The Flooring Expert

Q: Hello. I am ordering hardwood from iFloor that I intend to install myself, as I have some hardwood flooring experience. To obtain a finished look in the entrance area, I would like to replace the carpeting on our stairs with matching hardwood. There’s nothing “special” or unique about our stairs, but this is something I have never done. Regardless, I am confident that I can do this with the right know how. That’s where you come in. If this works for you, I’ll tell you what I know and maybe you can fill in some gaps, point out possible pitfalls, and give me any pointers that you feel will help the job come out well.

Tim
Cambridge, NY

A: Tim there is very little I'll need to help you on because you are already well informed. I'll admit I am a big fan of the white riser look to accent the treads on a set of hardwood stairs. After getting all of the carpet removed and cutting your stairs to be flush. You will need to be very precise with your cuts for the wood for the tread, so take your time.

I will admit, I prefer using solid stair treads over flooring and nosing (the links I am using are bamboo, but they serve as great visual examples); however, if you can't get solid treads don't be surprised if there is a slight difference in color between the nosing and the floor. This will be much like trim pieces where they will match as close as possible, but the wood used for trim tends to come from different portions of the tree than flooring, which will have a slight difference in appearance. Using a paint-grade poplar is a great idea and I would suggest going that route.

When installing the stairs, you should be using glue to install your treads and then nailing the along the scribe line at the back of the tread. A scribe line is a line used to mark the extent that the riser will cover the tread. This answers your other question, always install tread, then riser. This gives a clean professional look.

You will want to take time to rack out each stair, cutting the last plank in the tread that will go under the riser. This will allow you to easily install. After doing your cuts, lay out each tread and make sure they fit well. You'll then be ready to get to the install. Use a urethane based mastic adhesive to glue the treads in place. Spread the adhesive per the instructions from the manufacturer across the base of the stair then lay the tread into place. Start from the back riser and put each piece in place up to the nosing. Take extra caution not to get any adhesive on your fingers, this stuff will be messy and you don't want this to be on your treads. Once everything is in place, you must make sure the nose is snug and use a pull bar to ensure the boards are pulled tightly together. Remember to allow plenty of time for each tread to cure.

You will be gluing the riser in place as well and using a spread across the back of the riser. Remember to paint before hand, I know its obvious, but getting paint on those nice new treads would be terrible. I think this should cover all of your needs for putting in your stairs, but just as some extra help I have a picture that John R., one of our content designers, found to show a similar stair style to what you are going for. Notice in the image you can tell the tread goes beyond the riser, indicating that the riser was installed after the tread. Did I mention I really like this look?

Reply: I am very grateful for your detailed reply. That was a big help to me, and underscores the major reason why I placed my order with iFloor. It always eases my mind before going into the unknown to know that I know something about what’s unknown. Or at least to know someone who does. You know?

Thanks again, and take care,
-Tim

A: I'm glad we could help you so far Tim and that's why we're here, to help people make informed decisions in regards to flooring. Our CEO, Steve Simonson, is huge on education (as you well know if you read Steve's blog), so I am proud to be helping you out. Now, let's get back to the help part:

For the poplar I would say this is really based on how you want your stairs to look. My honest suggestion would be to measure the space between where you will add your risers and how the stair nosing will sit to get an idea of what you need. Honestly this will be fairly thin, but get a width that in the end will give you the look you want.

You will be using the same adhesive and will be applying to the back of the riser then install the riser. How long you need to wait is based on the adhesive you use. I would say always observe the instructions given by a manufacturer, especially with adhesives, but this is normally around 8 to 12 hours. Basically put, over night your stairs should cure enough to walk on without worry, but make sure to consult your adhesive's manufacturer's suggestions.

In regards to cutting, I have a few tips from Sean H., who used to work with custom molding before joining the team here at iFLOOR. If your using a circular saw, make sure to use a blade designed for ripping with a lot of teeth. The more the better. The same philosophy applies for a jig saw. Now, when cutting, you want the impact of the blade occurs on the back side of the flooring. So if your using a circular or miter saw have the face of the floor up, for jig or table saw, have the floor face down. Another great tip from Sean, is to use some tape along where you are going to cut (pretty sure masking tape will be a great bet) to reduce the amount of blow out you get when making your cuts.

I really looking forward to hearing back from you on your project Tim and good luck!

