On Thu, 12 Aug 2010 09:52:20 -0700, RicodJour wrote:

On Aug 12, 12:24Â*pm, Larry Blanchard wrote:

I still remember my father, when looking for a home back in 1950 or so,
turning up his nose at brick veneer. Â*None of that "fake" stuff for
him, he wanted a real brick house - and he found one!

I'm guessing that the '50s were about the time that brick veneer
started being used to lower costs.

Solid wall masonry construction is not a good choice in all climates,
and energy code requirements for a wall's R-value are a hang up of plan
examiners and building inspectors. It's tough to argue the thermal mass
point with them.


This was Louisville, KY. Not the Arctic, but not the tropics either. We
did get some snow. I lived in a similar house, although it was much
older. I can't remember the walls being cold in the winter or warm in
the summer. That dead air in between works pretty well. The one I was
renting had 12' (at least) ceilings and the gaslight fittings were still
there.

This was before residential AC was common and the house was nice and cool
in the summer - in fact it did better than my father's house.

--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw