Proven Brick and Masonry Stain Your Projects Deserve the Best.
Custom stains, expert applicators, warrantied for life.
Campuses, offices, and homes, stained one brick at a time.
Homes and commercial buildings get the same mineral stain, the same crews, and the same lifetime warranty. What changes is the scale and the paperwork.
Residential Staining
Full home color changes for people who want the brick to finally match the rest of the house.
Explore Residential
Commercial & Architectural
Specifiable mineral stain systems for renovations, additions, and color corrections, with the documentation to back them.
Explore CommercialBrick you already own, in a color you specify.
Bramwell-McKay stains brick, block, stone, and precast for architects, builders, and property owners. The work comes out of masonry restoration, which is the trade our crews have trained in for decades.
The stain is mineral, not paint. Inorganic pigments soak into the masonry and bond with the clay, so the color sits inside the wall instead of forming a film across it. The brick keeps breathing, the texture does not change, and nothing is left on the surface to peel.
Whether the job is correcting an off-color batch, bringing a weathered facade back to an even color, or moving a building to a color it was never built in, the method is the same. You approve the color on a stained sample of your own wall before we touch the rest of the building, and what goes on is permanent.
Chosen by architects, preferred by builders.
Five things you can check before you call us. Everything below is published either by Masonry Cosmetics, who make the stain, or by the Brick Industry Association, the body that writes the technical standards American architects design brick to.
Any color, proven on your own wall
Brick, block, stone and mortar. Stained on a sample panel on your own building and approved there first.
How color approval worksThe class the industry prefers
Mineral-based stains are "preferred due to their high water vapor permeability."
BIA Technical Note 6, March 2025 (opens in a new tab)Mineral oxide, not acrylic
Pigment cured inside the pore. Nothing forms on the surface, so nothing can later let go.
The product documentsLifetime warranty, transferable
In writing, per building, and it passes to whoever owns the building next.
Read the certificateNothing to maintain, ever
Masonry stains "do not require maintenance," per the BIA. No recoating cycle, no budget line in year seven.
BIA Technical Note 6, March 2025 (opens in a new tab)Certifications & Proud Associations
The certifications we hold and the industry groups behind the stain system we apply.
Mixed for your building, not picked from a chart.
There is no catalog to choose from. The color is formulated for the brick you already have and tuned on your own wall until it is right. Four kinds of change cover almost every project.
Darker and richer
Tired orange-red becomes deep charcoal, espresso, or a warm modern brown.
A different tone entirely
Red toward gray, tan toward greige, pink toward earth. The undertones are custom mixed.
Even and uniform
Blotchy walls, patchy repairs and mismatched batches pulled to one consistent color.
Blended, not flat
Stain is translucent, so the variation of a real blend survives while the color shifts.
Tested for decades. Proven to last.
The stain we apply is made by Masonry Cosmetics, the developer and manufacturer of a mineral staining process documented in the field since 1988. It is not a coating. The stain soaks into the pores of the brick and bonds with the masonry itself, so there is no film to flake, peel, or blister, and the color never needs to be reapplied. Your brick stays maintenance-free, and it still looks like brick.
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The color becomes part of the brick
Because the stain absorbs instead of sitting on the surface, the brick keeps breathing and the finish cannot fail the way a film does.
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Works on all porous masonry
Brick, block, mortar, stone, manufactured stone, and concrete pavers all take the stain.
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Custom colors, stained brick by brick
Every job gets its own custom-mixed colors, applied one brick at a time. The stain is translucent, so the wall keeps its natural texture and tone.
We photograph every project before, after, and 20 years later.
How do we know it lasts? We go back and photograph it again. Two hundred and twenty-seven projects have now been re-photographed twenty years or more after we stained them, and the brick still looks the way it did the week the crew left.
We restore buildings for a living.
Bramwell-McKay has restored and preserved masonry buildings for 40 years. Brick repair, tuckpointing, and removing failed coatings is our everyday work, and it has taught us how a wall fails and what keeps one sound. Mineral stain earned its place in that work by proving itself on our own projects first.
