LVT on staircase risers

[longrob]

Hello all

I would be grateful for any tips about installing LVT on the risers of a staircase - the treads are painted.

Specifically, is there any adhesive you would recommend

Also, any tips for ensuring that the stick well - obviously I can't put any weight on them, being vertical. Maybe I could rig up something. I guess I could just manually apply pressure by hand with some wood, but apart from that I really don't have much ideas.

Oh, one other idea I had was to screw them at the top, since the top of the risers is almost hidden by the bullnose treads

Any help will be much appreciated.

Cheers
RL

 

[Why Not Indeed]

The top of the riser is going to be hidden only when you're above the step. Unless we're talking about a staircase with a handful of steps, then some of them are going to be at or above eye level for part of the journey. Obviously it's up to you how bothered you are by visible screwheads.
Is there enough of an overhang on the bullnose to get some squeeze clamps on to it? A couple of them could hold the piece of LVT in place whilst the adhesive goes off. Something heavy at the bottom like a couple of bricks.
Nails would have much smaller heads but don't know if they would hold in LVT, it's quite "crumbly" in my experience of putting it to uses which the manufacturer had not envisioned

 

[cdbe]

Use a proper contact adhesive - F60 Styccobond.

 

[longrob]

The top of the riser is going to be hidden only when you're above the step. Unless we're talking about a staircase with a handful of steps, then some of them are going to be at or above eye level for part of the journey. Obviously it's up to you how bothered you are by visible screwheads.
Is there enough of an overhang on the bullnose to get some squeeze clamps on to it? A couple of them could hold the piece of LVT in place whilst the adhesive goes off. Something heavy at the bottom like a couple of bricks.
Nails would have much smaller heads but don't know if they would hold in LVT, it's quite "crumbly" in my experience of putting it to uses which the manufacturer had not envisioned

Thanks for your reply

Of course, you are quite right that screws would be visible from "under". We have 3 stairs at the bottom, then one square mini-landing, then 9 stairs to the top, and indeed, once you're on the mini-landing you would be able to see screws on the top 4-5 stairs. The LVT is a quite dark brown wood effect. I wonder if I could get some screws with heads that match ?

The idea of clamps sounds interesting. There is about 40mm overhang. I have 2 Irwin "Quick Grip" clamps, but I cdan't get my head around where the "other side" of the clamp would go ?

The contact adhesive suggested by @cdbe looks like it might go off pretty quickly:

Styccobond F60 - F Ball

Contact adhesive providing formation of instant bond.

f-ball.com

It says 20 min drying time, and it also says:

• Instant bond
• Fast drying
• Ideal for vertical applications

If I had to hold/push in place for 20 mins, it wouldn't be the end of the world - I would just cut a piece of thick-ish plywood (6mm? Obviously I don't want it to "give" too much when pushing it ), maybe holding it in place with a wide broom.

It certainly seems like a better idea than using actual LVT adhesive which seems to take a few hours to get a good bonsd.

If you have any further comment, that would be great, if not then thanks very much

 

[Why Not Indeed]

The clamp would not be applying much pressure to the LVT at all, just holding it in place. It would be applying pressure to the bullnose, and quite possibly popping off and not staying on at all But you'll have to try with what you have to see if it's going to be viable.

 

[opps]

20 minute drying time doesn't mean that you have to hold things in place for 20 minutes. Assuming that the LVT is flat- I would expect it to stick without the need for pressure.

 

[cdbe]

If I recall from when I used it (the fumes are seriously interesting), it's an instant bond like super glue.

 

[longrob]

20 minute drying time doesn't mean that you have to hold things in place for 20 minutes. Assuming that the LVT is flat- I would expect it to stick without the need for pressure.

Music to my ears ! Thank you

Yes, it's all flat except for the bottom step that has a rounded corner where the newel post is. I have bent the LVT by applying a bit of heat with a paint stripping heat gun. Seemed to work like a dream and maintains it's curve when cooled

 

[longrob]

If I recall from when I used it (the fumes are seriously interesting), it's an instant bond like super glue.

Very grateful for your advice. I definitely would not have thought of that product and would have used LVT adhesive, which, although incredibly strong (I had to take up some of it recently and doing so, even with heat gun ruined the plywood it was glued to completely !), takes quite a while to go off.

Luckily I have a full-on respirator (Breaking Bad style) to deal with the fumes, which although works well, is horrifically uncomfortable.