Let’s Enlarge the Porch Using Bricks & Glue!

Do you have a large front porch? I love large front porches! Especially the ones that also have a swing. When we moved into this house over 20 years ago, the front porch was SO small (3′ deep) that if you wanted to get into the front door, you had to start opening the screen, then while holding onto the screen door, step back off the porch to completely get it open. At 4′, the width was also small. Each Halloween, we worried that kids would fall off the right side as they stood there waiting for their treats. You can see in the pic below how little space there was next to the door.

What do we do about the porch?

Over the years of living with the tiny porch, Hubby & I would talk about options to change it. The one that seemed to make the most sense was to hire a contractor to break up & remove the cement block that created the porch. When we talked about that option, we realized that the sidewalk should also be replaced since it was uneven. As great as it would be to have it all brand new, that option was going to take some serious cash; so, I started wondering what I might be able to do instead.

Removing the concrete was out of the question – I wouldn’t even know where to start. Maybe I could at least make the porch wider so it would be safer for the kiddos at Halloween? With that in mind, I started doing a little research. I found a product, Blue Max, that was made for sealing cement block walls in basements. In the product videos, they painted Blue Max on one cement block and set a 2nd one on top of it. Once dry, the two blocks were glued tightly together. Hmmmm…..maybe I could just glue cement blocks to the right side of the porch? Now that I had an idea (a tad crazy, but yet exciting!), I measured the height of the right side of the step from the patio to the top & the depth of the porch from house to stair.

***Disclaimer….I am not a professional contractor, just a gal that loves me some DIY. This porch is not meant to withstand the test of time. I was simply looking for a temporary option to enlarge the space.****

Deciding on the layout

I started setting bricks around the existing cement porch to get an idea of what I would need to fill in the space from the step to the top of the cement & also from the step to the edge of the sidewalk. It was like building a 3D puzzle out of cement.

Building the base

Once I had the layout figured out, I started ‘gluing’ the bricks together & to the step & sidewalk. Blue Max is a thick blue product, basically a cross between slime & glue. I used a brush to apply it to the blocks. It goes on a light blue and dries to a deep royal blue. Clean up is with soap & water. I started the process on the step and worked my way out to the edge of the sidewalk, then back to the step.

Completing the base

Continuing the process of moving from step to sidewalk edge and back, I built the base of the new porch. As you can see, I filled in the smaller areas with brick. In the main section of the expansion, there was an open strip where I used a 1″ x 6″ board to bring the section level with the rest of the structure.

Creating a new step

Since I had covered the existing step and sidewalk, I needed to create a new step. To make the step, I used two rows of 8″ x 16″ building blocks. The 8″ height and 16″ depth is just right for the step.

Preparing for tile

Once all the bricks were glued in place, it was time to prepare the surface for tile. The bricks that butted up to the original porch were about 1/2″ taller than the original cement block, I figured I could use some cement board to bring it level.

Since it was summertime, the Hosta plants were fully grown. To protect them during certain stages of the project, I used a large sheet of cardboard to help hold them back.

Once the thinset & leveling mud was dry, I applied a coat of Blue Max to the entire porch. I don’t know if that was a necessary step, but I figured it was better safe than sorry. Boy was the blue porch bright! My neighbors who live across the street said they liked it like that, hehe.

Choosing Tile

Time to Tile

Now that I had the tile and the surface was prepped, it was time to find out if my tile selection was going to work with my ‘no-tile-saw’ plan. I placed the large tiles across the width and length of the porch & set the 3″ x 3″ slate tiles along each side. To my surprise, it was going to fit almost perfectly! I would just need to add a couple of strips of the tiny tiles! When I had the tiles sitting in place, I noticed the area that was the original porch was still a little unlevel. Using more leveling cement, I worked to bring it level.

When the thinset was dry on the first side tile, I moved on to laying the tile on the top of the porch – I would finish the rest of the sides later. Laying the tile on the top of the porch was much easier! The first tile was at the center of the porch, closest to the door. From there, I worked back & forth between left & right sides. I used 1/2″ tile spacers. After completing the top section, I moved back to the sides. This time, I made the thinset thicker but still propped up & taped the tiles while the thinset dried.

After the top and sides of the porch were tiled, it was time to do the step. I tiled the top of the step first with the 12″ x 24″ & slate pieces. Once those were dry, I then installed the hexagon sheets on the upright section. As those tiles set up, I installed the 3″ x 3″ slate tiles on the outside edges of the top of the porch.

Finishing tile touches

To fill in the small areas between the large tiles & slate, along the top of the stair, and by the front door, I used the sheet of small tiles. Since these small pieces were on a sheet, I was able to cut off just what I needed for each space. When all the empty spaces were filled with the small tiles, I used charcoal-colored grout, allowing it to dry for a couple of days before applying sealer.

Mother Nature

Would you believe that we got an unexpected rainstorm FOUR hours after I sealed the grout??! What that meant was that my sealer dripped down the sides of the porch leaving white streaks on my beautiful dark tile! It also kicked up sand along the sides of the step. I was horrified!!!! As soon as it was not raining and the tile was dry, I grabbed both a wet & dry cloth and some sealer and went to work to clean it up! To clean up the white lines, I used a little sealer on the dry cloth and rubbed it over them. I was thrilled that it cleaned up nicely! I also tried to clean up the thinset & Blue Max that I got on the sidewalk but that was less successful. Mother Nature has been a help with that over the years.

Finishing touches

To finish off the lower edge of the porch, I added wood trim. For the section by the step, I used two pieces of trim & painted them black. I glued them in place with contractor glue. For the other two sides, I bought shiplap that I installed using the contractor glue & ran a bead of silicone along the top edge on all boards. I also painted the trim & doorknob on the screen door and the threshold into the house with matte black spray paint.

Finished results

I finished the porch enlargement 4 years ago and it has been holding up very well! Some of the grout has started to crack so I’ll replace that soon. The tile is easy to sweep off when it snows, but can be a little slippery in the rain so we have a rug at the top of the step and another one at the front door.

Before & After

While I still don’t have a porch big enough for a porch swing, the new size of the porch is amazing! We now have room for a group of kiddos when they come to trick or treat!

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