You are wrong. Stairs/steps work with our brain.

You change that, even a few inches, and stepping down becomes an unexplored course.

Add to that, your builder is protecting himself (and you, family and guests) from accidents. He will have to pull a permit and stairs must meet the building code.

Hi Tiffany,

I'm not a pro. But from your picture, it is easy to see why your contractor wants to remove some of the treads temporarily. It will be extremely difficult for him (or her!) to lay vinyl tile under near the stairs and have it look right.

If you don't believe me, get a ream of paper. Get a pair of scissors or a razor blade. Cut the paper so it will fit under the stairs. Then lay it on the floor, as if it were your tile. You'll quickly see how hard it is to lay the tile under the stairs.

If you tell your contractor not to remove the treads during install, be prepared for an additional fee. A big one!

Basic stair coding states the stair rise (height) can not vary more than 3/8 inch. As Judianna20 referred to: the height of stairs can’t vary over 3/8 inch as our brains will misstep on stairs if the variation is over 3/8 inch. I would think the bottom steps would have to be removed to plan accordingly for the flooring as well as step heights.

If removing and replacing treads, the only resulting change to the FLOATING steps is the change in thickness due to the carpet and the replacement tile.

Easily compensated for by shimming under the stair bases to add to the thinner tile versus the prior carpet.

No permits, no change resulting in stair, no big deal... except cost.

Have your contractor lay a scrap of the floor next to each stringer. Place a Japanese pull saw on the scrap and using the scrap as a thickness guide, saw off the bottom of each stringer. Now the floor slips under the stringers without disassembling anything.

No disassembling, no need for stair code updates.