Cheap rustic flooring

[acommondisaster]

We're trying to come up with a solution for the floors (kitchen, dining room and living room) in our cabin in the Poconos. We plan to rent it out when we're not there, it using a management company. Since we won't be involved in the daily upkeep, we're trying to come up with flooring that will hold up to some abuse, require minimal upkeep and will fit in with the "cabin" feel of the house. Oh, and not expensive, especially since we'll have strangers staying there, not caring how they treat it.
We pulled up the carpet - it was orange and blue shag. Originally, we planned on ripping plywood into 5" wide boards and staining that - there are some pretty cool examples of it online - but a carpenter friend of ours said it'll start separating almost immediately, since it will be subjected to changes in temperature when no one's there.
Unfortunately, it seems any time the word "reclaimed" is used, the price triples for wood. Any ideas?

 

[kom526]

We put wood look resilient flooring in our basement when we finished it out and it is very realistic looking. We've had more than one person ask us you we would put hardwood in a basement.

 

[nutz]

We're trying to come up with a solution for the floors (kitchen, dining room and living room) in our cabin in the Poconos. We plan to rent it out when we're not there, it using a management company. Since we won't be involved in the daily upkeep, we're trying to come up with flooring that will hold up to some abuse, require minimal upkeep and will fit in with the "cabin" feel of the house. Oh, and not expensive, especially since we'll have strangers staying there, not caring how they treat it.
We pulled up the carpet - it was orange and blue shag. Originally, we planned on ripping plywood into 5" wide boards and staining that - there are some pretty cool examples of it online - but a carpenter friend of ours said it'll start separating almost immediately, since it will be subjected to changes in temperature when no one's there.
Unfortunately, it seems any time the word "reclaimed" is used, the price triples for wood. Any ideas?

Check out a local mill. Get some oak, pine, poplar (local here) 6/4x5, 6/4x6, 6/4 x 8 (1 1/2") or.......see if they can put a tongue and groove on it. Should be about $1.00 a bd. ft. (6/4 x 6 x 8 ft. = 6 bd. ft. or ~ $1.00/ft. Was 0.75 last time I bought some)

How can you be more rustic than that?

Stoltzfus' mill on thompson corner rd. in Mechanicsville does have the ability.