The long brick wall of the middle school addition in 2019, red units with darker ones scattered through the courses under a dark parapet
Case File 109

Matching New Brick to Old on a Michigan Middle School

A Michigan middle school built a new wing and could not find a brick to match the original. The brick distributor found a unit close in texture and size and had its color stained to match. Photographed again in 2019 and certified Platinum in 2020.

Case No. 109
Structure Middle school, new addition
Location Michigan
Stained 2001
Re-photographed 2019
Elapsed 18 years, Platinum level

2001

  1. The new wing in June 2001 as laid, square units in a mix of red, grey and tan under a white cap, with the existing entrance and its SCHOOL sign beyond Before, 2001 View this photo larger
  2. The same wall after staining, labelled 2001 in the file, the units now one red range under a dark parapet, with a pile of snow on the lawn and the entrance sign beyond After, 2001 View this photo larger

What was wrong

The school built a new wing and nobody could supply the original brick. The file puts it in one line: this school couldn't find a match for a new addition. The Before frame shows the wing as laid, a mix of red, grey and tan units beside the existing entrance.

What was done

The brick distributor found a unit close in texture and size, and stain closed the color. Mineral stain brushed into the new units brought them to the range of the original building.

2019, eighteen years on

  1. The long wall of the addition in 2019, red brick with darker units scattered through it, running past a set of windows toward the original building under a blue sky 2019 View this photo larger
  2. The middle school entrance in 2019, the wall of the addition meeting the original entrance bay and its MIDDLE SCHOOL sign, a grill parked beside the doors After, 2019 View this photo larger
  3. Looking up at the corner of the addition in 2019 beside the MIDDLE SCHOOL sign, the brick of the new wing and the entrance bay reading as one range After, 2019 View this photo larger
  4. A window and a grey steel door on the addition in 2019, the brick around them a red range with darker units, a car parked on the drive beyond 2019 View this photo larger
  5. Looking straight up the wall of the addition in 2019, square textured units in reds and browns with pale mortar joints 2019 View this photo larger

What eighteen years prove

The new wing and the original building read as one range from the entrance to the far end of the wall. The file certifies it Platinum, signed in 2020, and calls it an excellent example of how a brick dealer, brick manufacturer and MCI can work together. As of 2026 the work is twenty-five years old.

The signed file

Every certified job gets the same form, signed when someone goes back to the building. This is the one for case 109, transcribed beside it so it can be read on a phone and by a search engine.

The case study form for case 109, filled in and signed, rendered from the case booklet View the signed form full size
Project name
School, Michigan (2001)
Level
Platinum. The scale runs Bronze at seven years and over, Silver at ten and over, Gold at fifteen and over, Platinum at twenty and over.
Hired by
Brick distributor
Cause
Addition or makeover
Background
"This school couldn't find a match for a new addition."
Actions taken
"They found a brick close in texture and size for us to match."
Detail of events
"Excellent example of how a brick dealer, brick manufacturer and MCI can work together for an award winning project."
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 2020. Address: release permission required.
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