Sorry, but have to agree that that floor's days are done. Anything I can think of would be way more work and expense than a new replacement (like taking up the boards and re-milling them, or adding inlay strips between boards (ouch the nails!)).

If budget is an issue, laying flooring is a pretty easy DIY project. Sanding and finishing is a step up, but very doable--all you have to do is learn to keep the sander moving at all times ;-)

Thanks for all the feedback ! It’s sad to hear all that. Budget is less of an issue vs timing. The professional says that with laying new hardwood they would leave this in place so that it effectively becomes the subfloor. I’ll probabaly be selling this condo in 1-2 years which makes me want to wait to replace the floor until before I sell it.

I know wood filler and paint sounds like a pretty terrible option but I feel like I can bs that for a year or two and then do it proper with new hardwood

Carpet is a good idea too!!

I would cover with carpet. If you paint that floor, you *might have a hard time getting a new wood floor over top. Yes. Paint does weird things to wood sitting ON TOP of it. Which is one major reason professionals advise AGAINST painting a subfloor as a quick fix. That quick fix can turn into the biggest nightmare because the finish prevents anything else from being put down.

I would simply stop the pain, throw down some "disposable" carpet and pad and be done with it. It is fast and relatively inexpensive. If "timing" is more important than the look or the expense, this is the way to go. Please do not paint the wood. It is a pain in the butt to deal with later on. The swearing REALLY begins once you find out that lovely little secret. I kid you not.

When you are ready to move out, you can have the carpet removed and new hardwoods put in (or whatever you choose) to sell it.

That’s anesome advice ! Thanks

Would adhesive on carpet tile with Double sided carpet tape be ok on the hardwood? Can get that real cheap

> professionals advise AGAINST painting a subfloor as a quick fix.

When I've had tenants whose pets' "oops" urine got to the subfloor, I've had the subfloor treated with deodorizer and then sealed with oil base paint or varnish. I've had no problems with that so far, but that's with carpet over the sealed floor.

For your situation, I'd avoid stick-down carpet, just because I hate trying to remove the adhesive later.

@DavidR....the reason why we advise against painting subfloors is it causes issues with permanent flooring choices later on.

Example: A glue down ANYTHING (including glued carpet) has a chemical reaction (bond failure) to the paint or the urethane sitting on the subfloor. A tile floor has bonding issues with paint = need a new subfloor surface.

Vinyl has chemical reactions to polyurethane/urethane to the point that the two chemicals will stain EACH OTHER (that's right....the urethane will stain the vinyl above and the vinyl will stain the wood underneath the urethane = lose-lose situation).

A sealed/painted subfloor (to eliminate pet odour) underneath CARPET (stretched carpet) is a different kettle o'fish. Any other "floor" has issues being put down over top of the painted/urethaned subfloor.

I've seen it dozens of times. Homeowners want a quick "pick me up" for their raw subfloors so they stain and urethane them. They live on the stained/finished OSB and then purchase flooring a few years down the line. That's when they find out they need to REMOVE or cover up the finished subfloor. Oops. That's another $2000 renovation cost they did NOT see coming!

They find out that gluing down hardwood needs to go down over raw wood, not painted/urethaned wood. Or they find out they cannot tile over the finished subfloor. Or they cannot lay vinyl planks over the urethane/painted finish because the STAINING that WILL OCCUR (no one likes their white vinyl planked floor to turn ORANGE because the urethane below it BLED THROUGH to the surface....that's a REALLY upsetting event). You see where I'm going with this.

Anyway....that's more along the lines of "please don't paint the wood" response I gave. There are very few positives to a painted subfloor - your situation is one of the ONLY positives. The rest leave the owner with a bigger mess than if they had just left it alone and thrown some carpet down "in the mean time".

Multiple levels to this ! Kraftex carpet tape supposedly comes off hardwood pretty easily (per amazon reviews). That combined with carpet tile seems like it would get me through a few yrs and keep the “sub floor” (current floor) in tact/condition for the future. I would be doing true hardwood when I replace, nothing synthetic. I think that would be okay per your reply ? Glad I asked — you guys are awesome

SJ, thanks for the clarification. Good thing I didn't have the sealing done in a kitchen or bathroom, where I normally put in vinyl.

@Nick...because you are not going to salvage these floors, you can get away with carpet tape+carpet tiles. It sounds like you want DIY rather than a professional install.

If you have left-over carpet tape residue (and you will), it will be at that time that you will use "Goof Off" or "Go-B-Gone" or some other adhesive breaker to clean the floors (assuming they are "flat" enough to throw new wood straight over top).

If you need leveling to be done (and lets face it, 115 year old homes are never flat) you don't even have to clean them. Simply throw down new plywood and go over top.

Either way, the carpet tiles should do just fine (don't believe everything you read on Amazon...a few years in place with ++ heat in bright sunshine and that tape is CEMENTED on there).