The garage end of a single-story white brick home in 2019, the brick reading as one even color across the wall
Case File 054

Whitening Clay Coated Brick on an Illinois Ranch Home

The white brick on this single-story home was made with a clay coating, and some units went up without it. The company that made the brick paid to have the off-color ones whitened in 2003. It was photographed again sixteen years later and certified then.

Case No. 054
Structure Single-story brick home
Location Illinois
Stained 2003
Re-photographed 2019
Elapsed 16 years, Gold level

2003

  1. A side wall of the house in 2003, tan brick showing through the white in patches along the top courses under the eaves Before, 2003 View this photo larger
  2. The garage end of the house in 2003, the ground still bare gravel, tan units scattered through the white brick around the door head 2003 View this photo larger

What was wrong

The file puts it in six words: some brick are missing their coating. These were clay-coated units, so a brick that lost its coat showed the tan body underneath, in patches across a white wall. The brick manufacturer paid for the work, not the owner and not the mason.

What was done

Mineral stain, brushed on by hand. Only the off-color units were touched, whitened back into the range of the ones around them. The file is candid about the surface: "not the best candidate for our process, but we do not know of a better product to use to color correct this brick problem."

2019, sixteen years on

  1. The garage end of the house in 2019, the same white side door and brass coach light, the brick one even color from the eaves to the driveway 2019 View this photo larger
  2. A side wall of the house in 2019 under its hipped roof, the white brick even across the whole elevation with clipped boxwood along the foot After, 2019 View this photo larger
  3. The eaves and soffit of the house in 2019 seen past a white birch, the brick below them one even white to the window head 16 Years After View this photo larger
  4. Close view of the white brick in 2019, each unit heavily textured and flecked with rust, the mortar joints a warm grey 2019 View this photo larger

What sixteen years prove

Same garage end, same white side door, same brass coach light beside it, sixteen years apart. The note on the file is three words long: still doing great. On the certification scale that is Gold, fifteen years and over. As of 2026 the work is twenty-three 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 054, 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 054, filled in and signed View the signed form full size
Project name
Residence in Illinois (2003)
Level
Gold. 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
Issues
"Some brick are missing their coating."
What was corrected
"We whitened the off colored brick."
Storyline
"These brick had a 'clay coat' coating on them. Not the best candidate for our process, but we do not know of a better product to use to color correct this brick problem. 16 years later, still doing great!"
Address
"Permission needed to release address"
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 2019
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