relaying floorboards

[SemiRenovator]

Hi,

I have just this sunday lifted all the floorboards in my dining room, and laid insulation inbetween floor joists.

I will relay them this weekend. Just a few questions to any experts or anyone who has doe the same.

How do i get the boards as tight as possible against each other?
What can i do about chips, or holes in the boards from previous nails which have been pulled out.

Anyone know of somewhere i can see what different finishes look like? I really don't want the shiny look, to be honest.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Boards without T&G?
Face-nail them onto the joist again, one row after each other to make sure they bud up tight against each other.
When you're looking for a new finish you will have to sand the floor first - collect the sand dust from the second sanding (grit 80) and mix this with wood-filler. Then fill deepest holes etc.

As for finish, we prefer HWO, but depends on what type of wood you have, Pine?