The front of the Pennsylvania house in 2019, its brick an even red and salmon range beneath the twin front gables
Case File 161

Bringing Dark Red Brick to a Soft Salmon in Pennsylvania

The brick on this two-story house lost its coating in several places, leaving dark red areas against the rest of the wall. The company that made the brick paid for a day's work to bring them back into the range. It was photographed again twenty-one years later and certified then.

Case No. 161
Structure Two-story brick home
Location Pennsylvania
Stained 1998
Re-photographed 2019
Elapsed 21 years, Platinum level

1998

  1. The front of the two-story house in 1998, its brick reading pale buff with darker mottled areas across the end elevation, arched brick heads over the ground-floor windows Before View this photo larger
  2. An applicator on a ladder working a brush across the tall side wall of the house in 1998, a band of darker brick running along the wall beside him During View this photo larger

What was wrong

The brick lost its face coating in several places, and where it went the dark red body underneath showed against everything around it. The file records it in one line: the brick "lost" its coating on several areas of this house.

It was hired by the brick manufacturer, not the homeowner, which put the cost of the fix on the company that supplied the brick.

What was done

Mineral stain, brushed on by hand, unit by unit, across a single day. Only the dark red areas were touched: they were brought to a soft salmon so they sat inside the range of the wall around them, rather than the whole elevation being taken to one flat color. The phrase in the file is: we stained some of the dark red brick to a soft salmon color.

2019, twenty-one years on

  1. The front of the house from the lawn in 2019, its brick an even red and salmon range across both storeys under the twin front gables 2019 View this photo larger
  2. The side elevation in 2019, brick running from the eaves down the slope past a raised deck and stair to the walk-out level After, 2019 View this photo larger
  3. A stretch of the wall in 2019 above a planting bed, the brick an even blend of red, salmon and cream over grey mortar joints 21 Years After View this photo larger
  4. Close view of five courses of brick in 2019, the faces mottled red, salmon and cream unit to unit over grey mortar 2019 View this photo larger

What twenty-one years prove

Twenty-one years between the two sets of photographs, and the verdict written on the second visit is that the staining has held up great. On the certification scale that is Platinum, which covers twenty years and over. As of 2026 the work is twenty-eight 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 161, 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 161, filled in and signed View the signed form full size
Project name
PA Residence (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 manufacturer
Reason for project
Complaint or problem
Issue
"The brick "lost" its coating on several areas of this house."
What was corrected
"We stained some of the dark red brick to a soft salmon color."
Storyline
"We were hired to come out for a day to correct some of the dark red areas. 21 years later, the staining has held up great!"
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 2019
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