The side of the Michigan house in 2019, an even red brown brick range in evening sun under a stepped brick rake
Case File 204

Darkening Off Color Runs on a Stepped Gable Michigan House

Runs of off-colored brick ran through the whole house, pale streaks standing out against the red. The off-colored brick was darkened in 2000 to bring the wall back to one range. It was photographed again nineteen years later and certified then.

Case No. 204
Structure Two-story home
Location Michigan
Stained 2000
Re-photographed 2019
Elapsed 19 years, Gold level

2000

  1. The gable end of the house in 2000, pale salmon runs of brick standing out in bands across the darker red wall, with a tall leaded window and a chimney beyond Before, 2000 View this photo larger
  2. The same camera position after the 2000 work, the pale runs carried down into the surrounding red so the wall reads closer to one range After, 2000 View this photo larger

What was wrong

Nothing had failed. The brick had come out uneven and it showed from the drive: the file records runs of off-colored brick throughout the house. It was the brick manufacturer who hired the job, not the owners, and the reason on the file is a complaint.

What was done

Mineral stain, brushed into the brick by hand. The file is exact about the correction, and it is a blend rather than a whole-house color change: the off-colored brick was darkened to add range. The two 2000 frames are a single camera position, before and after.

2019, nineteen years on

  1. The side of the house in 2019, evening sun across an even red brown brick range, the brickwork stepping down the roof slope at the left and a Brickman Certified stamp printed over the lower right of the frame 19 Years After View this photo larger

What nineteen years prove

Nineteen years on the brick reads as one even red brown range, with no pale runs breaking it. On the certification scale that is Gold, which covers fifteen years and over. As of 2026 the work is twenty-six 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 204, 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 204, filled in and signed View the signed form full size
Project name
Baker Ln. MI (2000)
Level
Gold. 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
Brick manufacturer
Reason for project
Complaint or problem
Issue
"There were off-colored runs of brick throughout the house."
What was corrected
"We darkened the off-colored brick to add range."
Storyline
"There was off-colored brick everywhere so we blended the walls for a better match. We finished this job 19 years ago and it still holding up great."
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 2019
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