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During my internet house searches in the Nixa, Ozark, Saddlebrooke, etc. areas. I've come to find that the vast majority of newly-built houses on acerage are made with brick. Some have a little architectural interest with the addition of different siding material on selected parts of their facades, but most are just plain brick . . . side to side, top to bottom, and front to back. It's my long distance observation so far.
Is there a structural reason for the use of so much brick or is it just that brick construction has a history in the area, like stucco in the Southwest has a historical connection? If so, will it be difficult to find something built with more architectural variety and interest, and yet still made with quality materials?
I may have thought that the use of brick might have been due to tornado safety, but I've read that it's no more effective than other common siding, like Hardi-plank or stucco, in keeping debris from entering the house. That's what has me asking about its use.
Thanks for your answers. It will help me make a decision about going with an existing property versus building our own place.
During my internet house searches in the Nixa, Ozark, Saddlebrooke, etc. areas. I've come to find that the vast majority of newly-built houses on acerage are made with brick. Some have a little architectural interest with the addition of different siding material on selected parts of their facades, but most are just plain brick . . . side to side, top to bottom, and front to back. It's just my observation so far.
Is there a reason for the use of so much brick in the area? Is brick something that has a history in the area, like stucco in the Southwest has a historical connection, or am I looking at the left-over houses during the winter real estate slow-down period?
I may have thought that the use of brick might have been due to tornado safety, but I've read that it's no more effective than other common siding, like Hardi-plank or stucco, in keeping debris from entering the house. That's what has me asking about its use.
Thanks for your answers. It will help me make a decision about going with an existing property versus building our own place.
There are different qualities of brick homes. What may look like "all-brick" can simply be a brick facade as well.
I personally prefer all-brick homes and it's true a direct tornado hit can destroy a brick home just like any other home (examples recently in Florida), but brick is still safer than regular siding, is more effective against hail (untouched whereas vinyl siding will be dented and stripped off in many cases), and it also requires no maintenance in a climate that can go from humid high 90's in the summer to 0F in the winter and periods inbetween of heavy rain, snow, and unfortunately ice storms.
You'll also have better protection from burning embers should a fire erupt nearby and your house will better weather severe weather in general without damage. Some summer thunderstorms will scare the crap out of you in their violence believe me.
Your home insurer should give you a better discount on home insurance as well because of lessened fire danger and the durability of brick versus other building exteriors.
No painting either.
I wouldn't have anything but brick in Missouri.
You're right - - most of the new homes being built in Springfield are brick. I hadn't really thought of it before, but you have a point.
I guess builders probably have a greater demand for brick so that's what they build. When I buy my home in Springfield in a few years, I will definitely prefer an all brick house. Brick doesn't need maintenance, and has great thermal properties that can lower your energy bills. Besides, I like the way it looks and it is less likely to burn down. I have a brick house now in Louisiana and it's great.
There are plenty of relatively inexpensive houses in north Springfield that have wooden siding. Have you looked in that area? You have a point in that I think siding is more common in older homes than it is in newer homes in the area. One suggestion would be to expand your search to include older homes.
If you want a brand new home with siding, I would imagine that local builders would be more than happy to build one like that for you. Maybe when you get there, a local realtor might know of some homes like that.
Something that is apparently regional to the area is the use of stone as a building material. Have you seen the older homes that are built of stone? They are enchanting, though I don't think I'll venture to buy one.
Thanks for the points. Those are some good ones to consider.
I wasn't really considering stuff like vinyl or aluminum. I can't stand the looks of that stuff. I also wasn't considering wood, for various reasons that include long-term maintenance as one of them.
I happen to like the style of homes built with old fasioned siding, but with a newer product. Specifically, it's Hardiplank. It's just concrete composit siding that looks like the old wood lap siding. As such it doesn't burn since it primarily a concrete house.
I also like the look of Prairie, Craftsman, and Shingle style architecture. They can also be made with some of the newer materials and still not prone to burning.
