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Brick Home

Recently while driving home from a beach town that gets is fair share of hurricane weather each year, I could not help noticing how flimsy the new homes looked compared to the older ones, which tended to be further inland. The older homes were generally made of brick, were single story and not close to the water. For all those reasons, they had stood the time even if they were not the most desirable pieces of property. The new homes have a nice view of the ocean which is a treat on days when the weather is nice. It can ugly when that is not the case. 

I wondered why more of the new homes were not made of brick and durable things that would not get flung around in a storm. People were not entering but leaving the profession of bricklaying for one - maybe fearing robots taking over their jobs in the future. In the interim, while those conceptual robots become reality, the pool of talent dries up and there is no one to build old fashioned houses. It is also true that these homes are not without challenges. But in a place where wind and water can rip your wood and vinyl home apart, brick does seem to be the better choice. 

There comes an extraordinary level of confusion I felt when a person has a choice in fundamental things - like how their dwelling should be constructed. The answer should be clean and unambiguous so you don't have to worry every time the season turns if some part of their home will be compromised. 

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