The corner of the Orland Park home in 2021, pale brick and light mortar reading as one range across both walls
Case File 406

Lightening All the Mortar on an Orland Park House

The mortar on this house went in too dark for its pale brick. The brick distributor had every joint lightened in 1998. It was photographed again in 2021, twenty-three years on, and certified Platinum.

Case No. 406
Structure Two-story home, single-story wing
Location Orland Park, Illinois
Stained 1998
Re-photographed 2021
Elapsed 23 years, Platinum level

1998

  1. A wall of pale brick beside a window in 1998, a film print in which the mortar joints read a tan shade darker than the units around them, with one joint near the middle standing out lighter Before, 1998 View this photo larger
  2. A projecting brick pier with a flat stone sill against a wall of the same pale brick in 1998, the joints reading darker than the brick throughout Before, 1998 View this photo larger

What was wrong

Nothing had failed. The file records one issue, the mortar color was too dark, and the 1998 frames show it: pale brick with every joint a shade darker than the units around it. The form ticks color change, not complaint, and the brick distributor hired the job.

What was done

Mineral stain on the joints, none on the brick. The file puts a number on it: 100% of the mortar was lightened.

2021, twenty-three years on

  1. The outside corner of the single-story wing in 2021, pale brick with one light mortar color across both walls, a black shutter beside a bank of windows and the certification stamp in the corner After, 2021 View this photo larger
  2. The garage elevation in 2021, two white doors set in pale brick under a low hip roof, a wooden bench between them and a bank of ploughed snow across the driveway After, 2021 View this photo larger
  3. The side wall of the single-story wing in 2021, pale brick running from a shuttered window at the left to the corner pier at the right where the gas meter stands, with bare shrubs and deep snow in front After, 2021 View this photo larger
  4. The two-story section of the house in 2021, pale brick with a shuttered upper window and a chimney at the left, the single-story wing stepping down at the right, bare shrubs and deep snow in front After, 2021 View this photo larger
  5. A close view in 2021 of the soldier course and the brick above it over a garage door, the joints reading as one light color the length of the run After, 2021 View this photo larger

What twenty-three years prove

One mortar color across every elevation and the brick as it was laid. On the certification scale that is Platinum, the top level, twenty years and over. The storyline on the form is one line: still looks great over 23 years later.

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 406, 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 406, filled in and signed View the signed form full size
Project name
Orland Park IL Mortar (1998)
Level
Platinum. 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 distributor
Reason for project
Color change
Issue
"Mortar color was too dark."
What was corrected
"We lightened 100% of the mortar!"
Storyline
"Still looks great over 23 years later!"
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 2021
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