I was really upset about the stair nosing. First, I did not know what the carpenter was thinking when he cut a large gap in both stringers. Was it for the carpeting to wrap around the nosing? But now I have these two ugly holes to deal with. I filled both with wood filler that was stainable, but they still looked terrible. I might need to sand and refinish that area of the stringers. I am not sure that will make it look any less noticeable. The worst part is it is the first thing you see walking upstairs to the hallway. “Look at the wonderful LVP flooring, never mind those ugly stringers by the stairs.”
However, I still had to deal with the stair nosing. I put over a temporary piece of LVP flooring to cover the metal bracket. It would definitely be a toe stubber. I also did the same by the bathroom as a temporary threshold. I could install the nosing now that the hallway was done, but I was hesitant because the planks ran all the way to our bedroom and I wanted to wait until that room was done. My fear if the planks moved, I could never remove the nosing without destroying it. However, I have plenty left over.
I purchased 1/8-inch-thick hardwood plywood to cover up the mess I made of the old nosing. The new nosing would not cover it. The placement of the plywood would need to wait until I install the nosing.
I really did not want any transition strips, but I decided not to tear up the floors in the bathroom. A small transition strip should not be a big deal. However, the transition strip and nosing color do not exactly match. It was close, but it would absolutely scream, “Look at me!” Could I convert LVP flooring into a transition strip or a nosing? Time to search the Internet.
Apparently, you can make your own transition strip and nosing. Well, not make your own, but get them to match the color of your floor. There were a couple of videos that showed how. The wear layer which contains the color and grain pattern of the LVP flooring can be removed. Yes, it can! I saw it on the Internet. It really is not difficult. Maybe a little, but you got to have patience. With a sharp knife I cut between the wear layer and backing. I peeled back the wear layer and started pulling. My concern was the wear layer was thicker than most LVP flooring. But I tried it myself with a small piece and I was impressed that I could remove it.
Since the small piece worked so well, I decided to take on a full plank. I cut it in thirds since I needed three pieces. I used my table saw again to rip the plank and discovered that cutting the planks upside down made for a cleaner cut. Now it was time to remove the wear layer.
I cut through the backing on the plank about one inch from the end. I snapped back the backing. Now I had something substantial to grab onto to pull back the wear layer. It was still not easy. I just did not have the strength or leverage to remove the wear layer. I decided to lock the piece of backing in the vise on the work bench. I used the backing of the remaining plank to pull away the wear layer. After a couple attempts and breaking the backing, I decided to just take my time. Eventually the wear layer was removed. Talk about a sense of satisfaction! I removed the wear layer from the vise. As I took a closer look, it appeared there were minor creases on the wear layer. As I was pulling, I must have bent the wear layer. That did not look good. I read online that a magic eraser could remove minor scratches on LVP flooring, so I tried it and…it surprisingly worked. The creases were definitely less noticeable, so I completed the process for the two other pieces.
After you remove the wear layer, it is a little curly. The video suggested using a heat gun on the lowest setting to soften it up so it would lay flat. I do not have a heat gun, so I borrowed Efiwym’s, my wife’s, hair dryer. And…that worked too. With my nosing I wrapped the piece of wear layer around it as it was soft, and it was pliable enough to bend around it. A little more heat and I could wrap it tightly. So now I know this will work,
I bought some heavy-duty double-sided tape to wrap the nosing. I put three pieces of tape to cover the top surface and the underside of the nosing. I removed the piece of tape backing on the underside to start the wrap. I pressed the wear layer into the nosing and with the hair dryer blowing hot air on it, I was able to bend the wear layer around the nosing. I removed the top piece of tape backing and pressed the wear layer down. I was making great progress until I discovered the wear layer was not wide enough. I did not have enough material to bend it over the edge.
I had this feeling before. You are feeling great about what you have accomplished, to only discover you screwed up and have to start over. So, I did. But first I needed to remove another wear layer from another plank. The other two pieces would work for the transition strips, so they were usable.
I removed the wear layer and double-sided tape from the nosing and started over. This time it worked well. I stood back to admire my work. This was going to be great.
Time to install it. I laid down a bead of heavy-duty adhesive and pounded the nosing into the metal channel. I made sure the nosing was in place. I decided not to nail it down. Between the metal bracket and the adhesive, I thought it would stay in place.
