The corner of the South Bend high school in 2019, red brick banded with buff across three storeys
Case File 007

Matching Replacement Brick and Mortar on a South Bend High School

Repairs and restoration left this high school with brick that did not match the wall around it. The mason contractor who laid it hired the correction. It was photographed again eighteen years later and certified then.

Case No. 007
Structure High school
Location South Bend, Indiana
Stained December 2001
Re-photographed 2019
Elapsed 18 years, Gold level

2001

  1. A banded wall in 2001, red courses between pale bands, with a block of replacement brick sitting lighter than the course it was set into Before, 2001 View this photo larger
  2. A banded elevation two days later, the red courses and the pale courses each holding one range down to the kerb After, 2001 View this photo larger

What was wrong

The building had been through repairs and restoration. The mason contractor looked for the closest brick he could find, and the file records what happened next in one line: the school was not happy with the match.

The contractor called it in himself, not the school and not the architect. The file's phrase is that he called MCI in to see what we can do.

What was done

Mineral stain, brushed on by hand, unit by unit. The brick is described in the file as very hard, low absorbent, smooth, 100% clay. The mortar was corrected as well as the brick: the phrase in the file is color corrected the brick and mortar for a better match.

2019, eighteen years on

  1. The corner of the school from ground level in 2019, three storeys of red brick banded with buff, windows on both elevations meeting at the corner 2019 View this photo larger
  2. A banded wall at the pavement in 2019, a wide red band running between buff bands with no course reading out of range, the frame carrying the Brickman Certified stamp 18 Years After View this photo larger
  3. Red brick courses alternating with wide cream bands, seen at an angle along the wall in 2019 2019 View this photo larger
  4. Close view of the banded brickwork in 2019, red units with a few darker ones scattered through the courses above and below a cream band 2019 View this photo larger

What eighteen years prove

Same wall, same banded courses, and a match that is still a match. On the certification scale that is Gold, which covers fifteen years and over. As of 2026 the work is twenty-five 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 007, 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 007, filled in and signed View the signed form full size
Project name
South Bend High School (2001)
Level
Gold. 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
Mason or contractor, and Other. Both boxes are marked.
Reason for project
Other. The four named reasons are all left blank.
Issue
"Building underwent repairs and restoration."
What was corrected
"Color corrected the brick and mortar for a better match."
Storyline
"The mason contractor tried to find the best match possible. The school was not happy with the match. The contractor called MCI in to see what we can do. The brick were very hard, low absorbent, smooth, 100% clay brick. The staining has held up great for 18 years now, and will continue to do so!"
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 2019
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