ᐅ Tiles on a quarter-turn staircase – Does anyone have experience with this?

Created on: 15 Oct 2018 18:02
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sco0ter
Hello,

we had a half-turn concrete staircase tiled. Beforehand, the tiler told us he would need 42 tiles sized 60x60cm (24x24 inches) for 15 steps. He explained that usually there would be only one joint, and on the long stair treads in the corners (about max. 140cm (55 inches) long) there would typically be one more joint.

Since I wanted to avoid this extra joint (or the small triangular pieces that would then appear in the corner), I suggested using 40x80cm (16x31 inches) tiles there instead.

So one half with 60x60cm (24x24 inches) tiles, the other half with 40x80cm (16x31 inches) tiles. That would add up to 140cm (55 inches). If necessary, two times 40x80cm (16x31 inches) tiles could be used, which would be more than enough (160cm (63 inches)).

He said that was possible, and even the tile supplier agreed that it was a good solution.

Accordingly, only 36 of the 60cm (24 inches) tiles and 8 of the 40x80cm (16x31 inches) tiles were ordered.

We also went over everything again on site. He seemed to have understood everything.

Now I come to the construction site and there are two joints on the long steps.
He said it couldn’t be done any other way, which I can’t really understand.

Are there any tilers here who can explain this to me? Mathematically, I can’t make sense of it.
Two tiles in these sizes should easily fit on one stair tread.

I am a bit disappointed. I wonder why you put so much thought into it, discuss everything, buy accordingly, and in the end it’s done differently.
11ant17 Oct 2018 23:44
sco0ter schrieb:
What do you think, could this have been done in a more harmonious way?

See #11. What did the artist retrain to become a tile installer from?
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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User0815
17 Oct 2018 23:54
Wow, I would be upset about that too!
tomtom7918 Oct 2018 04:58
Oh dear, okay, the grouting in the picture definitely wasn’t done by a professional.

I would suggest removing everything and first considering how it should look, preferably including pictures and a detailed installation plan.
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chand1986
18 Oct 2018 08:14
Very unaesthetic. Sorry.

I wouldn’t try to align the joints on the tread surfaces (it’s not possible anyway), nor the joints on the risers with those on the treads.

They should always be staggered. That way, having one extra joint on the long steps wouldn’t have been an issue.

I stick to my opinion: The idea of using two tile sizes to avoid joints ruins the look. For the long steps, it doesn’t allow any staggering.

That your tiler and the supplier were thrilled about it...
11ant18 Oct 2018 12:33
chand1986 schrieb:
I stick to my opinion: The idea of using two tile sizes to avoid grout lines ruins the look. Because it doesn’t allow any offset for the long steps.

So, you wouldn’t have used a 60cm (24 inch) format in the middle of the walking line as I suggested here?

This thread should really be pinned as a “dear builders, please don’t try this” example for all big format tile fans with curved staircases.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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chand1986
18 Oct 2018 13:13
11ant schrieb:
You wouldn’t have used a 60 cm (24 inch) size in the middle of the tread line as I suggested here?

I don’t think I fully understood your suggestion.

I would have only bought 60 x 60 cm (24 x 24 inch) tiles, laid them with staggered joints on consecutive steps, and for the longer ones there would simply have been one more joint—so what. It would have been simple and looked natural. Now it’s a mess.