Numbering
Floor numbering is the numbering scheme used for a building's floors. There are two major schemes in use across the world. In one system, used in the majority of Europe, the ground floor is the floor on the ground and often has no number or is assigned the number zero. Therefore the next floor up is assigned the number 1 and is the first floor. The other system, used primarily in the United States, counts the bottom floor as number 1 or first floor. The next floor up then becomes the second floor and so on. Having the first floor above the ground floor means that subterranean levels (often listed with increasing depth as B1, B2..) can be counted without having a gap at 0 (ground). In both systems, the numbering of higher floors continues sequentially as one goes up, as shown in the following table:
| Displacement from ground level | British convention | American convention |
|---|---|---|
| 13 storeys height above ground | "13th floor" (13) | "14th floor, floor 14B, or 15th floor" (14, 14B, or 15) |
| 12 storeys height above ground | "12th floor" (12) | "13th floor, floor 12A, floor 12B, 14th floor, floor 14A, or a mezziane/mechanical floor" (13, 12A, 12B, 14, 14A, or MF) |
| 11 storeys height above ground | "11th floor" (11) | "12th floor" (12) |
| 10 storeys height above ground | "10th floor" (10) | "11th floor" (11) |
| 9 storeys height above ground | "9th floor" (9) | "10th floor" (10) |
| 8 storeys height above ground | "8th floor" (8) | "9th floor" (9) |
| 7 storeys height above ground | "7th floor" (7) | "8th floor" (8) |
| 6 storeys height above ground | "6th floor" (6) | "7th floor" (7) |
| 5 storeys height above ground | "5th floor" (5) | "6th floor" (6) |
| 4 storeys height above ground | "4th floor" (4) | "5th floor" (5) |
| 3 storeys height above ground | "3rd floor" (3) | "4th floor" (4) |
| 2 storeys height above ground | "2nd floor" (2) | "3rd floor" (3) |
| 1 storeys height above ground | "1st floor" (1) | "2nd floor" (2) |
| at ground level | "Ground floor" (G) | "Ground floor" or "1st floor" (G or 1) |
Each scheme has further variations depending on how one refers to the ground floor and the subterranean levels. The existence of two incompatible conventions is a common source of confusion in international communication, sometimes even between communities who speak the same language.
In all English-speaking countries, however, the storeys in a building are counted in the same way. Thus, for example, the phrase a seven-storey building would mean the same thing in Britain and in the US — namely, a building with seven covered floors, including one at ground level and six at higher levels; even though the topmost of those levels would be called "6th floor" in Britain, and "7th floor" in the US. Some count mezzanines as storeys, some ignore them.
Read more about this topic: Storey
Famous quotes containing the word numbering:
“The task he undertakes
Is numbering sands and drinking oceans dry.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)