The room is so dark its hard to get a good picture. Once I get the carpet completely ripped up we might be able to tell. Thanks for the help :)

It doesn’t look like a sub floor, as it looks as if it was laid in strips. Have a floor refinisher in to look at it and give you a quote. You could have a find.

That would be great if it was something special! I'm on a very limited budget so I'm hoping I can find someone to do a free quote. Yes it is in strips and thick too I'll try to add that pic here.

Looks like you have three layers there. The top layer which was probably the finished floor at one time, and then maybe two layers of subfloor. The black rings are probably tar paper. You certainly have enough thickness on the top layer to sand.

Can you get some turpentine and clean a small section using steel wool? That might give you more of an idea. You will surely need a professional to sand and restain. Let me caution you to use one with a vacuum system for removing dust (as much as possible).

Have the refinisher come and take a look. Don't cover over the floor if it can be saved. Much less expensive to resand and stain like many thousands less.

Yeah I'll get some turpentine and try that! I'm hoping it can be saved!

Contact the National Wood Flooring Association for a professional in your area. They will be able to tell you what you have & what you need to do to make it beautiful.

Thanks I'll look into that

No one near me :( working on cleaning it up and seeing what it is

OK. Look on the Bona site (they make finishes & cleaning products) to see if there is a Bona Certified Professional near you. Where are you, please?

Even if its softwood like pine it will still make a good floor. In the UK we tend to find pine floors when we pull back our carpets. We still sand stain and varnish them just like you guys do with your lovely hardwoods. Granted they are not as are wearing but that adds to their character. If you're on a budget a wooden floor is a wooden floor!

Looks like you have plenty of depth there to sand. Try to find a floor guy who has experience with soft woods. Some of the hardwood guys will try to use the same steps for a soft floor and take off way more than necessary with aggressive sanding.

I'm in Allegany county MD. So far I've only found one person and he's in Baltimore. He quoted me at $1000 to refinish it but that's not counting replacing any pieces.

I'm pretty good at telling grains - it looks like oak to me. The grain is thick and there doesn't appear to be any knots. Typically with older pine floors there is more knotting, less grain, and the planks are narrower.

Your floors look to be in very rough shape. Definitely get a qualified refinisher to inspect them and give you a quote. If there is any water damage, refinishing might not be worth it. Good luck! Crossing my fingers for you!

Okay... I've been seeing this discussion pop up for several days, so I might as well weigh in...
1st of all... it looks like a "softwood"... pine or fir.
2nd... it's purpose (either by design or by accident), has been to act as a subfloor... with what appears to have been glue down carpet over it.
It's obviously T&G... so it may have been "blind nailed" (nailed on an angle just above the tongue)... or it was nailed thru the face with box (framing) nails... too hard to tell by the pics.

If you're interested in pursuing the possibility that it may present a finished floor... you'd be wise to have a pro do it... if you can find someone willing.
Another alternative is to find a tool rental store, rent a floor sander & edger, grab a hammer & nailset...then strap that young fella in your avatar to them and let him go nuts...

Ultimately, you could end up with a cleaned up wood floor, with a "rustic" appearance...
And he'll hate me for suggesting it!
Anything & EVERYTHING that resembles a NAIL has to be either removed or SET well below the surface before any attempt at sanding.
After that... it depends on how "handy" the person is who tackles your project.
Ever heard of the "silk purse & the sow's ear" analogy?

Floor finishing isn't rocket science... but neither is building pianos... so the outcome will be determined by how much $ & effort you want to toss into the pot.

My suggestion would be to sand this floor down and then paint it. Look at flooring paint thats designed to be applied to wood. I think it would look great. Otherwise this may be a little more rustic than you may want.

I can't find anyone to check this flooring out in my area. I think we're just gonna put laminate down. Its gonna cost less but still look amazing.

Danielle, if you put down a laminate down try to get a floating floor not a glue down. At some point in the future you may want to look at the issue again and removing a glue down may make that floor unsalvageable.