Hello everyone….. I have a question stemming from a conversation I had yesterday with a long time client.
We were standing in his front yard discussing a entryway that I am rebuilding when he mentioned that he would like to explore the possibility of adding brick siding to the front of his home (2 story colonial, about 3000sq., poured foundation, 1940s era, house is pretty good condition)
The current siding is cedar claps. This is not a project that I would take on, but I would told him that I would do a little research on the topic.
In my experience, which is finish carpentry and bathroom remodeling in older (early 1900s) homes, brick houses have foundations that give the brick a ledge to rest on. Is this the only method for installing brick? My clients home probably does not have a brick ledge, as it is sided with claps. Can a ledge be added to a old poured concrete foundation?
Is the installation of brick veneer (if that exists) a process that can be retrofitted? Thanks for the advice.
BTW is anyone here a mason working in the Dayton Ohio area?
Thanks,
Matt Jones
Replies
You can add angle iron to hold a brick veneer.
Problem is the veneer does add more than trivial weight to the foundation walls and footing (IIRC 1 wythe of brick weighs in at 80 psf). Two stories, assuming 20' high total = 1,600 plf of added weight if my calculator is working right.
Also have to tie the brick to the existing structure and if you're in quake territory God only knows how deep you'd have to go into ensuring the existing structure could handle the acceleration loads added when that brick gets moving.
To answer your question, yes it can be done. If I were responsible for it, I'd make sure me or the mason pulled a permit and consulted with an engineer.
"Let's get crack-a-lackin" --- Adam Carolla
pjilarenewal,
Thanks. There is absolutly no way that I will do this (or be responsible for it), but I am interested in how it can be done, for my own knowledge and at pass that information onto my client (for whom I do carpentry work).
Thanks again.
Great! Either way it's doable. If you change your mind and decide to GC it, there's plenty to think about, but it's doable. If not, I hope your clients are happy with the info.
Best of luck with it either way.
PS: to be totally picky about it (I've had too much coffee I guess), I should have said loads imposed due to acceleration.
"Let's get crack-a-lackin" --- Adam Carolla
Matt : Check out this site , it gets you out of the brick ledge . http://www.panbrick.com
There is a local store thats had it on the front for at least 10 years
I am prposing it for a renovation job i expect to do
dude, thanks, I bookmarked that site.
If you get the job, please let us know how it works out and what it costs.
"Let's get crack-a-lackin" --- Adam Carolla
Cladding the house in brick is a little tricky but very doable in most cases. The best thing to do would be to dig down to the footing and bring the veneer up from there. You can use block below grade. You can also set the veneer on steel lentils bolted to the the foundation, as another person has already mentioned.
Thanks for the reply!
Another option is to use "cultured stone," which is a lightweight concrete product that can be installed like stucco (and with similar prep work). I want to remember that both Coronado and CSP both have a range of "brick" veneers available.
This is CSP (a Dow company): http://www.culturedstone.com/products/brick.asp
Here's Coronado: http://www.coronado.com/
Either will give the primary feature of brick veneer--no painting. You can also mix-and-match if a person wanted different sorts of effects, too.
Hi Matt,
I agree with the idea of adding brick to your house to get the curb appeal, but I also agree that you need to get an engineer involved and likely make some major renovations to do it. I like the idea of the Pan-Brick since it is light weight and gives you added insulation so you don't need an engineer or the added expense of rebuilding the foundation.