I'm building a triplex, actually three, three story attached townhouses. These units will be used as rentals. The design is in the Craftsman style and as such will be expensive to build. I would like to install finished-in-place hardwood flooring in the main living areas but feel that the money may have run out by then. I read that one builder in a similar situation installed cabinet grade plywood which he then sanded and finished as a "poor man's" hardwood flooring. I'm wondering if anyone has actually seen this done. If it is possible it might buy me a few years until I can get the money to install the flooring I want over this finished subfloor. I think the extra cost of the higher grade subflooring and finishing won't be more than the cost of carpeting and I really don't like carpet in rentals.

SLOLarry

Just my opinion, but if it's a rental I'd recommend you just install a laminate.

Cabinet grade hardwood plywood has a very thin veneer; and I mean paper thin. Check it out and see for yourself. It would be impossible to actually power sand that kind of a floor. Not only that, it will look pretty lousy, unless you cut it into 8" x 8' strips and installed it like a plank floor. I agree with Macallan, find an inexpensive laminate on sale and install that. At least the laminate was made to be a finished floor.

I've seen it done in an expensive home and it looked great. While the house was worth some, it still had a rustic feel with lots of old wood throughout (furniture, trim, etc...). The people living there were also the owners. In a couple of hidden areas you could see where accidents had happened, but could not be repaired though. Tenants would destroy it in a blink.
As for cheap laminate, I'm not a fan, but at least it's cheap and easy to replace.

You know, I was thinking about your idea of putting down plywood and had a thought you may wish to consider. Now, where I'm from, 3/4" oak plywood cost about $45.00 dollars per sheet. That means before tax,installation and finishing, you will need to pay $1.41 per sq.ft. My idea is why not install #2 common shorts in red or white oak. They can be commonly had for around a dollar a ft. and since you were planning on sanding and finishing plywood, why not do it with real flooring? This way, you would have a real wood floor that could be sanded, stained, refinished many times and not have to replace it down the road. Lesser grade floors are often used in situations where cost is a factor. They do look extreme but a medium brown stain could lessen that effect. It's just a thought.

Cost effective you want?
Any wood can be nailed to a floor, sanded, sealed and finished. You can nail cheap 1" x 2" to 1" x 6" lumber to a wooden sub-floor and use it as a finished floor. The wood is soft, which is quieter to walk on, and it will indent easier.
But I have to tell you; I've done it and it turned out wonderful. No tongue and groove to it, just butted, nailed, sanded and finished.
Plywood would be much greater in cost per foot than lumber, and Lumber would be better for a floor.. in my opinion.

Thanks for the feedback guys,

Sometimes it's just good to float an idea and see what others think about it based on their experience. In case I wasn't clear in my original posting, my intent was to spend a bit more on a better grade of ply subflooring, finish it as a temporary hardwood floor, then later, when time and finances permit, lay the flooring I'd really like to have over the ply.

Anyway, I may just try to find a good deal on some 2nds or lay some #2 pine as a rustic but serviceable rental unit flooring. If anyone has any other ideas I'm still listening.

Thanks again,
Larry

Speaking of finishing subfloors, years ago, perhaps fifteen or so, I recall sanding and finishing a wood subfloor that consisted of 2x4 pressure treated doug fir built up on edge. They had glued it and run long 3/4" bolts through the middle of the 2x4's. These rested on pressure treated doug fir beams/girders. Why pressure treated? The house was next to a river and built about ten ft. of the ground. Sanding those uneven 2x4's was a nigthmare. Had to start with #16 to grind them down to get close to even. After sanding, stained and finished them with poly. The homeowners thought they were great, probably because they saved a bundle by not installing flooring. I thought the floors looked weird. Man, the things I used to do. I wouldn't even consider it today because of the pressure treatment.

Going a little off topic from original post, I'll be installing 12" squares of Advantech Subflooring, aneline dyed multi-colors and shop coated with Traffic. This goes in a modern loft renovation I'm working on. Prior to my decision to use Advantech I prototyped and prefinished in my shop a number of different alternative materials such as MDF, Oak ply , Ash ply, CDX....all stained or dyed and top coated with 2-component H20. It seems that as long as you have a good build of finish they are all fairly durable. The key, as you know, is to never let the finish wear through. As for using something like this in a rental, better get a heft security deposit and recaot yearly

GOOD POST. And Welcome!