There's just no comparison. Ask anyone for their opinion (and if you’re buying a house – you’ll get it!) right now the house doesn't have much variation. This will make it easier to sell your house when the time comes. But wood framing? Some primers and transparent or semi-transparent stains (not solid stains or paints) are meant to "soak in" to the substrate. Plus the walls aren't hollow, so flying debris is less likely to penetrate then. Thread starter cimbom; Start date 27th Mar, 2012 ••• More options Who Replied? There are several different material options for house siding: wood, metal, stone, vinyl, brick, fiber-cement, stucco and more. Any insight would be much appreciated. LOL . Brick protects well against storms and is a reliable option where storms are a threat. Part of your decision-making process involves a discussion of the materials you might use. But, looking at the materials for siding is just scratching the surface! Photography by Levente Sirokai. It includes time, money, convenience, and many other factors. Brick and Stone are both excellent building materials, of this there can be no doubt. Health and Fitness Mid-Week Inspiration: Over 70-Years Old, and STILL a Brick House. Unlike a wood-frame house, which is built from lumber, the structural support of a solid-masonry house comes from brick, concrete or stone. It retains natural heat and stays warm a long time. When we say brick veneer, we don’t mean those little thin slices that you glue on your kitchen wall. Yep. Dramatically better than block or brick. It’s also an eco-friendly choice, as most siding is harvested from sustainable forests. Both brick and wood are beautiful and practical choices for homes. Brick use was increasingly seen as a luxury and gradually declined in use. The foundation walls are 8" CMU or concrete. Property Investment Discussions. Brick Homes vs Wood Homes Brick Home Benefits. Fair. Wood framing represents the most common method of house construction. Earthquakes where I grew up. Ladies and gents, meet Linda Wood Hoyte, 70 years of age. I have just finished working on a remodel of a large home that had traditional, 2 1/2" plank wood floors in the formal areas of the house. If you’re looking for a low-cost option when building a house, you might want to consider a kit home or pre-fabricated home. Because they are dried to less than 10% moisture and compressed to a density similar to that of wood pellets, a wood brick produces much more heat than a log. My wife and I lived in a log cabin from 1991 to 2012, sold it and bought another one that we've lived in since 2012. Transmission of noise outside vs inside is not a problem. Additionally, wooden structures can last hundreds of years with minimal maintenance. best. Concrete vs. Stone/Brick Pavers. Just try stack stone on tamped soil. New wiring, windows, and plumbing will also cost more than in a wood framed house. Another note, there are basically no threat of natural disasters in Germany and it is the temperature never gets that hot. Termites. Fiber Cement Siding – One of the most durable forms of house siding. For certain $country maybe, very common where I live in australia. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/12j3xm/ive_been_wondering_about_this_for_a_longtime_now/, https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3yhz25/eli5why_do_americans_build_homes_out_of_nothing/, https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/search?q=american+houses+wood&restrict_sr=on, https://www.reddit.com/search?q=why%2Bdo%2Bamericans%2Bbuild%2Bhouses%2Bout%2Bof%2Bwood. Thus, brick is one of the most ecological building materials on the market, as bricks will always last longer than wood, cast and other light building materials. Brick and wood are natural looking, durable and insulate well. Here are some of the more common. Poured concrete walls remained completely intact. The classic Philadelphia row house is built with an outer layer of hard-fired brick to protect the interior from the elements, with lower-grade salmon brickwithin. All I have to do to the outside is paint a little trim and varnish the front door every few years. You read that right. Morris and Webb valued the specific beauty of natural materials, which they saw as far superior to and healthier than industrially produced materials. Delving deeper, we see many more options and sub-options. The U.S. department of Energy estimates an average … In reality many masonry buildings incorporate some kind of timber shear walls. Typically, you should use about half the number of bricks as the number of cordwood logs you would normally use. As houses were separated from each other in suburbs, the need for fire resistance was deemed less important than the compulsion to reduce labor to meet post-war housing demands. 97% Upvoted. First , you start with some false premises. Construction of the house is wooden - in this case, the Swiss system called STEKO, developed in collaboration with ETH Zurich. They can withstand bad weather better since the foundations and main parts of the structures (assuming that they followed code) are made of steel bars and cement. I assume you mean a wooden framed house as apposed to a normal brick house. Learned a lot. Reddit gives you the best of the internet in one place. Eventually the brick and mortar will wear down, crack, or otherwise gradually fail. It's the transportation costs of the bricks that make building brick homes in other parts of the country more expensive. See more photos of the house, here. These have yet to make inroads into the US. Composite: Made to look like wood but can cost more. A realtor that I know said that a house of brick is just about the same than a house of wood because in