Chicago Is a Brick City — For Good Reason
If you’ve spent any time in Chicago’s neighborhoods — the greystones in Lincoln Park, the bungalows in Beverly, the two-flats in Pilsen, the courtyard buildings in Rogers Park — you’ve noticed that brick dominates the landscape. That’s not an accident. After the Great Fire of 1871, the city essentially mandated fireproof construction in large swaths of the city, and brick became the default material. A hundred and fifty years later, those buildings are still standing. That tells you something about the material.
But brick isn’t perfect. After 40-plus years of working on brick buildings across the Chicagoland area — everything from Victorian homes in Oak Park to historic churches to commercial buildings along the lakefront — we’ve seen the best and worst of what brick can do. Here’s what we think you should actually know.
The Advantages of Brick Buildings
Durability That’s Measured in Generations
The most obvious advantage of brick is how long it lasts. We work on buildings every week that were constructed in the 1890s and early 1900s, and the brick itself is often in remarkably good condition. The Noble Seymour Crippen House — the oldest house in Chicago — is a brick structure that’s been standing since 1833. We’ve been its exclusive exterior contractor for over 25 years. The brick is doing fine. It’s the mortar that needs periodic attention, which we’ll get to in a moment.
Fire Resistance
Brick is essentially kiln-fired clay — it’s already been through the fire, so to speak. It doesn’t combust, it doesn’t contribute to fire spread, and it provides a natural firebreak between attached units. In a city like Chicago, where row houses and multi-unit buildings share party walls, that fire resistance isn’t just a nice feature. It’s a safety fundamental. The National Fire Protection Association consistently rates masonry construction among the most fire-resistant residential building types.
Low Maintenance — For the First Few Decades
A properly constructed brick building needs very little attention for the first 20 to 25 years. An occasional wash to remove dirt and biological growth is about it. Compare that to wood siding, which needs repainting every 7 to 10 years, or vinyl, which can crack, warp, and fade. Brick just sits there and does its job. The maintenance conversation changes after that 25-year mark, but we’ll cover that below.
Thermal Mass and Energy Performance
Brick has significant thermal mass, meaning it absorbs and slowly releases heat. In a climate like Chicago’s — where you can see a 40-degree temperature swing in a single day during spring and fall — that thermal mass helps moderate interior temperatures. Your heating and cooling systems don’t have to work as hard to compensate for rapid exterior temperature changes. It’s not insulation in the traditional sense, but it contributes meaningfully to energy performance.
Eco-Friendly Material
Brick is made from two of the most abundant natural materials on earth: clay and shale. It doesn’t off-gas volatile organic compounds, it doesn’t require chemical treatments to resist insects or rot, and at the end of its very long life it can be crushed and repurposed as aggregate or landscape material. Damaged brick that we remove during replacement projects often gets recycled this way.
Property Value
Multiple real estate studies have shown that brick homes command a premium of roughly 6 percent over comparable homes with vinyl or fiber cement siding. In Chicago, that premium may actually be higher because brick is so integral to the architectural character of the city’s most desirable neighborhoods. Buyers in Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Oak Park, and the North Shore expect brick — and they expect it to be in good condition.
Want to make sure your brick is showing its best face? Request a free estimate from Fortune Restoration.
The Disadvantages of Brick Buildings
We obviously like brick — it’s the material that keeps us in business. But we’d be doing you a disservice if we didn’t talk honestly about its limitations.
Higher Initial Construction Cost
Brick construction costs more upfront than wood-frame or vinyl-clad alternatives. Depending on the scope, you’re looking at 6 to 7 percent higher construction costs for a brick home versus a comparable vinyl-sided home. That premium reflects both material cost and the skilled labor required — bricklaying is a trade that takes years to master, and skilled masons are increasingly hard to find.
Moisture Vulnerability in Freeze-Thaw Climates
This is the big one for Chicago. Brick is porous. It absorbs water. And when that water freezes — which happens 40 or more times per winter in our climate — it expands inside the brick and the mortar joints. Repeat that cycle year after year and you get spalling (where the face of the brick pops off), crumbling mortar, and eventually structural compromise. This is why tuckpointing exists — it’s the process of grinding out deteriorated mortar and replacing it with fresh material. It’s the most important maintenance item for any brick building in Chicago.
Susceptibility to Plant Damage
Ivy looks beautiful on a brick building. It also slowly destroys it. The tendrils penetrate mortar joints, retain moisture against the brick face, and accelerate deterioration. When the ivy is eventually removed, it often pulls mortar and brick face material with it. If you have ivy on your brick, you’re going to need masonry repair when it comes off — and it should come off.
Limited Design Flexibility
Brick is a modular material — it goes in courses, it turns corners at right angles, and it doesn’t easily accommodate curves or complex geometries. While skilled masons can do remarkable things with brick (the ornamental brickwork on Chicago’s historic buildings proves that), it’s inherently less flexible than materials like stucco, wood, or modern composite panels for unusual architectural forms.
What Brick Building Maintenance Actually Looks Like in Chicago
Here’s the maintenance reality for a brick building in the Chicagoland area, based on our experience working on thousands of them:
- Years 0–25: Minimal maintenance. Occasional washing. Monitor for obvious cracks or damage. Keep gutters and downspouts functional so water isn’t sheeting across the masonry.
