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.

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...

Anonymous wrote:Hardi is a combination of wood and cement fibers. It is fire resistant but NOT impervious to moisture or water intrusion . As one of the PPs stated, it falls apart when exposed to heavy moisture. We have hardi board on our home (siding, soffit, trim) and had to replace a large section resulting from moisture damage. Sadly the hardi board “limited” warranty did not cover the cost - all of these warranties are just BS. Personally, I wish we had opted to just install vinyl or aluminum siding - no moisture damage and we we would have saved close to $20k in total expense.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Not all siding is equal, and when trying to mach old brick with new brick siding it is bound to fail and just look like you did not have a good designer. Look at some siding additions on Houzz and you will find some nice ones. Just stay well away from the vinyl.

Vinyl siding is not the worst thing on earth. DCUM snobs are so obnoxious. Everyone on earth cannot afford Hardieplank siding or an all brick/stone house. Houses with vinyl siding are not all terrible.

+1 I am as snobby as they come and could care less if the house has vinyl or hardi on some parts of it. I mean have you looked at hardi, it's basically plastic made to look like wood, which to me is worse than vinyl which at least isn't trying to be something it's not. My DH, our architect, and everyone under the sun is insisting we replace all our vinyl (which has been on the house since god knows when, completely problem and maintenance free) with hardi and I'm all, well I'd much rather use that money to do inset cabinets in the kitchen....

But anyway, I'm going back and forth on our one-story addition in hardi or brick, I think brick because we are going with turf for our small soggy backyard, so plastic planks and plastic grass might be a bridge too far. For the front facade I'd love to use the bricks they are taking off the back and reuse them so at least in the front it's a perfect match. We won't need a lot of bricks, just two small vertical sections and about under the windows. I think I may push for that, despite the costs... but if it's 10k maybe not.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Not all siding is equal, and when trying to mach old brick with new brick siding it is bound to fail and just look like you did not have a good designer. Look at some siding additions on Houzz and you will find some nice ones. Just stay well away from the vinyl.

Vinyl siding is not the worst thing on earth. DCUM snobs are so obnoxious. Everyone on earth cannot afford Hardieplank siding or an all brick/stone house. Houses with vinyl siding are not all terrible.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

Builder here again. You can remove the stone veneer and reinstall brick. The challenge will be to match the brick on the two sections. You can also paint the entire brick exterior, but i dont advise painting brick EVER. There are many reasons not to paint exterior brick veneer so will not go into it right now.

I've heard this before, but what is the reasoning? I've been wanting to paint our exterior white, but if it's a bad idea, would pass.

Builder again. More particular with newer brick veneer homes, the building envelope is constructed very tight so breatheability of the wall assembly is even more critical. When you paint brick, you essentially create a vapor barrier which prevents vapor(moisture) buildup between wall assembly to pass through to the outside thereby allowing the wall cavity to dry out. Brick veneer is designed to breathe and vapor passes through brick...retarding it is not good thing. This contributes to mold growth inside the wall cavity which contributes to unhealthy indoor air quality, not to mention rot, mold and mildew. I would not mess with it.

Anonymous wrote: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.