The Most Important Rule

Match the siding to the brick wall as it appears from a normal viewing distance—not to one attractive brick held in your hand.

A single brick may contain a charcoal mark, cream edge or deep red variation that nearly disappears when repeated across the entire house. Selecting siding from that isolated fleck can produce a technically related palette that still looks disconnected from the street.

Read the Brick in Four Layers

Step Back Before Studying Undertones

Begin far enough from the house that individual bricks blend together. Decide whether the wall reads primarily as red, brown, orange, tan, cream, gray or another broad family.

Move closer only after identifying that overall color. Look for two or three secondary colors that repeat across the elevation—not isolated marks that appear only occasionally.

Finally, examine the mortar. Light mortar can make dark brick walls appear more patterned, while darker mortar can cause individual units to merge into a heavier visual mass.

Common Brick Families and Siding Directions

The following combinations are starting points for physical sample testing. They are not universal formulas.

Mortar Can Be the Better Color Reference

On some homes, the mortar provides a quieter and more useful bridge between brick and siding than the brick face itself. A warm light mortar may support a soft neutral siding, while gray mortar may provide a path toward a balanced gray or blue-gray exterior.

Matching mortar exactly is not required. In fact, a near-match can make one material appear faded or dirty when the siding and masonry meet directly.

The objective is coordination: the siding and mortar should appear related without creating an accidental imitation.

Should the Siding Be Lighter or Darker Than the Brick?

Either approach can work. The better choice depends on which material should carry more visual weight.

Lighter siding beside brick

• Allows dark or richly varied brick to remain the visual anchor.
• Can make upper stories and gables feel less heavy.
• Often produces a familiar, traditional exterior.
• Requires careful undertone selection to avoid a stark mismatch.

Darker siding beside brick

• Can give upper walls stronger architectural presence.
• May connect with charcoal roof, window or brick accents.
• Can create a refined, contemporary or transitional exterior.
• May make the house feel top-heavy if dark siding sits above light masonry.

Avoid the Top-Heavy Exterior

Brick is visually substantial. It usually feels natural near the base of a house because its weight appears supported by the ground. Dark siding installed above pale brick can reverse that visual balance and make the upper portion seem heavier than the lower portion.

This does not make the combination wrong. It means the full elevation should be reviewed rather than judging two samples side by side.

Ways to manage visual weight include:

• Connecting the dark siding to a compatible roof or window color
• Using restrained trim instead of outlining every upper-story feature
• Repeating a darker color at the entrance or garage doors
• Keeping the siding profile simple on a busy brick elevation
• Using landscaping to reinforce the base of the house

Choose a Steel Siding Profile That Respects the Brick

Brick already creates a repeated pattern of units and mortar joints. Closely spaced siding courses add another repeated pattern. The combination can feel detailed and traditional—or visually overactive.

• Double 4-inch clapboard: Can complement finely scaled traditional brickwork but introduces the greatest number of horizontal siding lines.
• Double 5-inch clapboard: Provides a moderately broader rhythm that may balance substantial masonry.
• 8-inch clapboard: Creates broad courses and fewer repeated divisions beside busy brick.
• 12-inch board-and-batten: Contrasts the masonry’s horizontal joint pattern with vertical lines and can emphasize gables or projecting sections.

Gentek documents these four SteelTek Supreme profiles with a roughsawn texture. Its 1/2-inch panel projection creates physical depth and shadow lines, so profile choice affects more than a drawing’s line spacing.

Use Board-and-Batten With Architectural Purpose

Vertical steel siding can contrast effectively with brick, but it should identify a genuine part of the house. A front gable, porch volume or projecting garage may provide a defensible location.

PEPA and Vinyl Siding Institute design resources demonstrate how profiles, materials, trim and colors can be combined to support recognizable architectural styles. Those resources address polymeric products, but the broader design principle is useful: material changes should reinforce the architecture.

