The red brick tower of the parking garage in 2020 between two blocks of open concrete decks, a lamp post and a bare tree in front of it
Case File 342

Taking a University Parking Garage From Brown to Red

Nothing was wrong with the brick on this parking garage. The university that owns it wanted a new color scheme, so in June 2010 the dark brown brick was stained into a red range. Photographed again in 2020, ten years on, and certified Silver.

Case No. 342
Structure University parking garage
Location Michigan
Stained June 2010
Re-photographed 2020
Elapsed 10 years, Silver level

2010

  1. The base of the parking garage in June 2010, dark brown brick under a Walbridge sign with a contractor lay-down area in front, stacked steel, a fenced yard and a lift parked at the wall During, 2010 View this photo larger
  2. Two applicators in a lift basket against the brick tower of the parking garage in June 2010, the courses above them already red and the courses below still dark brown, open concrete decks on either side During, 2010 View this photo larger

What was asked

The file is plain about it: nothing was wrong with the original color. The owner wanted a new color scheme, and the university hired the work, not a mason or a brick maker correcting a mistake. On the form that is a makeover, not a complaint. The entrance door in the 2020 frame carries University of Michigan signage.

What was done

The darker brown brick was stained into what the file calls a nice red range. The June 2010 frames catch it half done: the courses above the lift basket already red, the courses below still brown.

2020, ten years on

  1. The parking garage tower in 2020, one range of red brick from the upper decks down to the glazed entrance door, bike racks and snow on the paving in front and the certification stamp in the corner After, 2020 View this photo larger

What ten years prove

One red range across the tower and the base wall, the concrete decks unchanged either side, and the certification stamp on the frame. On the scale that is Silver, ten years and over. As of 2026 the work is sixteen years old, and the 2020 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 342, 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 342, filled in and signed View the signed form full size
Project name
Parking Garage Makeover (2010)
Level
Silver. 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
School or university
Reason for project
Addition or makeover
Issue
"While there was nothing wrong with the original color, the owner wanted a new color scheme."
What was corrected
"We stained the darker brown into a nice red range."
Storyline
"It's been over 10 years since we stained the brick on this parking garage, and it still looks great today."
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 2020
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