the inside it will still be a wood house. They also come in a variety of colors, finishes, treatments and styles. On cold nights you have a better chance of keeping your heat in and staying warm. Just like any other residential structures, brick houses also have their weak points. Mid-Week Inspiration: Over 70-Years Old, and STILL a Brick House. Most of the cost of housing construction in developed countries is labor and in the US the suburbs tend to be lower in density than those in other countries. According to Concrete Homes magazine, a concrete block home with a stucco finish usually cost around $6 per square foot in 2002. I'd guess the big advantage over timber would be in serious floods. Photography by Trevor Mein. A 'better living through chemistry' trend developed in the building products industry, resulting in steadily increasing use of 'engineered lumber' products and composite materials that could use wood in increasingly processed forms, but which has also had unforeseen impacts on public health. Another advantage is that it’s more flexible than brick. Your building and pest inspector, armed with a torch and screwdriver can help you find soft, brittle or crumbly timber. The brick covering this house maintains a traditional house material that is commonly used in the surrounding area. Home Decor. Designed by Johnson Chou. Even if your walls remain standing after your roof gets ripped off, your house is still screwed. It can be applied over any surface — wood, brick, stucco, steel, aluminum siding, vinyl siding, shingles, etc. It can be wood paneling, or a log house. A ’50s or ’60s brick house could be painted – but remember that once painted, it is almost impossible to get it back to the original brick colour,” she says. You go to sell your house. Because, wood has a good heat isolation property and a high heat capacitance. I noticed that most of American houses are built with wood. It can be wood paneling, or a log house. Still, if your house was built with high-quality wood, it will require minimal treatment and adaptations. CNC fabrication has also now introduced the ability to produce homes entirely from sheet materials using nail-free construction, further reducing the potential labor and skill overhead to the point where the construction of a modern home is approaching the level of assembling Ikea furniture. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. The materials used to build the home - brick is harder to demolish than wood; The cost of permits; Removal of hazards such as asbestos and lead paint; Debris removal ; Each of these elements can add as little as $1,000 to tens of thousands of dollars onto the final cost. “I wouldn’t paint or bag a traditional Federation or Californian brick house. Actual load bearing brick construction is expensive and isn't common in modern buildings. Get a constantly updating feed of breaking news, fun stories, pics, memes, and videos just for you. The only limitations are your imagination. Thus, it may be slower to obtain wood windows over vinyl. Both brick houses and weatherboard houses can be at risk of termite attack. Brick-home exteriors can be more expensive than siding, and since bricks are porous, problems with drainage and mold may arise if the home is not maintained. Quad Launcher vs. wood, brick, metal, and house. Why not choose the brick to build the house? Even the condo-docs are written up on the assumption that the buildings are wood-framed, since residential block construction is rare in the N.E. Brick Vs. Siding Cost ... but this is primarily because vinyl siding was created to compete with wood siding. Wood has dwindled to a 16%-17% market share, so manufacturers and retailers do not prioritize them. Some people say that Wood homes are better than concrete homes because of several reasons- wood is natural, eco- friendly and available in abundance. Room Decor . Do not overload your wood stove with wood bricks – or you risk overheating your stove! There is a benefit to how nice brick looks on a home. The last house I bought is 95% brick on the exterior. After WWII lumber quality began to become a critical issue as old growth forests were depleted and harvesting of younger trees resulted in declining lumber quality. According to the Marshall and Swift Residential Cost Handbook, which is used by appraisers, an all-brick home appreciates at an average rate of 6 percent immediately after it is built. Uhm…yeah, pictures like this prove that we … Solid brick needs to be installed while the house is being constructed, but brick veneer can be added at any point. However, we would ultimately conclude that, in general, stone is the better material. The resale value of a brick house is better than a wood house. View discussions in 1 other community. clips.twitch.tv/FineDu... 53 comments. A brick, stone, or concrete wall is usually going to stand up to high winds better than a timber frame wall but your problem more often than not is going to be your roof, which is still usually timber. However, it never achieved a large market, despite remaining common in light commercial construction. Houses are engineered to withstand specific wind forces, but there's no accounting for flying debris smashing through your wall. Reply. Remember, in a true brick and mortar design the tension capacity is insignificant. If you like the look, feel, and workability of solid wood but not the high price of cedar siding or the low durability of pine, engineered wood siding may be the answer. But wood house has many disadvantages, like poor noise insulation, need to use lots of energy to keep the room warm/cool, has wear and tear each year and will need to constantly maintain the house structure. Engineers apply