The Michigan church from the lawn in 2019, its brick reading as one even range across the gable and the main wall
Case File 130

Darkening Light Brick at the Top of a Michigan Church

The brick on this church went up light across the top of the main wall and in a few other areas. The company that made the brick paid to have those areas darkened rather than rebuilt. It was photographed again twenty-three years later and certified then.

Case No. 130
Structure Church, gable end and main wall
Location Michigan
Stained 1996
Re-photographed 2019
Elapsed 23 years, Platinum level

1996

  1. The gable end of the church in 1996, its brick reading noticeably light across the upper wall, with a green tarp hung over the round window opening Before, 1996 View this photo larger
  2. The same gable during the work, the round window opening still sheeted over in green plastic while the brick around it is worked During, 1996 View this photo larger

What was wrong

The brick did not match on a few areas of the church. Nothing had failed; the units did not agree with each other. The file names the place: the top area of the main wall was light, along with a few other areas.

It was hired by the brick manufacturer, not the congregation and not the mason. A brick company decided the color of a finished church it had supplied was its own problem, and paid for staining over tear-out.

What was done

Mineral stain, brushed on by hand. Not one color over the whole elevation: the light brick was brought down into the range of the units around it, so the finished wall still reads as several brick colors. The phrase in the file is darkening some of the light brick in the wall.

2019, twenty-three years on

  1. The church seen from the lawn in 2019, the main wall and the gable end reading as one even red and brown range from end to end 2019 View this photo larger
  2. The gable end square on in 2019, the round stained glass window centred in brick that runs one consistent red and brown from the eaves to the ground, with the Brickman certification stamp in the corner 23 Years After View this photo larger
  3. The outside corner of the gable from below in 2019, the pier and the wall face carrying the same blend of red and brown units 2019 View this photo larger
  4. The gable and the main wall behind a pair of blue spruce in 2019, the brick even across both elevations 2019 View this photo larger

What twenty-three years prove

Same wall, same brick, and the areas that were light still sit in the range they were brought to. On the certification scale that is Platinum, which covers twenty years and over. As of 2026 the work is thirty 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 130, 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 130, filled in and signed View the signed form full size
Project name
Church in Michigan (1996)
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
Issue
"The brick did not match on a few areas of the church."
What was corrected
"We darkened some of the light brick in the wall."
Storyline
"The top area of the main wall was light along with a few other areas on the church. 23 years later, looks just like the day we left it."
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 2019
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