Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Laminate flooring questions?

I was wondering those of you that have laminate flooring all through your house, do you have the same flooring through out your house? For instance if you have Michigan Pine in 2 bedrooms would it be ok to do the hall, dining room & living room in another color? say for instance in Antique Oak?

Another question is: our living room is sunken off of the dining room (1 step down) it has a wooden banister separating the 2 rooms, I am thinking that both rooms need to be the same laminate color right?
Also what do you do about laying the laminate flooring under the wooden spindals? the spindals are nailed into the floor right now & the laminate floor needs to "float". :wall:

You will need to remove the balusters and railings and install a 5 1/4" wide nosed landing tread and reinstall the rail on top of that. The laminate on the top level would transition to it with an "end cap" or square nose reducer trim.

The landing tread has a lip that will overlap and cover the top edge of the step-down riser. This is usually stained to match the flooring or it can be painted.

Jerry,
Thank you for your response!
What should I do about the posts that goes to the ceiling? they are 3 1/2" x 3 1/2 " and are 7 ft. tall, there are 3 of them - looks like they are bracing the ceiling.

Thank You, Sarah

Well Sarah, i just can't answer that because I would have to there in your house to see for myself if they are "load bearing" or not.

If they are "not" load bearing the post can be undercut them in place and slide the landing tread underneath with the help of a few shims. If they "are" load bearing then the landing tread would have to notched out and glue in the back section you cut out.

You need a builder or someone local to determine that for you. To be real safe I would just notch the landing tread out anyway. With careful cutting it will never be noticed.

I was wondering where can you buy the 5 1/4" wide nosed landing tread? Can anyone post a web site that sells it?



Thank you,
Sarah

They can be found locally at lumber/millwork yards that cater to home builders. A few big box stock them on the stair parts isle.

It is called pattern "8091 landing tread".

I have a link to show you what to ask for, scroll all the way down.

http://www.crownheritage.com/main.cfm?pagename=treads_risers_skirt

They come in either 5 1/4 or 5 1/2, just make sure it is over 5", you don't want to use the narrower 3 1/2" because they are not made to accept railings.

i would recommend using the same color throughout the home. in my opinion, using 2 or more colors is akin to using different colored carpets in the same house. a choppy look that screams "remodeled and were too cheap to do it all at once." but like i said, that's my opinion. i get the feeling you think it will look neat to use different colors, so do what appeals to you, not me. but if resale is an issue, i'd really recommend sticking with one color throughout.