The reason is efficient heating of the living space. The higher the ceiling
the more space one has to heat. Heat rises so you are heating a lot of the
room before you get any heat lower down.
Brian

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This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please!
"sm_jamieson" wrote in message
...
Just an ordinary 1930s end terrace in the Midlands with standard 8 foot
ceilings.
We've had no plasterboard on the back room ceiling for at least a year,
which gave the effect of 8'7" ceilings. After plasterboarding today, it's
really closed down the room, just reducing back to 8 feet. Its amazing how
much difference it made. And going from a dark timber to the grey
plasterboard.

At least in the kitchen we have the ceiling rising towards 10 feet which is
nice.
Its a shame the standard has become 8 feet rather than say 9 - which was the
standard for even small Victorian terraces.

When I have visited in Liverpool, in the older houses those high 10 and 11
foot ceilings are wonderful. I think if I ever built my own house the first
thing I would specify would be "ceilings to be 3 metres".

For new build houses the standard seems now to have reduced to a metric 2.4m
rather than 8 feet, and with losing those extra few centimetres is really
pushing it.

Given the chance I don't know why anyone would go for 8 foot ceilings.
New "McMansions" - footballers houses etc. - judging by space above doorways
they often seem to have only 8 foot ceilings, which in large rooms results
in terrible proportions. OK they might have a double height entrace lobby
etc, but the rest of the house ... Why would architects draw up such things
?

Anyway, plasterboarding ceilings really wears me out these days - and thats
with 3x6 boards - I used to use 4x8.

Simon.