My clients often wrestle with the question of whether they should build home with masonry or wood.

Masonry walls consist of concrete blocks stacked up from the slab to the full height of the wall. They are placed in beds of mortar and strengthened with embedded reinforcing steel and hollow cores full of concrete. The strength is dictated by wall thickness, height and density of reinforcement and, of course, loading conditions. Framed walls consist of wood studs usually 16″ on center with a stiff sheathing material, water proofing and some sort of siding on the outside such as stucco or siding. Let me answer a few common questions:

If I frame my home will termites be a problem?

They can be, unless controlled. Termites can be controlled by placing flashing called a “termite shield” at the bottom of the wall which blocks subterranean termites from traveling up and destroying the wall. Also the bottom plate is usually pressure treated which termites hate. These and routine maintenance in subsequent years can essentially eliminate the risk of termites. There are framed home 100′s of years old.

Isn’t a masonry wall stronger than one build with wood?

In general, a framed wall can be built with adequate strength to handle hurricane winds and other forces. A wooden wall with proper sheathing, nailed properly, is quite strong. A masonry wall is also quite strong. Its strength is a function of its thickness, its height as well as the reinforcement used.

Which is cheaper to build, framed exterior walls or masonry?

Siding for a framed home can cost more than the typical stucco finishes used over block walls. However other factors, including speed of construction, cost of materials and labor tend to make framing an overall less expensive approach.

Do framed home and masonry homes have similar insulation opportunities? Which is better?

Wood framed walls are generally insulated with batts of insulation with R values ranging 11 right into 20′s, depending upon wall thickness. It is usually easier to insulate wood walls to higher levels than that of masonry. Insulation, in masonry wall, is usually a challenge. Since blocks themselves are not good insulators. insulating them is usually in the form of radiation blocks (foil over the furring strips) or even foam insulation sheets over the wall. Sometimes walls are filled (in the cores) with insulation. None of these achieve insulation as high as that that can be achieved in a wood wall. One advantage of masonry, due to its mass, is that it will tend to even out the temperatures fluctuations through the day.

Can one get as much interior area from a masonry home as compared to a framed home?

If one uses a standard 8″ masonry block and compares it to a typical 2×4 exterior wall, one can instantly see about a 5″ different in the amount of each exterior room that is taken up by the wall. Framing does take up less room.

There are other factors to consider but looking at the above points one can see that framing offers an excellent value. We find, however, that masonry homes are quite common, especially in the South. Masonry offers an excellent product, is strong and can be beautifully crafted. However, looking at value alone, framing, if properly done, offers the better value.

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