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I like the look of brick. It lasts a long time too. Why don't we use it more?
by combatentropy 10y ago
I like the look of brick. It lasts a long time too. Why don't we use it more?
- Spooky23 10y agoHigh labor costs. Also the postwar construction boom dominated by big projects killed the industry for higher end brick.
- TheCowboy 10y agoThe high labor costs also resulted in brick masonry becoming a basically lost art. There was a building a few blocks away from where I used to live, where a car crash had led to a catastrophic collapse of a circular structural brick tower. It was an eye sore for years and years. The owners apparently couldn't find the skills to repair it for a long. The repair looks great but doesn't perfectly match. Even with the hassle, structural brick buildings are great.
- colin_mccabe 10y agoAt least in California, we don't use it because brick buildings crumble in earthquakes. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-quake-safety-thousands-of-brick-buildings-still-not-retrofitted-20140826-story.html http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-quake-safety-tho... In new construction, you can use it as a facade, but not for anything structural (to oversimplify a bit.) Elsewhere in the US, brick would probably be a good choice, but it's more expensive than slapping together another bargain-basement wood-frame house. On the other hand, for some reason, Europe has a lot of brick buildings and even still puts in brick streets sometimes.