Newby With A Head Scratcher

joe dirt

Hi all, first post , like most I need help.
I am building a staircase out of metal, the treads (2" angle iron with thin sheet steel skinning the inside bottom) are to be filled to 3/8" from top with concrete and finnally ceramic tile on top.
I require the cement to be light in weight (45 treads lots of weight),,,,,
any ideas ?????
Thanks Joe Dirt

PS metal work is up , no turning back now

rbsremodeling

Use Light weight concrete.


What are you confused about?

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artisanstone

You have 45 treads on a single run??

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Bill Baddorf
Bill@artisanstoneworks.net
www.artisanstoneworks.net
www.stonefoundation.org

joe dirt

Lightweight concrete eh! I have been loosing sleep over the weight issue, great.
the pour will be 1.75" thick, should I re-enforce with mesh?


45 treads, 3 runs. When I figure out how to post pics, I will.

Bodger

Are you also setting the tile? If so, you should know what to put in the substrate as far as reinforcment.

If not, let the tiling contractor guide you or even better, include it in his quote and let him do the concrete so there aren't any surprises when he gets there.
Best of luck, sounds like a lot of stairs.
Post a pic.
Might even be a good idea to run the numbers by a structural engineer if you're losing sleep about the weight issue.

concretemasonry

You probably will not be able to buy real lightweight concrete in such a small quantity.

Lightweight concrete is less than 115 pounds per cubic foot. Normal concrete is about 150 pounds per cubic foot. - That is about a 25 % weight savings.

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Dick

Engineer, designer and consultant recently active domestically and internationally on construction and design in about 35 countries.

joe dirt

I'm doing all the work. I asked about the mesh ( I will install) because I don't no the characteristics of lightweight concrete, never used it before.
The stair design is stamped by a structural eng. , no spec on the concret though.

Tscarborough

Check code on using pans. You may be better off buying precast concrete treads.

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artisanstone

The stairs I've seen like this were designed to be filled with floor mud, not concrete. They usually have lath or wire mesh tack welded to the inside of the pan area. If they are engineered, I wouldn't worry about the weight.

__________________
Bill Baddorf
Bill@artisanstoneworks.net
www.artisanstoneworks.net
www.stonefoundation.org

CJKarl

I did something smaller. Just used bluestone, worked out great.

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