Building or buying a home is a huge decision and one that weighs heavily on the person making the purchase. What happens if you make the wrong decision? What if there are some serious problems that you didn’t find during the initial inspection? What if something is lost and a tragedy occurs?

There are ways to limit those unpleasant surprises, and one is to consider up front what your home is made of. The materials that are used in construction will determine how long your home will last, the costs and frequency of repairs, and the stress you will be forced to deal with moving forward.

Two popular materials known for their robustness are wood and brick. But which one is really better? We’ll see.

The benefits of wood

Wood is often praised for its overall appearance. You can create a rustic and natural setting using logs. No one would deny how beautiful wooden houses look both inside and out. Plus, the colors and grain of the wood are warm and inviting, which is a great feeling to have in your home.

But there’s more than that. Wood is more environmentally friendly than most materials. It can be manufactured using recycled wood and wood panels, which help reduce the impact on the environment. Stains, stamps, and other chemicals that were once dangerous to the ecosystem around the home have become much safer for the environment.

Wood is also very strong and easy to replace. If a log cracks, you can replace or repair it with minimal work, unlike many other materials. It is less likely to have problems if it is properly maintained, which is why this is the main reason many people choose wood over different options.

The benefits of brick

Brick is another attractive material, ahead of concrete, plasterboard, or plastic sheathing in the appearance category. You can select different colored bricks, which is a pro for those who want something a little different from the norm.

When it comes to sturdiness, the brutal efficiency of bricks is hard to beat. After all, there is a reason why it is used in the story of the three little pigs. On the downside, when it is damaged, it is difficult to repair or replace the brick. You may also need a bricklayer to perform those repairs, as removing a brick can cause some damage to the overall structure of the siding and lead to problems later on.

The quality of the materials is more likely to be compromised. You can look at the wood and get a good idea if it is a stable and healthy piece of wood. Bricks can be more difficult to measure.

Why wood is better than other materials

You can search between the two professionals above to see why log houses are generally considered better. But there are a couple of other reasons. On the one hand, wood is much easier to move and wooden houses are lightweight and at the same time resistant to the elements. That means you can transport it from one place to another if you ever decide to move, without having to sell the house.

The amount of time to build one of these houses is another reason. Timber takes an average of three months to build from scratch, or less when using prefab homes. Brick homes can take a year or more, and the cost is much higher thanks to the amount of labor involved. Insulation is easier and cheaper to install in a log home, and any leaking areas where water or cold air may be entering are easier to reseal.

What about keeping them?

Maintaining wooden houses is easier than you think. Every three to five years you will need to apply a new stain and stamp to your home and look for potential problems. Some problems that could occur include cracks or wear in the wood, bleaching from the sun, rot in the logs, insect infestations and general wear and tear. The more closely the wood is maintained, the more unlikely it is that these problems will recur.

On average, this is a cost of $ 2,500 to $ 5,000, depending on the square footage of your home and the product selected for the job. Considering the fact that it will only be done infrequently, such as every five years, this cost is pretty minimal. Especially given the fact that most people can do it themselves.

It is also necessary to work in the surrounding area. Some plants and vines may attempt to grow in wood, so you will want to prune the plants annually. Applying a herbicide or pulling weeds when they first grow is an easy way to make sure this never happens.

All of this is not necessary for bricks, but it is more difficult to prevent problems when it comes to materials such as concrete. You may also have trouble seeing problems because they occur inside the bricks, so cracks that are not on the surface, spaces where the bricks have worn away, infestations, and other hazards may not be apparent until they have grown a much higher level. level.

Precast versus custom

What kind of log house should you be looking at? You have the options of building your own home, buying one that is on the market, or going for a prefab model. A prefabricated wooden house is one that has already been built with different parts, which the contractor then assembles on the land he has purchased.

Manufactured homes are a great way to get a beautiful home for a fraction of the cost and time. They are similar to metal mobile homes, only they come with the many benefits of having a wood frame. You can get one of these homes for as little as tens of thousands of dollars; custom models may cost more.

Regardless of what you are looking for, there is no denying that wood is an amazing material.