Atlantans’ love affair with brick exteriors is red hot, leading some architects and builders to take the relationship to the next level by using brick in unexpected places.
Brick has a timeless appeal for some buyers, and the demand for brick homes also speaks to how traditional architecture is in demand in Atlanta - whether it’s a new community with four-sided brick houses or a ranch from the 1960s. But brick is showing up in everything from Old World-style architecture in the suburbs to intown lofts as well.
An estimated 90 percent of all homeowners find aspects of brick homes appealing, according to a 2010 study by Boral Bricks. The top reasons:
• Appearance (71 percent)
• Low maintenance (68 percent)
• Fire resistance (49 percent)
“We have so many people who say that’s all I want,” said Cheri Riley, a real estate agent with Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty.
More Than a Brick Front
When people see brick homes, it’s not solid brick, but a “brick veneer” (using a technique where the house is often constructed by wood framing and covered with a single layer of brick), said designer, builder and mason Clay Chapman, owner of Atlanta-based Period Architecture and a two-time winner of the Brick in Architecture Awards, presented by the Brick Industry Association, for homes in Decatur and Cedartown.
In his latest project — a 3,000-square-foot house on 60 acres outside Columbus — Chapman is seeking to build a solid brick, or a structural masonry, that is not only attractive, but also affordable. The rectangular structure has a gable roof made of brick. You can follow Chapman’s progress, which has an exterior of clay brick that is three-brick deep, at hopeforarchitecture.com.
More people also appear to be interested in seeing designs created with brick as opposed to the straight “running bond” pattern (where bricks are placed end to end and look like blocks stacked on top of each other), said Rick Goldstein, architect, co-founder and co-owner of Mosaic Group, an Atlanta-based design/build firm. The placement of the brick can create designs on exteriors as well as features such as fireplaces and chimneys.
For the Daulton House in Decatur — a gold 2012 Brick in Architecture award winner — Chapman created slots on the front and built front and back porches and a chimney out of brick. He used “reverse corbelling” for the base of the house, where the brick steps in slightly from the ground to the top, instead of the other way around.
Also having a comeback is using brick for the soffit — the area where the roof overhangs to the wall - instead of wood, said Rob Myers, owner of Colonnade Homes, based in Atlanta.
“It’s actually a feature that was very popular many years ago and kind of got lost,” he said. “You look at it and it will capture your attention.”
Bringing Brick Inside
Kitchen, wine cellars, mudrooms, floors and basements are spots where builders and masons are bringing brickwork into Atlanta homes.
“I think people are getting a little more creative with it,” Goldstein said.
In one basement, Mosaic exposed brick that had been covered by drywall and cleaned it up, which made a statement and brought warmth to the downstairs, Goldstein said.
In Chapman’s Cedartown project, called the Pierce-Lee Residence, Chapman used 12-inch thick structural clay brick walls for the exterior (equivalent to three bricks thick) and created more than 100 arches on the doors, windows and elsewhere inside and outside the home. The home, which won a “Best in Class” award in the 2011 Brick in Architecture awards, is being sold by the sellers (not Chapman) for and $1.4 million (the 60-acre property also includes two cottages).
“You can do really wonderful things with brick,” Chapman said.
A brick shower and circular brick fireplace, which has an arched opening, are surprising elements in the home, which used more than 170,000 clay bricks.
“Some of it looks like it defies the laws of physics — his arches, that huge fireplace,” Riley said.
Reusing Brick
Builders and renovation companies are salvaging brick from teardowns or homes being remodeled and reusing it in the design.
“A couple of times we have encountered where the brick that was on that house had also been recycled from a previous use,” Myers said.
He saved handmade brick from a home, which had been already reused from old warehouse torn down in Atlanta in the 1960s. The brick has found new uses in wine cellars, mudrooms, walkways and retaining walls.
On renovation projects, Myers said he’s transformed red brick by completely painting it or creating a weathered look. For new construction, he’s finding bricks in earth tones are in demand, more than the traditional reddish brick with tan mortar.
Mosaic Group has used reclaimed brick for kitchen backsplashes and also refaced an outdoor grill with brick.
“The homeowner happened to have a pile of brick left over from when the house was built,” Goldstein said. “It was a good reason to use it.”
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