Want to restore brownstone yourself?

“Brownstone” is the common name for a variety

of brown, red, and pink sandstone widely used as

building materials from the mid-1800s until the

early-1900s. In fact, it was so common that the

word became synonymous with “row house.”

Brownstone is found in buildings as early as the

1600s, but it truly emerged as a dominant American

building material in the mid-1800s, when popular

taste in literature, art, and architecture embraced a

romantic return to nature. Its rich, earth-toned color

and variety of surface textures expressed this ideal

perfectly. To nineteenth-century builders, the softness

of brownstone was an ideal quality. The material

lent itself perfectly to the rapid carving of moldings,

brackets, consoles, bas-relief, pediments, architraves,

enframements, and many other architectural devices

that decorated roughhouses of this period.

During the period of its greatest use, brownstone

was central to the look and feel of American

architecture. It is found not only in row houses

and individual residences, but also in religious,

industrial, commercial, and public buildings.

Brownstone use was most common in the

Northeast, close to the principal quarries

Almost as soon as sandstone became prominent as a

building material, it became known for its tendency

to decay. Unfortunately, its layered composition and

high porosity means that brownstone deteriorates

easily. It is especially susceptible to the action of

water, salts, freeze-thaw cycling, air pollutants, and

similar factors. In the Northeast, the local climate

consisting of wet winters with daily temperature

fluctuations has proven to be particularly hard on

the material. Consequently, brownstone presents

significant maintenance and repair problems for

many owners of historic brownstone buildings.

Do you want to protect and maintain your building?

Building owners and stewards can avoid many

problems commonly associated with brownstone

through proper maintenance. A regular maintenance

program can remedy water infiltration and slow

the rate of decay. Deteriorating stone often can be

protected, and repair and replacement costs can

be reduced. A responsible building owner can carry out most of the following basic maintenance procedures at a very low cost