[spacefrog]

I paid a contractor to do luxury vinyl planks for our home and I'm not very happy with the job. I laid down engineered hardwood floor for my 1st home over 10 years ago and I'm overall very unhappy with the workmanship of my contractor. I'm looking for some advice and solutions because my contractor says that his job is how it's done and I don't have enough experience to suggest how it should have been done.

1) 1st five pictures show the top tread. The top tread is about half an inch higher than the rest of the floor. It looks weird and feels off. I was hoping for a more seamless floor. My contractor said that LVP doesn't come in treads or bullnose so he had to use real wood and stain it to match the LVP, which doesn't match the LVP well in my opinion. He said he had to use a floating bull nose that sits on top of the LVP. Are there any solutions to make my LVP more even with the bull nose?

2) 6th picture shows the bottom tread is cut poorly and there is a large gap where part of the tread abuts the drywall. It just seems like poor workmanship. My guy says he can "touch" it up with white caulk.

3) 7th picture (see next post) shows how off the stains are with the LVP he installed

4) Next 4 pictures (see next post) show the sloppiness with the quarter round. Gaps everywhere. My guy says he just needs to caulk it.

5) Last picture (in next post) shows how the LVP was not cut well and there is gap between the LVP and where the stairs begin. My guy says he plans to use a flexible molding between the floor and where the stairs begin. I've never seen that before, to me it looks more clean to not have molding hiding imperfections like that. Should I tell him to replace those LVP planks so there isn't a gap so I don't require molding?

Am I being overly critical? What is the solution to fix the top tread thickness? I would really like my top tread to be "even" with the rest of the LVP. The other issues are also important but not as big in my opinion.

 

[spacefrog]

Next 6 pictures.

 

[mark sr]

All the bad cuts would go away if they had been neatly caulked.
Why wasn't the shoe mold finished at the top of the stairs?
They sell shoemold with a premade radius for the bottom pic.

 

[Old Thomas]

I could make better cuts with a Boy Scout axe.
It is sloppy, I would not pay until it was done to my satisfaction.

 

[Longbeard]

Cuts on the molding are terrible so either he doesn't know how to make proper miter cuts or he just doesn't care. I always fill in using latex caulk but even with caulk to give it a seamless look it's sloppy at best.

 

[spacefrog]

All the bad cuts would go away if they had been neatly caulked.
Why wasn't the shoe mold finished at the top of the stairs?

Agree, the caulking is terrible. My guy said he'll finish the top. Not sure why he left it like that.

They sell shoemold with a premade radius for the bottom pic.

That's what my guy said he would use, a flexible shoemold. I still prefer the cleaner look without molding though but I don't think he can fix it without replacing the planks.

 

[spacefrog]

I could make better cuts with a Boy Scout axe.
It is sloppy, I would not pay until it was done to my satisfaction.

Thanks for your thoughts. I feel pretty similar. The workmanship of this is something I would not be proud of if this was my work.

 

[spacefrog]

Cuts on the molding are terrible so either he doesn't know how to make proper miter cuts or he just doesn't care. I always fill in using latex caulk but even with caulk to give it a seamless look it's sloppy at best.

He said he'll fill in the gaps with caulk. But I still think some of these cuts are just sloppy.

 

[spacefrog]

Any suggestions on what to do about the top tread? Is there any way to make it be more even with the rest of the LVP flooring?

 

[3onthetree]

Any suggestions on what to do about the top tread? Is there any way to make it be more even with the rest of the LVP flooring?

That's the worst place to have a trip hazard, going down the stairs. 1/2", hmmm, if you can get to below to add blocking to support the subfloor under the LVP, then you can cut off the subfloor the width of the nose, cut the riser fascia 1/2", and rest the nose directly on the double header probably there. Haven't thought it completely thru, maybe others can thumbs up or down.

 

[de-nagorg]

TRIPHAZARD, TRIPHAZAED, TRIPHAZARD.

This fool is trying to kill someone, or is too stupid to do this work.

And definitely not a finish trim carpenter.

I would remove that trip hazard, and maybe trim off some of the flooring, and BUTT that trim back to the flooring, and see if it is more flush.

Anyone that tries to tell you that a trip hazard, is how it is done, either don't know any better, or is just lying to you.


ED

 

[stick\shift]

The top tread is about half an inch higher than the rest of the floor.

That's actually a code violation.

 

[rjordan393]

Another wannabe contractor. I would not trust him to fix anything. Hold off paying him and hire another contractor with references to fix the problems.
Then deduct the new costs from this clowns cost.
If he complains, tell him you will bring in License & Inspections to inspect the job.
He also should have replaced the moulding to match the flooring.

 

[mark sr]

He said he'll fill in the gaps with caulk. But I still think some of these cuts are just sloppy.

I couldn't count the lousy carpenters I've painted behind BUT an expert caulk and putty job can generally make poor carpentry look good. Whether or not your contractor is capable of doing so - I don't know.

 

[spacefrog]

That's the worst place to have a trip hazard, going down the stairs. 1/2", hmmm, if you can get to below to add blocking to support the subfloor under the LVP, then you can cut off the subfloor the width of the nose, cut the riser fascia 1/2", and rest the nose directly on the double header probably there. Haven't thought it completely thru, maybe others can thumbs up or down.

That's actually a code violation.

So I measured how high the top tread was in comparison to the LVP flooring. It's only 1/4" higher than the floor, not 1/2" as I was guessing. Sorry, just seemed a lot higher based on stepping on it. Is this still a code violation?

So it sounds like I can ask him to trim some off the sub-floor to make it more flush with the LVP?

 

[de-nagorg]

Even a throw rug is a code safety violation.

Picture any elderly person that has dragging feet, getting close to that.

OOPS, better call the funeral home.


ED

 

[Donegal]

In 20 years of installing and refinishing floors I've not seen the likes of that! He must've been embarassed walking away from that one.

 

[3onthetree]

So it sounds like I can ask him to trim some off the sub-floor to make it more flush with the LVP?

I would not cut a dado/groove in the 3/4" subfloor to inset the nose. I was talking about just cutting it completely off of the joist, then shimming the nose if needed to get your flush height. But only, that is only, if you can access from below to install blocking to support the subfloor that is no longer resting on the joist.

However, the nosing should probably extend over the LVP to protect the edge just like a floor transition does, so maybe it should not be flush.

 

[chandler48]

Good advice, so far. And that poor piece of shoe in the corner with 7 nails holding it in place. A finish carpenter would have use hot glue, AND would have cut it to fit better. Overall the molding cuts suck. As Marksr says, a good painter can make a bad finish carpenter look good, so lean that way.

Sadly, the manufacturer of the stair nosing made it that way, and is installed correctly. Bad manufacturer, IMO. I would do what I could to minimize the trip factor, or buy a flush stair molding.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Zamma-S...minate-Stair-Nose-Molding-013541608/203640215

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Cap-A-T...o-Cover-Stairs-1-in-Thick-016074569/206955228