Brick wall of the church wing in 2019, with an arched window and the canopied entrance door
Case File 028

Blending a New Wing Into St Thomas Parish Church

A new wing went up against this parish church in brick that was close but not exact. The brick distributor paid to have the new units stained into the old wall. It was photographed again twenty-one years later and certified then.

Case No. 028
Structure Parish church, 1998 wing
Location Michigan
Stained July 1998
Re-photographed 2019
Elapsed 21 years, Platinum level

1998

  1. A new wing standing between two older parts of a brick church, its brick a pale pink against the darker original walls Before, 1998 View this photo larger
  2. The same wing after staining, its brick carrying the reds and browns of the church walls on either side of it After, 1998 View this photo larger

What was wrong

A new wing was built onto the church, and the brick that went up on it was the closest the dealer could find rather than the same brick. The form records the ask in seven words: they were looking for a better/closer match.

It was hired by the brick distributor, not the parish. The company that supplied the new brick treated the gap between it and the old wall as its own problem.

What was done

Mineral stain, brushed into the new units by hand. Not one color across the wing: the file records that a few colors were added to create a better blend, which is what stops new brick reading as new beside the brick it abuts.

2019, twenty-one years on

  1. The church wing and its entrance seen across the lawn in 2019, the wing and the older walls behind it reading as one brick 21 Years After View this photo larger
  2. The front of the wing in 2019 with an American flag at the kerb, its arched windows set in even red and brown brick 2019 View this photo larger
  3. Close view of the wing entrance, a radiating brick arch over a twin window beside a canopied door, the units in mixed reds and browns 2019 View this photo larger

What twenty-one years prove

Same church, same wing, and a join that still does not announce itself. 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 028, 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 028, filled in and signed View the signed form full size
Project name
St Thomas Parish (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
Addition or makeover
Issue
"They were looking for a better/closer match."
What was corrected
"MCI added a few colors to create a better blend."
Storyline
"This project turned out great. The dealer found a brick that was both close in size, texture, and color. They called MCI in and we did the rest! It looked great then back in 1998, and it still looks great 21 years later! It's proven, because it lasts!"
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 06/30/2019
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