re: New Construction Painting Bricks

Exactly. I was in the brick industry for 15 years. Brick is really just an extremely durable paint the way it is used in the US. Except for looks, no reason to paint it.

Earlier poster was right about painted brick not needing more maintenance than painted wood. But unpainted brick needs NO maintenance.

ETA: older homes may be sturdier because they often used a classic brick wall two bricks wide and tied together every few bricks. Not many houses are built this way today.