Jack Prazeres, of Target Masonry and president of MasonryWorx, was presented with the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship in December for his contribution to the community.

Recent fires in homes with mid-rise wood frame buildings have brought into focus the issue of fire safety in residential neighborhoods. The Richmond, British Columbia (BC) fire in May is case in point.

Study reveals merit of masonry built homes. A survey on new home buyers preferences shows that 89% of Ontario new home shoppers prefer a house made of brick or stone, but most also believe it is the most expensive option.

Eighty-four per cent of new homebuyers want homes built with brick or stone, says MasonryWorx. The study, commissioned by the trade association of brick, block, and stone masonry industry professionals, showed that more than four in five respondents think a brick or stone home “looks best,” is more durable, and has a higher resale value.

Jack Prazeres is president of MasonryWorx and will lead the board and executive committee. He succeeds Dante Di Giovanni who will remain on the executive committee as past president. 

A new survey on new homebuyer preferences shows that 89% of Ontario new home shoppers prefer a house made of brick or stone, but most also believe it is the most expensive option.

A recent study shows that 89% of homebuyers prefer a home built with the beauty of masonry. But the reasons to buy a home with brick, block and stone go well beyond aesthetics.

THE MASONRY ADVANTAGE

Masonry products — block, brick and stone — are strong, sustainable and safe materials. As an exterior cladding, masonry products help create beautiful and durable residential homes and commercial buildings in our communities.

Masonry homes offer better value and are more affordable than you think

TORONTO –Homebuyers are selling themselves, and their investment, short when they choose a vinyl-clad home over one with a masonry exterior.

A new study commissioned by MasonryWorx, the trade association of brick, block and stone masonry industry professionals, shows that 84% of Ontario new home shoppers prefer a house made of brick or stone, but most also believe it is the most expensive option. Half of all home shoppers consider vinyl siding the least expensive cladding option, but only 6% prefer it. However, the idea that opting for a masonry exterior is vastly more expensive is a myth potential homebuyers should see past, says MasonryWorx President Dante Di Giovanni.

Home-buyers are selling themselves, and their investment, short when they choose a vinyl-clad home over one with a masonry exterior, says a trade association that represents brick, block and stone masonry professionals.

Article on Daily Commercial News

In a world of super-plastics, space age metals and nanotechnology-enhanced building materials, brick is still considered a prime choice as an environmentally sustainable building material.

Though sustainability has a wide range of definitions, as it pertains to building materials, it generally involves minimizing the depletion of the Earth’s resources and remaining relatively benign to the the ecology while accommodating the needs of the end-user.

Article on Daily Commercial News website.

RE: “Georgia-Pacific’s paperless drywall gains foothold in new low-rise construction” Feb. 21, DCN

In the article referenced above, the real issues of firewall performance and compliance should have been identified and the associated technical issues factually revealed and discussed.

Climate change may mean growing role for time-tested products

Tornados, hurricane spin-offs, torrential rains, floods, heat waves and ice storms.

As such incidents become more common in Canada, the ability of structures to withstand the effects of extreme weather is of growing importance to designers and builders.

From turning out the lights when we leave a room to replacing our traditional incandescent bulbs with newer, more energy efficient models, it is becoming increasingly easy - and expected - for us all to live greener lives.

In keeping with the growing global movement to be more energy efficient, municipalities across the Greater Toronto Area are taking steps to create and implement programs supporting the individual efforts of citizens.

The Gold Standard

The construction industry is open to green methods, especially when it gets their projects certified, but green building is far from mainstream.

Masonry construction - sounds like the right choice

One important reason for building with masonry is that it provides superior sound control. Whether it’s concrete block, clay brick, or stone, masonry possesses an inherent resistance to the passage of airborne sound, which makes it a superior performer in attenuating low-frequency, airborne noise caused by building mechanical systems, elevators, amplified music, traffic and aircraft. Although some alternative systems may perform as well as masonry for frequencies in the speech range, these lower mass systems have difficulty insulating against low-frequency noise.

According to a new Leger Marketing poll, Ontarians have a clear vision of their dream home and how it would be built.

When asked to describe their dream home, an overwhelming majority say that it would be 91% fully detached, 89% environmentally-friendly and 81% of it would be built using masonry products.