It often occurs that a frame house is not kept in repair and depreciates to such an extent that the expenditure for necessary painting and repairs to restore it would amount to an unwarranted figure. Or, as in many cases, the frame house, though kept in fair condition by dint of frequent painting and repairs, is decidedly out of date, or lacks the "class" that surrounding buildings may have. This often applies also to the old spotted and stained stucco house. In either case, the owner suffers loss in the value of his investment. There is a simple way, however, to recover this loss and more than restore the value of his investment, and that is by veneering the house with an attractive face brick. The framing of the house is in all probability substantially sound, it is only the exterior that is dilapidated and outclassed. By veneering his house with a well-chosen face brick, laid in proper bond and mortar joint, the owner at a comparatively small expenditure has got what is to all intents and purposes a new house.
Paying Investments
In the first place, he has "painted" it once and for all with beautiful colors that will never come off, and he has eliminated all future paint and repair bills for the exterior where much of his cost of upkeep for the old frame house came. In the second place, he has a far more uniformly comfortable house with a very appreciable reduction of his coal bills, due to the solid, monolithic shell of brick covering the frame. Practical heating engineers engaged in installing heating apparatus calculate that in a moderate sized veneer house as compared with frame there is, during an average winter in the North, a saving of approximately 8 per cent on the coal bill.
Finally, he would have, so far as the community is concerned, or a possible future purchaser, an attractive modern face brick house, of which he may be proud as a place of residence, or which would be more profitable as a renting or selling property. The enhanced value of his property would be far beyond his expenditure.
Increasing Your Profits
Many contractors could comfortably increase their profits and keep busy through dull months by presenting the above facts to the owner whose old frame or stucco house needs repairs. Instead of giving him a staggering figure for repair work that is only temporary, he could be shown how, by investing a little more, he could greatly contribute to his personal satisfaction and substantially increase the value of his property. Veneering an old house, either frame or stucco, is no more difficult than veneering a new structure and is accomplished in much the same manner.
How It is Done
An eight-inch concrete footing should be placed against the outside of the existing foundation wall, extending from grade to below frost line and resting on good solid soil. The brick veneer, starting from this footing, is carried up with an inch air space between it and the old siding (which is not removed) and tied by driving thirty-penny nails through the siding or other finish into the sheathing and studs ([Fig. 35]).
The usual steel lintels are used over window and door openings. Where the veneer is to be carried over porches or other low additions, the siding immediately above the roof should be removed and a steel angle placed against the sheathing and securely attached to the studs by lag screws, so that no weight of the brickwork comes on the roof. See illustrations of work on [page 16].