Tara, I am not a flooring person either but was given the same info by my flooring guy. I just put down a QS oak floor which included three stairs. I think the original treads were pine. My floor guy said not to mess with it that he would stain it to match floor. Well I'm not too crazy about how it turned out. My trim Carpenter said he could cover it with oak but the floor guy said it should have been done before floor was laid. I wish now I would have just replaced them.

Overlap stair nosing on the top step for a floating floor = NORMAL. The floor must FLOAT. The only way to do this is with an OVERLAP stair nosing. The nosing sits higher than the plank which allows the plank the ability to float underneath as it expands and contracts. Flush nosing only works with PERMANENT flooring (glue/nail/staple/cleat/mortar). Because laminate is a floating floor (it sits there...nothing holding it down other than gravity) it must be able to move. It cannot be anchored. To get a flush nose to work with laminate, the nose AND THE LAMINATE would have to be GLUED into place....the whole darn thing! And that is one HECK of a mess. And the installation costs are MASSIVE. Cost of install would be double the price of the laminate. At that point you would be better off with a low-end engineered hardwood. I've seen installers "try" to glue the first run of laminate...so that flush nosing could be installed - and the floor failed...horribly. Happily the install is correct. Sadly, it is not what you wanted to see. You can try to get a better match. That's what I would push for. I'm not convinced a flush stair nose can be worked (properly) for a floating floor. As the floor expands and contracts, the gap at the nose will open and close every 6months. In summer it will appear tight/flush. In winter you could have as much as 1/2" gap at the nose-floor intersection. Personally I would stick with overlap nosing. The gap can be VERY upsetting....especially when you know it is SUPPOSED to be there and there is nothing to be done about it.

Ouch...too many gaps to count. The installer needed to select a different plank for those areas that are gapping. Some boards fit nicely with one another and others don't. Just like building something from Ikea, if the first screw you tried doesn't really work, pick up another one. It will likely work (99% of the time it works beautifully). Factory finished hardwood is the same. The installer should have realized the two pieces weren't really working together and should have grabbed another plank. It would have saved everyone a lot of concerns. I'm sorry you are going through this. Home Depot is notorious for lower quality work. It is sad but it is the truth. In all honesty, this floor is an NWFA Certified Flooring Inspection waiting to happen. If you feel you need an inspection done (because HD isn't standing behind their installation) then you are welcome to visit the website listed below: www.nwfa.org And no...I wouldn't want putty used on a factory finished floor. It is acceptable if this was a site-finished hardwood (where the sand and finish everything in the space) because the poly will hold the putty in place. But a factory finished hardwood is another animal.

I plan on converting carpet to wood on a home I've recently purchased. Floor planks are picked out -- 3 1/4" solid maple. My supplier can install them before I move in. My supplier does not do stairs, and even if they did, I don't know if I can make all the design choices before moving in, given limited access to the property. Should I delay the floors until I have the stairs figured out -- even if it means I'll then have to move around furniture? If not, should I have the floor supplier remove the rails and put in new edge and stair nosing -- so that the nosing has the same finish as the floors, and also so that the floors will be flush against the nosing? Or should I leave existing nosing/balusters/posts in place -- so that I have the flexibility to refinish them in place if it makes sense -- railings are in good shape, but I do not yet know what is underneath the stair carpet -- and if I'll have to put in new treads or will be able to finish the underlying wood.