The stained alley wall of a South Bend architect's office in 2019, reading as one even red and brown wall
Case File 011

Matching an Alley Wall to the Front of an Architect's Office

The brick in the alley beside this architect's office did not match the brick on the front. It was stained to a closer match in 2001, on a day nobody billed for. It was photographed again eighteen years later and certified then.

Case No. 011
Structure Architect's office
Location South Bend
Stained 2001
Re-photographed 2019
Elapsed 18 years, Gold level

2001

  1. The corner of the building before staining, the alley wall peppered with pale buff and near-black units against the red brick of the street face Before View this photo larger
  2. The same corner with an extension ladder still standing against the alley wall, the pale and near-black units now blended into the brick around them After View this photo larger

What was wrong

Two elevations meet at this corner and only one of them read right. The alley wall carried pale and near-black units the street face did not. The file puts it in one line: the brick in the alley beside the architects office did not match.

The architect hired it for his own building, and the file records the price. It was a freebie. A few hours ended up taking an entire day, color development included.

What was done

Mineral stain, brushed on by hand, unit by unit. Not one color laid over the wall: the off units were brought toward the range of the brick around them. The phrase in the file is a closer match.

2019, eighteen years on

  1. The corner in 2019 with the architecture firm's sign under the limestone band, the alley wall an even red and brown blend, carrying the Brickman certification stamp 2019 View this photo larger
  2. The corner seen from across the sidewalk in 2019, the stained alley wall and the red brick of the street face reading as one building 18 Years After View this photo larger
  3. The alley elevation looked at from below in 2019, the blended brick running unbroken from the gas meter at the base to the limestone band above 2019 View this photo larger

What eighteen years prove

Same corner, same wall, and a blend that is still the blend it was mixed to. 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 011, 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 011, filled in and signed View the signed form full size
Project name
Architect Office Favor (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
Architect
Reason for project
Color change
Issue
"The brick in the alley beside the architects office did not match."
What was corrected
"We stained the brick for a closer match."
Storyline
"This was a “freebie” for the architect. A few hours ended up taking an entire day (including color development). This project turned out great! It has also lasted the test of time!"
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 2019
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