5 Benefits of Having a Brick-Exterior Home

If you’re planning on building your next home from scratch, chances are you’re getting recommendations from almost everywhere. Even the proudest of homeowners has a couple of gripes about his property, which he’ll be happy to share once he discovers your plans. And you probably wouldn’t be going down this path if you didn’t have particular tastes concerning your living situation. But regardless of the choices you make, you would do well to follow the advice of the Three Little Pigs and build your house out of bricks. All joking aside, brick is a classic design choice for your home’s exterior that still makes a whole lot of sense, even with modern construction materials and techniques. Here are just five benefits of having a brick exterior home.

First of all, brick has fantastic curb appeal. You’re building a house for your own enjoyment, but you definitely want it to be an attractive part of the neighborhood. There will also be a day when you are looking to sell, and by going with brick on the exterior you are guaranteeing your home will appeal to a wide range of buyers. Brick just has an expensive look to it. It’s a building material with a long history in this country, and you certainly won’t have any complaints from the neighborhood or future buyers after making this choice.

Brick has a ton of advantages outside of pure looks. It’s actually one of the most simple exterior materials to maintain. The only issue you’ll really face is the random drainage problem. Otherwise, your brick will stand the test of time with grace and ease. You’ll never have to worry about painting, and the brick will hold up against the elements quite well. It can take decades for bricks to chip, and a loose brick is easy to fix. Brick is nearly impenetrable to pests, stands up well against weather and is a strong barrier to fire. That will help you keep your homeowner’s insurance rates down as well.

So your brick exterior won’t rot, it won’t crumble, and you’ll avoid many maintenance costs that could cripple another homeowner. But even better than all that, you’ll enjoy a level of peace and quiet inside your home that others can only dream about. Brick isn’t only impenetrable to termites. It also keeps sound outside. Brick is far denser than a lot of other building materials, so it essentially acts as soundproofing, saving your ears from some of the more annoying sounds of your neighborhood.

If you are planning to live in a part of the country that experiences extremes of temperature, brick exteriors will be a huge help. Brick works in a much different way than siding. Paired with a quality insulation the brick exterior will maintain the internal temperature, essentially barring the cold and heat outside from gaining entry. You’ll notice the difference on those extreme days of summer and winter, and will probably reap the benefit in your utility bills as well.

Speaking of those utility bills, brick makes for an environmentally sustainable building choice. The materials required to make brick are plentiful, and you can probably imagine the amount of trees you are saving by skipping out on using wood. According to recent studies, a brick house will regularly require about 7% less energy to maintain, and that’s a benefit that you can feel really good about. You’ll be able to make your AC colder without feeling guilty about it, and without blowing your monthly budget either.