That work now spans private homes, schools, and large commercial buildings, and it includes historic restoration, which calls for an extraordinary level of care. Original masonry cannot be replaced, so nothing that seals it belongs on it. When a repair brings in new brick that matches the originals in size and shape but not in color, we prove the match on a sample panel, then stain the new units to the surrounding wall and leave the historic brick and mortar as they were.
- 40 years
- Restoring and preserving masonry
- Lifetime
- Warranty on every staining job
- 400+
- Documented project case studies
Don't take it from us.
Their expertise in brick staining, especially matching historic brick that's no longer available, is exceptional. It's not just close; they achieve a level of color and texture blending that makes repairs virtually disappear… Bramwell McKay employs master masons directly rather than relying on subcontractors, and it shows in the consistency and craftsmanship of their work… Whether it's restoration, repair, or new work that needs to tie seamlessly into an older structure, they bring a level of knowledge and execution that's hard to find.
I hired Bramwell-McKay to stain the brick on my 1940s home in Indianapolis. Kate & Rich were very helpful with the planning and helping my vision become a reality. So many folks paint brick, but staining is really the way to go for a long term solution. The crew was nice and they worked quickly. The new gray stain looks amazing and is a wonderful way to maintain the historical brick while updating it at the same time. Thank you!
They did a nice job staining my brick to match the house. Very professional job. Cleaned up after themselves. And [were] very conscientious of what they did and how they did it.
Our local brick distributor was certain [they] could make the brick look like we had anticipated… They were professional, knowledgeable, and passionate about their work… I have been told a number of times that I am very hard to please, but they completely shocked me. The brick is beautiful and exactly what I wanted from the very beginning.
I had a brick repair on the front of my house that did not match the rest of the brick at all. I sent samples and pictures, and he figured out the stain colors for me, and he even noticed the mortar color was wrong and had me fix that first. Great product and even better service.
The stain worked like a charm… Now, you couldn't find the damaged bricks if you tried.
I had them redo the bricks on my house from pink to beige and brown. They were courteous and professional. I was very pleased and have had many compliments on the great job they did.
It doesn't look anything like conventional stains or paint. It actually looks like the brick or stones were made the color you stain them. It's very durable also.
Did a project for my girlfriend, excellent work and done in the timeframe they promised. Would definitely recommend
What to expect when you work with us
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Consultation
We take the brief on the first call: the building, its condition, the result you want, and the schedule the work has to fit.
You receive Documented scope -
Site assessment
We evaluate the masonry in person. Substrate condition, existing coatings, access, and how the work has to be sequenced around you.
You receive Condition and access review -
Absorption test
Water on the brick shows how the surface absorbs. Stain bonds into the pore structure, so this result governs whether the substrate qualifies at all.
You receive Substrate go or no go -
Sample panel and proposal
A section of your actual wall, stained and adjusted until the color is approved. It becomes the reference standard. Firm pricing in writing at the same time.
You receive Approved color standard, firm written price -
Application and closeout
Applied by hand with a brush, signed off section by section against the approved panel. Final walk, photo documentation, warranty in writing.
You receive Documented completion, lifetime warranty
Let's partner together
Talk to our team about color consulting, proven mineral stain systems, and a finish that lasts for life.
The building comes first
Every recommendation we make is the one that is right for the building. It is why we stain and never paint, why we prove the color on your own wall before we stain the rest, and why our warranty is lifetime and in writing. Do right by the building, and everything else follows.
Talk to Our TeamSee your masonry in a new color
Two ways to reach us, and both go straight to a real person. We usually get back to you the same day.
Fill out the form
The form asks for what a real quote needs: the address, what the brick looks like now, and photos or drawings of the wall. Fill it out once, and we come out already knowing the job.
Request a QuoteCall us
A real person answers, and if we are on a wall, we call you right back. Best for a quick question, or if you've never explored stain before and want the full tutorial, we're happy to have a real person call and talk it through with you.