Q: I want to remove the carpet on my stairs and install hardwood planks. Is there a way to install them without leaving nail indentations on the planks. I am also looking for instructions on installing the hardwood plank stairs. Any information you can give will be greatly appreciated.

A: When your installing a nail or staple-down floor, you will only top nail the first and last rows. To cover the indentations created, you will want to use a color matching floor putty. All of your other rows of flooring will be nailed at a 45 degree angle through the top of the tongue. Below is a link to our guide on nail-down installations which includes a great video that we worked with Westhollow to make.

Nail-down Installation Page

In regards to your stairs you will be gluing the planks and nosing in place, not nailing. You will use some nails to anchor the last row, but this nailing should be done behind the scribe line. Your scribe line marks the extent of what you riser will cover. Here's a quick break down for installing hardwood stairs:

1. Make sure you remove all debris from the stairs, this includes drywall mud or paint that may have ended up on the stairs under your carpet.
2. Ensure your stair's nosing is flush with the riser before installing your new hardwood. This may involve some cuts.
3. Measure for cuts, as they need to be exact.
4. Start with the nosing first and then work back with your planks to the riser. At first, just lay the wood out to make sure your cuts were done properly. Pull the planks together tightly and ensure the nosing is snug against the riser of the next stair.
5. For your installation, start at the bottom of your stairs and work to the top.
6. After mocking up the tread portion and riser for each store, then begin with the nosing and glue along the back of the tread portion in an s-curving fashion. Put the nosing into place and then lay the planks, gluing in similar curving fashion. You can also spread an adhesive using a trowel along the tread of the stair, then lay the nosing and planks. Ensure to make the nosing snug and pull the planks together tightly.
7. Nail along the last row behind the scribe line, but not too close to the back of the plank as this can cause cracking.
8. After installing the tread, install the risers, these should be glued into place.
9. Give the stairs plenty of time to cure before walking over them.
10. Install any transitions you may need at the top of your stairs and your done.

Q: We are looking to replace most of our carpet downstairs with laminate. While doing research I saw the Congoleum forum plank product. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to be a better choice when you have 2 kids and a dog.

Tony

A: Congoleum makes great products especially when considering kids and pets, but like the sales rep mentioned, you can not do stairs with the Congoleum (Kudos to the sales person for setting your expectations on this). The reason why is because Congoleum does not have a nosing built for stairs like other hard surface floors. The Congoleum Forum Plank product is a thinner vinyl plank with a self-adhesive backing.

There may be a way to use the Congoleum to make your own nosing over some plywood, but I wouldn't suggest it.

One thing to keep in mind is that some of the better laminates can take some serious abuse (such as we mentioned in the case with Ryan W.'s dog Jin and his South American Walnut floor). I would suggest going with a laminate in this case so you can keep the stairs matching to your floor. Just ensure you find a floor that has coordinating nosings built for it it. Again, stick to AC4 and AC5 laminates like Westhollow, Pergo Select, Quick Step's Perspective and similar products.

I would also suggest looking into a good underlayment to get a better feel under foot and remove some of the hollow sound when you walk on laminate. Look into using Cork or Sound 6 for a more solid sounding floor.

Follow-Up: Tony and I have had quite the conversation through email in regards to his flooring project. From everything to which laminates to look at, to the best locking mechanisms in laminate (Quick Step's Uni-clic is arguably the best on the market). We even discussed his wife's concerns about dust collecting in the bevels.

We also got into a bit of talk on Tony's process of talking to various floor companies to get quotes for his floor with installation. Tony mentioned:

We are getting several bids. One from a local Carpet One, one from Empire Today, and some form independent contractors.

I've read many mixed posts about Empire. Some say they are great and others say they do bad work and are overpriced. I don't want to cut corners on the quality of the product chosen, but $10,000 seemed high to me.

After finding out Tony was near one of our great installers in the Dallas area (Tony is in Arlington, TX), I shot him over a quick quote which included 3mm cork underlayment, Quick Step's Perspective (the more expensive of the two lines we've been discussing) and the best install package we have, our Premium Install which came out to $7500 (that's almost $3000 less than Empire!) After that Tony had this to say:

I kinda figured they were a bit overpriced, or at least I was hoping so.I was kinda surprised at a few things tho. He recommended NOT doing the stairs. He said this type of floor doesn't work well on stairs. That's fine by me, stairs are expensive anyway. Also, he didn't apply much pressure when were done, meaning he didn't repeatedly push to close the deal right then. BTW, we haven't received any other quotes yet. The Carpet One guy doesn't seem that motivated to make a 10k sale... go figure.

