Kind of an odd question to ask here I guess but are pier and beam style homes common in northern climes in the US and elsewhere?
I'm a few miles north of the southernmost part of Texas/mexico so it freezes for a day here. Plumbing is exposed, underside of flooring is exposed, etc. is this common elsewhere or just a southern/hot weather thing?
I'm rerouting plumbing under here today. Made me curious if this happens elsewhere...
Usually depends on the age of the building. Older houses were generally built using timber bearers and joists on piers. New builds are mostly concrete slab and footings. Typically here you only really see bearers and joists when there's a bit of fall across the site, because suspended slabs are pretty expensive
That's entirely regional. New builds here still get the pier and beam treatment, with perimeter slab and without. I usually do four or five pier and beam roughs a year and knock those out in half a day because I don't have to get my shovels out.