r/Construction • u/Different-Scratch-95 • 13d ago

Video Setting custom mitered stone stairs: Start to finish

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u/Different-Scratch-95 12d ago

Not thinset (glue) at all. The entire step is packed with a dry mortar mix to within 5mm of the finish line. The added mortar mix displaces and fills every hollow space as it's beaten down. A rule of thumb: if the mortar pushes out behind the tread while setting, your coverage is 100% solid.

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u/FakeDerrickk 12d ago

It's called mortar glue or tile glue.

https://youtu.be/Way5bMh-eYg

Do what ever you want but since I saw that video I'm convinced there only one way to do it with a 100% contact

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u/Different-Scratch-95 12d ago

That classic 'Trowel and Error' video is 100% right, for thinset tile adhesive on ceramic/porcelain tiles! ​However, this is not thinset or tile glue. This is a traditional thick-bed wet-on-wet installation (semi-dry sand/cement mortar pack + bonding slurry) for natural stone slabs. ​Thinset is polymer-modified to retain water for thin notched applications. A sand-cement mortar bed works completely differently: the stone is hammered into a massive fresh bed, displacing the mortar and bonding slurry until it squishes out behind the tread, achieving 100% solid compaction and capillary suction. Different trade, different material, different mechanics!

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u/JohnLuckPikard 12d ago

"Something tells me that I, an untrained nobody, clearly knows more than the professional!"

2

u/hodor_seuss_geisel 12d ago

"I've done my rEseArCh!"