# Why are brick houses so much more common in the South than the North (US) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 7, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-brick-houses-so-much-more-common-in-the-south-than-the-north-us/535284 "2010-04-07T15:25:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-brick-houses-so-much-more-common-in-the-south-than-the-north-us/535284/21 "2010-04-08T00:57:49Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > Toronto, Chicago, Denver, and St. Louis are all examples of brick cities. I can’t speak for the other three cities, but one of the main reasons St. Louis is a brick city is because it had actual clay mines and brickworks inside the city limits. Most of the trees were miles away. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-brick-houses-so-much-more-common-in-the-south-than-the-north-us/535284/22 "2010-04-08T03:35:36Z")
If you’re in Hurricane Alley brick holds up better. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-brick-houses-so-much-more-common-in-the-south-than-the-north-us/535284/23 "2010-04-08T03:35:53Z")
A lot of it is fashion. I grew up in the South in the 1960s, when “new brick (veneer) houses” were spoken of the same way as “a brand new Cadillac.” Even though it was a lumbering area, only older houses, in prewar neighborhoods, were wood. For one thing, a wood shack or shotgun house didn’t take great skill to build, but a brick house required\*\* hiring a mason.\*\* ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-brick-houses-so-much-more-common-in-the-south-than-the-north-us/535284/24 "2010-04-08T04:50:50Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Brick is fairly common in the south, so the high status houses are something else… Except that they’re not. Brick houses are more expensive than wood frame houses of similar size, not cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-brick-houses-so-much-more-common-in-the-south-than-the-north-us/535284/25 "2010-04-08T16:16:34Z")
My parents built their brick house in Wisconsin in the early 80s, and I remember them commenting on the extra expense - it just wasn’t common at all in rural western WI. In Minneapolis, it’s still not terribly common. You’ll more often see stucco houses than you will brick ones. And rarely are they brick on all sides; it’s generally just a facing or so. Sad, kind of. I prefer brick homes myself (probably because I grew up in one). ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-brick-houses-so-much-more-common-in-the-south-than-the-north-us/535284/26 "2010-04-08T17:37:46Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > - brick is a poor insulator; that’s more important in the north than the south. It seems to me that a brick veneer house would be at least as well-insulated as one with wood siding. With brick, you typically have 2x4 framing on the exterior wall, with drywall on the inside surface, fiberglass insulation inside the wall, and one inch or so of foam board on its outside surface. Then you have an air gap of an inch or so, then three inches of brick. Now brick construction is the only kind I’m familiar with - what does the wall of a wood-sided house consist of? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-brick-houses-so-much-more-common-in-the-south-than-the-north-us/535284/27 "2010-04-08T18:17:57Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > Now brick construction is the only kind I’m familiar with - what does the wall of a wood-sided house consist of? Remove the brick veneer and replace it with sheathing, then some sort of covering like siding or those nasty fake-brick shingles. If you’re on a budget, you can omit the sheathing and beef up your siding. ---
**Author:** ![Normal\_Phase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Normal\_Phase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Normal_Phase)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-brick-houses-so-much-more-common-in-the-south-than-the-north-us/535284/28 "2010-04-09T03:20:45Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > There’s a lot of factors that go into whether cities are “brick cities” or “frame cities”. > > Cities that had massive fires, or feared them, often became brick cities. Toronto, Chicago, Denver, and St. Louis are all examples of brick cities. In much of Florida, termites are an issue, so at least the first story of most new houses are concrete block. Older houses in Florida cities are often frame, but the wood used is termite-resistant, such as old-growth bald cypress. > > Buffalo was located close to North Tonawanda, which at one time was one of the nation’s largest lumber ports. Thus, it evolved as a frame city. Cleveland and Rochester are also frame cities. > > Of course, you’ll find frame houses in brick cities, and brick houses in frame cities. You won’t find many cities that are half brick and half frame, though; it’s usually dominated by one or the other, at least for the pre-WWII housing stock. Pittsburgh is interesting. The south side (or whatever it’s called) is all frame houses, but if you go a couple of miles into the suburbs everything is brick. I’d guess those are mostly post-wWII, though, if just barely. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-brick-houses-so-much-more-common-in-the-south-than-the-north-us/535284/29 "2010-04-09T03:45:04Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > It seems to me that a brick veneer house would be at least as well-insulated as one with wood siding. With brick, you typically have 2x4 framing on the exterior wall, with drywall on the inside surface, fiberglass insulation inside the wall, and one inch or so of foam board on its outside surface. Then you have an air gap of an inch or so, then three inches of brick. Really? The mill building I mentioned upthread didn’t have drywall on the inside of the building nevermind insulation, just the other side of the bricks; I’d count them when I was bored. I don’t know that I’ve ever been inside a brick house, though, so maybe brick houses have real walls even here. ---
**Author:** ![PopeJewish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@PopeJewish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PopeJewish)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-brick-houses-so-much-more-common-in-the-south-than-the-north-us/535284/30 "2010-04-09T04:30:57Z")
coming from teh west coast, brick houses are rare. I’d assume that, historically, it has something to do wtih the cost of bricks (whereas trees were everywhere) and also with their inability to stand up to earthquakes. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-brick-houses-so-much-more-common-in-the-south-than-the-north-us/535284/31 "2010-04-09T12:51:11Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Really? The mill building I mentioned upthread didn’t have drywall on the inside of the building nevermind insulation, just the other side of the bricks; I’d count them when I was bored. I don’t know that I’ve ever been inside a brick house, though, so maybe brick houses have real walls even here. I think you’re thinking of old brick buildings–they were built that way once, but now any new brick building is just going to be a veneer over standard stick-built construction (or concrete, whatever). Walls are no longer made entirely of brick, for the most part, so I’m not seeing the insulation thing really being an issue with new construction. I can see the earthquake thing being an issue, since it would be expensive to repair even minor brick damage, although I don’t believe the midwest is much more earthquake prone (at least WI) than the South. [QUOTE=t.bonham] # brick construction is harder to do when it’s below freezing; that’s more a problem in the north. # brick is less stable in earthquakes, which are slightly more frequent in the south. [I’m guessing this is a typo and South should be North] # brick is more susceptible to damage from freeze/thaw cycles, which happen more in the north. # brick masons are more common in the south, while the north has more carpenters. (Because there are more jobs, because that’s how they build houses there. Circular, but true.) [/QUOTE] All of this makes perfect sense. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-brick-houses-so-much-more-common-in-the-south-than-the-north-us/535284/32 "2010-04-09T14:02:40Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Slight detour: I was recently in Toulouse, France, which is known for its beautiful red brick buildings. At closer inspection, though, I discovered that some of the buildings were made of other materials, like concrete, with the bricks painted on… Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home, is mostly wood but with faux stone exterior walls. See the bottom of this page: [Review: [Untitled] on JSTOR](http://www.jstor.org/pss/2674286) A closeup pic: [http://2passthetorch.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/mt-vernon-stone.jpg](http://2passthetorch.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/mt-vernon-stone.jpg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-brick-houses-so-much-more-common-in-the-south-than-the-north-us/535284.md?page=1)