An outside corner of the Michigan house in 2003 after the light brick were darkened, buff and tan brick running to a window at the left
Case File 049

Darkening Scattered Light Brick on a Michigan Home

Light colored brick sat scattered across the outside of this house. The brick manufacturer had them darkened in 2003 rather than cut out. The file went back in 2019, sixteen years on, and certified the work Gold.

Case No. 049
Structure Two-story house
Location Michigan
Stained May 2003
Re-photographed 2019
Elapsed 16 years, Gold level

2003

  1. A side wall of the house in May 2003 before staining, pale near-white brick scattered through the buff and tan blend, an electric meter at the left and a window at the right Before, 2003 View this photo larger
  2. The same side wall in 2003 after the light brick were darkened, the blend reading evenly around the electric meter with no pale units standing out After, 2003 View this photo larger
  3. An outside corner of the house in May 2003 before staining, pale brick showing in the sunlit quoin column beside a window, a gas meter at the right and the camera date in the corner Before, 2003 View this photo larger
  4. The front gable in 2003 before staining, an extension ladder leaning across its arched window and pale brick showing in the peak Before, 2003 View this photo larger
  5. The same outside corner in 2003 after staining, the quoin column and the two walls meeting at it reading as one buff and tan blend, the gas meter at the right After, 2003 View this photo larger

What was wrong

Nothing had failed. A number of brick in the blend had fired lighter than the rest, and the file puts it plainly: white-looking brick that could be found sporadically around this house looked out of place. The brick manufacturer hired the correction, not the homeowner.

What was done

The light units were darkened one at a time with mineral stain, brought into the range of the brick around them. The file describes it as each brick individually stained and completely absorbed into the surface of the brick. There weren't a large amount, in its words, but enough to make a difference.

2019, sixteen years on

  1. The front of the two-story house in 2019, gabled roofs over a bay window and an arched entry, one buff and tan brick blend across the whole elevation 2019 View this photo larger
  2. The front gable in 2019 under a clear sky, one even brick blend around the arched window and its dark shutters 16 Years After View this photo larger

What sixteen years prove

The file went back in 2019 and photographed the front elevation, the arched window and the gable. The note on the file reads no cracking, blistering, peeling or fading after all this time. On the certification scale that is Gold, which covers fifteen years and over. As of 2026 the work is twenty-three 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 049, transcribed beside the form so it can be read on a phone and by a search engine.

The case study form for case 049, filled in and signed, rendered from the case booklet View the signed form full size
Project name
Residence, Michigan (2003)
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
The brick manufacturer
Reason for project
Complaint or problem
Issue
"There were light colored brick scattered across the exterior that needed to be darkened."
What was corrected
"We were hired to darken the light brick."
Storyline
"There weren't a large amount of brick to be stained, but enough to make a difference. This project shows that no job is too small, and how big of a change we can make with slight improvements."
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 2020
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