Home Construction (Minneapolis, Eden Prairie, Edina: real estate, custom home, neighborhoods)

[southernsmoke]

I have a question that I am hoping somebody on here can answer... There seems to be almost no brick construction in Minneapolis. I mean, some homes have a brick facade or a little bit of brick, but it seems like nearly all homes are largely (if not completely) siding. My question is several-fold: (a) is this indeed correct? (b) if not, where are the brick homes (i.e., what neighborhoods)? and (c) why is this? (I welcome speculation on the third question.)

[DirtMagurt]

I'll take a shot at answering this, given that I worked as a bricklayer for a number of years when I was younger. fwiw, I own an all brick ranch home in Edina and whole swaths of SW Minneapolis neighborhoods feature predominately all brick construction.

a) It depends both on the age of the home and on the quality of the construction. Older areas of town (pre-1960s) are going to have far more all brick construction than newer parts of town. Partly, that is because there were fewer good options back then (largely brick vs. stucco vs. wood) as opposed to the options in recent decades (better quality hardsiding, vinyl siding, etc.)

b) any part of town built prior to 1960 and any area where quality custom homes are built (not cheap tract housing)

c) because brick is EXTREMELY labor intensive and expensive compared with any other alternative. Stucco or cedar shakes would be a distant second in terms of cost followed by hardboard siding and finally vinyl.

If you take a $400k two story tract home in Savage or Eden Prairie that is faced with brick and you wrap the other three sides, you're talking about an additional $50k-75k+ easily depending on the pattern, brick used, etc.

This is why in recent years (decades really) you will generally only see all brick custom homes and very rarely on cheaper housing.

If you pay attention, will also notice far more stone construction in this area than in most other places. Again, you'll typically see this more in older homes and custom homes. Stone is generally preferable even to brick if you can afford it, and there is a lot of fieldstone and limestone around this area so it's cheaper than in most places.

[DirtMagurt]

It should probably also be pointed out that over the last half century, Minnesota has not seen the influx of cheap (but skilled) labor that some other areas have seen, which has traditionally put residential masons in higher demand, which of course results in even more expensive brickwork than in some places. Additionally, the sorts of people that used to go into the trades in this area don't do so anymore. Lack of affordable, quality masons = not much brickwork being done.

Don't count out the shortened building season as a factor, either. Not many residential masons working from December through roughly March.

[southernsmoke]

Thanks for the answer. Part of the reason I was curious is that all-brick homes are a common (if not the predominant) style in the city where I currently live (in the Southeast), both in old construction and in a lot of new construction. I have spent a decent amount of time in Minneapolis and have noticed all of the siding homes but have only noticed maybe a handful of all-brick homes. I figured the cost was a factor, but I also thought that perhaps brick would be better insulated... but that may be an incorrect assumption (and with your experience, you may be able to tell me that).

I will expand the scope of this thread slightly, based on your answer... At this point, I am still not sure that I will be moving to Minneapolis at all, and if I do, I probably will not be looking to buy a home until a year and a half from now. But I have browsed real estate listings on occasion (also without much success in finding many all-brick homes). With a preference for all-brick construction, where might I have the most luck finding a 3-4 BR, 2-3 BA home, with a garage, a relatively painless commute to downtown Minneapolis, and a price point between $300-500k?

[DirtMagurt]

Originally Posted by southernsmoke

Thanks for the answer. Part of the reason I was curious is that all-brick homes are a common (if not the predominant) style in the city where I currently live (in the Southeast), both in old construction and in a lot of new construction. I have spent a decent amount of time in Minneapolis and have noticed all of the siding homes but have only noticed maybe a handful of all-brick homes. I figured the cost was a factor, but I also thought that perhaps brick would be better insulated... but that may be an incorrect assumption (and with your experience, you may be able to tell me that).

