Quote:
Originally Posted by LMich
Oh, they do, you just have to pay for. But that's not really masonry you're seeing in that photo, either, if you ask me. There's a big project in downtown East Lansing where you've got individually applied bricks, for instance.
Bad brick veneer drives me crazy...but then again, it's about five times better than the cheap vinyl siding which is typical on extremely value-engineered housing developments.
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A lot of the “flat look” of brick work on new buildings is because code allows cavity wall construction. It’s nothing more than cladding, and its capacity for depth and embellishment is limited.
There’s still places like Chicago that encourage heavy load bearing masonry because of rigid code requirements. Contractors are still using old practices of false work to support arches and create elaborate inlays and patterns, but it’s all incidental. I’m surprised I got charged nothing extra from contractors to rebuild corbels and the entablature on my building despite that they could’ve done a boring running bond all the way to the top of the wall. The contractors were just that skilled and fast that fancy masonry work was affordable. It’s likely more difficult in small markets in Michigan were this type of work is limited, meaning less available tradesman.