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Front Porch Brick Paver Tutorial

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Don’t kill me, but our painted front porch is getting another makeover. I am doing a Front Porch Brick Paver Tutorial and I am taking you along for the [ longer than expected ] project!

This is something I actually wanted to do when we built, but it got cut from the budget. But my painted patio held up PERFECTLY in case you were wondering. I still recommend this project, it’s such a great impact for such a low budget! It makes SUCH a statement and I couldn’t be happier with the turnout!

If you’ve been here a while, you know I love some brick veneers. Click HERE for my kitchen backsplash and click HERE for my bedroom accent wall, which are both brick veneers, aka “thin brick.” And this porch project will be brick veneers as well. For this project I used singular thin bricks, herringbone pattern sheets of thin brick , and single corner pieces.

I matched my thin bricks to the pillars I already have, which are the “Riviera” color. Click HERE for the bricks I used!

I cleared all of the decor off of the patio. Then swept and power washed it to make sure it was extra clean so the adhesive sticks really well.

I started with a dry lay on the steps to see what I liked the best visually. After some deliberation, I had the idea to paint the steps the same color as the house and lay them out again. I went with the longer side of the corner brick pieces on top of the steps and used ⅜” dowels for spacing before I added adhesive.

Note on this front porch brick paver tutorial:

A dry lay is an important step because it helps you visualize what it’s going to look like, plan out cuts ahead of time, and see if there are any weird small pieces.

Mix your adhesive together, but be careful not to overmix. Think of it as kind of like making frosting. Once mixed, I took my dry lay bricks off the steps and stacked them in order from left to right.

Apply the adhesive to the individual bricks. It’s easier and less messy. Use the tooth side of the trowel. Don’t forget to use your spacers when setting them! 

My top stair has settled a bit, so it’s slightly slanted. To level it out, I added extra adhesive in the corner of the thin brick.

I broke out my tile saw to cut the flat pieces for the top of the steps a little thinner width-wise. Always make cuts before mixing adhesive. You also want your masonry dry before installing for maximum adhesion. Once all your cut pieces are dry, it’s time to start installing!

Fun fact: Something you might not know is that a tile saw is more of a grinder than a cutter, so it’s actually the least scary saw. It won’t cut you! This is the perfect saw to cut brick pavers evenly!

I always save scraps and this is a perfect example of why…

I used the little thin brick paver pieces to fill in the space on the top step where I have too much of a gap to leave it empty. Normally I’d say the pieces I used are too thin and they’ll break too easily, but they worked perfectly here because they are essentially hidden by the top step and won’t be stepped on, but they complete the look.

When I was done with the steps I moved onto the porch. I used a dowel as my spacer again and layed out my border to prep it for a fun inlay. I used sheets for the inlay that were already in a herringbone pattern.

Always start in the middle when laying out a pattern. I dry laid half the porch with the herringbone, then I made all my single cuts that will fill it in the empty spaces. The nice thing about the herringbone sheets is that they can be cut with a wet saw.

I installed the border first, and then the herringbone. For the single pieces I put the adhesive on the back of the individual bricks. When it came time to install the herringbone sheets, I put the adhesive for this right on the ground using my trowel.

One thing learned from doing the first half of this front porch brick paver tutorial, was to cut the excess mesh backing so you don’t have to try and slide it under the installed pattern.

After all of the bricks were laid, it was time to move onto the grout.

Normally I would probably do a white grout which is what I prefer. However, my pillars were built when the house was and they used the normal gray grout. So I want to match that. At least it won’t look dingy over time.

Grout: between tiles/masonry

Adhesive: bonds tile/masonry to the floor

Before grouting, use a sprayer to clean all of the cracks between the bricks.

You can trowel or bag grout. I chose a piping bag. My technique was “glue frosting.” I piped it in and used the back of my finger to smear it in between the brick pavers. But don’t forget to wear gloves or your hands will get torn up. I also applied a thin coat of this protective sealer to brighten the colors of the brick just a tad.

Once grouted, thin brick looks like real brick and it’s awesome!

I love a good fall front porch! Here is everything I used to style this years!

And! Here is how I styled last year’s front porch – look at the difference brick pavers can make! What do you think?

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6 Comments

  1. Omg! I love the whole story behind the front porch,,, amazing renovation definitely will have to try on my own home 🏡

  2. Absolutely beautiful. Your house is beautiful but this brick porch made it look even more custom.. Thank you so much for taking the time to put together the tutorial. This is on my list of things to do 🙂

  3. Your house already looks fabulous but this brick porch with the steps just added more to the fabulousness. I would love to do this to my front porch and steps but it feels like too big a project for a novice DIY’er such as myself. I have never even used the tools you described. Can I just hire you? lol

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