Hi there, I'm just about finished with a 500 sq ft install of engineered hickory on the upstairs level and I realized that the stairnose for the landing doesn't have a groove. I planned to glue and face nail the nose, but I thought it would also tie into the planks which will run perpindicular off the nose. What is the process for install in this case? If I just cut the tongue off the planks and butt the joints, will the nose have enough strength? I tried contacting the manufacturer to no avail. Any guidance, tips, tricks, etc would be greatly appreciated.

Pretty odd that a stair nose that came with the flooring doesn't have a factory groove. I suppose it's a matter of, it takes all kinds.

You need to create a groove. Otherwise, simply butting square ends are likely to be a squeak magnet with foot traffic. With engineered I've been able to run the nosing through a table saw for the correct fit. I'd try a few test pieces with scraps, because it's likely to need some fine tuning as some engineered tongue and groove systems have small profiles. Needs to fit snug and not loose.

Thank you for the speedy response!! I was afraid that was what you were going to say. I am sadly lacking the correct tool and the confidence to take on that challenge, so I guess I will just buy a new piece of unfinished stock with the groove and stain it to match. I can't understand why the manufacturer did it that way, their product was otherwise very nice to work with.

Thanks again for the answer to this and many other questions I've had during my journey!

The reason is most floor manufactures dont make any mouldings hey are farmed out to a third party. Thats why they are way overpriced and never match.

Note to self; always check trim pieces when they land off the freight truck.