# Why so many brick houses down south?



## TheItalian204 (Jun 1, 2011)

Lol joasis,wow your guy is cheap...you sure he is not illegal?

Dont forget you are GC,how many bricks you laid on your own?

What is straight run on project you talking about?

I dont think I would touch anything for less than .65-70 cents a brick(depending on straight run),thats not to count any kind of build out/column/ribbons etc.

Now if you said 200000 bricks,I would be like ok,.50 is decent price.

As far as up here,I am not cheapest when it comes to brick so min .65$ on small amount and .50-.70 on brick material(good brick)

Thats without ties,mortar,sand and etc.

As dakzaag said.some of us need to make living haha.

Thats all extra


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## cleveman (Dec 28, 2007)

I was used to paying 32 cents for a brick, and last summer I needed some brick and decided to ask the brick companies if they had any special deals. There are two companies which make brick locally.

The larger company offered me brick for 249/1000 and I thought I would go ahead and get one of those. Then just for fun, I stopped by the other company and the gal there told me I could choose between a "classic brown", oxford ironspot, something like "Glendale" and another type of brick, for something like 200/1000. I was building next to a building with oxford ironspot, so I didn't want that, and the brown was too close, so I went with the Glendale or whatever it is, and I went to order and I'll be damned if she didn't sell me those brick for 16 cents each. I didn't offer any argument. I think the house called for 9000.

Then I paid a guy $2000 to lay them, but I provided all the labor. I have the scaffolding and planking. I have a mortar mixer, etc. And I go in and strike up and brush, then I wash the walls later. He lays about 750/day, but never hits that because he only works about 6 hours at a time. It takes us about 3 weeks to do a house. I can do some other work while this is going on, but I just take it easy and have a nice time. If it is warm, and it was, then I have to keep on top of the striking up. And there are always brick to be cut for the windows and I have to get the recessed entries ready. In fact, I think I laid those brick in the entries.


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## TheItalian204 (Jun 1, 2011)

I had this discussion with concretemasonry before. You guys are looking at cost prespective of it.

Brick is much more durable and better insulator/cooler than wood frame.

Brick is warm in winter and cool in summer.

Brick is also a good way to keep termites away..I can bring 10000 advantages to brick/masonry wall over frame...besides cost.


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## cleveman (Dec 28, 2007)

My brick here is hot in the summer and cold in the winter. In fact, it is so hot in the summer that we won't lay it in sunlight. Always working on the east side in the early morning or afternoon and the west side until afternoon. North side is good all the time. South side is best before noon. I can't stand on the west side of a building in the summer until late in the evening.


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## cleveman (Dec 28, 2007)

The answer to the big question about brick houses (brick veneer)is, I'm afraid, tradition. You can buy brick in Iowa for good prices and get the veneer laid for a good price. You can probably get a 24x72 house done for $10,000 all in without touching anything.

Why do you see more Fachwerk in central Germany, wood in the south, and plaster and even thatch in the north? Tradition.

However, I think some brick trade association needs to point out to a guy getting ready to spend $20,000 on a siding job that he can get the job done in brick competitively. When it is not traditional, or out of style, it isn't even considered.

The farmer will only eat what he grew up with. (what his mother put on the table).


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## TheItalian204 (Jun 1, 2011)

cleveman said:


> However, I think some brick trade association needs to point out to a guy getting ready to spend $20,000 on a siding job that he can get the job done in brick competitively. When it is not traditional, or out of style, it isn't even considered.


I dont think brick association has enough time to be propaganding for brick veneer houses.

Its up to us(masons) to advertise it as much as we can and we do it.

Its also GCs work to put proposals like that on the table instead of advicing vynil siding.


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## Joasis (Mar 28, 2006)

TheItalian204 said:


> Lol joasis,wow your guy is cheap...you sure he is not illegal?
> 
> Dont forget you are GC,how many bricks you laid on your own?
> 
> ...


Nope, I do not use illegals. And what difference would it make how many bricks I lay? Want me to feel sorry for masons? Absolutely isn't relevant to the discussion. 

