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.
