The drive-thru wall of the Rite Aid in Greenville in 2020, dark brown brick above a block base with the blue canopy at the corner
Case File 356

Darkening Off Color Brick on a Greenville Rite Aid

The brick on the drive-thru wall of this Rite Aid went up with lighter units scattered through it. The company that made the brick paid to have them darkened in 2008 rather than have the wall taken down. It was photographed again twelve years later and certified Silver.

Case No. 356
Structure Drive-thru pharmacy
Location Greenville, Pennsylvania
Stained June 2008
Re-photographed 2020
Elapsed 12 years, Silver level

2008

  1. The drive-thru pharmacy wall in June 2008 before staining, dark brown brick with lighter tan units scattered across the whole face under a blue Drive Thru Pharmacy canopy sign Before, 2008 View this photo larger
  2. The same wall in June 2008 after the light units were darkened, the brick reading one dark brown from the block base to the roofline After, 2008 View this photo larger

What was wrong

"Off colored brick throughout areas of the wall," in the file's words. The light units were scattered across the face rather than grouped, so there was no clean line to replace along. The brick manufacturer hired the correction, not the pharmacy.

What was done

The lighter units were darkened to the range of the rest of the wall, unit by unit, with a mineral stain that leaves the mortar and the correct brick untouched. The file flags the hard part: a very hard fired brick with low absorption, the kind of face that takes stain slowly. Both 2008 frames carry the camera's own date, 06/02/2008.

2020, twelve years on

  1. The side elevation of the Rite Aid in 2020 from the parking lot, the corrected wall at the drive-thru corner one dark brown above the block base, with the certification stamp in the corner After, 2020 View this photo larger

What twelve years prove

The 2020 frame steps back to take in the whole side of the building, canopy and all. The corrected wall reads as one range from the block base to the parapet. On the certification scale Silver covers ten years and over; the file was signed at twelve. As of 2026 the work is eighteen years old, and the 2020 certification is the latest 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 356, 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 356, filled in and signed View the signed form full size
Project name
Greenville PA (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 brick manufacturer
Reason for project
Complaint or problem
Issue
"Off colored brick throughout areas of the wall."
What was corrected
"We darkened the lighter colored brick."
Storyline
"This was a very hard fired brick with low absorption. However, we successfully stained it 13 years ago and it still looks great today."
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 2020
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