"Brick is hurricane proof, siding is not."
The old tiered brick home and building were strong. The new facade brick has a small metal tie at four feet, per code, hardly a strength feature. The nailed into your studs cement board or wood is three times as strong form and civil engineering stand point. Brick veneer is just that, the framing is holding up the house and those small metal ties aren't of value, just a spec. They are there to allow moisture space to escape via the weep holes. There should he a metal gutter between the framing and brick ledge, yet I come across numerous homes which skipped this and thereby their foundation is soaked. Thereby, if you seek a hurricane proof, you should have had metal ties installed on you rafters, under your eaves. The best tested hurricane proof home is the geodesic dome, which will also use a third less material. Then too, the pier and beam is superior in that you have the ability to change and do more. The cost of flooring is why they went to concrete foundations. The basement while nice, is also an issue which to deal with in the future. Incidentally the Frank Lloyd Wright, craftsman are multi-tiered brick home and not the veneered. The old building would be ever so expensive to build today. The wood of the 60's homes isn't that farmed stuff of today. The aluminum wired of the 70's is also something to avoid. Bad early 2000 pex plumbing should also be avoided. I've been offered a job with code and animal enforcement, the animal part was a deal killer. I'm retired and therefore, don't need to make a fortune or in need of the income to make ends meet. Educated in math/physics/economics and did engineering for over 30 year in Aerospace & Defense. Took the civil engineering certification after reading their thick tome. It was interesting and added knowledge about the discipline.
I'm often hired to oversee the building to assure everything is square and no corners were cut, thereby you have peace of mind. I'm in Dallas and all to often, I see steps skipped, which are going to cost in the future is not addressed then and there. Any question? 469-288-6102 DFW area
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