The front of the Northville house in 2021, brown brick reading as one range across the arched entry
Case File 376

Staining a Rejected Run of Brick on a Northville Home

Two runs of brick went up on this new house and the brickwork was rejected. The company that made the brick paid to bring the off colored run into the field, not the family who had just bought the house. It was photographed again fourteen years later and certified then.

Case No. 376
Structure Two-storey house
Location Northville, Michigan
Stained September 2007
Re-photographed 2021
Elapsed 14 years, Silver level

2007

  1. The front of the new house in September 2007 with a builder sign still in a ground floor window, the brick around the two-storey arched entry running from grey brown through pink, and a burned-in camera date of 09/12/2007 Before, 2007 View this photo larger
  2. The gable end in September 2007, pink and pale units scattered in patches through the brown field, under rake trim still in bare construction lumber Before, 2007 View this photo larger
  3. The garage side wall in September 2007, an electric meter and a white service door on brick blotched light and dark, with cut lumber and pipe lying on bare dirt Before, 2007 View this photo larger
  4. The rear corner in September 2007, a bay window above three dryer vents, the courses below the sills reading noticeably pinker than the brick above them Before, 2007 View this photo larger
  5. Two applicators at the gable in September 2007, one standing on an extension ladder working stain into the brick by hand, the other crouched at the foot of the wall During, 2007 View this photo larger
  6. The same gable later on 09/12/2007, the pink patches closed up and the brown brick reading as one range through the soldier arch over the window After, 2007 View this photo larger
  7. The garage side wall after staining in 2007, the light and dark blotches carried into one range, the drive poured and the service door hung After, 2007 View this photo larger
  8. The rear corner after staining in 2007, the courses under the bay window brought into the same range as the wall above them After, 2007 View this photo larger

What was wrong

Two runs of brick arrived for one house and they did not match. The file records the brickwork as rejected. Nothing had failed. The homeowners were not thrilled with the look of their new house, and the company that made the brick hired the correction rather than the family.

What was done

Mineral stain, brushed on by hand, unit by unit. The file gives it one line: the off colored run was stained to match. Each brick is stained individually using a custom blend, so the texture and the appearance stay what the unstained brick already was.

2021, fourteen years on

  1. The front of the house in 2021 under snow, the brick reading as one brown range from the two-storey arched entry across to the window bay 2021 View this photo larger
  2. The same gable end in 2021 with finished trim, gutters and a planted hedge below the window, the brick still one range through the arch and the fan detail at the peak After, 2021 View this photo larger
  3. The arched entry close up in 2021, the soldier course over the transom and the brick piers beside it holding the same colour 14 Years After View this photo larger
  4. The side wall in 2021, the brick even across the courses above a glass block basement window and two vent pipes, with a light fixture on the field After, 2021 View this photo larger
  5. The house from the front lawn in 2021 in deep snow, the gable and the entry bay reading as one brick colour under a winter sky 2021 View this photo larger

What fourteen years prove

Same gable, same side wall, one range across the field. The file records no cracking, blistering, peeling or fading after fourteen years. On the certification scale that is Silver, which covers ten years and over. As of 2026 the work is nineteen 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 376, 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 376, filled in and signed View the signed form full size
Project name
Residence, Northville, MI (2007)
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
The brick manufacturer
Reason for project
Complaint or problem
Issue
"Two runs of brick were on the house, and the brickwork was rejected."
What was corrected
"We stained the off-colored run to match."
Storyline
"The homeowners weren't thrilled with the look of their new house, so we were hired to color correct it. 14 years later and it still looks great!"
Address
Withheld. The form records it as release permission required.
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 2020
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