Is brick housing common in the USA?

[Poonther]

@Bambi Hassenpfeffer

Speaking up for Florida – almost everyone has a stucco-on-cinderblock house with a asphalt-shingled wood roof. Overall, most of our buildings are cinderblock construction. Many of the “brick” buildings here are actually cinderblock with a brick façade.

The only brick residences I’ve seen locally were built to order as custom homes. Ditto for wood-framed homes.

Hey Bam’s what you say above is true for Central Florida. However in North Florida, along the I-10 corridor, you find brick homes in older neighborhoods, wood homes, vinyl siding homes as well as stucco-on-cinderblock homes. Sometimes you’ll find homes with combinations of the above building types like brick with siding or wood with siding etc etc.

In South Florida (Miami to West Palm) it’s stucco only mainly, but you are starting to see more spanish tile roofs in the newer construction as opposed to the asphalt shingles that dominate Central and North Florida.

Speaking of the regional differences, everytime we visit friends in Charlotte, I am amazed at how much brick there is. I always tell my friends as we ride around Charlotte that “This place is built like a brick sh*thouse!”

Personally I find that vinyl siding creates the ugliest homes on earth, but hey that’s IMHO.

[Walloon]

Link to Census Bureau’s Characteristics of New Housing report.

Exterior wall materials of new single-family homes (2003):

Brick: 20%
Wood: 8%
Stucco: 21%
Vinyl siding: 38%
Aluminum siding: 1%
Other*: 13%

• Includes cinder block, stone, fiber cement, and other types.

[Max_Torque]

My wife and I are building a house right now, here in Lubbock, Texas. Or, more accurately, someone else is building it for us, and we will eventually buy it. Home building is booming here, and all the new construction is brick, or stone in extremely affluent neighborhoods. There are houses with wood or vinyl siding in town, but they tend to be in the center of town, which means that they were constructed decades ago. There’s just no reason to go with wood here.

As I type, they should be laying bricks around our dining room’s bay window. Yay!

I made a simple website to show the progress of the construction to family and friends, but if I post a link I’ll be flooded. Sorry!

[asterion]

@BiblioCat

It’s not as common any more, because it’s more expensive. You might get a “brick-front” house in newer neighborhoods, with just the front facade being bricked, and the sides and back being covered with vinyl siding.
My house (built in the mid-50s) is all brick, as are most of the houses in my neighborhood, and it was a big selling point.

I’m not sure the brick is anything but facade, but we’ve got a brick-front house with stucco for the back and sides. Of course, stucco (like adobe) will only work in specific parts of the country.

[Hal_Briston]

Technically, that’s all we have here in my hometown.

[Rayne_Man]

I have noticed , after watching* Homicide , Life On the Streets*, that Baltimore seems to have a lot of brick houses . Not only that but there seems to be many terrace ( I think you call them row ) houses . In fact some of the street scenes look very much the same as you would see in towns in the UK.

[rivulus]

St Louis city (as opposed to the suburbs) has a lot of little brick houses, much like in Chicago. I live in a neighborhood where nearly every house is brick – and not just brick facade. Solid brick with plaster inside. Built in the 40s.

Older housing than mine in St L city tends to be either brick townhouse style (or whatever those are called that look like free-standing townhouses) or frame (i.e. wood) homes in the less expensive neighborhoods. I used to own a frame Dutch colonial built in 1909. Newer housing than our 40s bungalow is more commonly wood or wood-with-a-facade, as far as I can tell. Then there are McHouses in the burbs that look to me like big match-stick structures with vinyl siding holding them together.

[Dogzilla]

Another Floridian checking in to point out that both Poonther and I own wood-framed homes in N. FL. Both of our homes are more than 50 years old. My guess is that the predominance of brick increases as your proximity to Georgia (home of the red clay where bricks are made) decreases. The predominance of stucco increases as your proximity to Cuba decreases. Anyone lucky enough to have a home in Florida that’s more than 30 years old probably has a wooden-framed house. Just a WAG.

[Magiver]

@Hyperelastic

Huber Heights, Ohio calls itself the “world’s largest community of brick houses”.

Only because Charley got a good deal on brick (old timers from the area understand this).

I agree with most of the posters. Housing styles vary drastically from region to region.

Following WWII there was a huge increase in platted construction which changed a lot of the regional characteristics. Brick was very popular in my area.

On the present day side of this, brick has given way to vinyl siding. Houses have gotten bigger, and lots have gotten smaller. I think it is now the exception to the rule to see brick used in new housing projects. It’s still popular for spec housing.

[Jammer]

North Carolinian here checking in. Our house is 6.5 years old and all brick construction. Most homes in our immediate area are the same, though a few have only 2 or 3 sides brick.

Jammer

[Mehitabel]

I’m sitting in a brick apartment house right now AIFG!!

Seriously, though, most of the apartment houses in NYC are brick, except for some 60s and 70s concrete monstrosities. Mine is red brick and was built in 1959; in Manhattan you often get mid-60s white bricks, and some newer trendy places are yellow brick; there’s even some blue and brown brick buildings.

[Bambi_Hassenpfeffer]

@Dogzilla

Another Floridian checking in to point out that both Poonther and I own wood-framed homes in N. FL. Both of our homes are more than 50 years old. My guess is that the predominance of brick increases as your proximity to Georgia (home of the red clay where bricks are made) decreases. The predominance of stucco increases as your proximity to Cuba decreases. Anyone lucky enough to have a home in Florida that’s more than 30 years old probably has a wooden-framed house. Just a WAG.

Yeah, yeah. I shoulda mentioned that what I was saying was true for central and southern Florida, but I was too in a hurry. The farther north you are and the older your house is, the more likely it is not cinderblock. Around maybe Ocala and definitely Orlando south, cinderblocks are by far predominant. The asphalt shingles are locally variable, picking up (as you pointed out) the farther southeast you go.

