Brick siding options

Richmond Va Siding - Brick

Brick Siding for Your Richmond Home

Today, brick houses aren’t what they appear to be. In fact, they are actually wood houses that have a decorative (yes, it’s decorative) brick siding that provides the same functions of vinyl siding or wood plant. While the bricks may appear to be structural and stout, they are not really supporting anything beyond their own weight.

Solid masonry, which is real brick, used for houses started to fade out of style approximately 100 years ago. Today, the majority of brick homes are being sided with brick. What confuses things even more for many people is that there are several types of brick siding available; however, the classic option is made with real clay bricks and laid using mortar.

Sometimes, brick siding is also referred to as veneer brick or brick veneer. This helps to distinguish it from solid brick construction. With this material, you get all the aesthetics of a brick home, but lower costs, easier installation, and more. This option is growing in popularity, especially as homeowners want a home built at a good price but with the looks of more expensive materials.

Brick is very popular among homeowners. The National Association of Homebuilders did a study recently and found that 34 percent of respondents said brick was their siding of choice. The next most popular was vinyl which came in at 21 percent, followed by stone, stucco, and wood.

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Pros and Cons of Brick

Pros

As brick has been around for a very long time, its advantages are well known. The primary thing people love about brick is the low maintenance it requires. It is extremely durable and retains its color indefinitely. It will not dent or rot and does not need to be painted, saving thousands in maintenance over the years.

Since it is made from shale and clay, some of the most abundant minerals on earth, it is considered to be very eco-friendly. If you have extra brick at the end of the project, it can be used for landscaping, chipped into small pieces for a type of mulch, or even ground up into sub-base materials.

Of course bricks are not combustible and do not aid in the spread of fire. In fact they can actually contain fire to certain areas ore parts of a house. It is not unusual to see fire pits bade of brick.

Additionally, brick is extremely durable and can withstand storms and the impact of flying debris at much greater wind speeds than other types of siding. In fact many insurance companies offer a discount on the homeowners insurance for homes made of brick. This is a huge vote of confidence in it.

Cons

As with all the other siding options, there are some cons to brick. Foremost, it is more expensive than vinyl siding by 6 or 7 percent. This eliminates brick as an option for some projects.

The color options are limited as well with brick. Their color is dependent on their composition and the temperature at which they were made. It is true that brick can be painted, but this is quite difficult to do due to the porous nature of brick. Each groove needs to be filled, which can take a lot of paint and be very time consuming. It is easy to miss spots.

While bricks are very durable, the mortar holding them together is not. The mortar, or pointing as it is called, can crack or be damaged over time, especially if not properly installed.