I have said this before...I do not beat anyone down on price by threatening to use illegals. That said, low rates don't figure in when we bid, but we can't cut our own throats and lose jobs because someone thinks they should get more.


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## Kent Whitten (Mar 24, 2006)

TheItalian204 said:


> Its also GCs work to put proposals like that on the table instead of advicing vynil siding.


The gc's job is to give the correct advice to the clients budget and line items. If they suggest that they really want brick, and it doesn't fit into the budget, then adjustments have to be made somewhere and that may just happen to be vinyl siding.


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## TimelessQuality (Sep 23, 2007)

Gee, you guys up north are expensive...are you sure your not illegal :laughing::laughing:

No reason to lol at Jay because of market pricing...

As the thread's original statement.. more brick homes down south=more brick layers, and suppliers..



We likes brick 'cause we gots them tornader thingies:jester:


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## TheItalian204 (Jun 1, 2011)

joasis said:


> Nope, I do not use illegals. And what difference would it make how many bricks I lay? Want me to feel sorry for masons? Absolutely isn't relevant to the discussion.


Lol dont take offence,I was just bugging you. But its still really cheap.


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## TheItalian204 (Jun 1, 2011)

KentWhitten said:


> The gc's job is to give the correct advice to the clients budget and line items.


Yup that often does not happen. 85% of GCs around here operate on fast in fast out model rather than, "lets think how to make this look good"

Up here,siding is maybe three times cheaper to install than brick veneer.

Not comparable at all.
Also chances are around here you won't make money of brickie to lay veneer wall but you sure can make money of two youngsters hanging that above-mentioned vynil siding.

Some dishonest GCs would not be interested in hiring mason,but rather pushing for cost-effective+cheap solutions for the house that would leave extra buck in their pocket.


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## lukachuki (Feb 11, 2005)

Tom Struble said:


> how much coverage is a thousand brick?


Roughly 7 mods a square ft so roughly 142


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## txgencon (Jan 4, 2011)

Big Johns are popular here and take 5.5 per square feet. 1000 Big Johns will cover 181+ square feet.


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## stuart45 (Oct 7, 2009)

cleveman said:


> The answer to the big question about brick houses (brick veneer)is, I'm afraid, tradition. You can buy brick in Iowa for good prices and get the veneer laid for a good price. You can probably get a 24x72 house done for $10,000 all in without touching anything.
> 
> Why do you see more Fachwerk in central Germany, wood in the south, and plaster and even thatch in the north? Tradition.
> 
> ...


I would agree with that. Nearly all the houses in the UK are masonry construction. In general the buying public here are only interested in investing in bricks and mortar. It's what they know and grew up with. Developers don't want to risk building non standard construction houses which they might not be able to sell.
In recent years however the type of houses built in the USA with timber stud inner walls and brick veneers have increased to about 20% of the market. 
This type of construction was getting popular in the early 80's until a TV documentary highlighting all the problems of these houses destroyed their reputation almost overnight.
They started getting built again in the late 90's. Even now though the majority of buyers would rather have an all masonry construction. I know people who have bought this type of house thinking it was all masonry until they tried fixing things to the walls.


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## TheItalian204 (Jun 1, 2011)

stuart45 said:


> I would agree with that. Nearly all the houses in the UK are masonry construction. In general the buying public here are only interested in investing in bricks and mortar. It's what they know and grew up with. Developers don't want to risk building non standard construction houses which they might not be able to sell.
> In recent years however the type of houses built in the USA with timber stud inner walls and brick veneers have increased to about 20% of the market.
> This type of construction was getting popular in the early 80's until a TV documentary highlighting all the problems of these houses destroyed their reputation almost overnight.
> They started getting built again in the late 90's. Even now though the majority of buyers would rather have an all masonry construction. I know people who have bought this type of house thinking it was all masonry until they tried fixing things to the walls.


