Tiling Staircase Risers?
I have it in my head to tile the risers in my staircase. However will that look stupid if the treads (e.g., the part you walk on) are wood? If so, does that mean that the treads ought to be stone?
I have it in my head to tile the risers in my staircase. However will that look stupid if the treads (e.g., the part you walk on) are wood? If so, does that mean that the treads ought to be stone?
Here is a compromise…paint or stencil the tile pattern onto the riser. You could do some “fool the eye” type work and I bet it would turn out pretty cool. I grew up in Milwaukee and the Polish used to paint their entire houses like that. If you are dead set on tile, use flexible silicone to glue the tiles and a water based caulk for the “grout”. They don’t have to be water proof or support any weight so they should hold. When you move you can pry them off with a screw driver if the new buyers disagree with your taste with little damage to the riser.
If you are at all concerned about resale, probably a bad idea. Most brownstone buyers would expect to have wooden stairs and risers.
My first reaction is would tile hold up given that a staircase is one of the most heavily trafficked parts of the house? There’s so much movement from the pounding of adult and tiny feet alike. Wood can handle that reasonably well — though of course ours squeaks and groans like crazy. The grout between tiles, on the other hand, can be fragile — would it hold up? Maybe a staircase specialist could give you their opinion.
Boy, that sounds like a terrible idea to me. Either strip them or paint them white.
If you look at the program “3 1/2 Men” on CBS, they have the risers on their stairway tiled. It looks good there.
are you going for a spanish/moorish style? if so, i think that the treads would then be terra cotta, with the accent tiles on the risers…take a look on the web, you might find some photos. a wood tread might look to heavy with a tile riser.