Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - New laminated oak stairs

Hello All. I'm new to the forum.

I pulled carpet from the steps and now I'm putting down hardwood.

The treads will be laminated oak 1". The risers I'm gluing travertine tile to existing compressed particle board.

I know I need to shim the risers and the treads to get each square and level. Each step has three different sections to mitre 22.5 degrees. For the steps I plan to biscuit join each section with a Makita joiner to keep each level to each other. Then I plan to glue each stringer, place the steps on the stringer, finish nail the treads to the stringer with 2.5" finish nails (Dewalt air nailer), stain to color, fill the nail holes and 3 coats of polyurethane varnish (orbital sand w/150 grit between coats). Do the next step.

So, am I forgetting anything? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Hi!

The risers I'm gluing travertine tile to existing compressed particle board.

This will not work at all! You need to install a cement backerboard or a Ditra type product, then adhere the tiles using a good modified thinset. Particle board should not be a part of ANY tile installation.

Thanks Mark, I thought I might need to use cement backerboard, but since there wasn't any traffic on risers, I moved away from it. Ok, cement backerboards are now going to be the base of the new risers. Can mastik work for adheasive versus thinset?

Hi!



This will not work at all! You need to install a cement backerboard or a Ditra type product, then adhere the tiles using a good modified thinset. Particle board should not be a part of ANY tile installation.

No, don't use anything that comes in a bucket. A 50lb bag of real thinset is still cheaper then mastic or a premixed thinset.