Modern masonry products are a joke and border on theft

There is a war going on between the bricklaying industry and the wood industry over pending changes to the National Building Code. The wood industry seems to be winning this particular round of changes.

In this post, mason Chris Langman says that masons have only themselves to blame.

“Masons are right to be pissed with the [changes to the] National Building Code. The standards we as masons currently accept in our own industry are pathetic.

But we have no right to point the finger at the wood industry. It’s our own fault for allowing masonry’s standards to sink so low, and for allowing disposable building systems to replace the lasting value of masonry.

As an example, I spent a day this week taking down a chimney made of J. Price bricks. This chimney was old, but every brick from the rafters down was sound, clean and reusable. On my way home, I drove through a 20-year old neighbourhood where the bricks were already falling off the chimneys and walls. Modern masonry products are a joke and border on theft in terms of their lasting value.

So, whose fault is it that the construction industry wants to minimize the contributions of masonry?

Edited version of Chris Langman’s post that appeared on Nov. 13, 2013