[Sidenote: Old House Made New]
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out of date, or lacks the "class" that surrounding buildings may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.
[Sidenote: 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.
[Sidenote: 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.
[Sidenote: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 35 Veneering old frame]
The brickwork is laid up to the door and window trim and a staff
bead molding, in the corner formed by the brick, securely nailed to
the old trim, making a tight joint (See Fig. 35). Similar mouldings
should be placed at the underside of roofs, porch ceilings, and
like places where the brick meets the old frame finish.