Bumpy basement floor needs major fix

Q. I have had a bumpy, uneven concrete basement floor for 30 years. People over the years have tried to fix it by putting down layers of cement or something, but it's worse than ever. I want to finish off the basement, and I can't add height to the floor because of an already low overhead. What is an inexpensive way to straighten out that floor?

DESPERATE

A. Nothing is easy, nothing is inexpensive. Any cheap job will not work. The only way: Chop out the old concrete and lay a new concrete floor. Be doubly careful to prevent messing up any sewer pipes under the concrete. Or, if the ground is dry after hauling out all the concrete floor, consider putting down 6-mil poly on the ground as a vapor barrier and installing a new floor of pressure-treated joists on the ground covered with pressure-treated plywood. Then you can put any decorative material on the floor. Since the floor itself is not structural, there are few if any restrictions on what it can be.

Q. I have a radon remediation system with a pipe under my concrete floor that carries the radon from the basement to the roof, with a fan that runs continuously. That fan makes a peculiar gurgling sound, as if it is sucking water as well as radon. That may not be so bad, but I think the fan is laboring somewhat. How can I correct that? Also, water from the supply line to the toilet is intermittently dripping into the basement. There is no water (condensation) on the supply line or on the toilet tank or bowl. I can't find a leak anywhere. How can I locate that leak?

TWICE PUZZLED

A. As for the gurgling, I think the water table (underground water) has risen high enough to flood that radon pipe. The gurgling will stop when the water goes down during prolonged dry weather, but the better part of valor is to contact a radon remediation company to relocate that pipe. That water may contain a lot of radon, but it is not practical to try to pump it out, especially through the roof.

As for the intermittent leak, it may be occurring only when the toilet tank fills up after being flushed. So, turn off that valve and wait a few days or hours, anyway, to see if the leak occurs. Or, flush the toilet and observe the line for any water; it may be going down the outside of the line and around the metal bell that goes around the pipe at the floor.

Q. A squirrel ended up in my hot air heating ducts, and eventually died. Now it is causing a horrible smell, and I don't want to turn on the heat until I get it out. How can I do that?

J.A.S., Georgetown

A. If you can locate the squirrel, you might be able to dismantle that part of the ductwork; it is galvanized steel held together by hangers and sheet metal screws. If you succeed, wash the inside of the duct with a disinfectant before putting it back together. Or, call a duct cleaning company and have the ducts cleaned.

Q. My house was completely rebuilt from the inside after Katrina, and it is nice except for one thing: Now I hear noises that seem to come from one room to another. They are not ghosts. They are from real people, or the sound of a flushing toilet, and splashing, which are not only inconvenient but embarrassing. I was wondering if there is no insulation, or inadequate insulation, in the walls, but there are no noises coming in the house from the outside, except maybe big, rumbling trucks. It did not happen before the house was rebuilt. All the new doors are hollow core.

JOSEPHINE LEWIS, New Orleans

A. Ah, those doors are the key. There are a lot of hollow core doors installed these days, usually pressed hardboard made to look like panels. They are popular because they are inexpensive; solid wood doors or solid wood paneled doors are very pricey. But those hollow cores are like drums; tap one and it goes "boom" as opposed to "clunk" for a solid wood door. This drum-like construction allows sounds to pass through and around as if there were no door at all. It would be nice if you could replace all those doors with solid wood ones, but since the bathroom may be the worst culprit for noise, replace just that door and weatherstrip it.

If that works, then you can replace other doors, one at a time. Here's another idea: I would assume there are a lot of salvage yards in the area with all kinds of stuff saved from Katrina. Check out some of those yards for perfectly good solid wood doors at a solid bottom price.

Q. Someone (not me!) painted my basement floor with a green paint that comes off on my shoes, and I track it all over the house if I am not careful. How can I stop the tracking from that powdery green stuff?

BOB SURDELL, Acton

A. Try this first: Paint a small area, maybe 4 by 4 feet or so, with a masonry sealer. If that works, do the whole floor. If it doesn't work, have the paint ground off or take it off with chemical paint stripper. Another way: Put down indoor-outdoor carpeting, but that simply covers up the problem.

Q. The risers on the 100-year-old staircase in my two-family house are very badly worn, dented, and scratched and are an absolute mess after years of hard use. The treads are in good shape. How can I cover them so they can be stained and will stand up for another 100 years? I don't want to put in a carpet runner.

ANITA ABELES, Watertown

A. Buy 1/4-inch plywood with a face of high quality wood that can be stained. Cut it into pieces to match the riser, and nail it with finish nails to the riser. This will allow a maximum nosing overhang for each tread. Stain the wood. Another way: Buy 1/2-inch pine and do the same thing.

If you like a white riser, which is traditional on staircases, you can cut out pieces of matte finish Formica laminated plastic and put them on with contact cement. Any marks made by shoe toes can be scrubbed off with Brillo or Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.

Q. My windows are Andersen vinyl with aluminum cladding on the outside. A falling tree bent the aluminum at the top and bottom. Is there any way that I can eliminate those bends? I was thinking of using a floor jack to push up the bends.

JIMMY CIULLO, Holden

A. Before you do anything, call Andersen to see if it can do something before you try pushing it with a floor jack. With luck you might get new cladding if the frame is intact. You won't know until you check. If the bends are actually dents, you could try filling them with Bondo, which is designed to fill dents and other defects in auto bodies.

Q. My bath countertop and sink combo has developed tiny scratches that I can see but my husband can't. I was told by Bath Fitter, which installed the sink and top, that the material is cultured marble and that I could use auto rubbing compound to smooth out the scratches. Would that be OK to use?

BEATRICE KURK, Roseville, Minn.

A. Yes, it will be OK. Cultured marble is a generic term for anything that is hard, solid, and looks like marble, which means nothing. The "old" cultured marble was a terrible plastic that was very bad stuff. Bath Fitter probably means the material is Corian, or a similar material, which can actually be sanded to smooth out scratches. But stick with the auto rubbing compound, and you will be all set.

Globe Handyman on Call Peter Hotton is also in the g section on Thursdays. He is available 1-6 p.m. Tuesdays to answer questions on house repair. Call 617-929-2930. Hotton also chats online about house matters 2-3 p.m. Thursdays. To participate, go to www.boston.com. Hotton's e-mail is photton@globe.com.