I'm planning to install a floating hardwood floor (engineered) over about 350 sq ft. It's on a second floor and will span over two bedrooms with a small 4x4 hall at the top of some wood stairs. Think figure "8" with the stair landing in the middle. I have a few questions. The product I plan to use is:

Schön Engineered Quick Clic- 3/8" x 4-1/4" Honey Hickory Floating Engineered Flooring (sold by lumber liquidators)

Obviously, the floor is designed to have gaps all around the perimeter to allow it to expand or shrink as necessary. However, the only Schon stair nose I found seems to require that not only the stair nose be glued down, but that the floor itself be attached (via quick clic) to the stair nose. This seems very counter intuitive to me. I'm going to end up with a short 3 foot section where the floor is anchored and so it will have to expand away in every direction from that point? Unless I'm mistaken, I've seen other stair nose designs that create a small lump at the top of the stairs, but will then allow the floating floor to move under the lump of the stair nose. This seems a smarter design, but I've never done a floating floor so I don't know if I'm being over concerned about this issue. Basically, I'm looking for general advice or alternative ways of proceeding.

Also, if I am forced to attach the floating floor to the stair nose, does this mean I should start the entire job from that point as well?

Is Schon a good brand?

I've got diagonal running planks for a subfloor (built 1950s). Any reason this kind of subfloor would be bad with a floating floor? (I'll use recommended soft underlayment of course)

Any help or advice is very much appreciated!

 

First, if you're buying from Lumber Liquidators, chances are you you are not buying a "brand", you are buying a label, so its hard to say if the product is good or bad since it may have been manufactured by any number of (probably Chinese) factories and then labeled "Schon". (Wish I knew how to type an umlaut The flush mount stairs nose you are describing are meant for installation on stair treads, not for the step down at the top of the stairs. I would double check with LL and make sure they don't offer an overlap nosing. If they don't, go to one of the home centers with a piece of your flooring and find a product that matches yours as closely as possible. Many laminate manufactures either farm out their transition production or use the same color transitions for multiple laminate patterns, so it shouldn't be hard to find one that matches. It is important, though, to find one that mates with the thickness of your floor.
As far as installing over diagonal planks, they don't have to be smooth or even perfectly level. They do, however, have to be as flat and consistent as possible, so you should try to screw down loose pieces and knock down any high spots from cupping or crowning or from uneven butts with a sander with rough grit (60-80 grit) paper. Don't go crazy, if the floor is in basically good shape, you shouldn't have to spend much time on this. ***Make sure to check the consistency of the floor with a straight edge. My rule of thumb is that, if the floor is flat to within 1/8" over the course of one piece of laminate (about four feet), tested at several spots in each room, you should be OK to start installing. The longer the straight edge you have, the better off you are. I use a six foot level. Then, as you're installing the floor, keep an eye on any gaps between the flooring and the subfloor. These need to be shimmed or the new floor will flex when you step on these areas. I like to use pieces of felt paper for this because it is dense and can be doubled or tripled up if necessary. If the planks vary more than this or if there are areas that are significantly higher or lower that the rest of the floor, you will need to use a leveling compound.
I hope this helps. To be clear, I am a flooring salesman, not a professional installer. However, I have installed my share of flooring. A couple of years ago, I took two months off from the sales floor to work as a helper for one of our hard surface guys. I learned a lot, but now I get sucked into helping every time a buddy wants new hardwood or laminate.

 

Staabc,
Thanks for the advice. Overall, do you think Lumber Liquidator is a good supplier? They list the wood as "domestic." Not sure if the stuff made in china is as reliable. Other than big box stores like Lowes and HomeDepot, Lumber Liquidator seemed the only other choice.

I'll look into an alternative piece. Are saying a stair nose that doesn't let the floor move should simply NOT be used or is it a viable choice if I can't find anything better?

Is there a brand or type of floor leveler made for use under hardwood floors?

I do as you say. Thanks for the help.

 

As a follow up, LL says there is no other stair nose available other than the kind that attaches the stair nose to the floor and the floor itself.

Another question arises for me. I've got asbestos tile that I'm considering removing. If I do, there's no guarantee they will get all the mastic (which also contains asbestos). Because the tile is attached directly to the subfloor, the asbestos removal guys say the only way to remove the asbestos is to remove the floor down to the joists. I'm willing to lay the floating floor over the mastic once the tiles are gone, but there's no guarantee it will be level. Do you think a few patches of mastic here and there would make the floor too unlevel to take a floating floor?

Thanks

 

Hey Pete, I wouldn't mess with the asbestos tile. Well, that's not really true. "I" would wet down the area and take it up myself. My official advice, however, is to leave it alone if it is flat and solidly adhered to the sub floor. Encapsulation is an approved strategy for dealing with asbestos. In other words, covering it up.
Regarding your previous post, the problem I have with LL is the same problem I have with any supplier whose whole sales pitch is based on price. In my experience, if its too good to be true, it usually is. For instance, my cousin called me up a few years ago to ask me if it would be OK to screw a circular saw to the bottom of a piece of plywood as a way to make a home made table saw. Really, I'm not making this up. Realizing that I would soon have a cousin with no fingers, I volunteered to help him install his new hardwood flooring which he purchased from LL. It was an "awesome deal", so he didn't think I could beat the price. He was right, I didn't have any 2 1/4" x 3/4" prefinished oak for $2.59/sf. Which is good, because I couldn't live with myself selling that junk. It was terrible. Splits, broken tongues, checked and peeling finish, different thicknesses and widths board to board, unfilled knots, God what a mess. He ended up buying an extra 100 SF on a 600 SF job to make up for the boards which were uninstallable. Who knows, their more expensive stuff is probably good, but I was a little taken aback that they would sell that stuff at any price. If I were you, I would find a flooring store and ask them for their advice. If you find a product you're comfortable with, rake them over the coals on price. Any independent flooring store should be willing to sell at a pretty low margin for a material only order. After all, all they have to do is order it.
Lastly, I'll reiterate, I would not feel good about installing a floating floor with a stair nose that has to be attached to both the adjoining floor AND the sub floor.I think you'll be letting yourself in for problems with buckling.
Oh, and Ardex has a full line of floor patches which are good. Feather Finish is probably the one you need. It fills from 1/2" to zero.