The front gable of the Canton house in 2019, an arched window set in cream and tan brick with a spruce and a shade tree either side
Case File 180

Balancing a Blotchy Brick Blend on a Canton Home

The brick on this two-story house came out blotchy, light patches against dark ones across every wall. The brick manufacturer paid to have the blend balanced in 1997. It was photographed again twenty-two years later and certified Platinum.

Case No. 180
Structure Two-story house
Location Canton, Michigan
Stained 1997
Re-photographed 2019
Elapsed 22 years, Platinum level

1997

  1. The side of the house in 1997 from the garage to the bay window, pale and dark patches of brick running in uneven bands across the wall under the siding Before, 1997 View this photo larger
  2. The same side wall later in 1997, the brick reading as one even cream and tan blend from the garage corner past the bay window After, 1997 View this photo larger
  3. A three-pane window over an air conditioning unit in 1997, the brick around it mottled with a wide pale patch to the right of the frame Before, 1997 View this photo larger
  4. The same window and air conditioning unit later in 1997, the brick around them an even blend with no pale patch After, 1997 View this photo larger
  5. A low brick garden wall with a brass lantern on its pier in June 1997, dark red units scattered through pale cream ones, the camera date printed in the corner Before, 1997 View this photo larger
  6. The garden wall later in 1997 from the other side, the brick one pale cream and tan range from the pier to the house, the street and a neighbouring house behind After, 1997 View this photo larger
  7. An applicator on an extension ladder in 1997 working stain into the wall beside the bay window with a hand brush, a lantern on the pier below him During, 1997 View this photo larger
  8. The brick pier between the garage and a window in 1997, a brass lantern on it and a coiled hose below, the units around the window a pale patch against darker ones Before, 1997 View this photo larger

What was wrong

The file records several blotchy areas of brick throughout the home, and the Evidence Map is blunter: this brick did not blend together, and it looked very blotchy. Nothing had failed. The homeowners wanted a better blended wall, and the brick manufacturer, not the homeowner, hired the correction.

What was done

Mineral stain, brushed on brick by brick. The file describes balancing the overall blend, lightening and darkening different areas, so the patches were broken up rather than covered. The During frame shows the whole method: one applicator, a ladder and a hand brush.

2019, twenty-two years on

  1. The front gable of the house in 2019, an arched window in cream and tan brick under a siding peak, a spruce on the left and a shade tree over the lawn After, 2019 View this photo larger
  2. The wall beside the bay window in 2019, a black lantern and a hanging basket of pink flowers on even cream and tan brick After, 2019 View this photo larger
  3. The brick pier between the garage door and the window in 2019, a black lantern and a wreath of pink flowers on it, the brick one even blend After, 2019 View this photo larger

What twenty-two years prove

The same pier by the garage, the same wall by the bay window, one blend across the courses. The file's own note on the revisit: no cracking, blistering, peeling or fading after all this time. On the certification scale that is Platinum, the top level, for twenty years and over. As of 2026 the work is twenty-nine years old.

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 180, transcribed beside the form so it can be read on a phone and by a search engine.

The case study form for case 180, filled in and signed View the signed form full size
Project name
Residence, Canton, MI (1997)
Level
Platinum. The scale runs Bronze at seven years and over, Silver at ten and over, Gold at fifteen and over, Platinum at twenty and over.
Hired by
The brick manufacturer
Cause
Complaint or problem
Background
"There were several blotchy areas of brick throughout the home."
Actions taken
"We balanced the overall blend, lightening and darkening different areas."
Detail of events
"The homeowners wanted a better blended brick on their house, so we broke up the blotchy areas. 24 years later and it still looks great!"
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 2020
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