# European housing - what's with all the doors and corridors? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 14, 2019, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-housing-whats-with-all-the-doors-and-corridors/827713 "2019-01-14T01:16:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-housing-whats-with-all-the-doors-and-corridors/827713/201 "2019-01-22T12:18:40Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > I ‘think’ doreen is saying that ‘mason’ is reserved for someone who crafts stone, which is certainly how I would use the term - imagine someone crafting gargoyles on an old church. Someone building a standard home is simply a bricklayer, or generic ‘builder’. Someone putting up walls inside a home might be a drywall installer. Nope , **Nava** understood me. I didn’t realize that houses in Spain are that completely built of brick or stone - if I was having a closet put in while a house was under construction it would involve a carpenter and a plasterer/drywall installer. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-housing-whats-with-all-the-doors-and-corridors/827713/202 "2019-01-22T12:29:36Z")
I tend to use “mason” with the Americans because IME they tend to find that less confusing that “bricklayer”; part of it may be my pronunciation, as apparently my layers tend to sound as if they went to law school, but mostly it’s because the construction techniques are so different. Masons they know even if they think of it as something out of old novels, bricklayers leads to “say what?” ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-housing-whats-with-all-the-doors-and-corridors/827713/203 "2019-01-22T13:03:38Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > Nope , **Nava** understood me. I didn’t realize that houses in Spain are that completely built of brick or stone - if I was having a closet put in while a house was under construction it would involve a carpenter and a plasterer/drywall installer. Ugh, now my head is exploding. In the UK, even if the internal walls involved brick rather than metal or timber stud (not unknown), I still wouldn’t call the builder a mason. I’d call him a bricklayer or builder. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-housing-whats-with-all-the-doors-and-corridors/827713/204 "2019-01-22T13:37:17Z")
We have a double sided deadbolt on the front door so you can lock it from the inside or outside and both then require a key. So yes if you dont have the key you cannot unlock the front door. The reason for this, if we are away I can deadbolt the front door so even if someone gets in, they cannot go out the front door which would be the easiest to haul things out. Also if you have someone in your house who might decide to just walk out when they should not, you can deadbolt the front door so they cant. Granted they can always use the back door but those are more difficult. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-housing-whats-with-all-the-doors-and-corridors/827713/205 "2019-01-22T13:48:47Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > We have a double sided deadbolt on the front door so you can lock it from the inside or outside and both then require a key. So yes if you dont have the key you cannot unlock the front door. > > The reason for this, if we are away I can deadbolt the front door so even if someone gets in, they cannot go out the front door which would be the easiest to haul things out. Also if you have someone in your house who might decide to just walk out when they should not, you can deadbolt the front door so they cant. Granted they can always use the back door but those are more difficult. Don’t know about you, but if I’m trapped in a house with someone who shouldn’t be there, I’m not stopping them leaving! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-housing-whats-with-all-the-doors-and-corridors/827713/206 "2019-01-22T14:14:28Z")
I suspect, although I am not certain, that in America a mason can refer to anyone who lays and plasters any sort of hard material for a building – brick, concrete blocks, or stone. The reason I suspect this is that I see far too many advertisements for masons for hire to think they’re _all_ bricklayers. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-housing-whats-with-all-the-doors-and-corridors/827713/207 "2019-01-22T14:38:57Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I tend to use “mason” with the Americans because IME they tend to find that less confusing that “bricklayer”; part of it may be my pronunciation, as apparently my layers tend to sound as if they went to law school, but mostly it’s because the construction techniques are so different. Masons they know even if they think of it as something out of old novels, bricklayers leads to “say what?” If you’re in the UK (or AUS or NZ for that matter I believe), go with “brickie” rather than “bricklayer”. That’s a fairly widely understood bit of slang, especially if you’re talking to someone in the building trade. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-housing-whats-with-all-the-doors-and-corridors/827713/208 "2019-01-22T15:13:28Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > We have a double sided deadbolt on the front door so you can lock it from the inside or outside and both then require a key. So yes if you dont have the key you cannot unlock the front door. While I understand your intention, keep in mind that it is creating a dangerous situation for you and your family if they have to use a key to get out. When your head is clear it’s easy to open the door, but there could be times when your thinking is muddled and you might find it difficult to use a key. For example, if your house is filled with smoke you may have difficultly finding the key and lock. Or if you have a carbon monoxide leak you may have difficulty remembering what a key is or how it works. I recall a story of someone who had a CO leak and knew he had to get out of the house, but he stood at the door for a while because he couldn’t remember how to use a doorknob. I’m pretty sure if he had to put a key into a lock to get out, he wouldn’t have made it. There are benefits to having a keyed lock on the inside, but for safety in certain situations it’s good to keep the key in the lock so it can be opened quickly and easily. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2019, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-housing-whats-with-all-the-doors-and-corridors/827713/209 "2019-01-23T22:54:35Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I suspect, although I am not certain, that in America a mason can refer to anyone who lays and plasters any sort of hard material for a building – brick, concrete blocks, or stone. The reason I suspect this is that I see far too many advertisements for masons for hire to think they’re _all_ bricklayers. The last time i hired a mason, he built a patio in my back yard. (Using stone and sand.) ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-housing-whats-with-all-the-doors-and-corridors/827713/210 "2019-01-24T14:29:50Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > The last time i hired a mason, he built a patio in my back yard. (Using stone and sand.) We’d call them a paver. A mason (or stonemason) would be more like these guys: [https://www.somersetstonemasons.co.uk/](https://www.somersetstonemasons.co.uk/) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-housing-whats-with-all-the-doors-and-corridors/827713/211 "2019-01-25T12:14:53Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > We’d call them a paver. > > A mason (or stonemason) would be more like these guys: [https://www.somersetstonemasons.co.uk/](https://www.somersetstonemasons.co.uk/) That contractor also did walls and staircases in stone, artificial stone, and concrete. And we discussed making the patio in poured concrete. The particular job was paving, but the contractor was a general-purpose mason. I suspect a lot of masonry work in the US is landscaping and retaining walls. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-housing-whats-with-all-the-doors-and-corridors/827713/212 "2019-01-28T11:53:58Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > That contractor also did walls and staircases in stone, artificial stone, and concrete. And we discussed making the patio in poured concrete. The particular job was paving, but the contractor was a general-purpose mason. I suspect a lot of masonry work in the US is landscaping and retaining walls. Still, we’d call them a bricklayer or a general builder. Mason is a fairly rarified term applied these days to highly specialist work - like carving gargoyles or pediments. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-housing-whats-with-all-the-doors-and-corridors/827713.md?page=10)