How to Install Tile Over Wood Stairs
- 1). Inspect the condition of the wood stairs. If the wood is cracked, cut pieces of cement backerboard to fit with a saw. Screw them to the stairs with a drill and screwdriver bit.
- 2). Dry-lay the tiles across the tread of the topmost stair, with tile spacers in between each tile. Measure and cut tile to fit along one side of the stairs if full tiles don't fill the entire width of the stair. Place partial tiles along one wall, or if one side of the staircase is exposed, trim the bullnose tiles that will be installed on that side.
- 3). Repeat the dry-fitting process for a stair riser.
- 4). Spread thin-set mortar on the back of a tile with a trowel. Place the tile on the topmost riser, on the side adjacent to the wall. If the staircase is enclosed by walls on both sides, you can start on either side. Place tile spacers on the left and right of the tile to leave room for grout.
- 5). Continue installing tiles on the riser in the same manner until you've covered the entire riser. Place a bullnose tile on the end of the riser if the edge is exposed.
- 6). Hold the board (sometimes called a beater board) against the tiles. Tap it with a rubber mallet to push the tiles and mortar into the wood, or the cement backerboard, behind them.
- 7). Spread thin-set mortar on the back of a tread tile, which may be a bullnose tile, V-cap trim tile or a stair-tread tile. Lay the tile on the tread above the riser that you just tiled. Place tile spacers on the left and right of the tile. Continue installing tiles on the tread in this manner until the entire tread is covered.
- 8). Set the beater board on top of the tiles. Tap it with a rubber mallet to push the tiles into place as before.
- 9). Install tiles on each step, moving down the staircase. Tile the riser first, followed by the tread above it.
- 10
Allow the mortar to cure and dry overnight, following the manufacturer's instructions. - 11
Remove the tile spacers. Spread grout over the top tread with a grout float. Push grout into the spaces between the tiles. Scrape excess grout from the tile surfaces with the edge of the grout float. - 12
Apply grout to the riser directly below the grouted tread in the same way. Continue grouting the tiles, working your way down the stairs, until you reach the bottom. - 13
Joint the grout on the top tread by running a tile spacer or the corner of a damp sponge along the grout lines. Wipe the remaining grout residue from the tile surfaces with a wet sponge. Continue jointing the grout for each riser and tread. Allow the grout to dry and cure overnight, following the manufacturer's instructions.
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