I mentioned there is some argument to the application of floating floors on stairs, but if done properly there should be no issues. I personally prefer solid treads when I can get them, which means no laminate. Tony is looking into carpet for his stairs as an alternative and a 160sf section of his home. His wife is looking at Frieze, which is very popular.

My Kudos to Tony as he has been doing some great research, using Laminate Brand Wars II by our very own Steve as a guide and then finding various other consumer reports on laminate to help narrow down his search. Also, polling various floor companies to get an idea of what a professional install would cost versus installing it himself.

I do encourage anyone who is working on their own flooring project to take time to research products and information that will help make your new floor last and install without issues, and of course, don't be afraid to ask questions of experts like yours truly.

Q: We are installing slate tile on a floor up to the top edge of a stairway, but we don't know how best to finish the edge along that top step. It's pretty regular slate tile, about 1/4" in thickness, and there will be cement board under it. We're worried about both the appearance (the profile would reveal both the cement board and the cut edge of the slate) and the stability of the slate along that edge. Is there some kind of bull nosing product that you'd suggest or some other method of dealing with this edge?

Lisa D.

A: With wood stairs, what you could try doing is having the top of the stairs done in a small area of Oak to match the treads and then use a transition to move between the oak and slate. Essentially you can make a small wood landing before the stairs. Beyond that, you might look into any custom work that could make the slate into a proper stair nosing the give the smooth rounded look like the treads on your stairs.

Finding someone to work with the slate may be a bit more difficult than getting oak to make a small landing and nose the top of the stairs. To be honest, the only slate stairs I have seen had been squared off and did not use a bull nose like edge at all, so the edge of the tread sat even with the riser using solid slate treads and risers.

Q: My wife and I bought a new house that has an existing oak staircase (in excellent shape, about 7 years old), and carpet upstairs. We'd like to install hardwood floor upstairs, but we're not sure how to match it to the staircase -- first, we're not sure we'd ever be able to find the exact same colour, and, second, that colour is not really our favourite anyway. My question is: what is usually done in this case? Should we go ahead and do our new floors in our favourite colour, and forget about the mismatch with the stairs, or will that look weird? Should we also restain or re-floor the stairs to match the new floor?

Thanks!
Stan

A: There are two schools of thought when it comes to floors in a home. Either make all of the wood flooring the same, so you keep a uniform flowing appearance or have each area floored differently to give unique feels in each new room.

Since you dislike the color of the current stairs I would not directly suggest trying to match the existing floor. Wood floors will naturally darken over time, although oak is less likely to darken as drastically, some darkening has probably occurred since it was installed.

At this point you can either leave the stairs and install a floor you like in the carpeted area or remove the stairs as well and make the entire area in the floor of your choosing. If you want the more professional look (and to have the stairs in a flooring that suits your taste) I would suggest replacing the stairs at the same time. If you are looking for a different stain to the oak, you will want to get the stairs and the new floor site stained and finished to ensure it has an even color. This can be very expensive so you might want to replace the stairs at the same time.

If you choose to replace your stairs, I would highly suggest finding solid stair treads and risers for your floor if they area available as this gives a much better appearance (my example here is bamboo, but it will give you a visual idea of what to look for). It can be difficult to find solid treads and risers for many floors, but they are well worth it when you can get them.

When it comes to stairs, installation can be very difficult so I would suggest looking into a professional installer such as our team here at iFLOOR.com to make sure everything is done just right. If you plan on doing this as a DIY project, take your time and make sure you get everything you need in order ensure this install goes without a hitch. So do your homework and make sure all your measurements are dead on.

Q: I have a question in regards to wood floor installation around the stair newel posts. Our flooring company is advising that it will look much cleaner if they cut the newel posts and install the floor under the newel posts, rather than installing the floor around the posts. I am worried this will weaken the staircase. What is the normal way to install around stairs?

Gina

A: Your worries are correct. This is the last thing you will want done. The posts need to remain attached for stability; however, there are some tricks you can use to make the stairs look great and still keep the posts in place.

