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New in Homes

June 4, 2005 -- Construction professionals involved in a renovation or restoration project involving masonry consistently run into problems associated with color matching new and old masonry. Renovators and project managers often spend hours driving from one end of the Metroplex to the other, trying to find a brick matching a sample from their project in color and texture.



Bricks come in a variety of textures: smooth, sandy, rough, hand made and others, also the most of new bricks have 3 to 5 colors blend. Attemting to match not only the color, but it's texture is daunting and often impossible task. The problem is compounded by the discontinuation of many of the more traditional brick lines found in older structures(before 1970).



Brick and masonry staining

Brick staining has been used in North East Coast in the US for over 25 years and Europe for over 50. When performed by skilled and experienced technicians, this process can often produce an exact match to an existing brick both in color and age. Technicians typically learn to mix the stains trough several years of on-site training.



Stains generally comprise a combination of pigments that are mixed on-site, tested on the new brick and modified until the technician finds the perfect match. Then a fixing agent penetrate the porous of the bricks and become a part of them. It is important the formulation used does not seal the masonry unit in any way. The structure must be allowed to breath in exactly the same manner as untreated surfaces.



The stains are light fast, UV resistant, unaffected by frost and usually available with a 25 year warranty. The formulation is then added to the brick to make the color permanent.



Potential applications

There are several applications in which masonry staining can significantly contribute to the final appearance of the project and provide an economical alternative to brick replacement.



Repaired walls

Masonry repairs can leave walls looking mismatched when the bricks used do not properly match existing bricks.



Smoke damage

Smoke can cause serous descolorization in masonry. In one such case, a wall had been cleaned eight times but its appearance could not be improved.



Dye lots

Dye lot differences can occur when two different runs or batches of brick are installed on the same building.



Staining for the long-haul

Brick staining using a safe and non-intrusive formula, can effectivelly resolve brick and masonry color matching problems. Architects, project managers, remodelers and property managers do not have to accept mismatched masonry in additions or repairs. Painting bric can improve a structure's appearance, but in most cases requires redoing every five years. Staining should least 25 years or more.

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