Concrete staircases in private low-rise housing construction are often found. In fact, it is a monolith, strong and reliable, which withstands heavy loads. It can be designs of different sizes, shapes and finishes. Particular attention is always paid to the facing of the stairs, because its appearance must match the design of the entire interior. From this article you will learn how to finish a concrete staircase and what materials are best used for this.
Cladding options
There are two main requirements for stairs, including concrete:
- safe movement;
- presentable appearance.
Among the options for finishing materials there are different in structure: durable and solid, liquid and woven. But all of them are united by the two above requirements. Consider a list of the 8 most popular options that are used for facing concrete stairs:
- Laminate. Only high-grade material (classes 33 and 34) with good wear resistance is allowed. It features a variety of textures, textures and shades.
- Cork coating. Increased heat and sound insulation, good wear resistance. The material is 100% eco-friendly.
- Carpet. Like cork, it has high soundproofing properties. The surface is soft and pleasant to walk.
- Ceramic tiles and porcelain tiles. You need to choose only floor models. Large selection of sizes and designs.
- Clinker steps. These are finished products specifically for stairs that are made of baked clay. Suitable for finishing internal and external stairs.
- A rock. Traditional material for finishing concrete stairs. Gives a presentable appearance. For facing use natural and artificial types of stones.
- Paint. This material is mainly used for decorating street staircases, as well as internal, located in office and utility rooms. Cheap but short-lived solution.
- Array of wood. This is a classic staircase facing. Here is a large list of positive characteristics: naturalness, warmth, sound insulation, excellent appearance, ease of installation, long-term operation.
Below we will consider all of these options in more detail.
Laminate
A commercial laminate of class 32 or 33 is suitable for facing steps of a concrete staircase. It has high wear resistance. When choosing, you need to pay attention to the width of the lamella. Ideal if it is equal to or greater than the depth of the step. But this is rare, because the width of the laminate is 150-200 mm, and the standard depth of the steps is 300 mm. Therefore, most often to longitudinally lay the panel and close the steps completely without joints it does not work.
Therefore, the panels are cut into pieces equal to the width of the march. For example, if the depth of a step is 30 cm and the width of the panels is 20 cm, then 2 segments will have to be consumed per step.
With the plane of the risers, everything is much simpler. Their standard height varies between 150-220 mm, which means that they can be faced with one laminate panel, laying it along the plane.
Now about how to perform the facing:
- For fixing the laminate, a special angular metal profile is used. It is attached with dowels or screws to the corner of the step.
- Laminate segments are inserted into the grooves of the corner, while they are interconnected by a groove-tongue lock. You can start installation from any edge.
- A panel for approaching is inserted into the lower groove of the corner.
- Laminate is necessarily laid on the adhesive composition, which is called adhesive for laminated flooring. It is applied to the concrete surface with a notched trowel.
- The corner profile is closed by a corner plate, which is made of wood, metal, plastic. It is inserted into the upper grooves on the profile, which are necessarily processed with adhesive.
In the same way it is possible to carry out facing with a parquet board.
Cork coating
Glue flooring is used to finish cast concrete. This is a kind of sandwich panel, the front part of which is covered with veneer of balsa wood, the base is pressed cork. The veneer itself is additionally covered with a polyvinyl layer on top, which increases the moisture and wear resistance of the material.
Cork is a 1 m2 square panel. From it, pieces are simply cut into sizes corresponding to the surfaces of the steps and risers of the concrete staircase. The edges are reinforced with special plastic or metal profiles. Then they are glued on the plane with special glue for cork.
Important! Place the cork only on a dry surface.
Carpeting
The size of the carpet is selected according to the span. Laying is carried out directly from a roll. Here are a few options:
- With the help of metal or wooden rods, under which the carpet is pulled in at the junction of the plane of the step and riser.
- With glue, when the carpet is laid on the adhesive. To do this, you will have to cut the material according to the size of the trimmed planes.
- Using concealed mounting profiles (wood or metal). To do this, as in the case of the glue method, the carpet will have to be cut so that it can cover the step with the riser in one strip.
By the way, in the same way you can trim the stairs and linoleum.
Facing with ceramic tiles or porcelain tiles
One of the most difficult finishing methods. You can do it yourself with your own hands, if you choose a monophonic tile, the size of which coincides with the steps in depth. But today, everything is much simpler, because there are finished products on the market that exactly simulate the steps of the stairs.
Sheathing with such a material is a simple matter, because the trimmed plane is completely covered with one sheet. No undercuts and fits. The main thing is to precisely select the slab according to the size of the elements of the flight of stairs. Ceramic staircase lining goes on sale in a complete set: steps, risers and baseboards. All in a single design.
The installation of ceramics is carried out, as in the case of tiles, on the adhesive composition. It should be borne in mind that first of all it is necessary to glue the steps or steps. It all depends on the configuration of the elements. If it’s just a stove, then there’s no difference. If the installation is carried out with a special profile, then the steps are installed first, then the profile, and lastly the steps. Read the detailed instructions for decorating steps with porcelain stoneware.
Installation of clinker steps
In principle, the technology of facing the steps with clinker material is the same as using porcelain stoneware. That is, on the adhesive composition. Since clinker tiles are frost-resistant, in comparison with porcelain stoneware and ceramic tiles, it is also used for decorating street stairs.
The sequence of operations:
- The glue is applied to the riser plane.
- The plate is laid on the adhesive with alignment in the planes.
- Glue is applied to the plane of the step.
- A top plate with a visor is installed, which itself covers the upper part of the approach.
Stone cladding rules
Finishing concrete stairs with stone is practical and long-lasting, but very expensive, even if artificial materials are used. This process is associated with the cutting of stone slabs to the size of the flights of stairs. And this will require special equipment. Someone cuts stone tiles with a grinder, but after that it is not necessary to talk about exact sizes and even edges.
There are no special plates for stairs, so you can not do without trimming. Of course, you can individually order slabs for sizes, but they will cost more.
Installation is carried out on the adhesive. The laying technology is no different from ceramic or clinker. The main thing is to smoothly expose the cladding elements in planes.
Paintwork
This is the easiest and most economical way to finish concrete stairs. It is important to give the planes maximum strength and evenness. Therefore, before painting, all surfaces are aligned to the maximum using a grinder, and are treated with a deep penetration primer. And after drying, they are painted.
To paint concrete surfaces, special materials based on polyurethane, acrylic or epoxy are needed. In appearance, they are no different from ordinary paints. But they have an increased rate of wear resistance. Apply these paints to the prepared surface with a roller or brush. The only thing to be prepared for is to repaint the steps every 5-8 years.
Natural wood finish
Respectability of a bulky concrete staircase can be given only by wood. For a private large house or cottage - this is ideal. For the decoration of stairs, strong species are selected: larch, oak, beech.
The installation process itself is associated with the construction of the frame from the bars with the laying of plywood:
- On the steps, a frame is constructed from bars with a section of 30x30 or 40x40 mm. They are installed around the perimeter of the plane and are attached to the concrete structure with self-tapping screws on plastic dowels.
- A plywood sheet is trimmed on top, cut to the size of the frame. It is attached to the latter with self-tapping screws. The sheet is necessary to increase the strength of the base.
- Then a wooden board is laid with a thickness of 25-35 mm, which is attached to the base with self-tapping screws.
- In the same way, risers are mounted on the frame.
- Plinths are installed.
Read more about this in the instructions for lining the stairs with wood.