Searching for Homes by Construction Type

[PSUinNoVa]

Thanks. I did try this. Unfortunately, this sort of search appears to drop a number of all brick houses and include a number of houses that are clearly not all brick. The state of the MRIS system down here leaves a lot to be desired.

Originally Posted by g3org3

I put "all brick" in the keyword search field of Homes for Sale and Rent in DC, Maryland, Virginia | HomesDatabase.com and got 52 hits. There were a lot of townhouses since I didn't specify SFD, and lot of old ramblers, but there were some that seemed pretty decent.
A few examples:
9804 CLARKS CROSSING RD, VIENNA, VA 22182 | Listing Information | HomesDatabase.com
5410 JULIET ST, SPRINGFIELD, VA 22151 | Listing Information | HomesDatabase.com
6100 RIVER DR, LORTON, VA 22079 | Listing Information | HomesDatabase.com
8526 FOREST ST, ANNANDALE, VA 22003 | Listing Information | HomesDatabase.com

Also there was/is a local builder that only did "all brick" homes. I can't recall the name, but one of his subdivisions is off of Braddock Rd. in Chantilly, near the country club.

[RamblingMan]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

Sound very familiar! This is what we had in our old house (c. 1936), and it's also what we have in our new house (c. 1940). We did take one wall down in the old house, so I was able to see the lath/plaster/mesh you refer to. Yeah, the 2x4s back then were actually 2x4, unlike now. (Since sometime in the '50s, I think they're 1.5x3.5 close to that.)

I'm still dubious that there have been any homes built since the advent of electricity and gas heat (1870s?) that were not built around a frame. If you as a builder know you're going to have to install water pipes (for faucets and radiators), as well as electrical outlets, it seems like it'd be in your self-interest to put a frame up so that you can have a space between the exterior and interior walls in which to run those things. Sure, you can run a lot of the plumbing in the basement, but you still have those pesky electrical outlets.

Carlingtonian,

I think we may be talking past each other in discussing what constitutes a "frame." A frame is a structure that holds up your house and to which you attach an exterior. When you have a structural brick house, the bricks are what hold up the house. You can attach studs to the brick and hang drywall, creating a space in which you can run conduit or pipe, but that isn't a frame. The house isn't built around the frame, but rather that wood and plaster is hung off the brick.

Here's a pretty good explanation: Solid Brick vs. Brick Veneer - InterNACHI

[PSUinNoVa]

By the way, do a lot of people actually commute to DC from places as far away as Fredricksburg? I am pretty new to the area--and I know that commutes around here are supposed to be bad-- but 2 hours commuting in each direction seems torturous.

[Middlin]

Some people do that commute and figure the trade offs are worth it. Given your healthy budget, I would not even consider that type of commute. I think your best bet would be to stick as close as possible to the Vienna metro. You mentioned you would consider as far as Merrifield/Dunn Loring, but frankly you're better off with Vienna and the distance between the two stations isn't much. You would get a seat and there is a lot more parking. A neighborhood I thought of you for you is Mantua. Close to both Vienna and Dunn Loring metro. Beautiful neighborhood in the spring, great schools, near the beltway, etc.

[PSUinNoVa]

Mantua does seem pretty nice. We looked at a few places over there a couple of weeks ago. I know it doesn't necessarily fit with the brick theme of this thread, but I like the architectural panache of some of the contemporaries that you see over there. I would have jumped all over this house

9200 CORONADO Ter, FAIRFAX, VA 22031 | MLS# FX7694049



One of the reasons that I have looked further west/south is that there is a part of me that really wants to make the switch from the Orange Line to the VRE. I am really getting sick of the mob scene on the metro trains during rush hour. Yes, you get a seat at Vienna, but you also get someone effectively sitting in your lap at Rosslyn.

My impression is that the housing price premium for metro access is substantially higher than the housing price premium for VRE access because for the majority of commuters using the VRE requires a transfer that can really add to the commute. My office is very close to L'Enfant Plaza, so that is not an issue for me. In fact, the Vienna-L'Enfant trip on WMATA is about 35 minutes, which is almost the exact same trip length between the Backlick Road VRE station and L'Enfant. I know VRE is less convenient because it runs less frequently, but I have also been told that it is a far more relaxing ride than the circus that is the Orange Line. I am contemplating driving out to Burke a few days to see if this is really true.

Originally Posted by Middlin

Some people do that commute and figure the trade offs are worth it. Given your healthy budget, I would not even consider that type of commute. I think your best bet would be to stick as close as possible to the Vienna metro. You mentioned you would consider as far as Merrifield/Dunn Loring, but frankly you're better off with Vienna and the distance between the two stations isn't much. You would get a seat and there is a lot more parking. A neighborhood I thought of you for you is Mantua. Close to both Vienna and Dunn Loring metro. Beautiful neighborhood in the spring, great schools, near the beltway, etc.

[Middlin]

I get the metro thing.. did it myself for 11 yrs. Like you said, it's a trade off given the fact VRE doesn't run as frequently. I think you might be more challenged to find something near that station. Truro which isn't a bad commute to VRE might be something to take a look at.

Just a wild thought - My son attends a new school in Bristow and driving down the road it struck me that most houses were all brick (actually considered Nokesville - Kettle Run Rd). Just a thought, but I bet you could afford to build out there and it's close to the Broad Run VRE.

[PSUinNoVa]

Thanks for the suggestion. I will check out those areas.

Do you commute into DC now from out there?

Originally Posted by Middlin

I get the metro thing.. did it myself for 11 yrs. Like you said, it's a trade off given the fact VRE doesn't run as frequently. I think you might be more challenged to find something near that station. Truro which isn't a bad commute to VRE might be something to take a look at.

Just a wild thought - My son attends a new school in Bristow and driving down the road it struck me that most houses were all brick (actually considered Nokesville - Kettle Run Rd). Just a thought, but I bet you could afford to build out there and it's close to the Broad Run VRE.

[Middlin]

Oh, no, no. I would never live out here and commute to DC, especially since we're parents. If you have one stay at home parent, or a parent that works close by, its doable too me, but otherwise.......

I work in Fair Lakes so I don't have any experience taking VRE into DC. We have taken the train from Manassas to NY a couple of times which beat driving to Union Station and parking.