The lake elevation of the Michigan house in 2021, a stone chimney and a stone column in a brown, grey and tan blend set between green siding
Case File 393

Manufactured Stone on a Michigan Lake House Colored to the Fireplace

The manufactured stone on this Michigan lake house was laid in a flat pale grey that did not match the fireplace inside. The mason who built it hired the color change. The stone was photographed again fourteen years later and certified.

Case No. 393
Structure Lakefront house
Location Michigan
Stained 2007
Re-photographed 2021
Elapsed 14 years, Gold level

2007

  1. The chimney in 2007, manufactured stone in a uniform pale grey and white under a wide cornice, seen from below past a gutter line Before, 2007 View this photo larger
  2. A side wall in 2007, pale grey manufactured stone between a curved glass block window and a Kohler transfer switch mounted on tan siding Before, 2007 View this photo larger

What was asked for

Nothing had failed. The stone was newly laid, and the homeowners wanted the outside of the house to match the fireplace inside it. The file records this as an addition or makeover, not a complaint, and the mason who laid the stone hired the work.

What was done

Mineral stain, brushed in by hand. The words in the file are several recipes to create a vibrant blend: not one color across the wall but a set of them, distributed so the face reads as varied stone rather than one flat tone.

2021, fourteen years on

  1. The lake elevation of the house in 2021, a stone chimney over a full height stone column in a brown, grey and tan blend, green siding either side and open water beyond 2021 View this photo larger
  2. The same chimney in 2021, the stone now a blend of brown, rust, grey and tan, running down past the eaves to the curved glass block bay below After, 2021 View this photo larger
  3. The same side wall in 2021, the stone in a brown, rust and blue grey blend, the Kohler transfer switch and the glass block window still beside it 14 Years After View this photo larger

What fourteen years show

Same chimney, same wall beside the glass block, same transfer switch on it. The blend is still carrying its range. The phrase in the file is that the color still looks as vibrant as the day we left. The level recorded on the certification scale is Gold.

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 393, 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 393, filled in and signed View the signed form full size
Project name
Stone, Michigan (2007)
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 mason or contractor
Reason for project
Addition or makeover
Background
"The homeowners wanted the newly laid manufactured stone to match the inside fireplace"
Actions taken
"We used several recipes to create a vibrant blend"
Detail of events
"The color still looks as vibrant as the day we left!"
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 2020
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