Zurb Foundation columns in div.row are not collapsing - css

Question

I am having a problem with Foundation 5 where I am trying to get the columns in a row div to have collapsed gutters. More specifically, I am interested in collapsing the outer column gutters so that my nav bar and header div will line up nicely. I tried applying the .collapse class to the containing row div as well as to each column element, to no avail.
If anyone could help me figure out what I am missing, I would really appreciate it! Below is the code for the problem section of the page and a screen cap so you can see what I am trying to accomplish.
Ultimately I want to create a narrow vertical strip on either side of the page with a transitional gradient (blue to grey). If it is possible to do this in in the gutter, that would be a good solution to my problem as well. Thanks in advance!
<!-- Header Image and Left Side Nav Links -->
<div class="row collapse">
<div class="header-image">
<nav class="top-bar-z top-bar large-12 medium-12 small-12 columns" data-topbar role="navigation" data-options="is_hover:false">
<ul class="title-area">
<li class="name">
<h1>
Lacmhacarh
</h1>
</li>
<li class="toggle-topbar menu-icon"><span>menu</span></li>
</ul>
<!-- Right Side Nav Links -->
<section class="top-bar-section">
<ul class="right">
<li class="divider"></li>
<li class="has-dropdown">
Blog
<ul class="dropdown">
<li>Archive</li>
<li>Resources</li>
<li class="divider"></li>
<li>See all →</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="divider"></li>
<li class="has-dropdown">
Portfolio
<ul class="dropdown">
<li class="divider"></li>
<li>Résumé<i class="fi-play"></i></li>
<li>GitHub</li>
<li>LinkedIn</li>
<li>Twitter</li>
<li class="divider"></li>
<li><label>Special Projects</label></li>
<li>The Abh Nation</li>
<li>Something Cool Here</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="divider"></li>
<li>Contact</li>
<li class="divider"></li>
</ul>
</section>
</nav>
<!-- Header Foreground Image -->
<div class="large-4 columns">
<div class="header-logo-left">
</div>
</div>
<div class="large-4 columns">
<div class="header-logo-center">
</div>
</div>
<div class="large-4 columns">
<div class="header-logo-right">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>

Answer 1

After re-examining the code I figured out that the column gutters are not the problem causing the apparent offset in the right edge of the nav-bar. I had placed an extra divider after the "Contact" button, which was adding 10px of space.
Here is the original HTML for that part of the nav-bar:
<li class="divider"></li>
<li>Contact</li>
<li class="divider"></li>
And the new code:
<li class="divider"></li>
<li>Contact</li>

Answer 2

I believe that in order for .collapse to work, the .columns must be the first child div of the row.
<div class="row collapse">
<div class="large-12 columns"> <!--gets collapsed-->
Collapsed?
</div>
</div>