The front of the house in 2019, its brick gables and stone bay reading as one settled range
Case File 304

Staining Brick and Mortar on an Indiana Home

The brick on this house went up off color in places, and a few areas of mortar needed fixing. Both were stained rather than pulled out. It was photographed again twelve years later and certified then.

Case No. 304
Structure Two-story home, brick and stone
Location Indiana
Stained 2007
Re-photographed 2019
Elapsed 12 years, Silver level

2007

  1. Two applicators on ladders working across the rear elevation of the house in 2007, the brick a mixed grey and brown above a sandstone base 2007 View this photo larger
  2. Two applicators on ladders at the side elevation and the entry portico in 2007, the brick reading warm tan against a sandstone corner During, 2007 View this photo larger

What was wrong

Two things, and the file names both in one line: there were off-colored brick and a few areas where the mortar needed to be fixed. Nothing had failed. The wall did not agree with itself.

It was hired by the mason, not the owner. The homeowner, the file says, was very upset with how the brick looked and unsure about the product.

What was done

Mineral stain, brushed on by hand, on the brick and on the mortar. Not the whole house: the phrase in the file is certain areas. That is what a correction looks like when the goal is a wall that reads as one wall.

2019, twelve years on

  1. The front of the house in 2019 from the driveway, its twin brick gables and stone bay reading as one settled range under mature planting 2019 View this photo larger
  2. An outside brick corner of the house in 2019 beside the stone wing, the units an even tan and brown range with pale mortar joints, carrying the certification stamp 12 Years After View this photo larger
  3. Looking up at the stone dormer and shuttered window above the entry portico in 2019, with brick and a shutter at the left edge 2019 View this photo larger
  4. Close view of the brick and its mortar joints in 2019, tan and brown units running down to the sandstone base beside two windows 2019 View this photo larger

What twelve years prove

Same house, and brick and mortar that still read as one wall at arm's length and from the road. On the certification scale that is Silver, which covers ten years and over. The file ends on the homeowner who had been unsure: it looks great 12 years later. As of 2026 the work is nineteen years old, and 2019 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 304, 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 304, filled in and signed View the signed form full size
Project name
Rocky Point 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
The mason or contractor
Reason for project
Complaint or problem
Issue
"There were off-colored brick and a few areas where the mortar needed to be fixed."
What was corrected
"We stained both the brick and mortar in certain areas."
Storyline
"The homeowner was very upset with how the brick on their home looked and they were unsure about our product. It looks great 12 years later!"
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 2019
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Every job we stain enters the same discipline: photographed, revisited, re-photographed.

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