Page 18 - November 2015 Green Builder Magazine

The Homeowner’s Handbook SIXTH EDITION

Exteriors01

16 Attractive options for a lifetime.

www.greenbuildermag.com 11.2015 When it comes to your home’s Why Pay More for Brick?
exterior, durability, maintenance
and fire resistance are just as Because they last
almost forever.
Simportant as aesthetics.IDING CHOICES ABOUND for today’s homes. Aesthetics Bricks come in
are important when choosing one option over another, many colors,
and when you take the environment into account, textures and
some choices just look a whole lot better than others. other variations.
According to research from the Freedonia Group Approximately 3”
(www.freedoniagroup.com), fiber cement, stucco and thick, brick veneer
brick siding will see rapid advances through 2017. Demand for fiber (Boral Bricks are
cement is predicted to grow 8.5 percent annually. Vinyl siding will shown) creates an
remain dominant, but will continue to lose its market share. Although armored shell for
long lasting, it’s a controversial material made with polyvinyl chloride your home. The
(PVC), a plastic that until recently has had a poor recycling record. durability of
At least one company (CertainTeed) has now begun to recycle vinyl, brick is one of its
and the industry is beginning to look more closely at vinyl’s life-cycle greatest assets.
impacts. We haven’t included it here as a “green” option, but we will Boral, for example,
continue to monitor the industry’s efforts to move in that direction. offers a “two
lifetimes” warranty.
BRICK More info: www.boralamerica.com/Bricks
A Durability Leader
between the brick and the interior housewrap. This provides
Made of clay and shale, brick is very durable. It is a solid barrier insulation against temperature transfer and the transfer of sound,
against weather, and the installation of brick creates a 1” air space and it also prevents moisture from seeping into the home. Because
of its thickness, brick provides thermal mass, making it slow to
Virtues Caveats heat in the summer and slow to cool in the winter, which helps
regulate a home’s temperature.
■■ Recyclable ■■ Resources must be mined
Manufacturers such as Boral Bricks are making brick
■■ Durable ■■ Not all brick manufacturers manufacturing less environmentally caustic. The company recycles
have taken steps to reduce waste and uses air scrubbers to make sure emissions from plants are
■■ Resists termites, fire, mold emissions from their clean and particulate-free. Manufacturer CalStar utilizes fly ash as a
and rot manufacturing plants binder, which eliminates the need for energy-intensive kiln firing.

■■ Made from abundant ■■ Expensive
natural materials
■■ Heavy weight
■■ Low maintenance

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