Crunching the numbers
does Brick cost less than Stucco ?

by Jon Forrest Little
El Paso, TX , April 27, 2007 ( BrickNews via ConstructionDataTex )

Price per Square foot for El Paso Brick Construction


*US Dollars per square foot, Total "in-the wall" cost includes:
1. Installing King-sized American Eagle Brick, 5 units per SF
2. Brick mason's labor
3. Mortar included

SOURCE - El Paso General Contractors, El Paso Mason[s]

Discussion behind the Math Formula
The Good News ….. and the Better News !

As a general rule of thumb a mason and his helper can install an average of approximately 500 brick units per day. This 500 baseline average holds true whether the mason is installing modular brick or king-sized brick. Therefore the larger the brick unit installed the more cost efficient because the Square footage installed per day increases.

On the high side or "worst" cost-case, a project at Fort
Bliss typically pays the skilled mason $23.35 per hour and the assistant laborer earns $13.00 per hour. Therefore the combined sum is $36.35 per hour for this team. We then add a premium of 30% to include social security and workers compensation benefits. After benefits, the team now earns an adjusted $47.26 per hour. After an 8 hour day, the team is paid $378.04. They have installed approximately 100 Sq feet of King-sized brick thus we arrive at the $3.78 per Sq foot figure for labor.

American Eagle King-sized Brick units typically cost $1.25 per Sq foot. In adding the $1.25[material] to the $3.78 [labor] plus the.30 for mortar = $ 5.33 per SF IN THE WALL , see table above under Davis Bacon/Fort Bliss

For a private job in El Paso such as the recent "Bank of the West" project. The skilled mason may be paid $16.00 hour and his helper $10.00. The team is therefore paid a total of $26.00 per hour. After workers comp and social security [30% premium] the new adjusted total is $33.80 for this team per hour. An eight hour day for this team costs $270.40 and they have installed 100 sq. feet or $2.70 per square foot.

Adding the American Eagle Brick cost of $1.25 to the $2.70 total labor plus .30 for mortar = $4.25 per SF IN THE WALL, see table above under "Private sector"

The prevailing wage changes based on the labor laws, norms, and customs that govern each differential work setting. The brick and mortar costs are constant as long as economic conditions are stable.

NOTE- Walls that have large volumes of square footage without door or window openings,[e.g. some sides of large scale construction projects] yield up to 80% more production. This leads to a significant increase in brick wall building per day and significant decrease in cost per square foot

BIGGEST BANG

The El Paso homebuilder and homeowner enjoy the most cost effective scenario. In a residential setting the typical mason subcontractor charges 24 cents per brick unit installed which equals $1.20 per Square foot for labor. Adding this figure to the $1.25 material cost for King-sized American Eagle Brick Units and .30 per SQ foot for mortar yields a total in-the-wall cost of $2.75 per Square foot. Furthermore clay brick units require no maintenance and American Eagle Brick products are backed with a 100 year warranty

Many El Paso architects, contractors, homebuilders, and homeowners have been operating under the false belief that brick construction averages in the $6.50 to $9.50 per square foot range. But as one can determine by the facts above, the real cost per SF falls in the $2.75 to $5.33 per square foot range.

There have also been instances whereby a home builder quotes their customer a whopping $30,000 dollar price increase to the home's 200,000 price tag. The customer has their heart set on brick because of the aesthetic and performance values but is then coerced into picking an inferior product like stucco

Synthetic stucco costs are now averaging $4.50 per square foot labor and materials. Therefore it is safe to assert that Brick construction is more cost effective than synthetic stucco both in the short term and especially true when considering the long term Brick does not rot, warp, flake, chip, fade and will not get destroyed by termites

The failures of synthetic stucco with mold, rot, and other moisture related issues have become so severe that this stucco material is banned for use in many construction projects. Last week I over-heard a prestigious El Paso architect mutter a chilling quote on the subject of stucco. He stated, "There are two types of stucco...one that cracks and one that is going to crack."

A Special BrickNews Alert
from American Eagle Brick Company

El Paso, TX , May 19, 2006 ( BrickNews via ConstructionDataTex )

Key Attributes of Brick Construction

ECONOMY - Save Money with Brick

Building with brick saves money. Brick requires no maintenance once installed. Other materials such as concrete block require expensive and time consuming sealers because concrete block is highly absorptive and the concrete shrinks and expands. Concerete consists of glued together aggregates whereas brick is clay that binds through fusion during
the firing process yielding a sturdier masonry unit.

Brick is superior in comparison. Brick has relatively low absorption and high density therefore no sealers are required.

Furthermore, Brick buildings last a lifetime. American Eagle Brick Company products carry a 100 year warranty.

Brick buildings appreciate at a greater rate than homes built with stucco or block. Save money with brick because your property value increases and there is no maintenance required.

ENVIRONMENT - our Reddest Brick has never looked so GREEN

American Eagle Brick Company is encouraged by the recent State of the Union address regarding the need for America to cure itself of the addiction to foreign oil through the use of all practical energy-saving
measures and alternate energy sources across the nation.

Masonry materials have always been recognized as sturdy and attractive, but few realize that they are energy-efficient and earth-friendly, too. In today's environmentally conscious world, masonry materials are
"green" throughout their life cycle.

American Eagle Brick originates from El Paso's own clay, which is a nearly inexhaustible natural resource. During the clay mining process, virtually no harm is done to the environment. In fact, a single mining site may be used for more than a century.

There is no waste when brick is manufactured. For every pound of clay, nearly one pound of brick is produced with only slight moisture and mineral loss. In contrast, the mining of ore for steel production is
70 percent waste. Higher still is the amount of waste, 88 percent, in the mining for aluminum. The waste from both of these processes must be disposed of, a process that also uses considerable energy.

Most of the energy costs associated with producing brick – drying and firing – are lower than with most other building materials. It can take 90 times more energy to produce one pound of aluminum than to
produce the same amount of brick.

Because brick is locally produced, very little energy is used to transport it to the building site. In contrast, most of the lumber used in El Paso home
construction comes from somewhere else, adding to its cost and to its impact on our environment.

As a building material, brick saves energy. Brick's mass prevents extreme outside temperatures from affecting temperatures on the inside. This process is sometimes referred to as "thermal lag." Compared to
other materials, an insulated brick cavity wall resists heat gain more than 50 times better than double-reflective glass, and nine times better than an
insulated metal sandwich panel wall.

Also, because it is a natural material, brick does not expel any toxic substances or volatile organic compounds into the air. Nor does it ever require the application of any potentially toxic paints or coatings during its lifetime.

Perhaps brick's greatest contribution to the environment, however, is its durability. To reiterate, the life span of a brick structure can be over a thousand years if designed and constructed properly. Even the most
conservative estimates of a brick's life expectancy is 100 years or more. Because of its longevity, brick is typically the last material in a building to require recycling.

In comparison, newer building materials like synthetic stucco, also known as EIFS, have a poor durability record. These can encounter problems like moisture intrusion, which rots the wood sheathing, and frequent damage from golf balls, woodpeckers, and even fists.
That means more of these new materials will find their way to the landfills in our lifetime.

SAVE ENERGY with Brick ! - Brick adds significant R-value to your wall

Source - Rocky Mountain Masonry Institute website and American Eagle brickNews

BrickNews Contact data :
==================
Jon Forrest Little
Director of Sales & Marketing
t. 915.545.2221

American Eagle Brick Company
"better buildings... BUILT BY BRICK ! "