- Years 25–35: Mortar joints begin showing wear. This is when tuckpointing becomes necessary. Budget for it. A $3,000 tuckpointing job now prevents a $20,000 brick replacement job in five years.
- Ongoing: Chimney condition should be checked every 3 to 5 years — chimneys deteriorate faster than walls because they’re exposed on all sides above the roofline. Parapet walls and coping on flat-roofed buildings are another priority — failed coping lets water pour straight down through the wall assembly.
- Watch for efflorescence — those white chalky deposits on brick. It’s not damage in itself, but it’s a symptom of water moving through the wall. Address the water source, not just the stain.
- After tuckpointing, consider masonry waterproofing with a penetrating silane/siloxane sealer. It makes the brick surface hydrophobic while still allowing the wall to breathe. Reapply every 7 to 10 years.
The Bottom Line: Brick Is Worth It — If You Maintain It
Brick is one of the best building materials ever developed. It’s fireproof, durable, attractive, thermally efficient, and it adds real value to your property. The tradeoff is that it requires periodic skilled maintenance — particularly in a climate as aggressive as Chicago’s. The mortar is sacrificial by design; it’s meant to be replaced. If you do that on schedule, a brick building can literally last for centuries. If you don’t, the damage compounds fast and the repair costs escalate quickly.
Fortune Restoration has been maintaining, repairing, and restoring Chicago’s brick buildings since 1979. See our masonry services or request a free estimate.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do brick buildings last before they need major repairs?
A well-built brick structure can stand for well over a century — we see proof of that every day working on historic homes and churches across the Chicagoland area. But “lasting” and “not needing work” aren’t the same thing. The brick itself is incredibly durable, but the mortar joints are sacrificial by design. They’re softer than the brick so they absorb stress instead of transferring it to the masonry. In Chicago’s climate, with 40-plus freeze-thaw cycles every winter, you’re typically looking at mortar deterioration starting around the 25-year mark. That’s when tuckpointing enters the picture. Address the mortar on schedule and the brick can go indefinitely. Ignore it and you’re looking at spalling, water damage, and eventually brick replacement — which costs significantly more.
Are brick homes a good choice for Chicago’s climate?
Brick is one of the best building materials for a climate like Chicago’s, which is actually why so much of the city’s housing stock is brick in the first place. It handles temperature extremes well, it’s fire resistant, it doesn’t rot like wood, and it provides solid thermal mass that helps moderate interior temperatures. The catch is moisture management. Chicago’s freeze-thaw cycling is brutal on any porous material, and brick is porous. Water gets into the mortar joints and the brick face, freezes, expands, and causes damage over time. That’s not a reason to avoid brick — it’s a reason to maintain it. Keeping mortar joints in good condition through periodic tuckpointing and addressing water infiltration issues early is what separates a brick building that lasts 30 years from one that lasts 130.
What kind of maintenance does a brick building need?
For the first couple decades, honestly not much beyond keeping gutters and downspouts functional and watching for obvious cracks or damage. An occasional wash to remove dirt and biological growth is about it. After 25 years or so, the mortar joints will start showing wear — recessing, crumbling, or developing small gaps. That’s when you need professional tuckpointing to grind out the deteriorated mortar and replace it. You should also keep an eye on your chimney — it’s the most exposed masonry element on the building and deteriorates faster than the walls. Coping and parapet conditions on flat-roofed buildings are another priority because failed coping lets water pour straight down through the wall from the top. The key principle is that small, scheduled maintenance prevents large, expensive repairs. A $3,000 tuckpointing job today prevents a $20,000 brick replacement job five years from now.
Does a brick home increase property value?
Generally yes. Studies have shown brick construction can add around 6 percent to a home’s resale value compared to vinyl-sided alternatives. Buyers perceive brick as more durable, more attractive, and lower maintenance — and for the most part they’re right. In Chicago specifically, brick carries an additional premium because it’s so deeply tied to the architectural character of the city’s neighborhoods. A well-maintained brick greystone or bungalow signals quality construction and long-term stability. The flip side is that a brick building in visibly poor condition — spalling faces, crumbling mortar, efflorescence staining — sends the opposite signal and can actually suppress value. Curb appeal on a masonry building comes down to the condition of the mortar and the brick faces. If you’re thinking about selling, getting the masonry assessed and addressing any visible deterioration before listing is one of the highest-ROI moves you can make. Request an estimate and we’ll walk you through what your building needs.
What’s the difference between brick veneer and solid brick construction?
Most people don’t realize there’s a major structural difference. Solid brick construction — also called solid masonry or double-wythe brick — uses multiple layers of brick as the actual structural wall. This is what you see in most of Chicago’s pre-1950s housing stock: the greystones, the two-flats, the bungalows. The brick is the building. Brick veneer, on the other hand, is a single layer of brick applied to the outside of a wood-framed or steel-framed structure. The brick is cladding, not structure. Both types need maintenance, but the failure modes are different. Solid masonry buildings are more susceptible to moisture moving through the full wall assembly, which is why masonry waterproofing and keeping mortar joints in good repair matters so much. Brick veneer buildings can develop issues at the attachment points and the drainage plane behind the veneer. Either way, the mortar joints need the same periodic attention — if you’re seeing deterioration, give us a call for an assessment.