The upper storey of the Grand Rapids Public Library in 2019, an arcade of round-arched windows in evenly blended buff brick under a clay tile roof
Case File 019

Lightening Dark Areas Left by a Library Restoration

A restoration left several areas of this library much darker than the rest of the wall. The dark brick was lightened by hand rather than replaced. It was photographed again twenty-three years later and certified then.

Case No. 019
Structure Public library
Location Grand Rapids, Michigan
Stained 1996
Re-photographed 2019
Elapsed 23 years, Platinum level

1996

  1. The library's upper wall before staining, its buff brick patched with darker areas between ornate arched window surrounds Before, 1996 View this photo larger
  2. The long elevation of the library during the work, a ladder up against the second storey and work vehicles parked at the kerb During, 1996 View this photo larger

What was wrong

A restoration had already been done on the building, and it left several areas of the brick far darker than the rest. Nothing had failed and nothing was dirty; the wall no longer agreed with itself.

It was hired by the mason and restoration contractor, not by the library. The trade that had just finished the restoration paid to correct the color rather than hand over a patchy wall.

What was done

Mineral stain, brushed on by hand. The dark and blotchy areas were lightened until they sat back inside the range of the brick around them. The wall was not taken to one flat color; it was brought back to a blend.

2019, twenty-three years on

  1. The library seen from the street corner in 2019, two storeys of evenly blended buff brick with a chimney at the near end and a clay tile roof 2019 View this photo larger
  2. The same corner of the library in 2019, carrying the Brickman Certified stamp, its brick reading as one even wall 23 Years After View this photo larger
  3. The library's long elevation in 2019, its arched openings and carved band course set in evenly blended buff brick 2019 View this photo larger

What twenty-three years prove

Same building, same elevation, and the lightened areas have not come back. On the certification scale that is Platinum, which covers twenty years and over. As of 2026 the work is thirty years old, and the 2019 certification 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 019, 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 019, filled in and signed View the signed form full size
Project name
Grand Rapids Public Library (1996)
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
Mason or contractor
Reason for project
Other
Issue
"This was a large restoration project that left several areas on the building way to dark."
What was corrected
"We lightened the dark and blotchy areas to create a better blend."
Storyline
"Just a great restoration project overall. We had the privilege to work with a great restoration contractor. Still looks great today!"
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 2019
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