Tad A., Director of our Install Program here at iFLOOR, mentioned his “Install 301,” which lends two techniques to use based on how close your posts will be to the stair nosing. The first trick would be to install quarter round around the base of the posts to cover the cuts made for the flooring around the posts. Once they are stained or painted to match the posts it will look like they have always been that way.

The second technique is a bit more advanced, but a very good installer will be able to do this. At the base of the post, using a small saw you can cut away small portions around the edge of the post to act as a lip. Leave a majority of the post in place to keep everything stable, then you can install the edges of flooring for the stair under the lip to cover the cuts and make the entire stair look great.

The use of the quarter round will be the easier and is the better choice if the posts are near the edge of your stairs. No matter what you choose, do NOT cut the posts for your stairs, but find an alternate approach to make the stairs look clean and professional.

Q: I am planning on using some of the alloc domestic laminate I recently bought from ifloor on the staircase in my house. The sides of my staircase are drywall. I intend to do the treads with the laminate and the risers with MDF or your suggested material. If I use MDF should I use 3/4"? How should I trim the riser and the tread along the drywall sides? Is Liquid Nails Projects a recommended glue?

Robert B.

A: For your stairs, MDF should work fine as a riser. You could also use plywood, which may actually be a safer bet. My guess is you intend to paint your risers since they will not match the Alloc you intend on using. Using a 3/4” thick riser will give you a bit more room to cover up on the tread for your cuts and should give you a bit more area behind the scribe line, so I would use a 3/4” riser if you have the room to allow for it.

In regards to trimming the treads and risers, just ensure you make careful and accurate cuts and install a stringer to cover up the cut edges and you should have no worries. I would suggest painting the stringer to match the risers, this will make the treads really stand out (especially if you are using white paint with a darker toned floor).

Liquid Nails Wood Projects Adhesive should do the trick for this project, although it is always suggested to use a troweled on adhesive when possible as this will give more even coverage and a firm adhesion. With the Liquid Nail, make sure to use a curving or "S" shaped pattern to get the best coverage on your stairs and allow plenty of time to cure.

A few tips with stairs:
Ensure the stairs are clean before installing. This means removing any old paint or drywall mud with a scraper or removing any remnants of carpet or pre-existing floor. Always ensure you rack out each tread before installing to make sure your cuts are accurate. Install the tread first, then the riser for each stair. Once the stairs are complete then install your stringer(s).

Q: I want to replace carpet floor covering on two different sets of stairs and am confused about what would be the best choice other than more carpet.

Pamela D.

A: When it comes to stairs there are several choices you can make. I personally am a big proponent of hard surface flooring. This being said, I understand your wish to avoid carpet.

Let's tackle the stairs with existing wood first. I would have someone take a look at these stairs to ensure they can be properly refinished before pushing too far into your project. If they can, you will want them sanded, sealed and finished with at least 2 coats of a good finish like Glitsa's Infinity II or Bona's Traffic. You can also look into staining these stairs during the refinish process to get a color you desire.

Should you need to replace these stairs, then you can pick out any flooring type you prefer that has accessories for stairs such as hardwood or bamboo. I don't know of any cork floors with matching nosing for stairs, so you will most likely want to avoid looking into cork.

For your other set of stairs, I would look into a new wood or bamboo floor. The benefit of bamboo is that it is very easy to obtain solid treads and risers, making the install both easy and clean looking. The downside to bamboo is the lack of color choices you will get. Hardwood on the other hand gives you a myriad of choices and looks great when installed.

When it comes to stairs, I highly suggest contacting a professional installer as they can be difficult and you want them to look great. For the DIY folks, make sure you take your time with stair install, measure carefully and cut even more carefully. Install tread, then the riser above the tread, starting from the bottom of your stairs and moving to the top. Afterward install your stringers (also called skirt boards). This will allow you to cover all of your cuts and make the stairs look great.

Q: I am nearly finished with my DIY engineered wood floor installation (my first). The floor is in my basement and it is installed over Dri-core tiles. For added protection, I laid down appropriate matting as a moisture barrier. I stapled the floor down but now I have a couple of follow up questions:

Thanks for the help.
Anthony

A: Based on how you have stapled, the only worry you should have is that the floor can potentially move a bit more, as it is not as firmly anchored. Realistically, it should not be a huge issue, but potentially it can cause problems. Without knowing what specific floor you have, the floor itself should be fine to bear the load you are mentioning. Floors with 7 or more plies are very good at bearing loads, but keep in mind this is dependent on the quality of the floor itself. Some floors have many plies using a very cheap substrate, which leads to a lower quality product. As long as you use the cushions as you intend, I don't foresee any issues with putting such gym equipment on your floor.