I will expand the scope of this thread slightly, based on your answer... At this point, I am still not sure that I will be moving to Minneapolis at all, and if I do, I probably will not be looking to buy a home until a year and a half from now. But I have browsed real estate listings on occasion (also without much success in finding many all-brick homes). With a preference for all-brick construction, where might I have the most luck finding a 3-4 BR, 2-3 BA home, with a garage, a relatively painless commute to downtown Minneapolis, and a price point between $300-500k?

Yeah, I lived in Buckhead in Atlanta for a while and there was definitely more all brick new construction there than what you see here.

Well, we will be selling our all brick 4 bed 2 bath, ~2200+ sq.ft. home with garage in northeast Edina sometime next summer or fall. Not sure what it will go for yet. Probably right around $400k or a little higher. There are similar homes in our neighborhood, often that haven't been updated since they were built (1950s) so they'll sell as 3/2 or 3/1 ramblers with room for two more bedrooms in the basement and will go for right around $300k or maybe a hair under. We took the third bedroom on the main floor and turned it into a den, which is pretty common given the chopped up layout of these older homes. Very large yards in this area given our proximity to Minneapolis city proper.

Commuting from here to downtown takes around 20 minutes and is pretty painless, not to mention that I have the option of taking the city lakes if the freeways are a mess, and that doesn't add much time to the commute actually. Pretty scenic to boot.

[DirtMagurt]

I missed your question about insulation values of brick vs. whatever and that would be negligible and certainly not a factor one way or the other as the insulation goes between the house wrap and the interior drywall anyway. I think cheapness is the primary factor in using so much vinyl, honestly. If builders and homeowners cared more about R values than up front cost, everyone around here would stop using cheap, crappy vinyl windows and go back to wood core/aluminum clad which provide better insulation and are more stable.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by southernsmoke

I have a question that I am hoping somebody on here can answer... There seems to be almost no brick construction in Minneapolis. I mean, some homes have a brick facade or a little bit of brick, but it seems like nearly all homes are largely (if not completely) siding. My question is several-fold: (a) is this indeed correct? (b) if not, where are the brick homes (i.e., what neighborhoods)? and (c) why is this? (I welcome speculation on the third question.)

One thing to keep in mind is that there are no termites in Minnesota, so that isn't a reason to use something like brick. Wood construction in the Twin Cities is not vulnerable in that way, so the expense of brick isn't quite as worth doing as it would be in most of the southern US. I didn't need a termite bond up there! :-)

[DirtMagurt]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

One thing to keep in mind is that there are no termites in Minnesota, so that isn't a reason to use something like brick. Wood construction in the Twin Cities is not vulnerable in that way, so the expense of brick isn't quite as worth doing as it would be in most of the southern US.

Brick homes still feature a wood frame skeleton, no different than any other wood framed home. Did you mean vs. poured concrete or steel framing? Brick doesn't keep termites out.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by DirtMagurt

Brick homes still feature a wood frame skeleton, no different than any other wood framed home. Did you mean vs. poured concrete or steel framing? Brick doesn't keep termites out.

I know they can build their little dirt tunnels up concrete foundation walls to get to the good stuff. But I've had a number of people down here tell me that one of the reasons why folks build with brick is to reduce the chance of infestation. Maybe that's an old wives tale ... I have no idea.

[DirtMagurt]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

I know they can build their little dirt tunnels up concrete foundation walls to get to the good stuff. But I've had a number of people down here tell me that one of the reasons why folks build with brick is to reduce the chance of infestation. Maybe that's an old wives tale ... I have no idea.

Yeah, it's a total myth. Brick exteriors are full of holes...weep holes to get rid of water, crevices between masonry and door frames/window frames/soffit, etc. I'm not saying that people haven't built with brick in the past, hoping to deter termites, but it won't prevent them. Actually those weep holes are right at the top of the foundation so they are a perfect entry point for the termites.

Although I guess it's true that at least the termites can't actually eat the brick even if they eat the rest of the place.