The stone-floored foyer of our house is 8″ above the living room floor which is engineered wood. The rooms are joined by a 6 1/2 foot wide opening. We’d like to inset a wood tread in the part of the stone floor which runs along the opening between the rooms and place another wood tread midway between the two levels. The stone floor has been cut straight along the opening and the single step is already roughed in with bricks & mortar. The treads will be inch-thick mahogany to match our existing staircase treads.
What’s the best way to fix the tread to the brick without fixings showing on the top surface and what should we use to fill the joint between the stone floor and the top insert?
I’m planning to have the wood milled tomorrow but will delay my installation attempt till I’ve heard from you experts out there.
Thanks – Frank in Somerset (England)
Replies
Seems as though that 'inset' piece could simply be secured with heavy duty construction adhesive. Lots of surface area to bite on, and it is supported by stone or brick for its entire length (if I understand the design right).
Epoxy is another option, but would probably be overkill in this case. If you wanted to use epoxy and do severe overkill at once, you could drill into the bricks and drive masonry screws with heads protruding about 3/4 inch. Drill oversize bores in the underside of the wood tread to match. Fill holes with thick 'anchoring' epoxy, and set in place with something heavy to hold it down until epoxy sets.
Caulk the joint between the wood and the stone. You want something flexible there. Perhaps a clear caulk, or something that matches the stone. In the states, a number of very nice clear caulks are now available.
Best of luck.
Edited 10/20/2003 12:26:50 PM ET by csnow
The wood has arrived and here's a photo of the steps. Treads are 1" thick.
The upper tread is to be flush with the stone floor so it will have to be shimmed up from 1/2" to 1" as the masonry surface is quite irregular. The lower tread will have to be shimmed up as much as 2" in places. I'm thinking of using 2" studs scribed to fit the brickwork although this will be a fussy job. Any suggestion of a better method of leveling the treads would be most welcome!
The tread wood is Utile, an African mahogany, which I think should match the floor after a couple of coats of teak oil. I think I should oil both sides of the wood but wonder if the oil on the bottom will impair the adhesion of construction adhesive?
Once I've got a level substrate how much space should I allow for the adhesive given that the top tread should be flush with the stone floor?
Thanks for your help so far!
Frank
In that case, I would not bother shimming under the tread at all.
A gap that big is actually helpful! You can simply drive a series of screws into the underside of the tread to level it. Probably hex head screws would be good for this. Depending upon the variance, you may need screws of different lengths. You would want each screw to sink around 3/4 inch into the tread if possible.
Predrill and drive screws about 1 inch from the edge, every 6 inches or so all the way around the perimeter. Adjust the screws in or out until they all touch the stone, and the tread is perfectly level. Next you can simply apply a mortar bed, set the tread, and the screw heads will bite into the mortar. Leave a 1/4 inch gap around the edges open for a flexible caulk, since the wood will want to expand and contract somewhat.
Much easier than messing with shims.
Good idea about the screws. I wonder if they even have to be adjusted as you described? As long as they extend out from the tread, they will engage the mortar and the mortar bed will act as the shim.
csnow:
Great idea! Thanks. I assume the motor bed need only be thick enough to capture the screws and can be just short of the underside of the treads to avoid having the lumber wick up moisture? Will let you know how it works out. Frank
This is inside, right? Any moisture from contact with the mortar would be temporary.
You can break the bond with plastic sheeting or a coating of polyurethane if you like, but I do not think it will matter in this case.
I'd like to see your photos.
Tim here's the step
If you oil the underside of the wood there will be less if no adhesion - so do not. If you use wood that is oily by nature (such as teak) you´ll have the same problem.
1 mm is the thickness of the glue, given that you apply 7mm thick caulk strings in a distance of 18-20mm.
Mathias
Edited 10/29/2003 6:19:29 AM ET by Matt
Frank,
I would use a keyhole bit on the treads with screws set in the stone or brick. Use a sanded caulk to match your mortar.
http://www.1blades.com/products.ecs/list/61/none/18/23/52?Poe_Session=2f18c62d40a15423f6d328c588a87db5
KK
Take SikaBond - T1, this is an elastic 1-component-structural glue on a olyurethanebase, find it through http://sika.com/home/sika-countries/sika-countries-address.htm?countryid=212
Clean and dry everything, prime the concrete with Sika-Primer 3
We have had no callbacks on fixed stairtreads in such manner... (5+ yrs).
Mathias http://www.mathiasraulf.com