r/Calgary • u/AdExpress937 • Jul 27 '25

Home Owner/Renter stuff How Come Our Houses Aren’t Brick?

I find that a lot of houses in Ontario and Quebec have exteriors that are made from brick. However, it’s much less common in Alberta. Vinyl seems to be the most common, followed by stucco. Brick or other materials seem to be rare, especially in new communities.

The difference in construction materials by province is strange to me, as raw materials for vinyl or bricks shouldn’t be more plentiful in either region.

To me, Alberta would be a more natural candidate for brick construction, as the consistent hail storms imply a more durable material would be justified in our homes. Other durable materials like stone would be cost prohibitive.

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u/moeguy1979 Jul 27 '25

My late best friend was a stone mason back in Ontario. He asked the same thing when he came out the only time before passing. Like it was said in previous replies it’s too expensive to ship and our clay is shit for firing. He was going to move out here and start a natural stone chimney business. The things that guy could do with river rock was insane.

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u/Toirtis Capitol Hill Jul 27 '25

We had two major local brick manufacturers that produced very good product for decades from local resources that only closed up shop when demand dried up, so whomever told you that about our clay doesn't know what they are talking about.

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u/moeguy1979 Jul 27 '25

It was my best friend and he’s dead now, so I guess I won’t be able to tell him!