Face Brick Public Library, Coatsville, Ind. Graham & Hill, Architects
Economic Value of Beauty
But if the brick house, because of its structural merits, is more economical on the score of upkeep, depreciation, insurance rate, comfort and health, it has a money value because of its artistic appearance. The substantial and attractive appearance of a face brick house makes the same appeal to everybody else as it did to the owner when he built it, so that if he desires, he can borrow more money on it, or if he must, can sell or rent it to better advantage. Beauty has a real economic value.
Sentimental Value an Asset
Finally, there is a sentimental value in owning the better house which can't be put in terms of money but is, nevertheless, real in terms of personal satisfaction. Every man feels a certain justifiable pride in his home if he knows that others admire it. This exerts an unconscious influence on him and raises his sense of self-respect. Besides, as a good citizen, a man should make his home as attractive as possible, not simply in the way of doing his share to improve his neighborhood, but as showing what he and his family stand for before the community, the soundest and best things.
Taking it all in all, you can tell your clients that in building a face brick house, they get more completely than in case of any other material the structural values of permanence, fire-safety, comfort and health, and the artistic value of beauty, out of which follow a real economy and a genuine personal satisfaction. What, then, are the facts about the real economy of a face brick house? To begin with, we frankly admit and, in fact, assert that such a house costs more than the less substantial frame or stucco house,—as it ought, because it is worth more. It wears better, it looks better, it sells and rents better. You can never get something for nothing. You have to pay for it. But what we can show from actual figures is that the face brick house at the start costs only a little more than the frame or stucco house and in the end, when all the bills are paid, costs much less. It is a question of initial and final cost. Let us first look at the initial cost.
The Test of Figures
The accompanying table gives the results of actual figures obtained during the past ten years from all parts of our country by face brick manufacturers. As the prices of material have changed greatly, during the period in question, the percentages of difference will prove to be the only instructive figures, and are calculated on the total costs of the houses. The bids for 1919 we have in our files for reference and we are ready to show them to any interested person. As frame construction is generally the lowest, we take it as the base of comparison and give the percentage in excess over frame for (1) a solid, 8-inch brick wall, or face brick on common brick backing; (2) a brick veneer wall, or face brick in place of clapboards or shingles on frame; (3) a face brick on hollow tile wall, 8 inches thick; and (4) a stucco on frame wall.
A moderate sized 7-room dwelling is used as a typical example and is the same in every respect, except the exterior wall construction. First class face brick are used and the solid wall is furred.
Table of Percentage Differences