The front of the Sterling Heights house in 2021, tan brick running in one range across the bay, the arched entry and the garage
Case File 384

Blending Miscolored Brick on a Sterling Heights House

Miscolored brick ran through this house while it was still being built. The company that made the brick paid to have it corrected rather than have the wall torn out. It was photographed again fourteen years later and certified then.

Case No. 384
Structure Two-story house
Location Sterling Heights, Michigan
Stained 2007
Re-photographed 2021
Elapsed 14 years, Silver level

2007

  1. The front bay and gable of the house in 2007, still under construction with open window openings and bare eave framing, the brick running pink, tan and dark grey from course to course Before, 2007 View this photo larger
  2. The arched entry bay in 2007 with plastic sheeting across the doorway, the arch ring and the wall beside it made up of brick in several different colors Before, 2007 View this photo larger
  3. Looking up under the entry arch in 2007, the soffit unfinished and the brick above the opening reading dark red beside pale grey units Before, 2007 View this photo larger
  4. The garage opening in 2007 with no door fitted and bare sheathing inside, the header course and the pier beside it mixing pink, cream and dark brown brick Before, 2007 View this photo larger
  5. A close-up of the wall in 2007, salmon and cream brick alternating with deep red units across four courses of grey mortar Before, 2007 View this photo larger
  6. A second close-up in 2007 of a different area, a band of dark purple brown brick running through lighter red and grey units Before, 2007 View this photo larger

What was wrong

The brick went up off range. The file records miscolored brick throughout the house, and the 2007 frames show why it was caught early: the windows are still open holes and the eaves are bare framing. The company that made the brick hired the correction, not the owner.

What was done

Mineral stain, brushed into the brick by hand. The file describes the work as staining for a better blend and flow to the house, and is specific about the method: some brick were lightened and others darkened, rather than every unit being carried to one flat color.

2021, fourteen years on

  1. The front of the two-story house in 2021 under snow, the brick reading as one tan range across the bay, the arched entry and the attached garage 2021 View this photo larger
  2. The same front bay and gable in 2021, finished with cream soffit and fascia and snow on the roof, the brick carrying one range across both gables After, 2021 View this photo larger
  3. The same arched entry bay in 2021 with a stained wood front door and a wreath, the arch ring and the wall beside it reading as one blend After, 2021 View this photo larger
  4. The entry arch in 2021 with the arched window fitted and white trim run around it, the brick above the opening even from the arch ring out to the corner 14 Years After View this photo larger
  5. The garage bay in 2021 with a white sectional door fitted and a carriage lamp on the pier, the header course and the pier in one tan range After, 2021 View this photo larger
  6. A close-up of the wall in 2021, the same salmon and cream brick now carrying a tan and grey blend with the brick texture and the tooling marks still showing through After, 2021 View this photo larger
  7. A second close-up in 2021, the band of dark brick lightened and the pale units brought down so the courses read together, the stain sitting in the brick rather than on it After, 2021 View this photo larger

What fourteen years prove

Same bay, same arch, same garage opening. The close-ups are the test: the stain is in the brick, and the texture and the tooling marks still read through it. On the certification scale fourteen years is Silver, which covers ten years and over. As of 2026 the work is nineteen years old, and the 2021 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 384, transcribed beside the scan so it can be read on a phone and by a search engine.

The case study form for case 384, filled in and signed View the signed form full size
Project name
Residence, Sterling Heights, MI (2007)
Level
Silver. 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
Background
"There were miscolored brick throughout the house"
Actions taken
"We stained the brick for a better blend and flow to the house"
Detail of events
"14 years later and it still looks great!"
Address
"Release permission required"
Authorized
Donald A. Foster, signed, dated 2020
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