I think the difference between basement and cellar is actually what each is - both terms are used, but they can mean different things. A cellar, from what I understand, is a kind of basement. A basement usually refers to the level of a building below ground, but it's part of the entire structure of the building, whereas a cellar is more commonly used to to store food or drink, like a wine cellar and is therefore kept at a constant cooler temperature, and may not actually be part of the building structure. Hmmm, know what I'm trying to say, but don't know if I'm making sense!
Basements are very uncommon in Australian homes, though office and apartment buildings tend to have them (often for car parks). If people have wine cellars, they tend to be a small space under the house. I don't think newer homes in the UK tend to have basements either. Some of the older homes might have 'cellars' that were build as aid raid shelters for during the wars.
I think the two terms are interchanged a bit in the US, though I probably think of cellars more as either still an actual wine cellar, or in the mid-west as a tornado shelter.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2010-09-08 09:11 am (UTC)Basements are very uncommon in Australian homes, though office and apartment buildings tend to have them (often for car parks). If people have wine cellars, they tend to be a small space under the house. I don't think newer homes in the UK tend to have basements either. Some of the older homes might have 'cellars' that were build as aid raid shelters for during the wars.
I think the two terms are interchanged a bit in the US, though I probably think of cellars more as either still an actual wine cellar, or in the mid-west as a tornado shelter.