the knowledge of math & science to design and manufacture maintainable systems used to solve specific problems. I lived in a few countries in South America before moving the US. Actually, modern buildings are quite sturdy. In the south, where bricks are made, like in Arkansas where I live, homes are predominantly brick. Brick and wood are suitable for both city and country residences. The modern 'stick framing' or 'platform framing' system common to the US originated in the Chicago area toward the end of the 19th century, combining a number of techniques including some adopted from Scandinavia. Wood is also a great insulator. In fact, respondents said they were willing to pay an additional $7,500 for brick. I feel like there are a ton of brick houses. The modern US house is slowly evolving into a kind high-tech papier-mâché. It's not so much wood vs brick as it is overall quality of construction. The walls were riddled with knob-and-tube wiring, and there were a slew of plumbing issues. Property Investment - Other. but OP wants the answers directed at him/herself rather than read answers that are a few weeks or months old. Additionally, home in regions where earthquakes and shifting are common will find out sooner or later that brick simply won't shift with the home… share. The nation suffered many catastrophic urban blazes before the turn of the 19th century and brick became the norm in most large cities. Save Photo. Wooden construction was common in rural areas, originally relying on traditional timber framing methods. If I had to survive a horrible natural disaster other than am earthquake, I'd much rather shelter in a properly built stone, brick, block or concrete house though. Wood siding is warm and classic, usually seen in the form of clapboard or cedar shakes; and it’s very long lasting, as long as it’s properly maintained. Old stone houses actually don't have concrete foundations, they usually have a sand pile foundation, or no foundation at all. Though still common in the cities, brick had a high fuel consumption in its production, was high in labor, and required significant skill, relying on an organized community of bricklaying tradesmen. Sep 18, 2013 - The HomeDecorating community on Reddit. I would not have expected that at all. Just like wood-built houses, you can apply a variety of siding options. If the disadvantages on this page don’t scare you away from your love of brick, go for it. According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, traditional wood framing cost around $13 per square foot of living area in 2002. The Cost: A brick house, even if not reinforced, is more expensive to build than a wood house. 1. And maybe use a different material for horizontal trim. Basically, by acquiring these bricks you can invest your free time into a DIY house building project. Thousands if you do it right. The bricks used on the front exterior of this family home are were preserved and repaired during the redesign of this house that was originally built in the early 1930s. Frugality is the mental approach we each take when considering our resource allocations. 03 Apr 13; Christelyn Karazin; 169 comments. Trimmed to Perfection . Passionate about something niche? Never would I have expected that brick and block walls to be outperformed by wood frame construction. Brick works well in cold climates. Since the climate and earthquakes already favor wood over brick, that’s what's built: wood … Alternatively, find out what’s trending across all of Reddit on r/popular. In these homes, the masonry is load bearing, and does structural work. Both brick and wood are beautiful and practical choices for homes. Wood rot can also be seen when there is not enough clearance between the house and the ground. There are 4 types of fiber cement siding you can use. I know it's an ad but the test illustrates the flying debris performance pretty well I believe. Most homes nowadays use brick for more of an aesthetic purpose than a structural purpose. Thanks! One wooden brick consists of four parts that by interlocking create a stable and durable surface. This makes it an attractive option for long term home buyers. Looking into their downsides helps you wisely choose between a brick house and a log cabin home. This thread is archived. Disadvantages of Brick Price. That is how homes are built. Saved from reddit.com. Then the bricks are built up round the frame and therefore have no loading on them, and are basically decoration. Cheaper: Block masonry are quite cheaper compared to their brick counterpart. Not only does it tend to add a sophisticated aesthetic, it also adds value to your home. Beauty Room Design.. Go to Philadelphia, practically all the houses are brick. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxjKp-fF1I0#t=34. Brick is one … But early forms were somewhat crude, resulting in poor performance structures. In fact, there is now an emerging movement in the use of cross-laminated timber (CLT) construction and which can support high-rise construction. Unlike a wood-frame house, which is built from lumber, the structural support of a solid-masonry house comes from brick, concrete or stone. WOOD vs. Key breakthroughs came with the introduction of gypsum plasterboard (prior to that, houses commonly used lath and plaster walls), plywood, and oriented strand board. Red House is L-shaped, with the rooms laid out for maximum efficiency and clarity. Brick has a greater coefficient of thermal conductivity than wood, and has worse sound insulation. Isolation property and a high heat capacitance a benefit to how nice brick on! Their weak points starter cimbom ; Start date 27th Mar, 2012 ••• options... 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