It will always be a tripping hazard which was less noticeable when it was carpet. If you are replacing with oak this is the time to correct it. Can you build out the riser and swap out the nosing to fix it? No this was not a design choice no matter what ai says, it was an mis measure.

Thanks for the reply, Hallet. Very much.

I customized my white oak nosing at the second floor but fortunately it sits there only dry-fitted. I can either buy a wider nosing and refashion it to the space. But it entails resawing the 3/4 thickness down to 1/2 to match the engineered flooring. So, instead, I will see if I can edge glue an add’l 1/2” of oak using the waste pieces which I still have or a leftover piece of white oak landing flooring. It should be invisible. This will provide the room I need to move the riser forward by about a 1/2”.

Oddly enough, after posting today I came across another homeowner who posted his stair conversion project and he cited the exact same anomaly of the top step being 1/2 deeper than the creamer.

From being unnoticeable for preschoolers to a prescription for life changing falls or death as we age,this is a serious issue. As a footnote, I advise anyone that builds a new home in the future,keep this in mind. Mention it to builder then follow up by taking measurments when home is move-in ready,not a day sooner. And stick to your guns on having it corrected before final payment to builder.