I want to put in 5/8" solid wood flooring in my upstairs loft area. I would like to leave the carpeting on the stairs and need to transition the wood at the top of the stairs. I used a wood transition downstairs for the transitions into the carpeted closets but this type of transition seems to be a little too high to be comfortable at the top of stairs. Is there a more comfortable way to transition? Normally, I suppose I could add a strip of similar wood that is sloped or ripped at a more comfortable angle. The only problem is that the floor is carbonized bamboo so its kind of hard to match. Does anyone have ay other ideas?
There are certain things that shouldn't be done with stairs as the modifications present a hazard to life and limb. One of thes things is having stair risers of varying heights due to added or changed floor coverings. Obviously this happens at the top and bottom of the flight. Code dictates how much variation in riser height is allowable. The transition strip would have to be no more than 3/8" high, if memory serves, to meet code (assuming that the other risers are uniform in height). A person walking up/down a flight of stairs is acting pretty much in reflex. Unconscious action. The first couple of steps up the staircase and the body/brain has figured out a rhythm for that set of stairs. Changing that rhythm can easily trip someone up and send them tumbling. Your family and friends, your house, injury - bad combo.
Using your measurement of 5/8" and assuming that the existing loft has either no existing floor covering or the 5/8" represents the net difference in thickness between the wood flooring and the existing non-specified floor covering. I would consider pulling the carpeting on the top several steps and adding progressively thicker layers of masonite 1/8" on the fourth one down, 1/4" on the third, etc. You'd be gradually increasing the height of several treads and the transition at the top of the stairs would be less abrupt.
Simple to do, cheap, complies with code assuming the existing stairs do, you should use longer fasteners for the tack strips, pay attention to the nosings when you're installing the masonite. Make it so. ;)
Actually, I don't think the gradual transition you describe DOES comply with code. One of the numbers in the code is an upper limit of the greatest allowable variation between ANY rises in the stairway, it doesn't just apply to adjacent steps.
What OP needs is a landing at the top and bottom of the stairs that has the same covering or lack thereof as the stairs, and make the transition between the landing and the rest of the floor, rather than between the landing and the steps.
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