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Add-on to a brick home

rob333 (zone 7b)

16 years ago

Any of you done this? Had this done? How does it work? I'm not going to do it myself, I just wonder what the process is actually like. I truly mean add rooms on to an existing structure.

Featured Answer

ron6519

16 years ago

I added a kitchen addition onto to a brick house. The bricks on one wall were integrated into the addition by just continuing the pattern in the bricks. The other wall was perpendicular to the garage and woven in there. The bricks were the same because they were taken off the house, cleaned and put back. The only indication is the difference in mortar color which will blend in over time. bricking the addition was lot more expensive then vinyl siding.
Ron

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Comments (6)

ron6519
16 years ago
Hire an Architect. The process requires a hundred decisions in a time frame that can overwhelm many people.
You have two choices. Become very hands on and oversee the entire project or you can hire people who know what their doing.
Ron
rob333 (zone 7b)
Original Author
16 years ago
I appreciate the answer, but what I mean is, when the addition goes in, are the bricks dovetailed into the existing structure or something different? What does it look and act like in reality? How do the costs compare to current wood framing/siding? Anything else I'm not able to judge since I haven't been through it??? I'm not getting it done, but if I do, I will certainly hire an architect and then a expert, i.e. does it for a living, in masonry work.
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davidandkasie
16 years ago
it depends on 2 things, how you want it and how MUCH MONEY you can afford to do it. i have seen homes where the bricks were dovetailed in and you could not tell where the addition started, and i have seen them where they simply mortar a straight line right up next to teh old bricks. either way looks fine, the harder part is to find bricks that actually match the old ones. the color will almost never be the same.
texasdad
16 years ago
On an older home it will ge almost impossible to match the bricks. If lot and layout allow, I would put the addition on the backside of the home and use some type of siding. You won't get a good match with the bricks, so dont' make it looked like you tried.

Have you looked in the attic. Sometimes there is enough room up there to put a room up without moveing anything on the exterior.

Unless you are in love with your lot/neighborhood you may find it more practical to buy and sell to get what you really want then to add on.
rob333 (zone 7b)
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for the answers! It's what I thought it would be. I wasn't too awfully worried about "matching" the brick exactly as it's already painted and we'd paint it again. I just thought butting it straight up and down without dovetailing would look horrible and couldn't imagine how long it would take and how much it would cost. It sounds nightmarish!

Admittedly, I thought about the attic, but we haven't gotten that far yet. We decided to move around the walls inside the house and all of the 832 sq ft is now efficiently used. I'd loved to have gone back and made the hugest kitchen ever, a real diningroom, but alas, I'm just certain it will be cost prohibitive. If we added, we'd probably go back and up, with two beds and bathroom on the top floor. I don't know how hard that would be, but I doubt we'll ever find out.

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