DIY Brick Porch Makeover

The front porch on the house we are flipping needed some serious TLC! The house has been unoccupied for 2 years and you can tell. The fence was leaning, the steps were covered in moss and the garden was just some old dirt. We made a plan to fix it up and with just some simple DIY steps, it completely transformed this area.

We started by getting everything cleaned up. We power washed the concrete steps, as well as the walkway, and removed the fence from around the walkway that didn’t serve any purpose.

The entire front of the house needed a makeover so we also decided to tackle the flower beds. Some of the old stones around the flower bed were broken and they were loose and uneven. Also, the other side didn’t have any. We wanted them all to match so we removed the old ones and put new ones down on both sides. Once the new stones were in, we read out a layer of dark mulch over the beds to give them a fresh look.

After doing the flower beds, we got started on resurfacing the top step with thin brick. The steps were in good condition physically, they just looked worn and we knew this simple DIY would add so much curb appeal to the front of the house. Thin brick is pretty expensive and the steps were fine so we only did the top step. The bricks we chose have a herringbone pattern with a netting on the back and we used corner pieces for the around the edges. The first thing we did is lay everything down to dry fit it and then measured and marked where cuts needed to be made. We used our Ryobi Angle Grinder to make the cuts.

After everything was measured out and cut to fit, we started applying the grout and laying down the bricks. We worked on one half of the step at a time and made sure everything was level and slightly sloped so water would drain off. Applying thin brick is just like tiling.

Once all of the bricks were laid, we got started grouting. We used a grout bag and squeezed the grout into the gaps, let it dry for a few minutes, and then smoothed it out.

While we let the grout dry completely, we went back to the flower bed and used our Ryobi Mini Auger to plant some evergreen plants. We also lined the walkway with some solar lights. We kept the landscaping simple since this is a flip house and want the new owners to be able to add their own personal touches.

Next, we added a handrail for the steps. It was actually super simple, but made such a big impact. All we had to do was use our Ryobi concrete drill bit to drill through the concrete and add then anchors and screw the rail down.

While we were at it, we went ahead and replaced the old porch light and front door handles to some more modern options.

And finally, once the grout was completely dry, we finished it off this DIY makeover by using Elastomeric exterior brick paint to paint the brick we added to the step white. Elastomeric paint is a durable, flexible, and has a waterproof coating. It’s thicker than typical exterior paints, and it expands and contracts with temperature changes, making it ideal for bridging cracks and preventing water damage.

The finished product is absolutely mind blowing! I still can’t get over how just a few simple changes completely elevated the outside of this house.

Stay tuned to see what else we do to transform this flip house!