Traditional Brick Homes

Brick's Advantages

• Traditional brick homes display several advantages over frame-built houses. Bricks require less maintenance than wood and weather severe storms more easily. Since the color of a traditional clay brick will never fade, they require no routine painting.

  Bricks are environmentally friendly, since clay is an abundant resource. Most bricks are made within 500 miles of the homes into which they are incorporated. This wastes less fuel in transport.

Ancient Brick Homes

• Over 7,000 years ago, mud-brick homes and towns appeared throughout the Middle East. Builders plastered the bricks and decorated them with colorful depictions of animals and people. In Egypt, a shortage of wood prompted the poor to use mud bricks. Although few of these structures survived the area's regular floods, sun-dried brick is still used in arid, rural areas.

Early American Homes

• Early American builders often utilized brick wherever the owner could afford it. Many mansions of the period were made of brick. Georgian homes, for example, featured traditional red clay brick walls and a hip or side-gable roof.

  The Federal period, which began shortly after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, incorporated brick walls with classical Greek detailing and fanlights. Some surviving examples of Federal brick homes include the McCoy house of Lewiston, Pennsylvania, and the Allen house of New Bedford, Massachusetts.

19th Century Brick Homes

• During the 19th century, brick became an affordable medium for multifamily, city housing. The Victorian row houses, often called "brownstones," formed the core of many cities. Built of red or brown brick, the brownstones of places such as Beacon Hill, Boston, offer fine examples of traditional brick homes.

  Queen Anne style gained popularity in the later part of the 19th century, A combination of both English and Dutch influence, it boasts a red brick and stone facade, asymmetrical design and defined gables.

  Tudor Revival, another important style of traditional brick homes, exhibits decorative brickwork and massive brick chimneys and turrets. It was commonly found in homes of the wealthy and the upper middle class.

  The timeless qualities of brick may still be seen today in communities such as Ardsley Park in Savannah, Georgia. Homes throughout America reflect the durability and desirability of brick.

Considerations

• Modern home builders are faced with several new brick choices. Concrete bricks offer economy and come in a wider range of colors than traditional clay bricks. These advantages may be offset, however, by the fact that concrete bricks may be subject to more shrinkage and fading than clay bricks. Whichever type is chosen, the risks must be weighed along with the benefits.

  Overall, traditional brick homes will continue to provide durability and comfort for their homeowners for many years to come.