Stuart,i pray to God that English won't change to their tradition of stone and brick otherwise,we,italians,will be left all alone in that concrete Europe :laughing:


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## stuart45 (Oct 7, 2009)

Things could be changing in the future. The European Union directive is that all new homes should be carbon neutral by 2016. I have seen some design homes at a BRE exhibition and there wasn't much brickwork in them.
Here's some info on the homes of the future.
www.passivhaus.org.uk/filelibrary/Passivhaus Standards/BRE_Passivhaus_Primer.pdf


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

Article I had written on my site:

In 1666 the great fire of London, England consumed 13,200 homes, transforming the city from one of wooden buildings to one of brick construction. The manufacture of brick attained a high degree of excellence and dominated the building field in this period of history. Nonetheless, the history of masonry certainly didn’t begin in 1666—skilled craftsmen have been creating architectural marvels out of stone, granite and other materials since ancient times.


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## Rockmonster (Nov 15, 2007)

Wow. The 'illegals' wouldn't touch that for 35¢ a brick around here..........I'm trying to figure out how someone can make it like that......Let's figure they have 3 masons, 1 tender. Get 1900 brick a day. 9500 for the week. Let's say the principal pays the tender 13 bucks. Pays two masons 25. So that's $520, plus $2000. I'll add 33% for payroll taxes, comp, OH&P.....add $832. That's $3352. Now 9500 x .35 is $3325. So the boss is out 27 bucks for the week. Clearly I'm not figuring this right. Do tenders make...........10 bucks an hour? Do masons make 17? Do they lay 900 brick a day? Do they have comp? As to the 'less expensive to live here' thing, that only goes so far. How much is gas? How much is a truck? Cell phone bill...refrigerator, dishwasher, generator, staging....blah blah blah.......land is cheaper, so homes and rent are less........but what else? (beside wages)


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

Rockmonster said:


> Wow. The 'illegals' wouldn't touch that for 35¢ a brick around here..........I'm trying to figure out how someone can make it like that......Let's figure they have 3 masons, 1 tender. Get 1900 brick a day. 9500 for the week. Let's say the principal pays the tender 13 bucks. Pays two masons 25. So that's $520, plus $2000. I'll add 33% for payroll taxes, comp, OH&P.....add $832. That's $3352. Now 9500 x .35 is $3325. So the boss is out 27 bucks for the week. Clearly I'm not figuring this right. Do tenders make...........10 bucks an hour? Do masons make 17? Do they lay 900 brick a day? Do they have comp? As to the 'less expensive to live here' thing, that only goes so far. How much is gas? How much is a truck? Cell phone bill...refrigerator, dishwasher, generator, staging....blah blah blah.......land is cheaper, so homes and rent are less........but what else? (beside wages)


When I lived in Florida everything was more money, except the house. The grocery bill was higher, steak was more money as was chicken and fish. Electricity was more money per kilowatt or whatever they measure it with. 

Towards the end of the boom the land was actually more money for $$/sq.ft. of land and house. Considering everyone had a 1/4 acre lot for $85k, that was alot of money for a postage stamp. My 4 acre lot in the burbs of mass was $100k, what one makes more sense?

Considering some of the nicest brick homes in the country are being built for these horribly cheap prices, I think its a crime.


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## concretemasonry (Dec 1, 2006)

People want to live in a home that feels like the one they grew up in. People used wood because they had to cut down tree to make room to build and that is the start of a local (U.S and Canada) tradition. In the rest of the developed world wood is not used for walls, so concrete floors are common that don't flex add to the "feel" that people want. Since the "pink panther" is rather localized the benefits of mass provide comfort and and economy.

It is just a local thing.

The people (contractors designers) from other countries that I have shown American residential construction to are usually very polite and do not say much. When you get to know them, they shake their heads and ask "Why do you build out of firewood?" and similar questions that cannot be answered.

A division of the Moscow municipality had to bring in very high quality Finnish modular homes for diplomatic purposes. The Policemen assisgned the homes moved out and chose to go back to their fire-safe apartments and many of the homes were politely returned with no mention. - You just to give people what they want and a brick exterior is only a veneer to cover up something.


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