What's the deal with brick fronts? (San Antonio, West: houses, neighborhoods, upkeep)

[shenane]

I know there have been a bunch of posts already on brick vs siding (value of neighborhoods, upkeep, etc..)
But what I'm really curious about is why build a house with just brick front? I can understand building a 3 sides brick house. Overall the house is sturdier and it shows well from the street (I guess). And you save money in brick by not making it 4 sides
But does having brick just in front really do anything at all for the house? Is it sturdier than an all-siding house? You can still see all the siding from the street. Why not just save money and make the entire house siding?

I don't want to offend in brick front people. The first house I ever purchased was all siding in MS. The 2nd house I purchased cost 30K in Oklahoma and it was mostly brick (a little wood at top)
The third house I purchased was here in San Antonio - it has just a brick front.

Just curious

Thanks

[rd2007]

Certain neighborhoods have requirements as to what type of material the houses are made of and how it is spread around the house. In my particular part of Westcreek all four sides had to be brick, but in other sections only three sides had to be. Some neighborhoods I looked at only had the front brick and I'm guessing that was the requirement for that neighborhood or the builder trying to cut costs

[Corvette327]

Well, at least a brick front is nice in case of a a "drive by"~~

[Lauren0319]

I call them "mullet" homes

[shenane]

What does mullet home mean?

Originally Posted by Lauren0319

I call them "mullet" homes

[kevcrawford]

It's for aesthetics only. The sturdiness of a house really doesn't depend on the siding. That comes from the framing. The brick gives it nice curb appeal, the siding saves money. They'd just have a hard time selling them with only siding, as they'd be unappealing to so many.

[shenane]

Does it really look better with brick in the front only? You can easily see the siding on the sides when you walk or drive down the street.
Yes, I guess sturdier wasn't the right word. But doesn't all brick offer better insulation? better sound buffering? And if it get's hit by a ball or something, I'm guessing it is harder to crack??

Originally Posted by kevcrawford

It's for aesthetics only. The sturdiness of a house really doesn't depend on the siding. That comes from the framing. The brick gives it nice curb appeal, the siding saves money. They'd just have a hard time selling them with only siding, as they'd be unappealing to so many.

[kevcrawford]

It's all personal opinion. Most prefer a little over none.

[ryneone]

Originally Posted by shenane

Does it really look better with brick in the front only? You can easily see the siding on the sides when you walk or drive down the street.
Yes, I guess sturdier wasn't the right word. But doesn't all brick offer better insulation? better sound buffering? And if it get's hit by a ball or something, I'm guessing it is harder to crack??

Well as long as you can see it. In Az they have stucco and it looks horrible when the patch it. My aunt recently finished her whole home out in brick after se had to replace the side wood paneling twice.

[shenane]

Interesting. How hard was it to put in brick after the the house is built. I had considered replacing my vinyl siding with brick.
Why did she have to replace the wood paneling twice?

Originally Posted by ryneone

Well as long as you can see it. In Az they have stucco and it looks horrible when the patch it. My aunt recently finished her whole home out in brick after se had to replace the side wood paneling twice.