Q. When re-roofing, what should be done first: repointing the chimney where it comes through the roof, or putting on the new shingles?
CURIOUS
A. There is a lot of footwork involved with repointing, or if scaffolding is built, all of which can be pretty hard on the roof shingles. So, repoint first, then reshingle.
Q. The bottom half of my house is brick. Under the upstairs windows, paint has washed down and stained the brick a milky white. Nothing I use seems to work. What can I use?
HUGH
A. Try a citrus-based cleaner such as Simple Green. Or power wash the stain.
Q. I have never needed auxiliary power when the electricity goes out, but I’m wondering if there is any kind of auxiliary power that is not made by a generator, which I would have to crank up in the dead of winter at great inconvenience and discomfort. I thought of a battery but it would have to be gigantic and would have to be kept charged as well.
PAUL MILDE, Wellesley
A. Since you have never had a power failure, then I say the heck with any auxiliary and take your chances. If you are really concerned, you can install a smaller battery that would handle just the heat and the refrigerator and freezer. Nothing else is that important. Besides, most power failures last less than a day.
Q. My new walk is 50 feet of concrete, with expansion joints. Everything is fine except the concrete is blotchy as it dries. How can I avoid those blotches?
REBECCA SMILEY, Revere
A. Wait several years and the concrete will even out a bit. To speed the process, stain it with a semitransparent stain.
Q. The roof on my house is 30 years old. The roof over the porch is leaking quite badly. I’d like to power-wash the porch roof to prolong its life. Would that work?
SHARON
A. No. Power-washing is a good way to destroy the shingles. Have the porch roof replaced. If the main roof is not leaking and looks pretty good, it probably has 5 to 10 years of life left in it.
Q. When we first do our laundry on the weekends, it smells like sewer water. Why is that?
JOEY, Hotton’s chat room
A. Call an appliance repairman. It sounds as if the washing machine is not draining the rinse water enough and when it sits there for more than a day, it gets rancid and stinks. Also, make sure there is a trap on the machine’s drain.
Globe Handyman on Call also appears in the Sunday Real Estate section. He’s available 1-6 p.m. Tuesdays to answer questions on house repair. Call 617-929-2930. Hotton (photton@globe.com) also chats online about house matters 2-3 p.m. Thursdays. Go to www.boston.com 
