The front of the house in 2019, its brick reading as one even sand color across the whole elevation
Case File 009

Lightening and Darkening Brick in One Maryland Wall

The brick on this home went up botchy, some units too pale and some too dark. The company that made the brick paid to have it evened out in 1997. It was photographed again twenty-two years later and certified then.

Case No. 009
Structure Brick home with attached garage
Location Maryland
Stained 1997
Re-photographed 2019
Elapsed 22 years, Platinum level

1997

  1. The front of the house in 1997, its brick a pale peach and cream mix that changes from unit to unit, with bare earth still heaped against the wall Before, 1997 View this photo larger
  2. A porch corner of the house in 1997, the long wall in pale tan brick meeting a redder run of brick around the recessed entry During, 1997 View this photo larger

What was wrong

The file puts it in two words: botchy walls. Nothing had failed and nothing was dirty. The brick had gone up with pale units and dark units scattered through it, so the wall read as patches. It was hired by the brick manufacturer, not by the owner.

What was done

Mineral stain, brushed into the brick by hand, working in two directions at once. The phrase in the file is darken and lighten brick to create a better blend: the pale units came down, the dark ones came up, instead of one flat color over the whole wall.

2019, twenty-two years on

  1. The same front elevation in 2019, the brick one even sand color from the gable end through to the front door 2019 View this photo larger
  2. The long side wall of the garage wing in 2019, its brick one even tone from the front corner to the far end 22 Years After View this photo larger
  3. The garage front in 2019, the brick on both sides of the door carrying the same even blend 2019 View this photo larger
  4. A side entry door in 2019, the brick around it one consistent color from the door frame out to the corner 2019 View this photo larger

What twenty-two years prove

Same front elevation, same arched window, twenty-two years apart. The mark on the file is Platinum, twenty years and over on the certification scale. As of 2026 the work is twenty-nine 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 009, transcribed beside the scan so it can be read on a phone and by a search engine.

The case study form for case 009, filled in and signed View the signed form full size
Project name
Maryland Residence (1997)
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
The brick manufacturer
Reason for project
Complaint or problem
Issues
"Botchy Walls."
What was corrected
"We had to darken and lighten brick to create a better blend."
Storyline
"Here is a good example of lightening and darkening brick in the same wall. This project looks great 22 (1997) years later!"
Address
"Permission needed to release address"
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 2019
More Case Studies See all case studies →
The front of the home from across the lawn in 2019, its brick one red and brown range behind deep planted beds and a young tree.

Blending a Brick Repair on a Canton Michigan Home
A two-story brick home in 2019, its walls one even color under dark red shutters

Blending Mismatched Brick Colors on a Sewickley Home
The front of a single-story home in Washington, Michigan in 2019, brick and siding under a low grey roof

Lightening Dark Brick in a Washington Michigan Home

Your Project, Documented for Decades

Every job we stain enters the same discipline: photographed, revisited, re-photographed.

Request a Quote
Call Us Request a Quote