The front of the Ohio house in 2019, brown brick running from the dormered roof across the gable to the arched head of the garage
Case File 289

Taking Red Brick to Brown on an Ohio Dormered Home

Red brick, white brick and pale stucco all met on the same elevation of this new house. The homeowners wanted a quieter blend than the one it was built with. All of the brick was stained in 1997, then photographed again and certified twenty-two years later.

Case No. 289
Structure Two-story house
Location Ohio
Stained 1997
Re-photographed 2019
Elapsed 22 years, Platinum level

1997

  1. The garage wing in 1997 before staining, red brick with dark headers scattered through it meeting white brick and pale stucco, the openings still without doors and the ground bare gravel Before, 1997 View this photo larger
  2. The front of the house in 1997 after staining, the brick now an even brown across the gable and the garage arches, two dormers and the covered porch to the left, the house still unfinished After, 1997 View this photo larger

Why it was stained

Nothing had failed. The house was new and so was the wall. The file records the brief in one line: tone down the whites and change the red brick to brown.

What was done

Mineral stain, brushed into the brick by hand. The file records all of it treated, the white brick and the red together, which is what lets the wall read as one range rather than as a repair. Both 1997 frames were taken before the garage doors went on.

2019, twenty-two years on

  1. The same front of the house in 2019, brown brick from the dormered roof across the gable to two arched garage heads, with shrubs and a planted hanging basket at the base After, 2019 View this photo larger
  2. The garage wing in 2019 from the driveway, the same elevation as the 1997 frame, brown brick under a tan roof with planted beds and a brick paver walk in front After, 2019 View this photo larger
  3. The brick at close range in 2019 behind a black carriage lantern, brown and grey units through every course with a soldier arch turning over the opening beside it 2019 View this photo larger
  4. The entry in 2019, a dark front door under the stucco porch with the stained brick of the garage wing running away to the right above a stone base 2019 View this photo larger
  5. The arched head of a garage opening in 2019, brown brick set on edge turning over the door with darker units scattered through the courses above it 2019 View this photo larger

What twenty-two years prove

Same elevation, same dormers, same arched garage heads. In 2019 the brick still carries one brown range with the darker units reading through it. On the certification scale that is Platinum, which starts at twenty years. As of 2026 the work is twenty-nine 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 289, 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 289, filled in and signed View the signed form full size
Project name
Residence, Ohio (1997)
Level
Platinum. The scale runs Bronze at seven and over, Silver at ten and over, Gold at fifteen and over, Platinum at twenty and over.
Hired by
The homeowner
Reason for project
Addition or makeover
Issue
"We were hired to tone down the whites and change the red brick to brown"
What was corrected
"We stained all the white and red brick"
Storyline
"The homeowners wanted a more subtle blend rather than the harsh color contrasts that were there before. Still looks amazing!"
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 2020
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Every job we stain enters the same discipline: photographed, revisited, re-photographed.

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