The Oregonian: "The Weekly" edition

BRICK BY BRICK

How the decline of the brick fireplace is changing the Lake Oswego, West Linn and Wilsonville brick industry.

by Jennifer Meacham Dirks

LAKE OSWEGO -- The brick fireplace market, a major source of jobs for area brick masons, is disappearing, replaced by remote-controlled gas fireplaces and concrete-block with metal inserts.

And that means brick masons like Lake Oswego's Nick Jacobsen have had to find other ways to ply their trade. Jacobsen, a brick mason for 23 years who employs four others, is one of half-dozen brick masons in Lake Oswego, West Linn and Wilsonville.

"The masons that are making it," he said, "are doing the high-end work and working with landscape architects."

"High-end" projects are homes selling for more than $250,000. Jobs include exterior facade brickwork and groundwork such as pathways and patios.

Masonry is a 5,000-year-old practice, one of the oldest jobs in the world. Brick has endured because it lasts for centuries and requires little maintenance. This makes it a popular choice for institutions such as libraries and schools and for commercial buildings such as offices and suburban retail, which have kept commercial brick masons busy.

"If you look at (suburban) retail areas now, it's all masonry," said Steve Hubbard, executive director of Masonry & Ceramic Tile Institute of Oregon. "Strip mall looks are kind of out now, so a lot of cities and municipalities are demanding an updated look, something that's durable in design and performance."

But for masons like Jacobsen, it’s residential construction that feeds their business, and their families. With demand for brick fireplaces dwindling, high-end homebuilders who add on brick and stone facades have to support the bulk of residential brick masons. This has resulted in two distinct changes.

First, the brick masons must diversify by using other products, such as cultured stone or concrete, to help pay the bills. The trend these days is to diversify, many including stone or faux-stone work in the mix. Even Jacobsen, who doesn't do any masonry other than brick, has diversified into concrete. Roughly 70 percent of his work these days is concrete, while 30 percent is brick.

"There's an awful lot of artificial material out there now, imprinted concrete, artificial stone," Jacobsen said. "There's so much artificial material out there that I think a lot of people are heading that way because it's a little less expensive."

Second, brick masons must bring in or work with subcontractors in other specializations to become a one-stop-shop for exterior construction.

"What's happened over the past three or four years is that you need to start combining certain trades to get your share (of the jobs)," Jacobsen said. "It used to be that everybody was so specialized that to do a job you'd need three contractors. Now, we're being asked to come out to the job and do the whole thing."

Suppliers feel pinch

But even that solution doesn't solve the problem that the residential brick market itself is shrinking.

"In our business alone we've seen a decline of 40 percent in residential brick since 1984," said Gary Zagelow of Mutual Materials, a century-old family brick manufacturer in Gresham. "The commercial market has been pretty strong, but if you're looking at 10,000 or 15,000 new houses, you put a little brick on those and it makes up for a lot of commercial buildings."

With brick facades being replaced by more in-vogue cultured stone, the residential brick market could be in for some hard times.

"We've already scaled back, and slowed down our kilns," Zagelow said. "If things continue, we may have to shut down a plant or two." The company operates three brick-making plants, employing 24 in Gresham, 45 in Seattle and 50 in Spokane, Wash.

This ebb doesn't just affect the brick masons. It affects an estimated 2,000 working in the brick industry in the Lake Oswego/Portland area. That includes brick manufacturer Mutual Materials, the last major manufacturer in the Pacific Northwest. It includes such brick distributors as Tualatin's Pumilite Building Products, which employs 12. It includes contractors, who bid on the jobs, buy the material and hire the brick mason laborers. It includes architects who design brick buildings. And it includes engineers who focus on things such as brick structure, steel in wall, and seismic and bracing issues.

Revival in sight

Will brick come back? Yes, said Jacobsen.

"I do think that the brick industry in general is going to be picked up in the next few years -- simply because the synthetic stucco that's on a lot of homes is failing now, and I think a lot of builders will turn back to using brick on their homes instead of stucco," Jacobsen said. "Some of them are going back with what they think is a new and improved synthetic stucco -- but there will be some more brick homes as a result of that."

            If brick rebounds, then it's good for the economy in Lake Oswego, West Linn and Wilsonville. Brick masons who own their own shops, like Jacobsen, make $40,000 to as much as $150,000 a year. Bricklayers who work for contractors make $37,000 to $50,000, and sometimes more based on the union.

            "If you're going to get into the field, you need to be well rounded," Jacobsen said. "If you're going to be a mason, you need to know how to do brick work and you need to know how to do stone work and even concrete -- because there is a lot of combination work out there. The more they know, and the more they understand, the easier it's going to be to get a job."