A narrow strip of board-and-batten placed above brick without a clear corner, roofline or band-board transition can look applied rather than integrated.

How Much Brick Should Remain?

Existing brick should not automatically be removed, covered or reduced because mixed-material exteriors are fashionable. Sound brick may provide durability, architectural character and a useful color anchor.

The correct proportion depends on how the masonry relates to the structure:

• Full-height brick on one architectural volume generally reads more naturally than scattered brick patches.
• A masonry base should terminate at an intentional and consistently detailed elevation.
• Brick around an entry can establish a focal point if it connects to the foundation or another structural element.
• Thin brick strips with no visible support can appear decorative rather than architectural.

The Brick-to-Siding Transition Is a Water-Management Detail

The line where steel siding meets brick is not merely a place to install decorative trim. It must be integrated with the wall’s drainage and flashing strategy.

Building Science Corporation explains that brick veneer should generally include a space behind the masonry that allows water to drain. Its water-managed wall guidance also emphasizes connecting flashings and drainage planes so water is directed outward rather than trapped in the assembly.

Transition planning should address:

• The water-resistive barrier behind the steel siding
• Through-wall flashing associated with the brick veneer
• Drainage openings or weeps in the masonry system
• A cap or flashing that sheds water away from horizontal ledges
• Clearances required by the cladding and masonry systems
• Window and door conditions that cross the material transition

The exact detail must come from the project conditions, Gentek’s current steel siding instructions, applicable masonry requirements and local building provisions. A generic trim sketch should not be treated as a universal solution.

Do Not Seal Over the Symptoms of a Masonry Problem

Staining, spalled brick, deteriorated mortar, displaced units or chronic moisture at a siding transition should be investigated before new cladding is installed.

Adding sealant or covering a problem with trim may hide evidence without correcting the water path. Repairs should address the cause and preserve required drainage rather than simply making the joint look closed.

Trim Should Connect the Two Materials

Trim can create a visual bridge between brick and siding. It can repeat the mortar color, coordinate with windows or provide deliberate separation between materials.

Evaluate Actual SteelTek Supreme Samples

Gentek warns that colors vary with screen settings and recommends making final decisions using actual product samples. The company further notes that color, texture and grain can look different with changing light, viewing angle, exposure and profile orientation.

1. Place the sample directly beside the existing brick and mortar.
2. View it on more than one elevation if the brick receives different amounts of sunlight.
3. Position the sample in the intended horizontal or vertical direction.
4. Examine it during morning, midday and late-afternoon light.
5. Step back to the sidewalk or street.
6. Compare the combination with the roof and windows before approving it.

Use the Gentek Visualizer as a Screening Tool

Gentek’s visualizer allows homeowners and contractors to upload a house photograph and compare siding, trim, roofing, window and door colors. It is useful for reviewing material proportions and eliminating combinations that clearly do not work.

It cannot precisely reproduce the brick’s color variation, mortar texture, SteelTek Supreme’s physical projection or changing natural light. Use it to narrow the field, then approve the selection with physical samples.

Does Keeping Brick Improve Resale?

Existing brick may contribute to buyer appeal when it is sound, attractive and integrated with the new siding. It may reduce appeal when the palette is poorly coordinated or the masonry shows unresolved damage.

There is no defensible universal percentage for the value of a brick-and-steel combination. Resale depends on local buyer preferences, workmanship, condition, project cost and the overall presentation of the home.

Brick and Steel Siding Approval Checklist

• Identify the brick’s overall field color from a distance.
• Record recurring secondary colors rather than isolated flecks.
• Evaluate the mortar undertone and value.
• Compare the siding with the roof and windows as well as the brick.
• Select a profile whose scale does not compete with the masonry pattern.
• Place material transitions at real architectural breaks.
• Resolve flashing, drainage and clearance details before installation.
• Investigate damaged or stained brick rather than covering the symptoms.
• Review current physical Gentek samples outdoors.
• Confirm profile, color, trim and accessory availability before ordering.