I think that would be a consideration if you're going to get specialty, expensive plywood, and if you expect it to last for decades. If you're doing it with something more standard, to save money, then maybe it's not a big deal to replace it later? My parents had a cabin once with plywood floors. They were stained, just to give them some life. They were not fancy plywood, and I suppose, a bit rustic, but I actually liked them. I tried to talk my dh into doing that as an inexpensive, who-cares-if-the-kids-roller-skate-on-them choice, but I didn't win that one. I still wish I had, rather than have to worry about the Brazilian Cherry floors that will be a bear and huge expense to ever refinish. If you use Waterlox to finish it, you could refresh the finish without sanding down the veneer.

It's similar to our island top. We put on Doug fir because we had it and could make the top almost for free. We knew going in that it was going to dent and mar up a bit, because the fir is soft, and I was fine with that. We also knew that if it got looking too bad in 3 yrs or 7 yrs, or whenever, that we would have gotten our money's worth out of it and wouldn't mind making a new fir top to replace it, or we could make another choice at that time. If you could loo at it like that, I think it could still be a decent choice.

rhome - thanks for responding.

I don't think even 'we' have too many decades left in 'us'! LOL We are paying as we go so we are looking for any way to save $$$. I would dearly love to get the beautiful granite & other things I see in GW houses...but...it's just not gonna happen in our little house in the the very big woods! :) Your parent's cabin sounds so charming - do you have pics?

I'm looking closely at using finished plywood for our countertops until we can do something more permanent.

Yes, definitely Waterlox! I learned about that here. This place is awesome for great products & ideas.

I love your island - I think you made great use of materials!

Wanted to post some of the pics again for those who didn't see them in the original thread.

DH really likes this...so do I but I think I'd want a darker finish.

This is more the color I'd like:

I'd love this for our basement - I'll use different colors but I like the look here:

That top pic is beautiful, but I would have several concerns

1. Getting it flat. If your subfloor isnt perfect, then it is likely you will have dips in your final surface. This isnt as noticeable with normal hardwood, but with large sheets, it may be very noticeable.

2. How do you attach it? You dont want movement, not so much side to side, but bowing up in the middle or at the edges. I suppose you could glue it down, like how many of the engineered hardwoods and laminates are installed.

3. Getting the edges smooth where one sheet touches the next. There may be variations in your subfloor and in your plywood thickness, so you will have to sand the edges, and hope that they never bow up. But you have to be careful or you will sand right through the outer layer of the plywood and the core will be exposed.

I think if I were going to do this, I would put down solid 3/4" tongue and groove as my subfloor. Then I would put down 3/4" sheets of plywood...maple, birch, oak, cherry...whatever species you choose to go with. These sheets are extremely smooth from the lumber yard, so I dont see any need to sand them further, except where one sheet meets the next. I would use a small hand orbital sander and 180-220 grit to smooth out the edges, the big sanders will eat through it so fast that you will likely ruin it.

I would also probably want to put down at least a few mechanical fasteners (aka, nails) as well as glue. Id probably use a nail gun with 16 gauge nails, and mainly go around the edges. Be sure to putty the holes. Then stain it all and poly it, just like you would a piece of furniture. Because that is basically what you are using, cabinet grade plywood.

theballs - thanks for the great info. I'll be sure to pass this along.

As pretty as it is, plywood is not made to be walked on. High grade oak plywood still has a pine plywood core, which means it will dent MUCH easier than solid hardwood floors. Plus the veneer layer on the face of the plywood is not thick enough to be sanded more than once. Sure you could refinish it like furniture, but you could not use a floor sander on it which takes of a lot of material. I also think it will end up costing quite a bit of money. Plywood at $50 per sheet is over $1.50 per square foot. Hardwood is not much more. You don't need expensive underlayment with hardwood....just tar paper. You don't need mastic. Installation might cost more, but I think using a product intended for the purpose will give you better results over the long term.

If you're looking for inexpensive temporary counter options, do check out Ikea's butcherblock. Possibly almost as cheap as nicer plywood and definitely more solid for a counter. Many put them in as temporary counters, but I've never seen anyone actually follow through and replace them with permanent ones.

Come to think of it, though, *I* have a big chunk of plywood counter...mine wasn't nice and it didn't occur to me to varnish it.

Te veneer layer on hardwood veneered plywood is not thick enough to sand at all.

Think VERY thin.

1/32 to 1/40 of an inch is not uncommon.

I'm gonna throw out a comment here with the caveat that I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT BOATS, but would a marine finish be a possibility on a veneer plywood floor? Strikes me as an option for it's durability and smoothness, but I am not experienced with these products (except for the finish on our exterior Doug Fir doors, which I believe is SeaFin).