down the hill and half a mile east in the nurses residences. I don't think there is a ground floor as such...

Level 4 (or pipe street as it is known) - a good location for a gritty sci-fi thriller (with the emphasis on "gritty") - is regulated by the Mines Commission...

[stuck]

The university I went to had a simple convention. You entered the building at floor 0, above that level it went 1, 2, etc. Below that level it went 01, 02, etc. This was necessary because you accessed the building along a high level walkway.

Ken

[Goshute]

I work on Level 6 in our Hospital. That's one floor down from the front door on level 7...

Level 1 is awaaayy down the hill and half a mile east in the nurses residences. I don't think there is a ground floor as such...

Buildings on hills with entrances on multiple floors can get pretty confusing. But I'm easily confused.

[stuck]

Buildings on hills with entrances on multiple floors can get pretty confusing

Which is probably why my uni. numbered the floors the way it did. The main entrance was from the walkway (=0) but depending on where you were down the hill the service entrances from road level could be 01, 02...

ken

[Bigaldoc]

Looks like the moral of this story is that, when you get on an elevator in a building with which you're not familiar, you'd better pay attention to (and remember) what number is on the door jamb when you get on! (In the USA they "usually" put the number on the door jamb of each floor.)

[BobH]

I've run into many situations where floors are numbered differently; however, I think that logic dictates that the level of the main entrance for any building should be the first floor, i.e., the first one entered upon. Above that each floor would be numbered consecutively as 2, 3, 4, et al (unless one is triskaidekaphobic, in which case 14 would follow 12 - often done in American hotels). Levels below main or first floor would, logically, be labeled the basement, if there were only one level, and the sub-basement if there were two. If there are more than 2 levels below the one of the main entry, I've seen them labeled LL1, LL2, LL3, etc.

'Tis rather confusing sometimes.

[VegasNath]

I wonder, do american hotels (those with a thirteenth floor) offer discounts?

[Samantha]

I wonder, do american hotels (those with a thirteenth floor) offer discounts?

Not that I spend a lot of time in hotels, but I've never actually seen an American hotel that names a 13th floor.

[viking33]

I wonder, do american hotels (those with a thirteenth floor) offer discounts?

Not that I spend a lot of time in hotels, but I've never actually seen an American hotel that names a 13th floor.

I've never seen one NAMED the 13th floor but have stayed in many "14th" floor rooms. Kind of like a P.T. Barnum quote? You can fool some of the people, some of the time......?

[PaulB]

I've noticed that all large cruise ships I've sailed on have no 13^th deck. I think that eliminating all that extra weight is what keeps those behemoths afloat.

[viking33]

I've noticed that all large cruise ships I've sailed on have no 13^th deck. I think that eliminating all that extra weight is what keeps those behemoths afloat.

I can just see the design engineers at a meeting to discuss weight reduction on the latest ship on the drawing boards.
"Now if we take out a whole deck, say the 13th deck, we can meet the design criteria easily!"