I’ve got a customer who wants a walk out basement for a new construct house. We will probably use the foam forms to build the basement. He would like a brick, or faux brick facade, doesn’t care which as long as the price is reasonable. The faux brick that screws to the styrofoam forms would be the easiest for me but the clerk at our local lumber yard tells me that the synthetic stuff is not for ground contact. I see no way around some ground contact. The reason I would rather use the faux brick is because it is thinner. I would like the siding on the house to over lap the brick for water shed. I have seen many houses done with the real brick sticks past the siding and has a sloped ledge at the top and even the ones that are flashed where the brick meets the siding, due to snow accumulation or water not running off properly have caused siding damage, or worse. Has anyone had any experience with faux bricks good or bad and know any sources of the good ones, especially for ground contact. Or should I just use real bricks and canteliver the joists so that the siding overlaps the brick, which would cause a few different building issues on the sides with the gable ends. Or can I get cut bricks and mortar them on using metal lath as one would stone. Or should I cut full sized bricks to 1/2″ thick, I do have access to a few wet saws. I am hoping to keep the materials under 5$ a square foot. But like most projects I have a feeling this is already over budget and we haven’t even dug a hole yet.
Edited 7/19/2009 10:31 am ET by Woodbuilder
Replies
Not much help but a few comments as a bump:
>> We will probably use the foam forms to build the basement. He would like a brick, or foe brick facade, doesn't care which as long as the price is reasonable. << So your thread title could be "brick veneer over ICF foundation". Better contact a (some) ICF mfgs and see what they recommend.
>> Or should I cut full sized bricks to 1/2" thick, I do have access to a few wet saws. << You are a glutton for punishment, aren't you... :-)
>> I am hoping to keep the materials under 5$ a square foot. << materials? Maybe - materials and labor - not nearly.
>> I have seen many houses done with the real brick sticks past the siding and has a sloped ledge at the top and even the ones that are flashed where the brick meets the siding, due to snow accumulation or water not running off properly have caused siding damage, or worse. << You got me feeling nauseous first thing this morning...
It's pronounced foe, but it's spelt faux. Took me a minute to figger out what you were saying.
Check with a diffefrent brick supplier. The one I used to go to had real brick in thin sections.
"Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Thanks for correcting my spelling. The Foe didn't look right but it was late at night when I wrote that. And yes I meant Faux ,
I thought I could get a thin cut real veneer for this project. Did the stuff you used come as a sheet or individual bricks. were they mortared on or screwed on?
Apply with thinset. If the client is not real particular, look at thin pavers. "Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
http://brickit.com/brick-types.asp
"Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Thanks for the link. That's exactly what I was looking for. I'll call them in the morning.
Check with a diffefrent brick supplier.
Now that's a different "different" spelling. Had to point that out in a post correcting someone else's spelling.http://www.quittintime.com/ View Image
That's an obscure brand name."Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Bwahahahahttp://www.quittintime.com/ View Image
Buy brick veneer ... 1/2" thick (aprox.). Apply like tile w/ thinset. It is real, just not as thick as a real brick. Bricks [historically] were often structural and laid in a bed of mortar. Now you don't have to do that to get the look and the durability.
I did my "dream house" with 4" brick and a flashed, sloped water table that you considered. There has not been any problems with it. The look isn't for everyone, though.
Thanks for the pictures Wayne. The house that I was refering to with siding damage had a brick ledge with about a 10 degree slope and probably not enough flashing. They didn't want to cover up the ledge you see, so there was just about a half an inch of flashing showing under the siding. Also, the siding that was damaged was pressed wood hardboard which doesn't last forever anyway. I attributed the siding damage to water splashing up behind the hardboard and possibly to snow build up. On the up side of the equation that simple window replacement led to a house residing job, on the schedule for next summer, unless the stock market crashes or something like that.
From the way that yours is flashed it doesn't look like you'll have that problem. I couldn't quite tell from the pictures but what is the ledge flashed with?
The siding was Hardie Shingle and the flashing was copper. Copper was less expensive in 2001.