[StGermain]

danceswithcats - What’s wythe? Do you mean width?

Around here (in Middle Tennessee) much of the new home construction is faced with brick. Most of the older homes are clapboard or vinyl over wood frame.

StG

[TastesLikeBurning]

@Khiadra

I have a suspicion Queensland might be flexible on building materials too, but I’ve not travelled there so maybe one of the other Aussie Dopers can confirm or deny that.

Queensland has some beautiful houses with a very distinctive style, strangely enough called a Queenslander.

Over here in Perth Western Australia, the extremely dominant building method is double brick, with interior walls built using a larger brick commonly called “fastwall” which is not as dense as the smaller yet more solid exterior brickwork.

The only significant change in WA’s building industry has been steel-frame roofing structures putting a dent in the more traditional timber-frame.

[Bites_When_Provoked]

@TastesLikeBurning

Queensland has some beautiful houses with a very distinctive style, strangely enough called a Queenslander.

Over here in Perth Western Australia, the extremely dominant building method is double brick, with interior walls built using a larger brick commonly called “fastwall” which is not as dense as the smaller yet more solid exterior brickwork.

:smack: D’oh. I must have been having a brain fart moment when I wrote that. I’d totally forgotten about ‘Queenslanders’… which is pretty tragic considering that I really like that style of home.

Sounds like your buildings in WA are more impressive than ours The standard in SA is for single-brick exterior, which heats up real fast in Summer if you don’t have excellent insulation (which, I might add, most don’t since the building companies are apparently run by Dodgy Bros. and try to get away with the least amount possible).

[Kyla]

As has been mentioned, brick houses predominate here in Chicago. It’s one of my favorite things about the city. I love brick! There are NO brick houses where I grew up in California - they don’t hold up in earthquakes, wood is much more flexible. I think it’s beautiful.

When I mentioned this to my cousin when he was living in Chicago too, a while back, he looked puzzled and said “Huh, if I was in an earthquake I’d rather be in a brick house than a wood one.” And he’s from MEXICO CITY! No wonder thousands of people die in earthquakes there, if that’s their idea of safe building equipment.

[Johnny_L.A]

@asterion

I’m not sure the brick is anything but facade, but we’ve got a brick-front house with stucco for the back and sides. Of course, stucco (like adobe) will only work in specific parts of the country.

Why will stucco only work in certain places? I’m a SoCal native, so most of the houses I’ve seen are wood frame with stucco. Up here in the PNW I’ve noticed only one stucco house (it was in an upscale neighbourhood). I imagine that the rough surface would promote moss growth, and that it might absorb water. Is that why stucco homes are so rare up here?

[asterion]

@Johnny L.A.

Why will stucco only work in certain places? I’m a SoCal native, so most of the houses I’ve seen are wood frame with stucco. Up here in the PNW I’ve noticed only one stucco house (it was in an upscale neighbourhood). I imagine that the rough surface would promote moss growth, and that it might absorb water. Is that why stucco homes are so rare up here?

That would be my guess. I also bet that with a lot of moisture and rain, the stucco wouldn’t last very long. I’m not saying it would slough off the side of the house, but I can imagine lots of water damage. I haven’t tried a scientific experiment out here with creating a stuccoed panel and then leaving it out in the elements under some protection to simulate a roof overhang. Anyone want to try it? All you need is a board, some chicken wire, and some stucco (though I’m not sure what is in stucco.)

[elmwood]

Based on the hosues that I’ve owned:

[ul][li]Denver, Colorado: Craftsman bungalow, built in 1925, all brick construction[/li][li]Ocoee, Florida (suburban Orlando): ranch, built in 1985, cinder block construction with brick facade.[/li][li]South Euclid, Ohio (suburban Cleveland): ranch, built in 1950, frame construction with brick and stone facade.[/ul][/li]
Other parts of the US:

[ul][li]Las Cruces, New Mexico: stucco on frame or rammed earth for newer houses; siding on frame or adobe for older houses; brick in some greener areas close to the Rio Grande.[/li][li]El Paso, Texas (about 30 miles south of Las Cruces): Texas-style brick, stucco on frame[/li][li]Denver, Colorado suburbs: siding on frame, often with brick or brick/stone facade and wainscotting with a neo-Craftsman or mountain lodge style[/li][li]Denver, Colorado (city): brick in older areas, frame in areas developed after World War II, some stucco- and siding-on-frame tract mansion infill.[/li][li]Buffalo, New York suburbs: siding on frame, often with brick or brick/stone facade[/li][li]Kansas City, Missouri/Kansas suburbs: frame with VERTICAL siding[/li][li]Kansas City, Missouri (1900-1920): “Shirtwaist” with a stone first floor, and a frame second floor[/li][li]St. Louis, Missouri: brick in the city, frame in the suburbs[/li][/ul]

Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Buffalo, New York 2000s infill
Buffalo, New York 1920s
Buffalo, New York 1910s working class
Buffalo, new York 1910s
Kansas City, Missouri 1920s
Kansas City, Missouri 1920s
Kansas City, Missouri 1950s
Las Cruces, New Mexico 1990s
Las Cruces, New Mexico 1990s rammed earth
Orlando, Florida 2000s
Orlando, Florida 2000s

[Snickers]

@cher3

It used to be common in the Midwest and Northeast. I grew up near Chicago, and there were lots of brick houses. . .

Funny. My parents built a brick house in western Wisconsin in 1985, and the notable thing seemed to be how unusual it was - how it cost more and how they had to get the brick from somewhere far away. But mom insisted on it, much to her credit - absolutely no maintenance. I’d love to have a brick house.

Luckily, mine’s stucco, which ranks up there for low maintenance.