In regards to your stair issue, this is actually a bit easier than you think. Based on your description, I'm guessing you have an open face set of stairs and this is where you intend to do your miter work. If so, all you really need to do is make 45 degree cuts on your stair nosing so you can make 90 degree angles to cover the sides of the tread. Below I've included a quick sketch to illustrate this. Just make sure you take your time on this portion of cutting and installation to ensure it looks good.

Q: we have spaces where the hardwood was laid on the floor. we don't know how to cover these gaps, at the edges of the stairs, other than using quarter round, which still leaves gaps between the riser and the stair nose.

Tom

A: Based on your description it sounds like the gaps you are referring to are against the wall. If this is the case you should be able to cover these gaps rather easily using a stringer (also known as a stair skirt). Normally the skirt is put in place against the wall before installing your treads and risers, but in a case where you have a gap that quarter round or similar trim (such as base moldings) you could use a skirt or make a modified one from some lumber like a 1” x 6” then stain to match the color.

There are several great write ups you can find online about how to make your own stringers/stair skirts, just make sure you measure the gap and get an accurate idea of how much space you will need to cover.

Q: I read the previous posts on installing wood on stairs and I'm ready to go except for one issue I haven't seen addressed. I want to use the solid stair treads and risers. I have six stairs up to a landing, then a semi-circular landing that turns 180 degrees then nine more steps to the second floor. I cannot use solid bamboo treads on the landing, it is about 8 to 10 square feet. Should I use the click together flooring (that I will be using on the floors) with a stair nosing on the landing? Will that look out of place if the other 15 stairs are covered with the solid treads?

Thanks,
Jerry

A: Using flooring for a landing that is the same as your floor will tie everything together. Although you will most likely see a difference between the tread and the landing it should not be overly drastic. My key bit of advice would be to find a flush stair nose if possible as this will look more professional. An overlap stair nose will work, but it will stand out when compared to the flush appearance of the solid treads.

A way to somewhat cover the difference of the landing to the stairs would be to use a small area rug on your landing, as attention will be drawn to the rug more than the flooring of the landing. The other option would be to avoid using solid treads to keep everything uniform. Although I personally prefer solid treads for appearance, this will keep everything uniform in appearance.

Q: I am in a similar situation as Tim from May 2007 and I am about to redo stairs that were previously carpeted. As with Tim I tore out the old carpeting and plan to do the treads with flooring, not planks. My question is: Do I need to have an expansion gap in the tread that will be hidden underneath the new riser? I assume not since there will be only two and a half boards between the nosing and the riser, which is not enough wood to create a noticeable amount of expansion. I was thinking about leaving a 1/8" gap, but I don't want to compromise the strength of the riser that rests on it.

Thanks,
Jerrod

A: You will need to leave an expansion gap and keep in mind that there is a small gap between the riser and the tread. Also remember that the riser is directly adhered to the stairs frame, so its not much of a matter of stability in regards to leaving a gap. Wood being a natural product will expand and contract due to temperature and moisture, so you must account for a gap based on the amount and type of flooring to be installed.

The gap for stairs does not need to be as large as typically used for flooring and 1/8" should do. Also keep in mind you can leave some room on the side for expansion if you are going to be covering it with a Skirt board.

Q: I have just recently installed Pergo Savannah oak (accolade) throughout my home. I have a split foyer design home. I have seven steps up and 6 steps down. How do you use Pergo on steps? Can you use a full width piece on the step and use step nosing? What do you do with the riser part? Can you use Pergo as well or use white wood? I was told AFTER my floor was done that Pergo does not make a step piece only the stair nose. I wish they would have informed me of that prior to starting the project. How do you attach the stair nose if you use Pergo as the part you step on. I went to Home Depot and asked for white riser board and they did not know what I was talking about. Now I am stuck with beautiful floors and unfinished steps. Please help.

