glennsfc: I am so glad you answered as I've seen your help to others and admire your knowledge! I DID happen to run across the CT1 adhesive in my web search and that actual link! When I did I was SO happy...then found it only in Ireland and UK & didn't persue, assuming no sales were in the US (may be wrong though). Do you know if there's a US source? Your mention of Stauf is one I did not find & appreciate that tip. Are you saying you'd spec it for both the cork to the steel AND the flooring to the cork? I couldn't tell for sure from the website if the two products you listed worked on "steel/metal" specifically. The Power Grab DID say "Excellent Bond to virtually any surface" so I am HOPING it includes steel because the company is in TN! I'm finding the Steel part is the hard part ... Have YOU ever glued anything to steel or know of anyone who has? We're having these two steps fabricated special due to our circumstances and steel is the coolest option. I am so hoping we can stick with this idea!

Thank you... and yes... I Did it! I managed to pry off the bullnose pieces without touching the planks, and only one of the bullnose pieces cracked a little. I think some good wood glue and clamps will take care of that. What I did was put a small piece of of the flooring set vertically underneath the end of the bullnose. Put a pry bar underneath it and gentle and with patience pried pushing up the bullnose along the front edge, little by little until the bond with the glue broke, and then I started to hear the nails creak as they came up.

I think the walls are plaster. I feel stupid for not paying more attention to how quickly these have developed--I honestly can't tell you if any of them are new or not. I am currently shopping around for a good structural engineer near me, but am chafing at the price which is why I thought I would double check here. I do hear a lot of random cracking noises throughout the day, but I also live in Minnesota, where it is really hot and really cold depending on the season, so some of this is probably just due to that.

@jysoccer - problems with the installation company. We had existing floors that were fine - so there was no hurry on the installation - so we ordered the product and were prepared to wait several months before it arrived. A month later, they called us, said the product was in. We then scheduled the demolition of the existing floor and installation - about a month from then. We then made arrangements for ourselves, our pets to be away the week of the installation. I called twice more to verify the start date. We then packed up our entire upstairs, put all our stuff into boxes, and moved it out of the way and moved to a hotel. Day of the start - no one showed up. No call either. I called three times to find out what was going on. Finally - they said, well they went to the warehouse to get the materials and half the order wasn't there and they had no idea where it was or when it would get there. Moreover, they had forgotten to coordinate with the folks demolishing the floor, so that didn't get going. Then what followed was a series of miscommunications, promises, failures to follow through, etcl that turned a 4 or 5 day job into a 3 week job. All this over the absolute busiest time of year here with every hotel booked for about 50 miles in every direction. So yeah, we're not happy with the installation team. also, there was some sloppy work that ended up having to get covered with shoe molding, which was not our preference. So - some lessons learned. Mostly not to use the installation company that we did. . .but the floor is finally in and it looks pretty good.