Should You Choose Masonry Construction When Building a Home?

Masonry construction is versatile and has a multitude of benefits. But it’s definitely not the ultimate building technique. In fact, there is no ultimate building technique, so you need to consider the pros and cons of every option when you think of building a house. When choosing between masonry and other options you need to take into account not only the immediate costs and benefits offered by either, but also your future expenses and needs.

The things you can always rely on masonry construction for are protection from the elements and durability. However, this kind of construction can be significantly more expensive and would require a very good foundation.

Therefore, before you decide whether your new house should be made of stone or brick, you need to think about the following.

Advantages of Masonry Construction

The best thing about masonry construction is its ability to withstand abuse from multiple, elements. Therefore, it’s a great choice for places with extreme environments. If you live in a place where the weather gets crazy, a house built of bricks or stone is exactly what you need if you want it to stand proud for decades.

You also shouldn’t forget that fire is also an element. Masonry construction is as fireproof as you can get. That’s exactly why fireplaces are always made of masonry.

Because it withstands elemental damage well, masonry construction isn’t as vulnerable to mold and rot. Also, pests have a harder time getting into well-built masonry homes. However, you need to check for possible cracks in mortar joints, which are the most vulnerable place of this construction.

Depending on the materials used, masonry construction can be extremely durable. You can see this yourself walking through any old town in Europe where stone and brick homes date back for centuries and look amazing in spite of it.

Note that masonry construction also helps with temperature regulation within the building. These homes take longer to heat up during the cold season, but they retain temperature better, so in the end they are more cost-efficient from the heating/cooling point of view.

It’s true that masonry construction is more expensive than most other types, but it’s the most durable and, depending on the materials, it will require very little maintenance to keep up the curb appeal. The most you’ll need to do is tuckpointing and average tuckpointing costs range between $850 and $1,200. And even that kind of maintenance isn’t required often.

Wooden homes, on the other hand, will need regular repainting at the minimum. The average cost of house exterior painting is $1,710-3,988. The majority of wooden and other types of home siding will also require regular specialized treatments to increase their durability. But they will inevitably deteriorate with age, so any siding will need to be replaced. Masonry, however, takes centuries to get to that point.

Limitations of Masonry Construction

Masonry construction is expensive by default and requires the work of highly skilled professionals. Also, you need to understand that this type of construction is extremely heavy, even with the use of lighter building materials available today.

This means that masonry homes require very stable ground and an excellent foundation.

Because of the type of work involved in masonry construction, this type of building work requires good weather and will take much longer than building any other type of home. This also affects the price because one sometimes needs to pay extra to have building teams on rotation in order to make the best use of the dry season.

However, in the end, the type of durability you get with most types of masonry construction makes all the extra costs involved worth it. Therefore, if you want your new home to serve your family for generations, this is the type of construction you should choose.