Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This came out of a question in the Pittsburgh thread, on southern cities which were "like Pittsburgh," which we were all coming up dry on, due to the combination of factors (low crime, low property values, Victorian architecture, manufacturing past, white populace) not having too many parallels in the South.
However, I looked around online at what was available in the "historic" districts in the South, and saw little that was recognizable as Victorian in the Pittsburgh sense outside of two places (the Fan District in Richmond, and Old Louisville). Indeed, even if I did a Trulia search for houses pre-1920, or pre-1900 they were all set back far on the property, detached, looking suburban in character besides the lack of garages.
More to the point, they were almost all wood, with nary a brick in sight. This is odd, because I'm aware in modern southern construction, almost every home is brick. The reverse trend has been the case in the north. While brick used to be the dominant material in Northeastern and Midwestern cities (and even a lot of smaller towns outside of New England), new construction is frame/siding, with at most a front face of brick.
I'm not the most widely traveled, however, so if people can provide some more background here it would be appreciated.
Most of the new houses that I've seen built in Southeast Missouri are brick. I'm not sure if this is a regional thing or not. Interesting observation none the less though.
Most of the new houses that I've seen built in Southeast Missouri are brick. I'm not sure if this is a regional thing or not. Interesting observation none the less though.
Yes. It's incredibly rare to see new construction in the north which is all brick, because it's thought of as an expensive material. My understanding is this is due to southern labor costs being much lower - in the north, typical charges, including installation, are $0.50 per brick, while it's $0.35 per brick in much of the South. While this doesn't sound like a dramatic difference, it's enough that it's essentially the same price to use siding versus brick, which is certainly not the case up in the North.
Location: ๏̯͡๏﴿ Gwinnett-That's a Civil Matter-County
2,118 posts, read 6,375,028 times
Reputation: 3547
I live in GA and brick and cultured stone (faux stone bricks made out of concrete) are popular. PRactically every new home has at least the front partially veneered with either of those. As you go up in price range, you get what is advertised as "3 sides brick", meaning -obviously- that all but the back of the home is veneered and the most expensive which are "4 sides brick". So it just depends on the price. Many of the newest homes are built in the craftsman style (I think it's called) and may use some wood shingles as siding and some board and batton siding just for decoration. Particularly in the higher end homes.
I too have noticed that in the northeast- particularly new england some really expensive houses use vinyl and aluminum siding on all four sides. I never could understand why that was.
My county has a moratorium on vinyl siding.
Brick seems a lot more popular in texas. I think every home there is 4 sides brick and also I see a lot of it in Ontario Canada.
I too have noticed that in the northeast- particularly new england some really expensive houses use vinyl and aluminum siding on all four sides. I never could understand why that was.
Generally, brick is looked at as an odd building material in New England, where wood was the construction material of chocie - brick was not something you'd want except maybe in a city center. So there's really no plus to fronting a building with brick. As wood is a PITA to maintain, there was a shift to aluminum siding in the 1950s in poorer areas. More recently this has shifted to vinyl, or in higher-end cases, cement-board.
On the other hand, brick still holds high prestige in Pennsylvania, but due to the expense, you don't tend to see new construction with more than brick on the front face.
The shift from wood to brick in the mid 1800s in a lot of major Northeastern/Midwestern cities coincided with major fires. The reverse happened in San Francisco, where the great earthquake showed it was a terrible material to use near a fault line.
The thing folks have to remember about the use of vinyl in northern locales is that it's a very practical material. The weather in northern climates is very tough on painted surfaces, so vinyl is lower maintenance and can be long-lasting (provided it's of the right quality and is installed properly).
In Michigan, at least, there's no discernible difference between brick and vinyl usage. Some subdivisions have mostly brick while others have mostly vinyl. A lot of homes are half brick half vinyl here, both old and new construction.
But it does follow what OP is saying with how newer homes only have the front faces having brick and an ALL brick new home is ridiculously expensive. So seeing a brand new all brick home only happens in very certain areas.
Location: ๏̯͡๏﴿ Gwinnett-That's a Civil Matter-County
2,118 posts, read 6,375,028 times
Reputation: 3547
The reasons given as to why siding is popular in the northeast seems to underscore the selling points of using brick.
Painted siding needs to be repainted and vinyl siding needs to be cleaned constantly. Down here it actually gets brittle and breaks easily. Definitely keep your distance with the weed whacker. (ask me how I know! )On windy days you hear both plastic and metal siding flexing in the wind. Makes you feel like your home is built real mickey mouse.
Brick otoh, it's made to be there forever. No painting and no cleaning required.
If there's no brick factories, the cultured stone can be made anywhere. Or why not use real stone? Granite state, helllo?
... (1)vinyl siding needs to be cleaned constantly.
(2) On windy days you hear both plastic and metal siding flexing in the wind. Makes you feel like your home is built real mickey mouse.
(3) Brick otoh, it's made to be there forever.
(1) I spray mine with a hose about twice a year. Big whoop-de-doo.
(2) Only if it's poorly installed.
(3) Only if properly maintained. Mortar joints will crumble, so tuckpointing will become necessary to prevent moisture penetration behind the bricks. Also, without appropriate weatherproofing, some bricks will crumble over time.
In Northern Minnesota, almost all new residential (and much commercial) construction seems to be wood frame, often with vinyl siding (and broad-sloped tar roofs).
The many local buildings that survive from the turn of the century / late 19th century seem to generally be brick (such as the many row houses that are now). The 1920s/1930s-era Craftsman-style houses that seem to make up much of the housing on Duluth's Westside are wood frame.
Brick and stone are generally viewed as expensive building materials here. The first (or a faux version of it) can be found in some recent middle class subdivisions, though.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
)On windy days you hear both plastic and metal siding flexing in the wind. Makes you feel like your home is built real mickey mouse.
