I dont think that is subfloor that looks the original wood floors! Sand, fill and finish and they will be amazing! What a great find!

Thanks Katy my thoughts exactly.

Another concern I have is the kitchen and family room have been tiled over this wood so when my floor guy demolishes the tile he will also have to break up and sand the remaining grout down to the wood. I suspect the machines he uses should be able to do this.

I've heard of people filling, but what would I use? Also do I only fill the big gaps or include the small ones?

Fill will just fall out ans the humitidy changes with the seasons.

That's subfloor and as noted above fill will fall out.

If you like the look, it can be sanded and finished. It's a sporadically popular contrast in high-end furnishings design ads where the "rooms" displayed are purely for show. See "bathroom" below from Wetstyle, Montreal in their catalogue and the February 2014 edition of Architectural Digest.

I tried it in one whole house slated for demo--nothing to lose--and in a room in one house. I finished it with gloss urethane. I like rustic. But this just looked cheap and unfinished. I'd suggest trying a section at first--maybe even with different treatments--before doing a whole floor of your home at once.

This post was edited by worthy on Fri, Jan 24, 14 at 9:52

good luck with your project

This post was edited by Renovator8 on Mon, Mar 24, 14 at 16:29

Regardless of how much you like the look, that subfloor was installed to be the underlayment for something over it as a final flooring material.

Trying to use that as a finished floor will only fail, probably sooner than later for the points already listed.

If you like the look, find flooring that looks similar---although all the gaps will be a bear with which to deal---dirt/water/etc. will collect.

You can use the floor as is. Forget the advice about filling - it will just pop out. You can leave it bare, or oil it, or wax it.

One thing is if the tile floor was done correctly - there will probably be thin-set, cement board, tile or perhaps wire mesh and a mortar bed. What I'm getting at is that the raw floor may be pretty beatup in those rooms.

Thanks Geoffrey_B. I was also watching Attic Rehab and was amazed to see she shares our creativity and vision. When ever she finds hardwood planking regardless of whether it was subfloor or final floor she ALWAYS chooses to restore because the character in the flooring is stronger than anything new you can install.

It seems many are afraid to go this route but the finish product usually is awesome. Below are some examples of flooring that has similarly irregular gaps in the planks:

[Rustic Living Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/rustic-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2111) by Guilford Architects & Designers CK Architects

[Farmhouse Living Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/farmhouse-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2114) by Chicago Architects & Designers Ann Clark Architects LLC

[Traditional Hall[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-hallway-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_743~s_2107) by Hollywood Architects & Designers Thos. Ryan Design LLC

Just hope you never drop anything small on that floor and watch it disappear. Or slip and put a pine splinter into a bare body part!

(I'd also be curious how a porous floor affects the HVAC system.)

My floors are tongue and groove so nothing would be falling through or disappearing. Also not sure I understand the comment about porous since we were looking at putting down wide plank pine flooring before we discovered this under the carpet.

Some pretty big gaps for t&g. The porousity refers to non t&g where HVAC return and supply would be affected.

A plus, of course, is that if you don't like it once it's done, no big prep is needed for a finished floor.

As I suggested earlier, do one room first and see if you and your partner are still enamoured.

Lots of old houses have this as the finished flooring, mine included. It was sanded and varnished, is beautiful and suits us just fine. It was always intended to be the flooring in our house. It is not a "subfloor" even though it is the only layer. We do have some places that had splinters; I carefully sanded them out, or pulled them up and then sanded the area. We have gaps like you do. Who cares? It is an old house. Do what you want.
Diane

Stained

Our new entry floor

Stairs getting new paint. Should be done by tomorrow

This was our staircase and the flooring in the foyer before.

With new posts and hardwood flooring. We had them nail the spindle directly on the step. It used to have carpet and a partial tread where they terminated.

I'm loving the transformation! :-)

Beautiful!

Looks amazing. Enjoy!

Thank you Debrak and Krayers!

I think I remember those stairs. Weren't you asking if you could DIY new treads?

Nice work on the floors!

Weedyacres thanks and yes we were. We decided to have a professional do them specially since the bottom ones are rounded.

Love this.

good luck with your project

This post was edited by Renovator8 on Sun, Mar 23, 14 at 8:27

That's a wonderful entry and the newell posts are perfect!

(Now for a few two-button switches.)

Duplicate

This post was edited by worthy on Wed, Mar 19, 14 at 10:27

Hope the floors work out for you. But, I'm pretty sure they are subfloors. That is why they are all laid on the diagonal. The finished planking installed on top would be sure to have a solid surface below. It didn't matter what way the joists ran. If you look at the pics you posted of the refurbished floors, the planks all run straight.
I'm not trying to sound like a bitc*, but are sure your house is only 25 years old? That would make it built circa 1988. Plywood would be used then, but from the 50's and further back, there were no plywood subfloors, just like there was no drywall, it was plaster and lath. Craftsmanship was alive and well then.
They may not stand up, but so what? For as long as they last, they'll make you happy.

The OP is aware that they are subfloors hence the original question.

Most houses in certain parts of Texas are built close to the ground on a slab-on-grade with an integral shallow concrete perimeter foundation. This house has a pier & beam foundation where the house is raised above grade on beams supported by concrete or CMU dug piers or driven piles. This foundation system is usually more expensive than a slab but not when the soil is expansive clay, a common condition in Texas.

In the 80's developers liked to use carpet and resilient flooring instead of hardwood finish flooring and these finishes required a subfloor and a layer of underlayment. Apparently that was the case in this house and the developer chose to use nominal 2x6 T&G decking instead of two thinner layers or a single 1 1/4" thick layer of plywood which might have also made it possible to use 24" o.c. or wider joist spacing.

What we haven't been told is the elevation difference between the decking and any finished hardwood flooring in the house especially at the stairs. It might not even be possible to install finished wood flooring over the decking and still be able to align it with with other finish flooring in the house.

Regardless of the appearance of the finished decking, it is important to avoid large transition strips where different materials meet.

This post was edited by Renovator8 on Sun, Mar 23, 14 at 13:00

I'm considering doing this in a small bathroom. Did you do it in your bathrooms as well?

what finish did you use?