Quote Originally Posted by CoventryCat86 View Post
No, you're NOT going to "be good to go" by "splash(ing) a couple of coats of poly on it" and end up with a result that is acceptable for anything other than a tree fort. This would be totally unacceptable to what the author of this thread is looking to do which is for ideas for a KITCHEN FLOOR (talk about the highest traffic area in any house other than a tree fort) in an old house.

If you want to "do it on the cheap" you could put down carpeting too like George suggested or hell, just leave 3/4" CDX sub floor! Both of those alternatives are better than just gluing down pennies and splashing a couple of coat of MinWax on it.
In your opinion. I, myself, enjoy exceptionally filthy kitchen floors. Where else are the mice and kids going to get their nourishment?

In all seriousness, and not trying to stir up shit, but what difference in wear, look (aside from the obvious), and functionality would there be in properly polyuerethaning a hardwood floor versus a penny floor be? Doesn't the poly do the same job regardless of what kind of surface it is covering? I'm not asking this to argue, I'm asking because I have zero experience with hardwood floors or poly and genuinely don't know)