I'm hoping that if we like the area, we'll be able to find something that has some variety to it, even if it's not the sytles that we like. It doesn't sound like they're back there, but hopefully we can find a compromise. I'm thinking something like a brick house that has structural elements in other materials like stucco, stone, Hardiplank, or composit shingles, or whatever. For me it would add interest. I guess we just need to look.
BTW, the next step in our journey has begun. Our house has sold, the buyers bank funded the loan today, and it records tomorrow. By 1700 hours, we'll be outta' there for good! Yeah!!!
No maintenence. Woodpeckers, termites, and rocks from the mower aren't a problem.
Adds value to the home. It is percieved as a sturdier material, and commands a higher resale value.
Outstanding insulating material - pretty hard for the wind to crack through a brick wall.
Cons:
Expensive. All brick will add $25000 over the cost of brick front.
Heavy. Vinyl and wood expand and contract a little, and will tolerate settling. Brick won't. I don't often show clients a brick home over 15 years old that doesn't have some brick settling cracks.
Permanent. I suppose you can paint brick, but for the most part, you had better be fond of the color, cause your stuck with it.
People out here have become very fond of the "French Country" style, which involves a lot of brick. Garth, if you are looking at homes that arent finished yet, look along the ground on all sides of the house. If you see a row of cinder blocks along the bottom of the home, or a concrete ledge, that's a "brick ledge" - the base they stack the brick on - and indicates that brick CAN be added to the home on that side (I say CAN because a lot of builders always build the brick ledges in case a buyer wants all brick, but the builder goes vinyl on the sides if they get that far and no one has bought it.)
Structurally, brick will obviously hold up to weather better than vinyl. However, you have to remember that the brick is a facade, not a structural item. We aren't talking about a concrete house here.
I went through the damage in the Riverfork subdivision after the tornados last year, and the brick homes didn't fare any better than the vinyl ones. Besides, a roof is a roof, and if the wind is bad enough, they all come off, regardless of the building material.
You can visit my personal page and check out my website if you need more info. I can also recommend a good Realtor
BTW, the next step in our journey has begun. Our house has sold, the buyers bank funded the loan today, and it records tomorrow. By 1700 hours, we'll be outta' there for good! Yeah!!!
Congratulations- - how exciting!! Ah, to be in your shoes tomorrow.
I won't be at that point until 2009-2010, but I dream about it every day.
Oh, here's something about stucco that I didn't know before I bought my present home. Here in Louisiana, it has the reputation of fostering mold actually within the stucco. We have a very wet climate, and the ground is usually a big soggy, so that might not be an issue in other states. I just thought it was interesting, since I lived in a stucco house in San Diego in the 1980's and thought it was attractive and desirable. But then, we were lucky to get 8" of rain a year in that part of San Diego County, and in New Orleans we get over 60" plus we're below sealevel.
It's funny you should mention this. It is a recurring topic of conversation among some of my friends. The area really lacks variety in architecture - three gables and all garage doors. Although I wouldn't consider Saddlebrook to be a cookie cutter area. I noted several different architecture styles when I was there earlier this week.
Many of the newer subdivisions require all brick in combination with stone accents. "All-brick" is a selling point around here for whatever the reason. Probably because the alternatives being used often look like hell after 10 years.
I think if someone came up with an attractive alternative it would sell like hotcakes. You could lose your shirt trying to figure out what that alternative might be.
Thanks for the points. Those are some good ones to consider.
I wasn't really considering stuff like vinyl or aluminum. I can't stand the looks of that stuff. I also wasn't considering wood, for various reasons that include long-term maintenance as one of them.
I happen to like the style of homes built with old fasioned siding, but with a newer product. Specifically, it's Hardiplank. It's just concrete composit siding that looks like the old wood lap siding. As such it doesn't burn since it primarily a concrete house.
I also like the look of Prairie, Craftsman, and Shingle style architecture. They can also be made with some of the newer materials and still not prone to burning.
