Brick in Colorado (Denver, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins: home builders, established neighborhood, new construction)

[10aCRider]

Question: Are there any mostly brick home developments in the Colorado Springs area?

My husband and I have vacationed in Colorado a couple times and are planning a couple more trips this year specifically as scouting trips looking to possibly move there sometime in the next few years.

We stopped by a brick company in the Fort Collins area last year and asked about brick developments in the area, and he sent us to Cheyenne! He acted like brick was a foreign object.

Just a side note: there were really nice brick developments in Cheyenne. I can't imagine there not being any in Colorado, so I figured I would ask the experts--the people that LIVE there!

The importance is because my husband has had a masonry business for the past 15 years. Our future trips will definitely include visits to the masonry companies in the Colorado Springs area.

Thanks in advance for any help you might can give.

[Mike from back east]

All we see up here in the Briargate area is stucco or siding, very little brick evident. All 94 homes in our sub-div are stucco.

We see brick on older homes, but don't recall seeing any new stuff here using brick.

Almost certainly, any new construction using brick would be a custom build.

[10aCRider]

Thanks Mike.

He mostly does custom homes here and up until last year (when the industry slowed down), he would do spec houses in between custom jobs to keep the guys busy.

I may list this question in the Denver area also. I think the Rocky Mountain Masonry Institute was trying to get ordinances passed on certain new developments in the Denver area requiring a certain amount of brick.

Maybe there are more brick developments there ???

Thanks again

[otowi]

Where I live, there are several homes that have brick - they are typical sheetrock construction but as an upgrade homeowners put brick over the house. It looks nice. But it is not construction from brick sans original sheetrock - I think you have to look to older construction like Capitol Hill Denver for that kind of stuff.

[Terytee]

Not much brick construction at all in CO. Texas and Oklahoma home builders use brick for homes and they are quite nice. I prefer the look of brick homes, but the trade off for living in CO is well worth it.

[springshomeblog]

Not much brick here at all... definitely not many neighborhoods with all brick houses. Maybe in the Broadmoor?

Stone and stucco is Colorado's "version" of brick!

Carrie

[treedonkey]

I live in a stucco home, and while I do admire the look of well-layed brickwork, I really do';t see what the big deal is. Stucco is much easier to lay and less expensive than brick as a finishing material, and if done right, it's essentially as durable and long lasting as brick is. It's also nearly maintenance free. That's why you see so many stucco houses out here, not because we don't know what brick is.

That said, if you really want a brick home, you'll have to find an older home in an established neighborhood, of which there are a few around COS. Either that or build a custom home with as much brick as you want.

[otowi]

Brick construction isn't a good idea for earthquake-prone areas. We do have the potential for earthquakes here although they are not common.

[treedonkey]

Originally Posted by otowi

Brick construction isn't a good idea for earthquake-prone areas. We do have the potential for earthquakes here although they are not common.

I second that. Even though Colorado is not exactly the most earthquake-prone area, non-reinforced masonry structures just don't have the resiliency they'd need to stand for decades in a relatively harsh climate. The assumption is that the OP wants to find a home with brick as a FINISHING material, and not as the primary structural material. If the latter is the case, then by all means heed otowi's advice and DON'T DO IT!

[Fullback32]

Maybe the ground shifts too much here?