# Cheaper masonry alternatives to brick?



## Tscarborough (Mar 31, 2006)

The veneer brick (thin brick) are more than regular brick. Stucco is the cheapest alternative when masonry is required.


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## stuccoman (Sep 5, 2006)

Is there any plastering/stucco contractors in your area that does stucco brick?


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## Jemo (Dec 24, 2006)

Hmmm stuccoman,

I'm not sure. Do you have any pics of what it looks like? How do they charge for this, by the sq. ft?

I'll check the yellow pages though.


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## stuccoman (Sep 5, 2006)

Jemo,

No I have no pics. It looks like brick from a few feet away. As for the cost it would vary from region to region. 

You might check some of the material yards and see if they have any connections.


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## mighty anvil (Oct 5, 2005)

You're not going to get around the requirement for "substantially similar in color, composition and design as that of the residential building" with fake brick in my opinion. I would first look for other houses in the area that have been accepted with imitative materials.


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## troubleseeker (Sep 25, 2006)

If 70% of the structure has to be brick or masonry, it is not worth changing to another finish for the remainder of the building. The 70% will almost certainly be figured on square footage of wall, excluding the area of the garage doors and windows, thus when you subtract this from the total square footage, you are locked into the brick/masonry construction purely by the numbers; the 70% was not just chosed by pulling a number out of the air. Brick work is not really that expensive, as other products have extra costs for painting. By "inspector" , I assume you mean the person representing the neighborhood association; the true "inspector" from the local regulatory board does not care about the asthetics of your building, his job is to check for adherance to the building code as related to structural integrity and safety issues.


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## stuccoman (Sep 5, 2006)

Google brickface

This is one of the sites!

http://www.tristate-brickface.com/


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## mos816 (May 18, 2007)

*Thin brick options*

I've seen a few different options for thin bricks. 

1. Actual brick that has been cut to 1/2" or so and applied to a metal lath. Made by Owen Corning. www.owenscorning.com 

2. a similar product to the 1/2" cut brick called Brick-it that uses a track system. www.brickit.com 

3. A 1/8" simulated brick called Flexi-Brick. www.flexibrick.com Looks to be the easiest to install compared to the others, but I am not sure if it falls under the masonry guidelines.


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## Tscarborough (Mar 31, 2006)

The Owens Corning product is NOT real brick cut thin, it is a cast concrete product.

Robinson Brick makes brick and cuts it thin: www.robinsonbrick.com

Both are applied over lath/stucco or hardi backer and tuckpointed.


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