Starter row for hardwood flooring adjacent to balcony railing
 

I am planning to install 3/4" x 2 1/4" red oak strip flooring adjacent
to an interior oak balcony safety railing that has a 3/4" thick oak
base fastened to the balcony subfloor. The balcony floor area is about
48" wide. Traditional installation technique calls for a 3/4"
expansion gap at the side walls.

For this installation, there is only one side wall. Opposite the side
wall is the 3/4" oak safety railing base. This base is about 6" wide
and is secured directly to the balcony subfloor.

Esthetically, it seems to make sense to face nail the starter row of
the 3/4" thick oak strip flooring at the safety railing end of the
floor directly up against the 3/4" oak railing base.

Does anyone have experience with this particular type of oak flooring
and safety rail installation? A 3/4" gap between the oak strip floor
starter strip and the handrail base covered by a moulding strip is not
very visually appealing.

Suggestions / advice?

Thanks.