The brick front of a Fishers house in 2019, a deep red wall running to a soldier course above the garage opening
Case File 079

Darkening Red Brick and Tinting Mortar on a Fishers Home

The brick on this two-story house went up lighter than the homeowners wanted. The mason who built it hired the color change: the red darkened by hand, the mortar tinted to follow it. It was photographed again twelve years later and certified then.

Case No. 079
Structure Two-story home
Location Fishers, Indiana
Stained 2007
Re-photographed 2019
Elapsed 12 years, Silver level

2007

  1. The brick above the garage in 2007, a pale pinkish red under bright white mortar joints, with a soldier course running over the opening Before, 2007 View this photo larger
  2. The front entrance in 2007, a brass lantern mounted on pale red brick between the garage opening and the storm door, every joint bright white 2007 View this photo larger

What was wrong

Nothing had failed and nothing was dirty. The complaint was the color itself, and the file puts it in nine words: the brick were too light for the homeowners liking. Under Hired by, the form marks Mason/Contractor, so the trade that laid the wall is the one that called it in.

What was done

Mineral stain, brushed on by hand, unit by unit. Two moves rather than one: the red brick was darkened, and the mortar was tinted so the joints moved with it. The line in the file is nine words: we darkened the red brick and tinted the mortar.

2019, twelve years on

  1. The house from the driveway in 2019, two storeys of deep red brick standing over the garage door with the entrance alcove and a shrub to the right 2019 View this photo larger
  2. The same wall above the garage in 2019, the brick a deeper red and the joints a warm buff, the soldier course over the opening reading with the courses above it 12 Years After View this photo larger
  3. The entrance in 2019, a black lantern on deep red brick beside the arched glass of the front door, with a shrub grown up against the wall 2019 View this photo larger
  4. Close view of the wall under a cast stone sill in 2019, the units a deep red across the whole course and sandy tan mortar in every joint 2019 View this photo larger

What twelve years prove

Same wall, same soldier course over the garage opening, and the joints still carrying the tint they were given. On the certification scale that is Silver, which covers ten years and over. As of 2026 the work is nineteen years old, and the 2019 certification is the most recent record on it.

The phrase the file wants read is its own: get as close as you can in size, texture, and color.

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

Scan of the case study form for case 079, filled in and signed View the signed form full size
Project name
Fishers, IN Residence (2007)
Level
Silver. 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
Mason/Contractor
Reason for project
Other. The box is marked and not annotated, so the sheet does not place it under complaint, color change or makeover.
Issue
"The brick were too light for the homeowners liking."
What was corrected
"We darkened the red brick and tinted the mortar."
Storyline
"This is a great example of 'get as close as you can in size, texture, and color'."
Address
"Permission needed to release address"
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 07/20/2019
More Case Studies See all case studies →
The whole front of the house from the driveway in 2019, the arched entry in the middle and a covered porch and balcony to the right, all in one red brick range

Matching the Entry Pillars on an Illinois Two Story Home
A two-story house after brick staining, the walls one even cream color

A Patchy New House Evened to a Single Cream
The front gable of the Louisville house in 2019, its brick an even blend of tan, pink and brown.

Blending Blotchy Brick on a Louisville Two Story Home

Your Project, Documented for Decades

Every job we stain enters the same discipline: photographed, revisited, re-photographed.

Request a Quote
Call Us Request a Quote