A homeowner in Charlotte asked me to match a brick from a 1920s photo

He showed me a black and white picture of his grandma's old house and said, 'I need that exact brick, the one with the little chip on the corner.' I told him I could get close on color and size, but matching a specific chip from a blurry photo was a new one. He stood there for twenty minutes comparing my samples to the picture on his phone. Ended up going with a standard red common, but he still looked at the wall funny for days. Anyone else ever get a request that made you just stop and stare?

2 comments

2 Comments

hollym121mo ago

Ever try telling them to bring in a piece of the actual old brick? I had a guy do that once, he chiseled a chunk out of his old chimney. We got way closer with a real sample than we ever could from a photo. Sometimes you just have to be really clear about what's possible.

sullivan.elliot1mo ago

My neighbor spent three grand trying to match a single cracked tile from his childhood bathroom. I mean, at some point you have to ask if it's about the brick or something else.