2008 and the Coffee Pot is still on and over 3 years. Here we gather as friends with trains. Sweet ice tea too.

[kpolak]

FJ&G:  I agree with Brent.  The wood, not only being flexible is porus, and will draw the moisture out of the grout and thinset.

Don:  Save the espresso pot for summer.  Oh ya it's always summer there!    Nothing beats a tall iced capuccino!

Kurt

[FJ and G]

thanks; hardiboard otoh is 1/4", half that of backerboard. I'll mull this for a while

[PostwarMan07]

Good afternoon everyone!  Very cold here as well.... about 15 degrees.  Today I have been taking down my christmas layout, but still am leaving the tree up for a little longer.  The cats have been turning the layout into their play pen so I am forced to take it down.  I chase those little buggers away from the tree and an hour later I see them walking around covered in white powder

Buckeye - Mountaineers played one hell of a game.  I agree...very emotional.  I think it has to do with thier coach leaving.  Lets just say Ive been told by many of their fans that the buckeyes will have a lot of people cheering them from WV in the 3rd week in november.

Have a good day everyone.

[edw]

If the wooden stairs are 3/4inch (which most newer construction homes are), then adding the 1/4 inch backer board is the way to go and the difference in rise should be minimal < 1/2 inch. 

Brent, I believe your suggestion represents the best solution. I'd definitely try and go with the backer board.

 

[Anonymous]

Having done numerous tiling jobs over the years I would HIGHLY recommend putting backerboard over your steps before tiling.

Hey, FJ and G, that's a nice job you've done.

Lionroar88 offers some good advice. Whenever possible, doubling up the thickness of your substrate will definitely reduce the likelihood of cracking. A few years ago, the wife decided she wanted a ceramic tile floor in the kitchen. We had a family friend who was a professional tile installer and he refused to do the job for us unless we reinforced the existing floor which was the typical half inch plywood subfloor over floor joists spaced 16" apart. He knew from experience that a half-inch of plywood would flex too much over a 16" span and crack most ceramic tiles. He suggested we add a second layer of plywood, screwed and glued to the first, to provide a solid 1" subfloor for the tile. We followed his advice and have never had a problem with tiles cracking.

Steps present a special challenge, however, because you start changing the riser height (of the top and bottom step) when you add an extra substrate layer, possibly compromising safety. If that causes major problems for you, you could take a chance and go with the existing stairs, since your tile span will only be about 8" for a typical tread width. It's a tough call.   

EDW - I forgot to mention those - good pickups!

The bottom stair shouldn't be too big a difference because of the extra rise of the tile and thinset at the bottom stair.  The top stair, depending on what is there, could also be fixed by adding material under the flooring...

If the wooden stairs are 3/4inch (which most newer construction homes are), then adding the 1/4 inch backer board is the way to go and the difference in rise should be minimal < 1/2 inch.  I made the mistake at my old house of not fixing all the concrete stairs out side my house and the difference in rise was too great between the steps and this created a falling hazard.  The tennants haven't mentioned it so I haven't fixed it... need to get up there and do that this year... and fix the gutter on the one side of the house that fell down a couple years ago.

[dougdagrump]

thanks, Brent, I just did a thorough surfiing of web sites and most agree with you on this point; but there's so much conflicting info from homebuilders and other professionals that it's enough to make your head spin like the exorcist

Wow !  Gee that sounds just like some of the 3 rail folks.

I didn't realize that there was another train show at Del Mar til I received a flyer in the mail last week. The last one, put on by the successor to GATS, in early December was the pits. Doubt that I will attend any of their's again.This show by, "The Worlds Greatest Hobby", is an unknown so I will probably go, if nothing else just to check it out. Based on their web info it "appears" that there is much more manufacturer support, now wheather this translates into them actually being there is another question.

Looks as if I mite need to scrounge up a wet suit and a boogie board, wonder how well that would work in a mud slide ?

Heading for the train room shortly, need to start packing for tomorrow's museum visit. Gonna try running PS-2 functions with a TPC, sometimes the DCS is just so finicky. Also having some signal issues at times with the TMCC, need to see about increasing antennae size in a few of my locos.

[edw]

Having done numerous tiling jobs over the years I would HIGHLY recommend putting backerboard over your steps before tiling.

Hey, FJ and G, that's a nice job you've done.

Lionroar88 offers some good advice. Whenever possible, doubling up the thickness of your substrate will definitely reduce the likelihood of cracking. A few years ago, the wife decided she wanted a ceramic tile floor in the kitchen. We had a family friend who was a professional tile installer and he refused to do the job for us unless we reinforced the existing floor which was the typical half inch plywood subfloor over floor joists spaced 16" apart. He knew from experience that a half-inch of plywood would flex too much over a 16" span and crack most ceramic tiles. He suggested we add a second layer of plywood, screwed and glued to the first, to provide a solid 1" subfloor for the tile. We followed his advice and have never had a problem with tiles cracking.

