In 1781, when speaking about the condition of homes in Virginia, Thomas Jefferson said, 

Our home, at the ripe young age of about 127, can vouch for our founding father's words as truth. While other wood frame homes have come and gone, or have required a level of constant upkeep through routine maintenance, the walls of our home have stood firm under their original mortar for over a century and a quarter. According to one mason I spoke with several years ago, the walls of our home are "as plumb as the day they were laid." This is saying a lot given the punishment I'm sure they've taken over the years. From the introduction of automobile vibrations to the rumblings of a periodic earthquake, there hasn't been a significant amount of shift or lean (save for one chimney).

In dealing with masonry homes it's true that you are provided with a great deal of convenience in maintenance. Where a wood frame home with wood siding often needs frequent maintenance in the way of paint, clapboard repair, bug infestation or rot remediation, a true masonry home can go 50 to 100 plus years before needing a significant helping hand. However, when mortar joints begin to deteriorate and crumble, the descent into disrepair can be rapid, and the cost and time needed for resolution of the issues to bring the exterior or interior joints up to snuff before you risk long term damage can be massive.

Now I'm going to preface this post by saying, I'm absolutely and unequivocally not a mason (and I'm not talking about a Masonic mason, though I'm intrigued by that). Never have been, never will be, and will never claim as such. But I've done a lot of research on this subject of masonry maintenance given that we live in and are caretakers for a mostly brick home, and I feel I have a better than adequate grasp on the topic of our home's bricks. I also stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night, so there's that.