Thanks
kd

A: For laminate floor like Pergo, you are going to need to use a stair nose in conjunction with planks of flooring to make the tread of your stair. Keep in mind that you will have to gauge your cuts on the planks to account for the distance after the nosing is installed. This means you need to mark out what room the nosing takes up, then dry rack out the flooring you will be using and mark your cuts accordingly. Make sure you leave an expansion gap for the tread area behind the scribe line. The scribe line is a chalk line you will need to mark to note how much of the tread area will be covered after the riser is installed. Always install treads then risers.

For risers, I would suggest not using planks of the laminate as a riser. It can be done, but you will need to do quite a bit of cut work to remove the locking mechanism. I would suggest just getting plywood/poplar and cut to the size necessary for your risers, than paint to the color you would like them to be. Typically you won't get material for risers that is pre-painted as it is better to paint after making all of your cuts. Also, this allow you to paint them any color you would like if you want something other than white.

To install the nosing, you will be gluing this directly to the stair itself. Usually this is done with the flooring as well using a troweled out flooring adhesive. When you are installing, install the planks of Pergo, then the nosing as this nosing is typically has an overlapping portion.

Quick summary here: You will need to use nosings. Dry rack out your stair tread to account for expansion and how much room the nosing will take up. Mark your scribe line for your riser, then begin installing your tread and nosing. After the treads are installed, install your risers and allow everything plenty of time to cure.

Q: I have recently had laminate flooring installed on my stairs but I must say I think something is wrong. The stair nose is not flush with the tread and it is extremely uncomfortable to walk on not to mention it looks terrible. The nose piece overlaps the tread and stands much higher than the tread. Is this standard procedure for stairs or has the installer done something wrong?

A: With laminate floors an overlapping stair nose is very common as very few flooring manufacturer’s build a flush stair nose for laminate. Although these noses overlap the difference in height is very little (usually 1/16” or so). If the difference is height is much more than this, it could be improperly installed or perhaps the wrong nosing for your particular floor.

The difference in height between the nosing and the tread is pretty important here. Most overlaps have a very slight difference which should not be overly noticed when walking over, but large differences could lead to potential trouble.

Q: I have Quick-Step flooring in my entry along with a sunken living room. To handle the edge where the flooring ends, I have installed the stair nose piece, placing a few nails on top to hold it down. However, it doesn't look that attractive where the nails are, as well as where pieces butt together.

Do you have the stair nosing in a paintable type, that I could nail in and use putty, then paint? Or, do you have another solution to my sunken living room problem?

Thank you,
Kirk Reynolds

A: Typically when working with stair nosing after face nailing you will cover the nail holes using a color matched floor putty. These are very common and made in a myriad of colors, making it fairly easy to find a very good match.

Now if the nosing you have has a very different color, and you want to paint a nosing, I would suggest looking for an unfinished stair nose from a local home store, then install and stain or paint how you please. Keep in mind that this may require you to use an overlapping nosing in order to properly cover any gap between nosing and floor.

Quick Step does make a flush stair nose kit which comes with a lower profile to snap into the locking system, then an upper profile which sockets into the lower profile and makes the entire floor flow smoothly to the lip of the stair nosing or in this case the sunk in living room. This is a great alternative if you still have a chance to install this into the locking mechanism of the floor.

Q: I got a Westhollow Algonquin floating cork floor from iFloor. I want to install some of it on the tops of 3 stairs. This is new construction and the flooring will be sitting on plywood. How do you recommended I attach the floor to these stairs? Should I nail it on? screw it on? or glue it on? - what kind of glue?

Thanks,
Marabeth

A: Typically any installation on stairs is done using glue, though in some cases nails work better. For cork, even the floating types, you will want to glue the cork down. Because of the size of cork planks, I would suggest using a troweled out adhesive or a contact cement as opposed to something like carpenter's glue. For ease, you will likely be best off with a water-based polyurethane which is suited for Cork.

As far as procedure is concerned, take plenty of time to measure everything out, leave a small expansion gap beyond the scribe line, so that your risers will cover this expansion gap visually for the treads. When applying the adhesive, make sure its nice and even, I would use a 1/8" square-notched trowel as this should give you a good spread. Remember, when installing, do the tread, then riser, this will make everything much easier on you.

Q: What is the difference between flush stair nose and overlapping stair nose? What are the advantages/disadvantages of each?

Berta R.
Tucson, AZ

A: Based on the type of nosing you choose will determine the look and utility of your installation for your stairs. Flush nosing will tend to have a more professional or custom look, as the molding and planks of flooring sit evenly. Although this tends to look better, the downside is that you have a bit less expansion gap potential, so you should leave a bit more room underneath the riser for expansion.