Steps present a special challenge, however, because you start changing the riser height (of the top and bottom step) when you add an extra substrate layer, possibly compromising safety. If that causes major problems for you, you could take a chance and go with the existing stairs, since your tile span will only be about 8" for a typical tread width. It's a tough call.   

 

[FJ and G]

thanks, Brent, I just did a thorough surfiing of web sites and most agree with you on this point; but there's so much conflicting info from homebuilders and other professionals that it's enough to make your head spin like the exorcist

[Anonymous]

FJ and G:
Having done numerous tiling jobs over the years I would HIGHLY recommend putting backerboard over your steps before tiling.

Reasons:
1. The backerboard adds strength to the overall structure and reduces the chance that you will cause 'sagging' after the tile is installed.  If this were to occur you could end up with cracked tiles and or grout lines.

2. If you ever decide you do not like the tile removing the tile will be MUCH easier and you will not damage the wood subsurface, other than removing the screws for the backerboard.

OH - Use screws to secure the backerboard to the wood stairs... nails will work themselves lose over time and will cause everything to start to losen as well (tiles, grout, etc).

[mistyk11]

I did get to our first train show this last weekend with my son. He absolutely loved it!

Misty  - Was that the show in Anahiem?  If so missed a chance of meeting you and your son
There are 2 other shows coming up, 1 down at Del Mar, on Jan 12 & 13.  I will be working and not attending.  Doug may have some comments as to how good it is.  Then in May or June there is the "BIG" show in Ontario.  That is primarily for G scale, but I sure have found some interesting stuff there!

Ready for the rain this weekend? 

For those of you who may not be aware, we have forcasts of rain starting tonight through Monday.  Suppose to be the most significant rainfall in 3 years.  There are 3 storms stacked up off the coast coming in.  One from the southwest, and two from the north west.  Predicting as much as 10" of rain.  So here goes. Glad I don't live near Malibu!! 

so you folk, ain't up to espresso ? eh ????   what'd they say about taking the country outta the boy ???   ok, ok,  i'll put it on ebay.

Yes, we hit that one on Saturday. It was our first show and Jacob loved it! He has never had a chance to see some of the big layouts and was amazed at the things that he saw. Most of them were HO layouts however I explained that it could be done with O gauge as well, just on a larger layout than what we have. It was great seeing him so excited but he was ready to leave around noon since it was getting so busy. I hope to be able to arrange to go to the Ontario show so please, let me know when it is. His birthday is on Jan 13th and I managed to have that day off (still working the weekends) so we are having his party that day and will have to miss the Del Mar show. The shows are great since we don't have any close hobby shops that carry much of O gauge. I wanted to buy him more stuff but he was content with what we got him.

As far as the rain goes-we desperately need it but we probably won't get a whole lot up here in the desert. We will get the cold and the horrendous winds that come with it when the Inland Empire gets the rain. Hopefully mother nature proves me wrong this time. We've already had 2 days of snow this year which is 2 days more than we got last year! And we have had some pretty good icings. I go back to work tomorrow after having 3 weeks off so of course, I'll be driving up and down the Cajon Pass in the nasty weather.....Work sure takes away from our train time (but it does provide the funding for it!) I'll try to post some pics of our little beep. He chose that over the Santa Fe GP that I was willing to buy for him....the Rio Grande was much cheaper too!

Hopefully I posted the picture of the Beep correctly...

[dbaker48]

I did get to our first train show this last weekend with my son. He absolutely loved it!

Misty  - Was that the show in Anahiem?  If so missed a chance of meeting you and your son
There are 2 other shows coming up, 1 down at Del Mar, on Jan 12 & 13.  I will be working and not attending.  Doug may have some comments as to how good it is.  Then in May or June there is the "BIG" show in Ontario.  That is primarily for G scale, but I sure have found some interesting stuff there!

Ready for the rain this weekend? 

For those of you who may not be aware, we have forcasts of rain starting tonight through Monday.  Suppose to be the most significant rainfall in 3 years.  There are 3 storms stacked up off the coast coming in.  One from the southwest, and two from the north west.  Predicting as much as 10" of rain.  So here goes. Glad I don't live near Malibu!! 

so you folk, ain't up to espresso ? eh ????   what'd they say about taking the country outta the boy ???   ok, ok,  i'll put it on ebay.

[FJ and G]

thanks EDW,

good info there, as the wood in stairs would be difficult to remove. I'll check for sagging.

