Builder, a question. We currently have brick and stone veneer. Brick for the main house and stone for the 1970s addition. We really don't like the stone part, is it possible get that (relatively) easily replaced with brick or will the cost/trouble out way the ultimate look?

Very helpful -- thank you!

Anonymous wrote:11:43 again -- Builder, how can I determine whether the foundation on my addition can support brick, short of asking a professional? I would like to have some idea as to feasibility before I get my hopes up and head down this road.

Builder again....and I'm also a civil engineer by training. For your two story addition, you will need to dig around the foundation to see if there is a "ledge" bordering the foundation wall. The "ledge" is nothing more than a 6" to 8" shelf part of the foundation wall which will support the weight of the brick or stone veneer. The ledge is where the mason will start to lay the first course of brick or stone and partially supports the weight of the brick or stone. I will say that if your foundation wall is constructed of cinder block rather than poured concrete, the chance of a ledge being there. Also, adding a ledge to a foundation costs a bit more and generally done if the exterior was planned for brick or stone veneer. There would be no need to install a ledge if the addition was not planned for brick or stone veneer.

Even if there were a ledge present or you were able to construct one (more on how to do that later), changes to your soffit and fascia will be required as they will need to be pulled out to accomodate the thickness of the wall resulting from the added veneer material.

If you don't want deal with the ledge or fascia/soffit requirement, there is another, bettter option. You can get the look or brick or stone veneer by installing "face brick or stone" to the exterior walls - no ledge required. A typical face brick is 1/4" thick vs. the 4" standard veneer brick that you typically see. When installed, the 1/4" brick looks every bit the same. We use this practice to install brick in areas with no structural support such as around dormers and gables. The key here (as with every other construction practice) is proper installation to ensure there is proper drainage for the wall. The 1/4" brick is mortared directly on to the wall via a wire mesh with a drain plane. Think of this as installing tile on a shower wall or a kitchen backsplash. When installed correctly the look is the same as conventional brick veneer. Also, with this type of installation, you will not need to bother with pulling out your fascia and soffit arrangement.

Getting back to how to install a ledge to support conventional brick or stone veneer, you can dig down, approximately 2-3' below grade and pour the concrete ledge. You will then also need to bolt the ledge to the existing foundation wall using special bolts and nuts. This is to ensure the ledge does not drift away from the base concrete foundation. Unless you absloutely have to have the brick veneer, this will be a very costly and impractical endeavour.

The other option is to bolt an appropriate sized angel iron (structural steel beam) to the foundation wall. This beam will then become your "ledge" onto which the brick and/or stone can be installed up the wall.

Best of luck

11:43 again -- Builder, how can I determine whether the foundation on my addition can support brick, short of asking a professional? I would like to have some idea as to feasibility before I get my hopes up and head down this road.

Builder here. The only reason to use hardi cladding over brick or stone veneer is COST. . There are numerous problems associated with siding, including hardi. Brick or stone veneer is virtually maintenance free for the first 100 years and there are numerous energy efficiency benefits as well.

We are adding on to our brick one story house. The cost to match the brick was astronomical and the mason told us it still would not be an exact match. So now we are deciding between painting the brick white to match the siding, or whitewashing the brick. I like whitewashed cottages (our house is very small and cottage sized), but DH doesn’t so we will see.

We have a 2-story addition on a 1940's brick colonial. Th addition is clad in siding, and we would like to replace the siding with brick. How do I go about finding out whether the foundation of the addition can support brick / brick veneer? Also, what do I want -- brick or brick veneer? Any ideas on cost? I think the square footage is 984, if I'm reading the property records correctly.

For us it was cost. Signicantly more than Hardie plank. We did use brick to tie in along the foundation and brick piers on the back porch.

I personally like the look of hardiboard siding especially when it is painted a nice color that complements the brick. I also like houses that are painted all over the same color (brick + siding). That can look really nice if done well. Brick additions can look good if done well but often there is a mismatch between old and new brick and that looks really bad to me. My eye goes right to the dividing line between old and new and I don't even notice anything else.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, it isn't the cost. Siding (especially fiber cement) is just such a better product that it is the go to. It is water resistant (unlike brick), it has indicative qualities (unlike brick) and it requires little maintenance (unlike brick.) It is actually more expensive as a product, cheaper to install obviously.

But if you want brick and can match it perfectly, go for it.

It is cost. Brick veneer is more costly than Hardie siding and more labor intensive to install. Brick veneer actually requires less maintenance than siding which will need to be painted every 7-10 years. When installed properly with an air space and proper drainage plane, brick veneer is weather resistant.

+1 we costed it out when we were looking at a brick house with an ugly siding addition. adding a brick veneer was expensive and matching is difficult (we passed on the house).

Anonymous wrote:No, it isn't the cost. Siding (especially fiber cement) is just such a better product that it is the go to. It is water resistant (unlike brick), it has indicative qualities (unlike brick) and it requires little maintenance (unlike brick.) It is actually more expensive as a product, cheaper to install obviously.

But if you want brick and can match it perfectly, go for it.

It is cost. Brick veneer is more costly than Hardie siding and more labor intensive to install. Brick veneer actually requires less maintenance than siding which will need to be painted every 7-10 years. When installed properly with an air space and proper drainage plane, brick veneer is weather resistant.

Anonymous wrote:No, it isn't the cost. Siding (especially fiber cement) is just such a better product that it is the go to. It is water resistant (unlike brick), it has indicative qualities (unlike brick) and it requires little maintenance (unlike brick.) It is actually more expensive as a product, cheaper to install obviously.

But if you want brick and can match it perfectly, go for it.

Sour grapes? The only reason people don't use brick or natural stone is due to COST. Fiber siding is just that...siding and there are some issues now being revealed about issues with cement siding. To me, siding is siding, vinyl, wood, cement, whatever...

I loathe brick houses with siding additions. It's my house pet peeve. If you can pay extra to avoid it, it's worth it.

No, it isn't the cost. Siding (especially fiber cement) is just such a better product that it is the go to. It is water resistant (unlike brick), it has indicative qualities (unlike brick) and it requires little maintenance (unlike brick.) It is actually more expensive as a product, cheaper to install obviously.

But if you want brick and can match it perfectly, go for it.

I deeply dislike additions to brick houses that use siding -- eg typical hard white horizontal siding. The contrast between the addition siding with the original brick is unpleasant. Why don't more people use brick veneer for the addition, particularly for small additions? Is it that much more expensive?