Overlap nosing will have the visible appearance of the overlap, but you get a bit more leniency with your expansion gap, as you can lean a small gap under the overlap and the remainder of your gap under the riser. Also, unlike a flush nosing, you can typically match an overlap nosing of proper height up to any floor, regardless of joint, whereas the flush nosing requires the same joint; for laminate you would want a flush nosing with the exact same locking mechanism, typically from the same line of flooring matched to the floor.

Q: I'm going to install Mannington Caspian 5" LocNgo and I have a problem with the hallway. One side of the hall is wall, the other meets the molding to the railing overlooking stairs. The easiest solution would be to lay a board flush with the molding and the milled straight edge should look fine against the molding. By doing so however, a 1 inch strip of floor will be required on the wall end. I think 1 inch is too small. I don't want to rip the plank that hits the stair molding because I don't think the cut will be straight enough. The floor and banister molding are the same height. Do you have any ideas? Is there some molding that I could put between the railing molding and the floor that isn't as wide as a T-molding or end cap?

Thank you for any advice.
KC

I did some quick follow-up in order to get a couple of photos of the hallway and stair. Here's what KC sent along:

Attached are 2 pictures. The width of the wood where the balusters are inserted is 6 inches.

I've thought of another idea which would mean replacing that piece of wood with 5.25 landing tread that would go all the way across. That would take care of the step down to the stair as well, but entail a lot of work with the railing. I should also mention that the hallway width at the newel is 37 inches and at the wall end of the rail is 36 inches.

Here you can see the hallway and the board KC mentions.

Here you can see the Newel and the stair.

A: Assuming you are willing to put in the work, replacing the board below the posts will be the most professional appearance. Now as far as a molding solution, even baby thresholds or end caps are still going to be about 2" wide.

A way to get some extra room would be to under cut the base mold and dry wall area along the walls for your expansion gaps. This will allow the flooring itself to slide underneath, look professional and give you a few extra inches of room so you can rip a wider plank than 1". If you were to use a baby threshold or end cap before the board under your posts, leaving a small expansion gap under the trim if its overlapping, then you would have about a 3" or slightly wider board to rip to go against your wall, which would be more than enough. I do agree with your suspicions that a 1" wide plank is not a good idea, simply put, its not stable.

End result here, if you are willing to put in the word to use a tread, that will be your best result. Undercut your base molding and drywall to get just a bit more expansion room and you should be set. Otherwise, keep with the undercutting and use an appropriate trim along the board under the posts and up to the newel.

Q: I am elderly and due to age - the carpet's and mine, I need to replace carpet on the stairs and upstairs. I want something other than carpet for ease of cleaning and am on a limited budget as well. Is it possible to use vinyl on the stairs? I have two labs so cork does not seem like a viable option for the stairs.

Thanks so much.
Daleen

A: Depending on the vinyl you choose to install, you can install it over stairs. As far as the actual nose of the stair is concerned, you will need to use a rubber or metal molding, such as those made by Johnsonite. Your best bet here would be to use something like Konecto and honestly that would be my suggested product in your case. Konecto is very easy to install, maintenance is very easy, plus you get all the benefits of vinyl.

With vinyl, I would not suggest using a mass-loaded vinyl (MLV) underlay, as these underlays are built for carpet, and nearly all vinyl floors are not built to go over an underlay. One benefit of flooring like Konecto, is that you get a good vinyl lower layer, which absorbs a great amount of sound making it far quieter than a typical vinyl tile or roll-out product. In the case of some vinyl floors which can go over an underlay, I would make sure you are using something which is fairly dense, cork being a great example, as this will reduce the amount of spring you would feel in the floor when walking over it.

If you use an underlayment under vinyl, first you must make sure that floor is approved to go over the underlayment. Typically this means the underlayment you are looking at must be approved for being glued down to the subfloor, which eliminates any cost effectiveness you are shooting for. This also means you are likely to be looking into a floor which floats, rather than being adhered down to the subfloor, which leaves very few vinyls to look at.

In the end here, I think you best bet would be Konecto, you can get everything you need for well under $4 per sf, and have a nice, durable floor that requires little work to get in place when compared to adhesive vinyls.