The street elevation in 2019, buff brick running past arched entries and a gabled bay under a red tile roof
Case File 206

Blending Old Dirty Brick With New on a Michigan Apartment Block

Older brick on this block was too dirty to clean without damage, and the new brick beside it did not match. The mason who ran the restoration hired the correction in 2002. Photographed again seventeen years later.

Case No. 206
Structure Three-story apartment block
Location Michigan
Stained 2002
Re-photographed 2019
Elapsed 17 years, Platinum level

2002

  1. The elevation in 2002, pale new brick at the base running up against darker older brick above, new windows still carrying maker stickers and bare dirt where the sidewalk was being rebuilt Before, 2002 View this photo larger
  2. Two applicators on extension ladders working the upper wall in 2002, a third ladder against the storey below and orange safety fence along the sidewalk During, 2002 View this photo larger

What was wrong

New brick had gone up against old brick dark with dirt. The file records that the older brick could not be cleaned without damaging it, so closing the gap by washing was not open. The mason who ran the restoration hired the correction.

What was done

Two moves in opposite directions: the new brick darkened, the old lightened, meeting in one range rather than pulling either wall all the way to the other. The file is candid about the limit. Dirt was blocking the old brick, so long-lasting results could not be promised on those units.

2019, seventeen years on

  1. The street elevation in 2019, buff brick running past a gabled bay and a run of arched entries to a corner pavilion, red tile roof above and a lamp standard at the kerb After, 2019 View this photo larger
  2. An arched entry in 2019 seen close, amber brick voussoirs over a tall arched window on a cast stone base, the wall beyond reading as one range to the next bay 17 Years After View this photo larger

What seventeen years prove

The 2019 frames read as one range across the entries and the upper wall. The file's own note on going back is short: it was still looking great. Certification is Platinum, and as of 2026 the work is twenty-four 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 206, 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 206, filled in and signed View the signed form full size
Project name
Restoration, Michigan (2002)
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 mason or contractor
Reason for project
Complaint or problem
Issue
"The older, darker brick were unable to be cleaned without damaging the brick"
What was corrected
"We darkened the new brick and lightened the old, dirty brick"
Storyline
"We were originally asked just to darken the new brick to match the dirty older brick. We then lightened the old brick to get a better match. Since that brick was dirty and causing blockage to the brick, we weren't able to ensure long-lasting results on those specific brick. When we went back 17 years later though, it was still looking great!"
Address
"Release permission required"
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 2020
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