ᐅ Cladding Concrete Stairs with Tiles, Vinyl, or Wood Flooring?

Bayernbors schrieb:

Do we need to use such a thick stair covering for parquet/wood? Can’t we just lay the regular parquet (or vinyl) directly on the concrete stairs, since the concrete stairs are already stable on their own?

Bayernbors schrieb:

Was it just regular parquet, or do you also need an underlayment? The advisor at the specialty store told us that some kind of underlayment is necessary to increase the thickness.
I didn’t really understand why this underlayment is needed. [...] They also looked thick, so I thought it was like solid wood block steps.

The sales advisors at specialty stores have by now perfectly adapted to customers getting their material knowledge from lifestyle magazines and are trained to focus on closing the sale. If a customer calls laminate “regular parquet,” the retailer adjusts accordingly. The solid wood that laypeople call “solid wood” would actually be poorly suited as a stair covering. It is also miles away from anything your general contractor (GC) might mean with an extra cost of three thousand per floor—that would even be a five-figure amount.

Do you seriously mean that, in a house built by a GC, you want to have parquet installed and also a staircase with folding construction design where the tread and riser surfaces are uniform?

You will spend nine thousand for three staircases if you want to replicate the picture from post #9. Do yourself a big favor: in a GC-built house, avoid details that require craftsmanship quality unless you want them to look like poorly done DIY. Match the stair covering to the flooring at the top and especially at the landing. Keep in mind that top-tier craftsmen usually do not work as subcontractors for GCs, and apply my stone mantra to the stairs as well: please don’t ask the GC to do anything they haven’t mastered yet because you would be their guinea pig for custom solutions. Only select what they can demonstrably do and for which they can show you detailed drawings.

Bayernbors schrieb:

If we use wood, the stair covering would be 5 cm (2 inches) thick; with tiles, it would be about 1 cm (0.4 inches).

In any case, this does not mean wood that looks like the same parquet (or “parquet”) flowing continuously across the stairs from top to bottom. As said, it’s best to choose what the GC offers as their default option.

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WilderSueden schrieb:

Where are you in your building process? Is the concrete staircase already installed?
Or are you still in the planning phase and can adjust everything?

We are still in the planning phase. Construction will start soon, so I want to make the right choice regarding the stair step height.

11ant schrieb:

Sales consultants at specialty stores have now perfectly adapted to customers getting their material knowledge from the lifestyle section of a pharmacy magazine and are trained to focus on closing sales. If the customer refers to laminate as "regular hardwood flooring," the specialists go along with it.

Ah, okay, thanks for the tip.

11ant schrieb:

Do you seriously mean that in a house built by a general contractor you want to have hardwood flooring installed first of all

Yes, that is our first preference so far.

11ant schrieb:

and want a staircase with a folding design where both the tread and riser surfaces are identical?

I'm not sure about that yet. We would probably prefer white risers.

11ant schrieb:

In any case, this wouldn’t mean wood that looks as if the same hardwood floor (or "hardwood floor") continues seamlessly over the stairs from top to bottom. As I said, it’s best to take whatever the general contractor has as their default option.

That is definitely the safest option but not our favorite. I might still try to find a different craftsman for this task on my own.

Bayernbors schrieb:

Yes, that is our first preference so far.

I would not recommend parquet when building with a general contractor (GC). "Parquet" (laminate) is much more common with GCs, and they or their subcontractors are familiar with it.

Bayernbors schrieb:

I'm still not sure about that. We would probably prefer a white riser.

With a visible visual separation, the question of miter joints or edge profiles is also resolved. I would also let the tread overhang by 1 cm (0.4 inches). And then we’re probably talking about the mentioned 5 cm (2 inches) build-up height of the tread on the concrete.

Bayernbors schrieb:

This is the safest option but not our favorite. I might still try to find another craftsman for this task on my own.

I don’t think that’s wise (and it confirms my suspicion that not only the building but also the planning is being done by the GC here). In that case, the insured responsible detail planner is missing, which risks poor workmanship and disputes about who is to blame for the faulty fitting. With a GC (especially one that offers inclusive planning), you should avoid such side steps for quality and warranty reasons.

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Costruttrice schrieb:

No, it hasn’t been done yet, unfortunately we’re not that far along. But apparently it’s not uncommon, according to what the specialist store told us.
I wanted it without overhangs, whether with or without parquet flooring. It will look like in the picture.

That surprises me a bit, so I have to ask. Were you offered a miter cut for the parquet as the stair covering? For the front edge? Our parquet installer didn’t even want to do that for one step because the edge wouldn’t withstand the wear and tear. The edges would soon look “like a goat had gnawed on them.” His words, not mine. We then agreed on solid wood at parquet thickness so that the transition from the parquet would match. I’m still waiting for the quote and curious to see how much this will cost us. Somehow the details always seem to be the most expensive, is that possible?

Schorsch_baut schrieb:

I'm a bit surprised by this and need to ask. You were offered a miter cut for parquet as a stair covering? For the front edge? Our parquet installer wouldn’t even do that for a single stair step because the edge wouldn’t withstand the stress. According to him, the edges would quickly look “like they’ve been nibbled by a goat.” His exact words, not mine.

Yes, exactly. It was a well-known wood supplier who said skilled carpenters can do this. Our carpenter has experience with it, so we are letting him handle it; he also showed us examples. I wouldn’t have trusted the parquet layer installing the floor to do this, as he’s never done it before.
I trust him, and this isn’t uncommon; there are plenty of examples online. It’s probably just not the most common (and likely not the cheapest in terms of work steps) method.

I’ll be happy to report back once we finally get to that stage.

11ant schrieb:

I wouldn't recommend parquet flooring with a general contractor (GC) during construction. "Parquet" (laminate) is much more common with GCs, and they or their subcontractors are more experienced with it.

Isn't that a bit exaggerated? I don't think installing prefinished parquet is very difficult, even for someone who isn’t a top craftsman.

11ant schrieb:

And then we are probably usually talking about the mentioned 5cm (2 inches) build-up height of the tread on the concrete.

Is this parquet installed on a substrate like the one I posted in #10?

11ant schrieb:

With a visual separation, the question of miter joints or edge profiles is no longer an issue.

I’ve seen something that uses an aluminum stair nose profile (like in the attached photos). That should work with a low thickness and without miter joints, I think. Do you know if that is stable and easy to install?