How is a concrete staircase finished with wood

Gusevsky Andrey Anatolyevich

Will it be beautiful

Concrete stairs, like all concrete products, belong to strong, durable, reliable products, only color wants to be the best and you want to get a project without gross errors in order to increase user safety. Finishing concrete stairs with wood is very similar to the process of turning a gray, faceless mouse into a beauty, which is difficult to pass by without admiration.
Moments of transformation are recorded and presented in photo galleries and video clips of masters.

Typical Design Errors

Casting concrete stairs with different elevations and the width of the steps leads to the fact that the alignment of surfaces to produce, not only very difficult, but also almost impossible. Increasing the width of one step, the size inevitably changes to the smaller side of the other, raising the surface of the tread, the previous rise increases.
Then the builders go along the path of leveling concrete steps with plaster and putty mixtures, but as practice shows, this is a completely meaningless step, leading to an easy separation of the step cover along with the leveling layer. Such marches are leveled using high-strength concrete mixtures using additional reinforcement.
The concrete layer should be sufficient, which will lead to an increase in the lift of the first step and a decrease in the last lift, and to make them applicable, the level of the entire floor is raised.
Estimated errors in the design of concrete stairs:

• There is no gap between the marches, or its size is less than 75 mm. This gross violation occurs more often than we would like.
  The size between marches is regulated by building codes and rules. The gap between the marches is used to lay a fire hose, and so that it does not jam at a crucial moment in a fire, the recommended gap size has grown to 150 mm, because hoses with a diameter of 100 mm are used.
• The difference in the height of the steps is comparable to the nightmare of the masters, therefore, an allowable deviation of the height of the steps is determined, amounting to 9.5 mm. To obtain a flat surface, moisture-proof plywood is used for formwork.

What material to choose

Facing stairs is performed by different materials, each of which is good in its own way:

• Laminate flooring is an interesting alternative to wooden staircases. Relating to quite popular floor coverings for staircases, it is not intended.
  The small area of ​​the steps does not allow laying it in a floating manner and does not violate the technology. The thickness of the laminate boards is too small to be fastened in a manner similar to wood.
  The coating at the laminate board is too smooth and when in a hurry, the legs can slide along such steps.

Attention: Cladding stairs with a laminate is much cheaper than wood, so some experts take up the work with this material.

• Tiled concrete stairs (seeTile decoration: do it right), stone or mosaic, marble or granite are no different from each other and say that some decoration is fundamentally different from the rest is not ethical. The choice remains only with the customer, but one cannot but note the clinker ceramic step.
  These tiles are specially designed for stairs with a rounded edge to the risers.This option at the same time ensures the safety of users, the strength of the lining, and the attractive and presentable appearance of the stairs.
• The popular design of the concrete staircase is the wooden steps and the installation of handrails in residential buildings. Such coatings can last for decades, subject to all standards and manufacturing rules.

Concrete in wooden clothes

Do not follow the erroneous opinion that the abundance of forests is a guarantee of cheap finishing materials, and simple woodworking a concrete staircase with your own hands will be much cheaper than a manufactured product from scratch from an array. Practice shows that it is possible to save only on the thickness of the steps, which are made a centimeter thinner, and the price of such a material is more expensive, and it takes much more time.
Everything is explained quite simply, no matter how hard they try, but concrete steps cannot be made with a perfectly even surface and absolutely identical in size, even with carefully designed and manufactured formwork. Facing steps refers to a time-consuming process, especially with independent operations.

Attention: The concrete stairs dry well for at least three months, it is preferable to leave it on the heating season, in order to avoid deformation of the steps and the receipt of concrete chips.

Facing steps with wood

The homeowner needs to understand that a concrete staircase is not a cheap purchase and its cost will be twice as expensive as an ordinary one, wooden stairs. In fact, payment for two structures is obtained, in concrete and wood.
A wooden staircase does not have load-bearing elements, but otherwise it refers to a full-fledged product. The installation of concrete stairs is practiced in public buildings, in dachas and country houses wooden dominate, although there are exceptions to the rules that we will consider here.

Finished stairs

So:

• At the preparatory stage, all steps are measured and the highest of them is determined. All the rest are trimmed to its size with a self-leveling floor mix.
  If the differences in height are insignificant or all the steps in height are conditionally the same, then anyway, the surface of the concrete is equal, and the mixture is simply applied to it. If the height difference is more than a centimeter, a formwork of 4 mm plywood is prepared, fastened with dowels so that the upper edge coincides with the required level.
  Before pouring, the steps are cleaned of debris and primed to increase adhesion. Only after the primer has completely dried, is the mixture filled.
• The second stage is the fastening of plywood, which performs the function of a moisture-insulating layer, which does not allow the wooden plates to accumulate excess moisture. The surface is primed again and the primer dries.
  In accordance with the size of the steps, a blank of plywood 10-15 mm thick is cut. An adhesive mastic is applied, a blank of plywood is laid on top, fastened with dowels, while the plywood is laid out according to the level.
• The steps from the array are prepared independently or ordered in the workshop. It is better to depict treads of complex shape on thick cardboard or plywood and prepare a template that will help in the exact manufacture of steps for a given size.
• Own finish of concrete stairs with wood with your own hands begins from the bottom.
• 3 bolts 6 mm in diameter are screwed into the lower end of the riser so that they protrude from it.
• The hats are cut off, and the combination of the wooden riser with the concrete is performed, the locations of these bolts are marked.
• Holes of appropriate sizes are drilled and filled with epoxy.
• Plywood is coated with “liquid nails” and a facing board is placed.
• In the step, a groove of the required depth is cut out for the abutting riser.
• By itself, the second riser is attached to the steps by cuts.
• The surface of the plywood and the groove is smeared with glue, the first step is installed. It is verified according to the level, if necessary, slightly recovering.
  So step by step we move up the stairs.

Attention: Even with careful veneering with wood for all calibrated dimensions, slots remain on the side of the steps, which can be covered with foam and masked with putty.

Monolithic, concrete stairs, instructions and professionals recommend decorating with hardwoods, such as oak, ash, beech, larch.