I'm about to start my floor and am starting to think more about how I'll address a few obstacles. I could use some advice. =(

Background - flooring: pre-finished 3/4 t/g beech, 4" plank, about to order it. They have all sorts of accessories such as quarter round, nosing, thresholds, etc.

My stairs are approx 32" each (can't tell for sure until carpet is off, but looks like it will be 32"). My stair nosing is available in 96" lengths. Can I squeeze 3 stairs from each nosing? Perhaps I can make the tread narrower by adding some 1/4" plywood to the stringers. Advice appreciated! I have about 14 stairs total..

Anyhow, on to the obstacles.

Obstacle 1 - I have a fireplace which we want to keep. I'd like to have the flooring flush against it, but I'm not certain it's square with the room and also that would mean no room for expansion, which is bad. The flooring will run parallel along the length of the fireplace. What's the correct way to finish around this? I could slice up some t-moldings??



Obstacle 2 - The carpeted stairs.. I've read a lot about hardwood stairs, but I haven't got a clue how to finish the carpeted stringers, or carpeted center part (where the upper hand rail is). What do the pros do with this type of stairs? Matching stain is available from the hardwood supplier.





Thanks again!!