ᐅ Is it practical to have a utility room located beneath the house?

Please don’t be upset, this question isn’t of practical importance; I’m just curious and hope this forum allows room for such questions.

I’ve heard in passing and have been thinking about it that "in the USA," houses often have a small crawl space (not a basement) beneath them where flexible pipes for water, sewage, etc., are located. If you want to change the layout of the rooms above, it’s apparently very easy because the pipes under the house are freely accessible and can be routed into any room as needed. It seems a bit more complicated here in Germany. Do you know why that is or what disadvantages this American-style construction might have? I saw this on the TV channel HGTV, which features many home renovations.

Houses in the USA often do not have a traditional foundation but are built on stilts. This creates a space between the ground and the floor. Often, this area is not even usable for storage and can be problematic as it tends to attract pests. Electrical wiring usually enters from the side.

In Germany, this type of construction would likely not be feasible from a structural or energy efficiency perspective. The type of plumbing also plays a role—flexible hoses are usually not allowed.

If you want flexibility with the floor, you should consider a raised access floor system, like those used, for example, in server rooms. These are neither particularly attractive nor inexpensive, and you also lose some height.

The construction style in the USA is simply different. Most houses consist of a few beams with sheathing, making them quick to modify or demolish. It only takes a small storm to cause damage. In contrast, at home, at most a few roof tiles would fall off.

How are these flexible pipes protected against freezing? Or did you see something on TV about how they do it in Georgia, but it would never be done like that in Wisconsin?

In Canada and Alaska, these stilts are necessary. Look up Dawson City Kissing Building. There you can see what happens when you build directly on the ground.

They even freeze inside the house. Nothing is insulated. You could see that last year during the low temperatures.
Double-glazed windows are still being promoted there as an innovation...
The stricter and more rigid our regulations are, the more relaxed they are regarding building structure and energy requirements there.

Permafrost soils are special. However, stilts can be seen almost everywhere in the USA.