I have told him but have been waiting about a month now for him to come back and even look at it. Still cant use our new shower! Maybe it's time to start breathing down his neck?!

Go with pine, either some recycled Baltic preferably or the newer one. If it looks 'orange' it may be Cypress Pine. This, if refinished properly looks like a light honey colour. It looks superb if done correctly. Refinishing it all with an oil (we used some European manufactured oil) rather than polyurethane. Poly looks good initially but is difficult to touch up if needed where as the repair using oil can be hidden easier. The poly also essentially 'glues' the boards together rather than allowing some movement. Spotted Gum is very nice indeed, as is Iron Bark but the difference of red brown to the lighter pine will be too much. The two different Pines will be ok.

Hi Candy, Paint is by far the easier option to do oneself, as liming needs to be done by someone who has experience in doing it, otherwise it can go horribly wrong. I've done both, and painted floors are just perfect in a beach house, in my opinion. As the paint wears with time and use, it just adds to the "rustic" charm. Use a paint/brand that is meant for floors and follow directions. Leave plenty of time for paint to dry and cure/harden properly before walking on it. Have fun!

a quick google search suggest blackbutt could be around $60-70 per m 2, so say 90x$65 = $5850, I would suggest around $5k for sanding and sealing? (flooring people could quote that better), and the rest as they say is 'builders margin'...