When considering building, remodeling or upgrading your home or place of business, it’s important to understand the variety of brick options available to you. Certainly there are other options for building materials, but really, why would you chose anything less than the most attractive, environmentally friendly and cost effective material?
While there are a number of brick types to select from, there is only one type of brick that is specifically designed with an aesthetic appeal: face brick. Face brick is the brick that you can see on the outside of homes, residence halls, public buildings, and landscaping features (like walkways) and hardscapes. It comes in many different sizes, colors, and shapes. It can be customized to fit different tastes and it is a versatile and elegant masonry material. A face brick façade immediately conveys an air of sturdiness, durability, and timelessness. What you may not know, however, are that there are many environmental and economic reasons to choose this material if you are thinking of giving your home or business a facelift.
Face brick is environmentally friendly for a number of reasons. As the Brick Industry Association notes on its website, natural clay brick is made of “inherently natural ingredients it offers, “countless recycling options,” it creates “minimal wastes most brick is made through “environmentally friendly manufacturing processes”, and brick “is the first masonry material that can attain a “Certificate of Environmental Claims” from a third party source.” It is also a smart choice for the environment because of its longevity. Unlike many other materials, brick does not rust or dent and it is unlikely that it will need to be replaced for decades after first building. This means less materials need to be manufactured, a fact that has a direct relationship to helping the environment as it saves both raw materials and energy. Further, because brick can absorb heat and slowly release it, it can help you consume less energy and save money on heating and cooling costs throughout the year.
Besides saving you money on energy costs and repairs, face brick is a great choice for building because it can withstand fire and high winds. Clay bricks are fired at high temperatures (2000F), and as such, they can withstand the heat from residential and commercial fires in ways that other building materials cannot. Further, because of this fire resistance, most brick homes and businesses enjoy lower insurance rates. Although wind damage is not a possibility in all parts of the world, it is true that building with brick is generally a smart choice for withstanding all types of weather. Building with brick can also reduce moisture damage and mold growth. With all this in mind, it is no surprise that many of the great buildings–train stations, opera houses, public buildings, and homes–that still stand after several centuries are built of face brick.
So, if you are looking to build a new home of business or if you just want to give your old place a facelift, consider the benefits of face brick. It is beautiful, strong, durable, environmentally-friendly, helps with fire and mold reduction, and it can withstand the test of time!