Want to add some instant character to your house? Just a little brick or stone siding can make a dramatic change, bring out the patina of years past and offer a sense of solidity. Different colorations allow for a tremendous variety of looks.

Brick and stone are among the sturdiest of building products: they stand the test of time. Little maintenance is needed, especially if the materials were laid correctly to begin with.

Brick Siding If you add brick siding to your old house, and want to match it to your driveway or walkway, you'll have some choices to make. Chances are, the old brick manufacturer isn't still around. It may be difficult to try to find a good match. You can try to offset the addition a foot or two to play down the delineation. Or you can pull some bricks here and there out of the original exterior to use on the addition. Fill in the old spots with new bricks, and the two sides blend nicely.

Salvage bricks - like Clinker Brick and yellow-hued Chicago Brick - can be expensive. Manufacturers now make tumbled brick, which looks aged and is a less expensive option in Galena, Illinois.

Stone Siding
Comprised of one the earth’s heartiest byproducts, stone siding ensures long-lasting strength. Stone siding offers a number of benefits such as extreme hardness and durability, freeze and thaw resistance, and natural acoustic fortification. Natural stone offers a varied range of sizes and patterns, and can be cut to your specifications. The surfaces stone siding varies in width, giving it a rough-hewn look. When ordering stone siding, you may choose stone siding with lots of grout between the stones or siding formed by the dry stacked procedure, with the stones flush against each other and no grout lines.