But you have to be careful. Most people think a brick house is solid, but really the brick is just a veneer - not much different than siding or stucco. Brick facades are not connected directly to the wood interior walls; there is a space between the inner and outer walls to allow air to flow. The brick is laid against a stick-framed and wrapped structure. And that's where a lot of the problems I see with these houses come up: between the brick and the structure.
Even though it's strong and solid, brick is porous and absorbs moisture. With rain driving against a brick wall, it will take only about two hours for the water to soak through.
If the wood framing and sheathing behind the brick get wet, they can rot or develop mould. A properly made brick wall has small gaps in the mortar joints along the bottom course to allow any water that gets in behind to escape. There should be a similar series of gaps at the top of the wall to allow air to get in. If those holes aren't there, the water that gets in won't have anywhere to go. It could end up passing through the wall and into your house - to the drywall and interior. En suite bathrooms an wet rooms have overtaken the old WC and bathroom provisions.
Thermal insulation is not up to it and soft wood windows rot. Who knows what future needs will be? It seems ironic that the foundations of modern houses built from concrete will last hundreds and even thousands of years, while the uppers may only last 60 years. In terms of legacy and full-life carbon footprint of modern houses, have we got things the wrong way up or down? The saving in carbon footprint would be huge because cement has a large heat signature in the production process.
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You are commenting using your Facebook account. Notify me of new comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email. Email Address:. Blog at WordPress. Follow: RSS Twitter. Planning Portal Blog. How long do bricks last for? Nobody would like to find himself in such a situation, with a house that starts to fall apart right after you pay off the loan. It's true that a century ago, homes were built of stout materials like old-growth timber, durable stones, slate, and brick. Old trees are much denser than the younger ones that are used today due to the huge number of new constructions.
Moreover, builders today are trying to keep the costs down so that more people can afford their houses. As a result, house affordability is substantially higher than in the past, but the quality of the cheapest houses very often drags behind.
There are many external factors that determine the lifespan of a building, such as a climate, maintenance, weather, location, and traffic. Choosing a house made of appropriate materials and components and taking proper care of it can substantially extend its life expectancy.
Let's compare houses made out of the two most common materials, wood and brick. A brick house can easily last over years, but so can a wooden house. However, houses made of wood are more prone to strong winds and fires and won't last as long as brick houses in windy regions with strong precipitation.
On the other hand, they are more flexible and therefore very common in regions with a high rate of earthquakes. The connection between location and building materials of your house is crucial for your home's insurance rate. The main advantages of brick houses are that they require less maintenance, you don't have to paint their exteriors, and they provide better insulation. On the other hand, they're more expensive and the construction process is considerably longer. The lifespan of a residential building is determined by several factors, such as its location, climate, weather, materials, and building type.
There have been many debates about the life expectancy of condos and independent houses. When builders use brick and stone, they come as decorative flourish. The shift away from structural brick began after World War II. Mid-century consumers wanted suburban homes that looked distinct from their urban counterparts and newer building codes no longer required brick.
That, meant less demand for both the material and the masons needed to install it. Seventy-five years later, the market for brick looks very different. Delgott builds mostly in Graduate Hospital and Point Breeze, two old row house neighborhoods that have seen a surge of reinvestment over the last decade or two.
There are other historical building techniques that are no longer allowed under contemporary building codes. If a builder chooses brick, the codes today require more masonry than 19th century builders would have needed to use.
These costs makes reproducing the building styles and materials of years ago virtually impossible for most builders. But even for those who are willing to pay a premium for a historic look, there are environmental costs to consider. Manufacturing and transporting masonry, and other heavy materials, contributes greatly to climate change.
Bricks have to be burned — and these days that means using fossil fuels. Concrete is even worse, and its manufacture is responsible for a stunning proportion of global carbon emissions. By contrast, wood is abundant and accessible. It can be replenished with relative ease, and it absorbs carbon from the atmosphere.
It then continues to hold carbon after trees are felled, only releasing it when they burn or rot. For those seeking points towards LEED certification — the gold standard for environmentally friendly buildings —builders must use materials from within miles of the construction site.
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