The front of the Arcanum house in 2019, buff brick running from the two-car garage past a covered porch
Case File 184

Blending Blotchy Brick Areas on an Arcanum, Ohio Home

Several areas of brick on this Arcanum house came out blotchy, some panels pale and some several shades redder. The brick manufacturer hired the correction. The walls were photographed again in 2019, nineteen years on.

Case No. 184
Structure Single-story brick home
Location Arcanum, Ohio
Stained June 2000
Re-photographed 2019
Elapsed 19 years, Platinum level

2000

  1. The back of the house in 2000, pale pink and cream brick blotched unevenly across the courses above bare graded dirt Before, 2000 View this photo larger
  2. The same back wall in 2000 after staining, the brick reading as one warm tan range under the long shingled roof After, 2000 View this photo larger
  3. The patio door wall in 2000, the brick red brown around the door and lighter through the courses above it, with bare dirt up to the foundation Before, 2000 View this photo larger
  4. The same patio door wall in 2000 after staining, one even buff range from the concrete stoop up to the eaves After, 2000 View this photo larger
  5. The wall beside a window in 2000, the brick faded to near white above a soldier course sill, with scattered darker units through the courses Before, 2000 View this photo larger
  6. An outside corner in 2000, a tall narrow window above a rowlock sill with pale and grey brick patched unevenly across both walls Before, 2000 View this photo larger

What was wrong

The form records several blotchy areas of brick throughout the home. The 2000 frames show it plainly: one elevation washed out to near white, another run of the same brick much redder, the range jumping wall to wall rather than reading as one blend. Nothing had failed. The color was uneven.

What was done

Mineral stain, mixed to a custom recipe and worked brick by brick. The file records the blend balanced in both directions at once, lightening some areas and darkening others, so the pale brick came down into range while a spread of color was still allowed to show.

2019, nineteen years on

  1. The front of the ranch house in 2019, buff brick running from the two-car garage past a covered porch to a blue spruce in the bed 2019 View this photo larger
  2. The same window in 2019, curtains behind the glass and a planter on the slab below, the brick holding a mixed range of tan, grey and mauve 19 Years After View this photo larger
  3. The same corner in 2019, a downspout at the left and a planted bed running below it, the brick blended across both elevations After, 2019 View this photo larger
  4. Close on the stained brick in 2019, grey, tan and mauve units alternating course by course with clean mortar joints 2019 View this photo larger

What nineteen years prove

Same walls, same sills, one range across them. The file records no fading, blistering, cracking or flaking at the revisit. On the certification scale that is Platinum, twenty years and over, certified against the 2020 signature.

The signed file

Every certified job gets the same form, signed on the day someone goes back to the building. This is the one for case 184, transcribed beside the form so it can be read on a phone and by a search engine.

The case study form for case 184, filled in and signed View the signed form full size
Project name
Residence, Arcanum, OH (2000)
Level
Platinum. The scale runs Bronze at seven to nine years, Silver at ten and over, Gold at fifteen and over, Platinum at twenty and over.
Hired by
The brick manufacturer
Reason for project
Complaint or problem
Issue
"There were several blotchy areas of brick throughout the home."
What was corrected
"We balanced the overall blend, lightening and darkening different areas."
Storyline
"The homeowners wanted a better blended brick on their house, so we broke up the blotchy areas. 21 years later and it still looks great!"
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 2020
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