The corner of the Ohio retail building in 2019, its cream brick and mortar reading as one range across both elevations
Case File 316

Blending Off Color Brick and Mortar on an Ohio Retail Block

The brick and the mortar on this two-story retail building went up off color. The mason who laid the wall paid to have it corrected rather than torn out. It was photographed again nine years later and certified then.

Case No. 316
Structure Two-story retail building
Location Ohio
Stained September 2010
Re-photographed 2019
Elapsed 9 years, Bronze level

2010

  1. A pier of pale cream brick beside a rougher grey and tan brick wall in 2010, with blue tape squares marking units across the face Before, 2010 View this photo larger
  2. An applicator on a ladder working stain into the cream brick with a hand brush, extension ladders and rope rigged across the wall beside him During, 2010 View this photo larger

What was wrong

The brick and the mortar were both off color. Nothing had failed. The customer had expected a much tighter range than what was installed, and the file is even handed about it: not a horrible match, but even just a few shades makes a big difference. The mason who laid the wall hired the correction, not the owner.

What was done

Mineral stain, brushed on by hand. A good portion of the brick was carried into range and the mortar with it. The file records the joints as their own step, enhancing the different mortar areas. Closing a range this narrow means treating mortar as a color rather than as a gap between colors.

2019, nine years on

  1. The outside corner of the two-story building in 2019, cream brick running past three window bays to a dark metal parapet with an awning below 2019 View this photo larger
  2. The upper wall in 2019, a red brown accent course running above two panels of cast stone set into the cream brick, with the certification stamp in the corner After, 2019 View this photo larger
  3. An inside corner in 2019 where a rough tan brick wall meets the smooth cream brick of the main elevation at a downspout 2019 View this photo larger
  4. Two windows in 2019 with red brown brick sills and cast stone panels above them, over a dark awning carrying part of a tenant sign 9 Years After View this photo larger

What nine years prove

Same elevation, same accent course, one range across the units and the joints. On the certification scale that is Bronze, which covers seven to nine years. As of 2026 the work is sixteen 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 316, 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 316, filled in and signed View the signed form full size
Project name
OH Commercial Building (2010)
Level
Bronze. 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
Complaint or problem
Issue
"The brick and mortar were off-color."
What was corrected
"We stained a good portion of the brick and also the mortar."
Storyline
"The customer expected a much tighter range than what was installed. It was not a horrible match but even just a few shades makes a big difference. We enhanced the different mortar areas and 9 years later it looks great."
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 2019
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