Masonry Magazine February 2014 Page. 20
BRICK AND BLOCK
in just a few minutes, and the fi re burned through the wall in less than an hour. The lesson here is fairly simple: Brick does not bum, and brick cladding will protect your house from wildfires for at least an hour.
WIidfire destruction
IN ONLY THE LAST IO YEARS, there have
been massive wildfires in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Texas that destroyed thousands of homes. One fire in Bastrop, Texas, in 2010 destroyed more than 1,300 homes. But among those thousands were some houses clad with brick that survived, because the brick would not bum.
People love to get back to nature, and that includes building houses in more remote settings \vith trees and other natural cover. But,when people live in the woods, it only makes sense to provide protection from the greatest enemy of those woods -wildfires.
A choice and an opportunity
SO WHY DOESN'T EVERYONE build houses with brick? That is a good question. Brick has far less maintenance than other claddings, which disintegrate in sunlight and must be painted regularly. Brick and quality mortar will last for hun�dreds of years without attention. Brick costs a little more, but it adds so much value to a home that it will sell quicker and for a higher price than lesser houses.
Brick also adds to property values of entire neighborhoods. That is why many cities are adopting masonry ordinances. Those that allow lesser daddin~ soon find that their tax revenues dwin�dle as property values fall, relative to other cities that require at least 75 percent of each house to be clad with brick or other masonry products.
Our cow1try is slowly emerging from five years ofthe greatest recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s. As the econo�my continues to be rebuilt, people finally are beginning to build a significant number of new� homes throughout the country. As members ofthe building industry, it makes a lot ofsense to pro�mote brick cladding on nevv houses and other structures. The superior fire protection, low maintenance, durability and quality ofgenuine fired day brick should be insisted upon by homeown�ers and new home buyers. lMAS
John Swink, PE, LEEO-AP is technical services engineer for Acme Brick Co., Fort Worth, Texas.
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18 MASONRY � February 2014 � www.masoncontractors.org The Voice of the Masonry Industry