How to Install Herringbone Thin Brick (Over Concrete)

How to Install a Herringbone Thin Brick (Over Concrete) tutorial front porch

I had been dreaming about transforming our plain concrete porch with herringbone thin brick for months! The brick really adds instant character at your front door.. and yes, it’s a totally DIY‑able couple weekend project if you prep right. Below is the exact step‑by‑step guide I used for our porch! Including what I bought, how I laid out the herringbone, how to keep lines straight, how to grout without making a mess (ish), and more.

This was a healing project for me – I found out I having a miscarriage while installing this brick. It’s hard to even put that feeling of grief into words, but the rhythm of mixing mortar, laying each brick, and watching this herringbone pattern slowly come to life gave me something steady to hold onto. Physical work has always been a form of therapy for me.. and a reminder that beauty can still be built even in the hardest seasons!!

Watch the process unfold on Instagram Stories HERE!

Quick scope: This tutorial covers installing thin brick (a.k.a. brick veneer/brick pavers ~1/2″ thick) in a herringbone pattern over an existing concrete front porch. If you’re tiling an interior room, most steps are similar – but I’ve never done that before, so I can’t speak to that!

Project at a Glance

Skill level: Intermediate DIY (will need to use a tile saw)
Time: 2-3 weekends (depending on the size / shape of your project!)
Cost: Varies by square footage and brick; plan $20/sq ft all‑in
Best for: Concrete slab with proper slope away from the house (ours is about 1/8″ per foot)

Tools & Materials

Herringbone thin brick sheets (Color: Midtown)
Thin brick corners
Mortar
Square notch trowel
Curved trowel
Smaller putty knife
Nitril gloves
Tile saw
Grout bag
Brick Jointer
Sponge
Bucket
Morter Stirrer
Work gloves
Grout Float
Knee pads (a must!!!)

Step 1: Inspect, Clean, and Prep the Slab

This was new concrete, so I just used a leaf blower to remove debris. If your concrete is older, you may need to do some patchwork.

Step 2: Plan the Herringbone Layout

Choose orientation. Classic porch look is 45° herringbone to the house line. It visually widens the space and hides small alignment errors.
Snap control lines. Find your porch center. Snap a perpendicular cross of chalk lines.
Dry‑lay a few courses from the center to the edges. You may want to adjust slightly to avoid tiny sliver cuts at borders/steps! It’s all personal preference, though!
Decide on a border. A soldier course (shown below) is a really pretty frame in my opinion and it hides cut edges well! This is where your corner thin bricks will come into play.

Step 3: Set the Border

Mix thinset to peanut‑butter consistency.
Back butter the corner bricks along the slab edge. I just used a sharpie as a spacer – you’ll definitely want to find some sort of spacer to ensure the bricks are spaced evenly and consistently
Make cuts with your wet tile saw as needed!

Step 4: Lay the Herringbone Bricks

Working in small sections, spread thinset with a 1/2″ notched trowel.
Set herringbone sheets, aligning to your snapped centerline.
Maintain joints with spacers (I just used my sharpie!) Double check every row to stay square to your lines!
Continue to completion. (It’ll take a while!) Keep the surface clean – wipe fresh smears as soon as you can.
Make cuts at the border with a wet saw for the cleanest edges.
Allow to cure 24 hours (or per mortar instructions) before grouting. Don’t walk on it meanwhile! Unless you’re a mom with toddlers. Then you’ll probably end up chasing your kids on it, and it’ll probably be fine LOL.

Step 5: Grout the Brick

Vacuum joints to remove debris.
Mix exterior‑rated grout or Type S mortar to a milkshake consistency so it’s easier to spread.
Use the grout back to fill the joints, then let the surface harden a bit (15–30 minutes ish).
Strike the joints with a jointing tool for a slightly concave finish, then brush lightly to texture.
Clean with a barely damp sponge. Avoid flooding the surface – you’ll have a mess on your hands if you do.
OR to save time, do what we did! Dump grout on the brick and use your grout float to fill each joint.
Use a sponge to remove excess grout from brick surface.

Pro tip: Acid cleaners will work to remove grout haze after a full cure (about 7+ days). Most haze brushes off if you didn’t leave too thick of a grout haze on the surface.

Step 6: Seal (and Add Grip)

I still need to do this but – after grout cures (check your product; typically 24 hours), apply a penetrating, breathable sealer formulated for exterior brick/stone. This helps with stain resistance and freeze‑thaw durability. I’ll report back with the exact sealer I use.
If your porch gets slick when wet, you can mix in an anti‑slip additive on a second coat.
Re‑seal every 1–3 years depending on sun and traffic.

Troubleshooting

Wavy lines: Re‑snap chalk lines every few rows; check against the door threshold for reference.
Mortar hardening on brick surface: Only trowel what you can cover in 5–10 minutes. Otherwise, you’ll need to really scrub with a sponge or use an acid cleaner after the grout lines have set (this is what I did.)
Uneven brick heights: Tap low ones in; if a brick sits too high, lift while the thinset is fresh and re‑set.