 

My nextdoor neighbor wants to do his wood floor but I think sagging might occur and he'd be better off getting a backerboard underlay and rip out existing wood to joists (I think it's particle board). Also think wood expands and contracts differently than tiles.

 

I'm using medium thick porcelin tiles

 

Here's work from a few weeks ago. BB is helping to set the tiles. The area you see is actually finished now

 

 

[danrunner]

Good morning gents.

 

It's sunny and cool in vegas. 

 

The Christmas layout is running well, but the difference between the tubular and my Fastrack is kind of surprising.   The tubular loop (tiny)  with a beep and three slag cars is eating all of my cw-80s output and chugs slowly.  My larger loops with longer consists on fastrack are smoking fast.  Anyone else notice this or does my wiring stink??? 

[edw]

Been busy tiling my basement. Got a question for ya. Now that I'm almost done tiling the slab, I want to continue tiling up the wood stairs. Anyone know if tiles can be thin set directly to wood?  Or does hardiboard or backerboard need to first be screwed to the floor?

Hi FJ and G,

I'm not sure what kind of tile you are using, but if it is ceramic, you can use a special thinset directly on a wooden substrate. Check out the link below for some suggestions.

http://www.floorstransformed.com/choosethinset.html

One of the pointers states: "For installing ceramic tile over vinyl flooring or wooden substates you will need a high quality latex modified thinset mortar. These may be labeled as Full Flex, Super Flex, or Multi Flex thinset mortars."

However, with ceramic, make sure that your steps are rock solid (no flexing) or you will inevitably have a cracking problem down the road.

[Jumijo]

 

I managed to recast my vote to 5 gold stars as I promised I would. Again, Chief, I humbly apologize for any percieved slight. No disrespect was intended. Glad I was able to fix things. have a look.

Jim

 

Rated By	Rating
RRCharlie
jimtrumpie
ben10ben
mitchelr
spankybird
jefelectric
Buckeye Riveter
jonadel
Blueberryhill RR
laz 57
Brutus
Frank53
Jumijo
dwiemer
tmcc man
rtraincollector
dbaker48
kblester
kpolak
magicman710
sparky
anjdevil2
lionroar88
jmkk
PostwarMan07
sir james I

 

[FJ and G]

Thank you Sir!

[cnw1995]

Morning all. V. cold here too. Though supposed to be in the high 50s by the weekend. Hard to believe. Worked tech. last eve. helping our church drama team rehearse.

Misty, that Rio Grande engine must've looked great!

Manamanah, I second the recommendation of the Thomas set. It is very fun. Your id reminds me of a long-ago Sesame Street song...

[sir james I]

to FJ and G= I can't say it's correct but in 1979 I put self sticking tiles to the bare wood basement steps and they are still down tight.

[Blueberryhill RR]

You mean this:

Rated By	Rating
jimtrumpie
mitchelr
spankybird
Buckeye Riveter
jonadel
Blueberryhill RR
laz 57
Brutus
Frank53
Jumijo
tmcc man
rtraincollector
dbaker48
kblester
kpolak
sparky
PostwarMan07
sir james I

Looks like someone got to vote again.

[FJ and G]

Hi yaaaall

 

Been busy tiling my basement. Got a question for ya. Now that I'm almost done tiling the slab, I want to continue tiling up the wood stairs. Anyone know if tiles can be thin set directly to wood?  Or does hardiboard or backerboard need to first be screwed to the floor?

 

Thanks

 

Oh, here's a shot yesterday of my buddy's layout

 

 

[sir james I]

Good Morning

Single numbers this morning, but the sun is out. 50 by monday, so they say.

Doctor appoint.,barber, and drugstore this morning, done and home. Looks like some train time today.

Welcome Northwoods Flyer, just jump right in.

[RockIsland52]

A balmy 4 degrees here in MA. this morning and -22 degrees factoring in the wind chill factor.  December snowfall finished at about 27 inches, second "most" for a December ever around here.  Reading the weather posts from FLA. and GA. make me thankful that all of the mountains of snow and ice in the mall parking lots will be gone by Memorial Day.

[mistyk11]

Cold but no snow - looks like it will warm up by the weekend when my son has a nother basketball game.  He's had 3 practices and 4 games (2 double headers).  They are completely defeated (opposite of undefeated).  I really feel sorry for these boys, but that's it and I can't coach as they have practice before I get off work (when they have it).  Plus, I can't turn down OT, if we ever get it again....  I think all the COLA's went through so you guys on Social should be getting a letter.  I think we get a 2.99 percent raise at work this year - not bad at all!  My wife did better than that, but she's not a GS employee, she's Pay Banded.

5 Stars for you Chief and all Da Giz and Galz!  I think we forgot Misty who was making a desert landscape for her son?  Since Miss Lisa got the Queen Award, maybe Misty should get the Co-Queen award?  I've rated a few of these threads, but it's cool to know you can see who did it and what they voted.

