I just received my BR111 BC stairnose and when I insert the tongues of my 3/4"x3" BR111 BC flooring, it is about 1/32" lower than the stairnose. The wood on both is the same thickness, but the groove seems to be lower on the stairnose than on the planks.

I checked all 3 stairnoses I received and they are all the same. The tech @ BR111 says that's how it's always made, but he doesn't know why and I'm waiting to hear from the main guru @ BR111.

Does anyone know if there is a reason it's like that and/or if it should be installed like that or is it something I should try to correct? Furring up the planks won't work because the groove hold the tongue and won't allow the plank to sit any higher.

If this is all BR111 has available, I'm thinking there is a reason that makes it desireable, but I can't think of one. Anyone else?

Thanks!

Hi Bill,

Can't tell you why, problems like this are becoming more common with all the brands.

You can use your table saw to trim off a sliver off of the top of the tongue. Lower the blade to the tongue height and run the flooring thru on end with the 3" face against the fence. Set the fence to shave off whatever you need.

Or you can re-groove the nosing using a router with a 1/4" slot cutting bit. I use my router table for this but some guys will just lay the board down and use a router only freehand. I much prefer the table for doing this.

Either way you will lose the snug fit, if you had any to start with. I don't believe that will be a problem if you are making up treads since you will be gluing and fastening them down.

I can tell you why these problems are cropping up. Used to be that the flooring mills made their own trims, or had them made for their flooring brand. Now, they just select out of a catalogue of trims from Artistic Moldings to fit their flooring. Finishes are different, sizes don't match up, colors are off. Do you think they care? Not in the slightest and they still charge 30 to 50 bucks a nosing! The mills expect us , the installers, to modify they poorly crafted product to make it work. What a crock!

well thanks for clearing things up a little. one guy at br111 says that's the way they make them, but doesn't know why and another guy is very surprised that they don't fit and says it must be an isolated problem or else they would hear about it more often.

i figure they don't hear about it because you pros just take care of it in the field. in any case, it sounds like i should do the trimming here because if i send it back, i'll probably get the same problem with the new ones.

once again, appreciate the help!

That is the most common standard BS line that the manufacterers use. If I had a nickel for every rep that told me, "We've never heard of that before!", I'd be a rich man. Of course they've heard about it and know about it. They're just not going to tell you that. That would make them look, well, like jerks.

gary and jerry,

thanks for the insight. i fixed 'em up on the table saw and can now fur the strips up to level w/the stairnose (widened the groove instead of messing with the tongue).

i went to the artistic finishes website and it looks like it's one of the standards that i received. i'll approach br111 with that info and see what they say.

once again, you guys are invaluable. muchas gracizimas!!!

Most prefinished flooring companies farm out their moulding work to people like artistic. So as you might imagine they dont always fit just right , only made to blend not match and the finish seems to always be just a bit off. I have used moldings from a diffrent colored floor that match better than the one sold to match.

this is also what a peice of prefinished reducer is 30 bucks. Note to self: start prefinished molding company.