I'm hoping that if we like the area, we'll be able to find something that has some variety to it, even if it's not the sytles that we like. It doesn't sound like they're back there, but hopefully we can find a compromise. I'm thinking something like a brick house that has structural elements in other materials like stucco, stone, Hardiplank, or composit shingles, or whatever. For me it would add interest. I guess we just need to look.
BTW, the next step in our journey has begun. Our house has sold, the buyers bank funded the loan today, and it records tomorrow. By 1700 hours, we'll be outta' there for good! Yeah!!!
Congratulations on the house sale! I remember mine really well too. June 3,2005! That morning around 7am, I left the housekeys on the kitchen counter, put the cats in their movers, put the box of essentials in the back of my truck...took one last pee in a downstairs bathroom, made sure all the doors were locked, then drove off from Las Vegas and to Missouri!!! I don't like long journeys by car and I'm not fond of long distance driving, but I enjoyed that trip immensely!!! I WAS FREE and following my dream!!!! What an exciting time for you!!!
fyi...Amarillo bites! (I took 40 through Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to Oklahoma City where I linked to I-44 going northeast to Tulsa and then to Joplin, Missouri and .....FINALLY after my butt had become a flat board....Springfield!
I haven't seen shingle sided homes here. Those sound like Northwest styles more appropriate for foggy and wet northwest climates. There are craftsman homes here, they're just few and far between though.
There are also LOTS of regular siding homes here too with or without brick fronts. I realize everyone is seeing brick lately, but I'd say brick really makes up less than 50% of homes, if that. Maybe the new ones are coming out brick in certain subdivisions, but I looked intensively in 2005 for my home and saw mostly vinyl sided homes.
I wanted brick and eventually found one.
By the way Randy, my house is 14 years old and the home inspector made of point of telling me that the house is so stable that there were NO visible cracks in the brick!!! I've never seen any cracks either Also, the brick used in my home is larger than standard for some reason. I haven't seen it in other homes and it's mottled, not all red. I don't mind the color either. I like it. Here's what it looks like:
The only thing I noticed was on my front brick stoop in the last few days. I still had 1" of ice over my north facing porch from January and it lifted part of a brick which ticked me off Ice can really damage things Luckily, it's only one brick and it's not deep, but it's noticeable darn it.
MoMark, your home is lovely! The color of the brick is really attractive, much more so than plain red brick. Obviously you are quite the gardener - the bushes and flowers in the bed in front of your home look so well cared for.
Sorry about the one loose brick, but I would imagine that you can have it repaired once the weather permits. You know how it is - - there's always maintenance to be done on a home, no matter where it is.
Ozarks21, is Saddlebrook a town or a subdivision? Where is it?
MoMark, your home is lovely! The color of the brick is really attractive, much more so than plain red brick. Obviously you are quite the gardener - the bushes and flowers in the bed in front of your home look so well cared for.
Sorry about the one loose brick, but I would imagine that you can have it repaired once the weather permits. You know how it is - - there's always maintenance to be done on a home, no matter where it is.
Ozarks21, is Saddlebrook a town or a subdivision? Where is it?
Thanks NOLA2SGF I am a fanatic when it comes to grooming around the house for sure. So are my neighbors...which is why we took the ice storm destruction so hard.
Ironically, last year in January I had pansies still growing and blooming in the flower beds, and they survived into the summer of 2006 despite a couple of short cold blasts.
This year all of the flowers were killed early on in early December and repeatedly frozen, frozen, frozen...so I start from scratch this Spring But I keep 2.5 acres of lawn immaculately trimmed and mowed and that's one reason my neighbors and I are working so hard to clean things up. I've got two big burn areas where I've had to burn debris, so reseeding will have to happen. Tomorrow we hope to finish up after spending a month working on cleanup.
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Also, the brick used in my home is larger than standard for some reason. I haven't seen it in other homes and it's mottled, not all red. I don't mind the color either. I like it. Here's what it looks like:
Ice can really damage things 
Luckily, it's only one brick and it's not deep, but it's noticeable darn it.
