Choosing our Brick

 My husband and I have come to an agreement throwout this whole building process. I get to design the interior and he gets to design the exterior. With that said, our agreement applies as long as we dont hate the others choice. It is interesting enough, because I am quite surprised that my husband and I have actually almost the same taste in a lot of things! What a pleasant surprise!He has long dreamt of an all brick home. Where I have always loved the mix of finishes, rock and hardieboard to be particular. If it were up to me we would be building a traditional craftsman home, but it isn NOT up to me alone..lol..I am glad that he has convinced me to go with the all brick. Hopefully The whole look of the house will be very classic.  And I am finding that many of the new homes that are being built are very ``trendy`` in many ways. I bet we will get caught up in some of these as  well...but We want our home to have a certain timelessness. That is what we have in mind when choosing almost everything in our home. When picking things I always ask myself if this is something that one would find in an old house...(if we coul d find a functional old house to renovate we would...but our familes lifestyle is a bit different than oh say peeps in the 1800`s..so yup, were building).

We both are head over heels for old red brick homes, buildings etc. I LOOOOVE them. So with that in mind I am all for the all brick house!

There are so many advantages to building an all brick home...
here is what ehow.com said

1. Low Maintenance

   • Brick is very low-maintenance. A brick house will never need to be repainted. It won't be in danger of rotting, and termites and other pests will not damage brick. This durability not only makes brick a convenient and worry-free choice, but also saves homeowners money over time.

   Energy Efficiency

   • Brick is also more energy efficient than other building materials. It will help keep your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter and also lower your energy bills. According to the Palmetto Brick Company, the energy bills of brick homes are eight percent less than those in vinyl homes.
   • 
     

   Appearance

   • Brick offers an elegant, timeless look that improves as it ages. In addition, brick comes in a variety of colors, textures and finishes that won't fade with time.

   Insurance Discounts

   • Since brick is durable, fire resistant and pest resistant, home insurance costs are often lower for brick houses than houses constructed of vinyl or other materials. Over time, this discount can help recover the initial cost of brick.

   Noise Barrier

   • Brick walls block out noises from outside more effectively than other building materials, which creates a peaceful and calm atmosphere inside your home.

   Higher Resale Value

   • The elegance and efficiency of brick make it a top selling point in real estate. Choosing brick will ultimately increase the value of your home, making it easier and more lucrative to resell.

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/list_6588617_advantages-brick-homes.html

So off to the brick supplier we went to find the perfect brick.
Goal: We want a red brick home with black trim and black/charcoal roof.

Interstate Brick is where we found our 2 favorites... or so we thought;-).

Dartmouth

We loved it at the supplier, but quickly realized seeing it in larger scale that it didnt have enough color variation that we want to add texture and depth.

Stratford

Nice variation...Way to brown.

The supplier gave us a list of addresses to look up the brick that has been used in nearby homes.

And after driving around for 2 hours, we decided that those particular bricks where not what we had in mind. My husband knew exactly what brick he wanted, but none of these were it.

Back to the drawing board. We went back to the supplier and had a look at one brick that we had completely missed...Old Baltimore.

And we FOUND IT!..the exact brick Mr B liked!

Old Baltimore has a ton of color variations, we absolutely love it. We will be using a tan to chocolate color motar like in this close up picture..We are so excited!

Our sample swatch..the picture doesn't do it justice!

Installed brick. It's crazy how different colors pop out of it due to the trim color choices. Our accents will be dark charcoal or black.

Now let's get that dang moratorium lifted so we can turn in our building permit already!

Cat