I still don't think underlayment matters much except maybe over concrete because of moisture and I'll put tile over plywood all day long unless it feels bouncy then chances are it will crack without more plywood.My thought is it says I can put it over plywood on the bag of modified thinset so if the floor is solid then why spend the extra time and money on cement board if I'm using 0.49/sqft tile anyway and doing it myself

Check your local codes on stair rise and tread depth, but it might be nice to put one step between the patio and the bottom of the door. 

Second floor loft drywall complete, ceiling primed.Down stairs bath Plumbing finally finished (almost a week setback) new tub combo installed and walls mudded. 

Though you would not need footings that deep, I would strongly encourage either cement (my preference) or galvanized steel footings and then simply build your fence using pressure treated wood.

Some installers insist on using fix-all instead of a mortar or Portland cement because they say the alkaline of the cement product will erode the fiberglass.

The coolest thing I found was a box of old newspapers enclosed under a set of stairs, and the paper face up on top was from May 13, 1960...

They're fitted together with cement, as in portland cement and sand.

Of course, he still found something to "bust" us for, a change in the building code that year that required *lighted* switches at the top & bottom of the basement stairs.

I have in installed by a local guy who charges an avg of .40c per sq ft including stairs.

it took a lot of reworking of closets and stairs, but we needed to rework the stairs anyway to gain access to the finished attic)This was our first house/very passive investment property so the finishes are a little much for the area in Oak Park it's in.