The front of the Kentucky house in 2019, dark brown brick with dark mortar joints beside a stone entry column
Case File 334

Darkening the Mortar Joints Alone on a Kentucky Home

The brick on this house was never the problem. The mortar was too light for the homeowners liking, so the joints alone were stained darker and the brick was left as it was laid. It was photographed again nine years later and certified then.

Case No. 334
Structure Two-story house
Location Kentucky
Stained October 2010
Re-photographed 2019
Elapsed 9 years, Silver level

2010

  1. The gable elevation in 2010, pale mortar joints standing out against dark brown brick around a tall arched window, with bare dirt at the foundation Before, 2010 View this photo larger
  2. The same wall on the day of the work, the joints around the arched window now stained dark and reading close to the brick During, 2010 View this photo larger
  3. The gable two days later, the mortar dark against the brick under two white trimmed roofs, with the camera date 10 29 2010 burned into the corner After, 2010 View this photo larger

What was wrong

Nothing had failed. The brick was dark, the mortar was pale against it, and the file gives the reason in nine words: the mortar was too light for the homeowners liking. The homeowner hired the work, not a builder and not a mason.

What was done

Mineral stain on the joints only. The file records staining the mortar to a darker color that better complemented the dark brick, and not one brick was touched. The before and after frames carry camera dates two days apart.

2019, nine years on

  1. The front of the house in 2019, dark brick and dark mortar running from the stone entry column past the front door to a side elevation, with clipped shrubs along the walk 2019 View this photo larger
  2. The same gable elevation in 2019, the mortar still dark against the brick around the arched window, with grown shrubs along the foundation 9 Years After View this photo larger

What nine years prove

Same elevation, same arched window, the joints still dark against the brick. On the certification scale that is Silver; the form was signed in 2020, ten years from the work. As of 2026 it is sixteen years old.

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 334, 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 334, filled in and signed View the signed form full size
Project name
Residence, Kentucky (2010)
Level
Silver. The scale runs Bronze at seven and over, Silver at ten and over, Gold at fifteen and over, Platinum at twenty and over.
Hired by
The homeowner
Reason for project
Addition or makeover
Background
"The mortar was too light for the homeowners liking"
Actions taken
"We stained the mortar to a darker color that better complemented the dark brick"
Detail of events
"A great example of what a difference staining only the mortar can make"
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 2020
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