The side wall of the school wing in 2021, one range of tan and brown brick between cream block piers under a corrugated metal fascia
Case File 390

Brick and Mortar Stained on a Grand Rapids School Wing

Two runs of brick met on this school wing and did not match. The school hired the correction in 2008, brick and mortar both. The wall was photographed again in 2021 and certified Silver.

Case No. 390
Structure Middle school
Location Grand Rapids, Michigan
Stained 2008
Re-photographed 2021
Elapsed 13 years, Silver level

2008

  1. Two brick runs meeting at an outside corner in 2008, a smooth tan brick with pale joints on the left and a rougher, darker textured brick with grey joints on the right Before, 2008 View this photo larger
  2. The wall mid-job in 2008, a patch of units on the textured brick already carried to a lighter range beside the untouched run, a cream block pier and the smooth tan brick to its right, a bucket at the foot During, 2008 View this photo larger

What was wrong

The file records it in one line: the school wanted a better match. The 2008 frames show why. A smooth tan brick with pale joints meets a rougher, darker textured brick with grey joints at an outside corner, and at the block pier the two runs sit side by side.

What was done

Mineral stain, brushed on by hand, brick and mortar both. The during frame catches it mid-wall: a block of units on the textured run already carried toward the lighter range, the rest still waiting. The school paid for it, not a manufacturer or a contractor.

2021, thirteen years on

  1. The side wall of the school wing in 2021, one range of tan and brown brick between cream block piers under a corrugated metal fascia, a pallet leaning on the wall, snow on the ground and the certification stamp in the corner After, 2021 View this photo larger

What thirteen years prove

One range across the wing, joints included, between the same cream block piers. On the certification scale that is Silver, which covers ten years and over. As of 2026 the work is eighteen years old, and the 2021 revisit is the most recent record on it.

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 390, 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 390, GR Middle School, filled in and signed View the signed form full size
Project name
GR Middle School (2008)
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
The school or university
Reason for project
Addition or makeover
Issue
"The school wanted a better match."
What was corrected
"We stained the brick and mortar."
Storyline
"Over 13 years later, it still looks great!"
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 2020
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