This article provides instructions to tile a stairway landing. Welcome to Shebang, your free information site.
Tiled landing and laminated stairs
A tiled landing brings beauty to a home. The area is small and the expense is not to great.
Tiling is a good choice to replace worn linoleum.
Tiling Preparation
It is very important to check the joists under the stairway landing for proper support. If the joists are 2x4s, add an extra 2x4 along side of each joist. Screw them together. If the joists are at 2-foot centers, add an extra joist between each joist to make them 12-inch centers. It is very important to strengthen the floor, any give in the floor will cause the grout to crack.
Tiling Instructions
When tiling the landing, start by cleaning the old surface to bare wood. If the landing is old, and worn in spots, level it out with thinset (a cement product).
Measure, fit and layout a membrane called Ditra, this membrane supports weight evenly and makes a stronger base to prevent cracked grout.
Cement the Ditra to the floor wood base. Ditra is a non-porous product and will not allow moisture to penetrate, the wood surface below the Ditra is porous, you can use a modified thinset to level out the floor, and bond the Ditra to the wood base. The moisture will escape downward into the wood, allowing the thinset to dry.
The moisture cannot escape between Ditra and tile, so a non-modified thinset is used. (non-modified thinset will dry). If you use modified thinset, it will not dry for a long, long time, the moisture cannot escape.
When you lay out the Ditra over the modified thinset, use a short piece of 2x4, work it over the Ditra, in a circular motion, with even pressure to level, and spread the thinset below the Ditra. Wait a day or two, too allow the thinset to dry, before you tile over it.
For this project 13 inch Ceramiche Italian Style glazed vitrified stoneware is used.
Spacing Between Tiles
Decide what spacing you will use between the tiles. A space of 3/16 inch is used on this job. You can make your own spacers. The spacers only need be about 1 inch long and 1/2 inch wide. These spacers are placed between the tiles vertically, as the tile is adhered to the floor. They help maintain a consistent spacing to your tiles. They are removed the next day. You can also buy ready made plastic spacing shims.
Stair Edge and Metal Nose
Determine how close the tiles will come to the stair edge, lay the metal nose on the edge of the top stair, note the distance to where the tile will be. Overlap the tile with the metal edge, about 3/16 of an inch, and draw a line where the tile edge is. The metal nose screws will just slide by the edge of the tile.
After the tiles are cemented in place and cured, measure the height of the tile and cement. Cut a wood strip to this thickness, it fits under the metal nose, up to the edge of the stairs, and butts up to the tile, glue and nails the wood strip into place. This will provide wood for the metal nose screws to go into. The metal nose covers the wood strip, overlaps the tile by 3/16 of an inch, and will not be seen in the finished installation.
Lay all the tiles out using spacers, and measure for the cuts. Use masking tape and number them, so you will know their position. Make all your cuts.
Wet Tile Cutter
Use a wet tile saw to make the cuts. You can rent one, but you may feel rushed, as you pay by the day. If you want to buy your own, the wet tile saws come in different price ranges, a medium priced one is all you need. Now you can take your time, and you will have a wet tile saw ready for other tile projects.
When you are ready to start cutting tile, place a tarp on the floor to catch any splashed water. The revolving cutting blade is water dipped and throws a bit around. Place your tile cutter on a small table and have an old towel ready, for wiping up splashed water, and for wiping off the tile as they are cut.
Tape a strip of masking tape on the tile, where the cut is made. This will help prevent chipping of the tile, along the cutting edge.
On the front of the blade shield is a line to guide you. Keep the blade shield down as low as possible. This will help reduce the amount of water thrown forward onto you, the tabletop, and floor. Use the line on the blade shield to guide the tile.
After each cut, turn off the tile cutter and wipe any water off the cutting table top and wipe each tile as well.
Tiling
Only apply enough non-modified thinset (cement compound) to the floor for the first few tiles you are laying. Use a Grooved trowel to spread the thinset, this provides a consistent level and makes room for the thinset to move as you adjust the tile. Butter the back of each tile, this will insure a good bond. The buttering only has to be minimal, not too thick. Use your spacers to keep the grooves consistent.
Cleaning Off Tile
When you finish laying the tiles, wipe off any thinset on the tiles. Use a damp tile sponge (specially made for this purpose), wipe, and repeat until perfectly clean. Change the water in the bucket a number of times. The tiles must be perfectly clean, if not, they will develop a haze as they dry. This haze is extremely difficult to remove when dry.
Leave the tiled floor for two days before grouting.
Choose a grout that will either match the tile or contrast the tile.
Grouting the Tile
Mix up your grout compound, a little goes a long ways, so do not mix up too much. You can always mix more, if needed. Spread the grout evenly over the tiles, do a couple of tiles at a time. Your grout consistency should be where the grout will sit in a pile, not run. A too wet grout will shrink excessively as it dries. Work the grout into the grooves and wipe away the excess. Buy and use a proper grout spreading trowel, it has a rubber surface and works the grout easily into the grooves. The rubber backing also removes the excess very well.
Again do the damp sponge clean up. Spend a lot of time and use a lot of clean water here. This cleaning will make your job.
Sealing the Grout
Read the directions on the box of grout to find out the correct waiting period before you seal the grout. Seal the grout once a year. This will keep the grout in good order, by keeping water and dirt out and help prevent the grout from chipping.
Laminated Stairs Metal Nose, Cutting Jig
Make up a jig for cutting the stair nose strips. Take a 2x4 and using a tri-square, make a true square cut. The cut should be the depth of the metal nose. This jig will allow you to make true cuts each time. Use a hacksaw with fine teeth (32 per inch). Use a file to clean up the cut. See above picture.
Removing burrs from stair nose screws
When attaching the metal nose, drill a vertical pilot hole for each screw, so the screw will go in perfectly straight. This will prevent stripping the head of the screw.
Place a small square piece of plywood on the drill bit (1/4 inch square 1/4 inch plywood); this prevents the spinning metal drill chuck from getting too close and marring the metal nose.
By pilot drilling each hole, the head of the screw will be level with the metal nose. A screw that goes in crooked will result in part of the tipped screw head to be higher than the metal nose. This could possibly cause ripped socks, and tripping.
Metal Nose Screws
The screw heads for metal stair nose are very fine and in order to apply enough force to set them, the screw heads could produce sharp burrs. You can remove the burrs with a fine cut file. Place a strip of masking tape on both sides of the screw. This will protect the stair metal nose from getting its finish scratched as you file the burrs.
Filing off burrs
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