Why do Americans not build with brick?

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.

whyy.org - Why new houses aren't made of brick - WHYY

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This story is from The Pulse, a weekly health and science podcast.

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This article was co-produced with PlanPhilly.

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Nothing signifies Philadelphia’s rapid development like the sight of a metal or vinyl-clad house rising from a sea of red brick row houses. The new homes repopulating many of Philadelphia’s row house neighborhoods tower above their venerable, redbrick neighbors. In a city where over 70% of housing dates back to before 1960, these new buildings look dissonant. They don’t fit in with their surroundings. After they are built, critics say, and in their beginning stages especially, their composite parts look worryingly flimsy. “Why doesn’t the developer, as a matter of courtesy to residents who live on the block, build something that comes as close as possible to what’s already on that block,” asked Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson, speaking for many of his older constituents’ feelings about new construction in South Philadelphia.

Why don’t we build them like we used to? And are these new homes actually going to age worse than the row houses of the 1800s?

It’s mostly about costs

The classic Philadelphia row house is built with an outer layer of hard-fired brick to protect the interior from the elements, with lower-grade salmon brick within. In these homes, the masonry is load bearing, and does structural work. Only inside the four corners of the brick walls is wood used to make floors, joists and other interior fixtures that won’t be exposed to the elements. But the new houses going up in Philly and other traditional row house cities like Baltimore and Brooklyn come with wooden bones and exteriors made of a range of materials. These “stick built” structures have a wood frame, which is then sheathed by insulation and a layer of metal, vinyl, stucco, or composite materials. 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. It’s often shipped from far away and the labor costs are high.

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“Masonry constriction is just not cost effective right now — it’s cheaper to build in steel than it would be to get masons out there,” said Anthony Delgott, the owner of Hybar Construction. 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. “I can stick-frame a whole house for $18 a square foot,” Delgott said. “I would have to pay triple that for masonry.” And the costs wouldn’t stop there. 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 100 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.

Environmental impact

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.) Because wood doesn’t weigh as much as brick, stone, or concrete it also burns less gas to transport. For those seeking points towards LEED certification — the gold standard for environmentally friendly buildings —builders must use materials from within 500 miles of the construction site. As local brick manufacturers become rarer in the mid-Atlantic region, that’s become a tougher lift.

whyy.org - Why new houses aren't made of brick - WHYY