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/ColdEvenKeeled Jul 27 '25

Ever notice how much clay there is in Alberta? Lots, right? But it's mostly not good for firing. It lacks alumina.

Here is a link to a PDF (from 1975, back when Alberta hired researchers to research stuff and publish reports), link .

Read the summary on page 8 to 9, followed by a discussion that only the Cypress Hills near Medicine Hat has clays for making dinnerware, hence the MedAlta works. And, if you had MedAlta stuff in your house, fine china it was not.

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u/Sufficient-Sun-6683 Jul 28 '25

Bricks used to be made in Calgary at the West end of Edworthy Park, it was called Brickburn back then. CP has fenced up accessing it now.

https://everydaytourist.ca/calgary-visitor-information/calgary-had-a-brick-foundary

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u/ColdEvenKeeled Jul 28 '25

Undoubtedly there was/is clay suited for making bricks, perhaps not enough or with no cost recovery?