Basement

About

A basement is any floor of a building that is not above the grade plane. In residential buildings, basements often serve as utility spaces where furnaces, water heaters, breaker panels, fuse boxes, car parks, and air-conditioning systems are located. Electrical systems and cable television distribution points are also commonly found in these areas. In cities with high property prices, such as London, basements are frequently fitted out to a high standard and used as living spaces. In British English, the term basement typically refers to underground floors of department stores and other buildings where the space below the ground floor is habitable and has its own access. The word cellar applies to the whole underground level or to any large underground room within a structure. A subcellar or subbasement is a level that lies below the basement or cellar itself.