I have 13 bamboo stair treads to install. They are prefinished solid bamboo, about 13/16″ thick except for the nosing which is 1″ thick. The finish is immaculate–there is no way to use a nail filler putty of any type and not have it look horrible. The subtreads are clean AC ply. I’m pretty sure I want to glue these down but I’m not sure what the ideal glue is, and I’m also looking for tips on how to work quickly, specifically how to keep them in place while the glue sets. Advice from those that’ve been there?
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Hey Dave how's it going..... I just did a stair that I was able to glue and then screw from the bottom, putting the risers on as I moved down.... you probably have the risers in place or I guess you wouldnt be asking. Good luck.
David,
Screw and plug. Dark plugs for what we call "celebrating the joint".
Or attach some half dovetail like cleats to the stringer and the tread and slide them on. Lots of yellow glue.
If the skirts are not on you can rout them to accept the treads and wedge the treads up.
KK
i screwed mine down from the bottom,i hope if they ever need refinished it will make it easier............larry
if a man speaks in the forest,and there's not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?
I've only done this once, but it worked well in what I think is a similar situation, and I'd do it again on any set of stairs with subtreads.
I was putting maple treads on new 3/4 inch bc ply subtreads.
I put on all the treads before any of the risers, working from top to bottom. On each subtread, I put a thin but continuous coat of PL premium. I countersunk screws along the back edge of the treads, where the risers would cover, and used 3 or 4 C clamps over a sacrificial scrap on the front. I was doing paint-grade risers, so I just added them after; glue and nails into the subtread and stringers.
I was slow enough that I only needed about 15 clamps, which I left on overnight and didn't feel I could take off until the PL had set and stopped expanding.
Stairs ended up very solid. Process was fairly easy.
Obviously, this wouldn't work if you are working with existing risers.
Edited 7/31/2008 11:15 pm ET by Silly
Thanks for the responses. Some clarifications:The rough risers are glued and screwed in place. Best I could do would be to hole-saw large holes thru the risers if I want to put screws in from underneath.
The underside of the stair is sheetrocked and finished, and most of that space is occupied by a boiler, a water heater, and a solar hot water tank. There's no way to work from in there.
I want to work from the bottom up. First piece to install will be the bottom riser. Bottom tread hooks over that. Second riser sits on bottom tread. Etc etc. This makes using weights while the glue sets a real PITA, because they'll be in the way as I fit the next tread.
The risers are about 5/8" thick so I can probably get some trimhead screws into the treads right at the very back, just enough to pin 'em down. That leaves the front to deal with.
I was pondering using something like a couple of dabs of 5-minute epoxy across the front, combined with poly adhesive or subfloor adhesive everywhere else. This way maybe the epoxy grabs and holds while the main adhesive cures. In the meantime I can keep working my way up.
Edit: if you saw the finish on these things you would understand why I don't want to screw and plug. It is like glass. It would be impossible to make plugs sit flush. There could be no sanding. The rest of the house has this same stuff as flooring and it scratches if you even look at it.
Edited 7/31/2008 11:25 pm by davidmeiland
Most pre-finished flooring has a like glass finish on it if it's semi-gloss or better.You still have to face-nail it near the wall where the flooring nailer won't reach for the last 2-3 rows. At normal standing level, it's very hard to see the putty-covered face nail holes in finished flooring.Why not do the glue, screw the rear edge and tack 3-4 16ga nails (or maybe 18ga brads) in the leading edge to act as a clamp while the glue dries?Seems like Bamboo has a lot of variation within in term of tone and you'd be able to hide and fill the nail holes pretty decently.Check out the custom nail putty sets from fastcap for a nice range of mixable colors.Most nail holes that are filled properly are not able to be seen at 2-3' away. The sheen issue is the killer, but that depends on the placement of the light fixtures.Or - sink a few 2 1/2" 16 or 18 ga into the front of the stair nose rounded profile to act as clamps - that'll eliminate the glare/sheen issue as the filled holes won't be on the top of the surface.JulianJT
You could use 50# lb sand bags, 2 per tread as weights kept to the front of the tread. Wrap them in old pillow cases to keep from scratching the treads plus it would be comfortable to kneel on. Dry fit, pre drill where you want screws.and glue them down. I would use Titebond III. Question? If they scratch so easy how long will the finish last as treads on stairs?
"The rest of the house has this same stuff as flooring and it scratches if you even look at it."Then why do you want it?
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I think I learned something from that one. I have always worked from bottom to top. I prefinish my treads on both sides to control moisture and movement and have never seen noticeable movement in the ones I have done. But keeping in mind that it might move, I use face nails near front eedge - two or three - glue it with PL, and let the back have the movement allowance in under the riser. I'll have to keep that optionm of working from top down though in mind for the future.For this, he has Bamboo which is a grass and not a wood. I have not worked with bamboo yet. I wonder how stable it is compared to maple, oak, or heart pine that I normally use.
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davidmeiland
I'm wading in here with no knowledge at all of bamboo.. However glue and wood does have a major problem.. especially if used as you are planning over a wide broad surface with no real way to clamp it together until it dries.
Wood shrinks and swells a great deal as it absorbs and releases moisture. Soft woods like is used in most plywood will shrink and swell a great deal. Hardwoods like bamboo not as great (generalization). Think of it as micro prying of the glue joint. Sooner or later that connection will be severed.
" I'm wading in here with no knowledge at all of bamboo.. "An honest man!
when i install tread's where no fastener's are to show i install a cleat on the underside of the tread set back to bypass the riser when installed.apply adhesive and install tread ,once in place i screw thru the face of riser into the cleat this secure's the front edge then i nail the rear edge down.the next riser will cover up the nail's and screw's are hidden when cove molding is applied .
The bamboo is the owner's choice. She is a no-shoes-worn-in-the-house person and it will be fine for her, but it is hell to work on with all the protection that is needed. All of the interior doors and trim had to be installed after the floor went down. I should probably buy a dozen big packages of socks and give them to all the guys who have sacrificed their socks to work on this job. At times the front porch looked like a shoe store.
Anyway, it is not a finish you can touch up. I wish it were. I wish I could install the treads raw and finish them in place. Then I would screw and plug.
There are no fasteners in the floor at all. It is a floating glue-together floor over gypcrete and concrete (gyp upstairs, SOG).