We have leftover cornbread for anyone who wants it - you can nuke it and put on some butter or honey!

Thanks Brutus for not forgetting about me way out here in the middle of nowhere!! I know I don't contribute a lot but I do read every day. I just don't know a lot about trains to feel like I can write about them.

I did get to our first train show this last weekend with my son. He absolutely loved it! Of course, now he has changed our layout to half farm/airport so we get to rearrange everything again. I picked up a RMT Rio Grande Beep for him along with a container car and flat car with 2 tractors and a lighted Lionel house. (sorry I don't have all of the official names of the 2 other cars) That was for his birthday so we are back to re-arranging the layout AGAIN. (I guess that's the fun of it for him) He got some elevated trestles for Xmas so we are trying to incorporate them into the layout however it's kind of tough with just an 8x4 setup. The problem is, I think I'm more addicted to the trains than he is......

[phillyreading]

phillyreading - How unfortunate for those 900 employees at the Reeses plant.  All about the almighty shareholders' dollars.  Way To Go AMERICA...just keep outsourcing your jobs, while importing more illegals.

Hey fifedog,

It is all Hershey employees! Not just Reese'e candy.

Just goes to show that nothing is sacred in this country anymore!!  Lionel was one of the first to jump on the bandwagon of outsourcing jobs to China!

Used to be Happy New Year in America but now it has changed to Happy Job hunting!! In the 70's companies were letting people go who had more than 25 years with a company to keep down retirement & pension costs. Now a day it outsourcing of jobs to Mexico or China.

Lee F.

[dwiemer]

Good Morning everyone.  I will go and rate it with 5 stars.   Have not opened the main page for the ratings, but will head that way soon.

Hope Kevin closes that door soon.  We are not used to this chilly weather here.  This is two days in a row I needed to put a jacket on.  Anyway, may be heading to Tallahasee this weekend.  Bombay is going out of business and bride really likes the furniture.  Will have to scope out train stores on the way.

God Bless,

dennis

[fifedog]

phillyreading - How unfortunate for those 900 employees at the Reeses plant.  All about the almighty shareholders' dollars.  Way To Go AMERICA...just keep outsourcing your jobs, while importing more illegals.

[Anonymous]

Or use it for leftover grits storage... Someone here seems to always be looking for somewhere to store his grits...

Got a place to store them.  Didn't you say you had to leave home today.   Stay warm.

Yep and I got to work just fine.  Just gave her a little talking to and she fired right up.  Actually made it to work early today... Bimmers love to go fast... Have to stop and get oil and filter on the way home so I can change the fluids in prep for tomorrow's trip.

[phillyreading]

Good Morning from a chilly West Palm Beach Florida, got down to 36 overnight, that is chilly for south Florida & only 65 miles north of Miami FL.  Inside the house when I got up it was 63.

I heard some rather interesting and sad news out of Pennsylvania, Hershey Chocolate Company is moving out of country(United States), I believe the news mentioned going to Mexico, in an effort to cut costs.  Also cutting jobs in the U.S. & Canada & laying off hundreds in both countries.  Milton Hershey will roll over in his grave if that is possible on this news.

Will try to replace my back door on the house if the weather stays warm.

Lee F.

[ChiefEagles]

Or use it for leftover grits storage... Someone here seems to always be looking for somewhere to store his grits...

Got a place to store them.  Didn't you say you had to leave home today.   Stay warm.

[Anonymous]

Mornin' boys.  Feels like VERMONT, but ain't looking like VERMONT here in the Mid-Atlantic Region.  Kooljock, please have things warm and sunny for me and the Mrs in June, thank you.

Grayson - just remember who always gave you the seat next to him...

Northwoods Flyer ---> "WOODSY"

dbaker48 - might want to take that "thing" off the counter.  Some of our less sophisticated friends might think it a receptacle for their chewing tobackie...

Or use it for leftover grits storage... Someone here seems to always be looking for somewhere to store his grits...

I have to confirm Fife's description of our arctic weather... went outside this morning to start the cars and both of them told me to take a hike!

Heading back to 'The Burgh' tomorrow to celebrate the holidays with my family.  This could be fun... Stopping to see a friend to do some train exchanging on Saturday.  I have to deliver an item he won on Ebay and had shipped to my house (seller was close by so if problems I could take care of them in person), and I have an illuminated station platform that he's been after me to unload to him (they are special runs by Lionel for the railroading clubs), so I'm relenting since I don't think I'll be needing it on the big layout. He has some display cases that I'm going to use under the layout... don't think I'll display anything in them, but they may become a mining operation or a subway station... that would be cool...