Painted pine under carpet with no subfloor

Q: My house is approximately 80 years old. I just pulled up the old carpeting in the living and dining rooms and have an unfinished hardwood floor (probably pine) underneath that is coated with a thick layer of white construction paint and no subfloor.

I have relatively easy access from the basement to the underside of the floor. Do I have to tear up the floor, put down plywood and re-install? The kitchen has linoleum over the wood that I wasn’t planning to get rid of.

A: The painted pine boards are your sub floor. You could either have these boards sanded and finished (not a fun job) or lay 3/8 spruce sheeting over it and install a real hardwood floor, which would be my suggestion.