Why Do Older Houses Have High Ceilings?

If you have ever visited or walked past an older house, you might have found yourself wondering why older houses have high ceilings.

High ceilings are a common feature in older houses and exist as one of their most architecturally prominent features. These ceilings serve the purpose of ventilation, giving privacy, better cooling, and showcasing wealth.

In the rest of this article, we will try to get a better understanding of why do older houses have high ceilings and talk about their heights, advantages, and disadvantages.

What was considered a High Ceiling

If you think of high ceilings now, the number that probably comes to your mind would be 9 or 10 feet. However, what was considered the average height of ceilings in the older time period was 13 feet.

These houses remained popular for a long period of time until the introduction of HVAC units in homes. After this, they were replaced by bungalow-style houses with lower ceilings.

Reasons for high ceilings

One of the main reasons for designing high ceilings in the older time was to achieve better ventilation. Fires formed in fireplaces were very common considering this was the main source of heat and hot water. Moreover, the light was provided by means of oil lamps, and a huge segment of the adult population used to smoke tobacco.

For this reason, there was an utmost need for ventilation, and high ceilings allowed the pollution, which resulted from the sources mentioned above, to collect near the ceiling. The windows situated on these ceilings allowed for polluted air to leave, in exchange for clean air.

Also, people believed bad air was a direct cause of diseases. According to them, having a high ceiling reduced the probability of them catching a deadly disease.

Considering the building material in older times was not as advanced, there was no way of soundproofing different rooms. Higher ceilings meant less sound would travel to different stories of the house which would allow a greater level of privacy. Also, a lack of air conditioners meant there was a need to keep ceilings high so that sunlight would not directly shine on the ground floor.

Even if this might seem outdated to us today, back then having a high ceiling was considered fashionable and usually meant that the person living in the house was wealthy. To keep up with the trend of that time, people had to opt for getting higher ceilings.

Benefits of High Ceilings

There are many benefits of the said ceiling.

To begin with, they are good at managing temperatures in places with warm climates. When warm air rises, the lower level of the house remains cool and provides the inhabitants with comfort.
A higher ceiling would result in a greater difference between the ground floor and the risen warm air.
It might come off as a surprise to you, but having a high ceiling also has psychological benefits.
It plays an important role in influencing the thought process. According to a study, being in a room that has a taller ceiling allows you to think more freely as compared to a lower ceiling.
If you are living in a place that has shorter ceilings, that might cause you to feel constrained.
Moreover, higher ceilings also give the impression of greater space, and this really helps people with claustrophobia deal with their fear of confinement better.
If you are claustrophobic, getting a higher ceiling for your room will do wonders for your mental health.

Disadvantages of higher ceilings

While higher ceilings were certainly of benefit in the older time, they have their limitations in the present age.

These ceilings were first brought forward since there was a need to ventilate warm air. Now, when most of you have the facility of an HVAC unit, there is no need for high ceilings to keep the room cool. Instead, having a higher ceiling now would mean having to pay more to cool the added space of the home.
Apart from that, high ceilings increase the probability of echoes. This can be irritating for homeowners if it continues for a long period of time.

High Ceilings Now

Even though there has been a decrease in high-ceiling houses now, many old and new public buildings still retain this feature. An example of this is how conventional train stations as well as modern transport buildings, both have spectacular ceiling heights.

Reasons for this include impressing the public and trying to get the attention of tourists. Moreover, higher ceilings allow for better ventilation which comes in handy in public buildings because it helps avoid suffocation since a lot of people visit.

Other reasons might include better lighting and making the announcements more audible for visitors, given the echo factor. Examples of this include churches and opera houses.

Higher ceilings also allow for expensive equipment like light fittings to be put out of reach by the general public to avoid damage.

Conclusion

Houses with high ceilings were a necessity for older homes to help keep the warm air away and for making the house more comfortable. Though these ceilings are less in demand now, that does not make them exclusively Victorian.

Many modern architects still find higher ceilings to be of great benefit. Even for an average person, it might seem like a better option since it provides them with room to breathe. Moreover, older homes have beautiful architecture and give off an elegant and vintage feeling.

However, this needs to be measured against the added inconvenience of having high ceilings in the current time period. While back then these ceilings were a need of the hour, having them now would make houses difficult to manage and increase costs when it comes to heating, cooling, and cleaning.

If your priority is wanting to give your house a Victorian look, then high ceilings are the way to go. This feature is what made houses stand out in the old days. But make sure you weigh the costs and benefits before opting for one.

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Why Do Older Houses Have High Ceilings?