A bit of buffing will restore what detergent dulled
I used Bruce hardwood floor cleaner on my new Bruce prefinished hardwood flooring, and it dulled the finish. How can I restore the shine of the original prefinished hardwood?
MARGARET CALLAHAN Atkinson, N.H.
Any kind of detergent in a cleaner will dull any varnished floor. The Bruce cleaner should have a warning on the label. Paint thinner will also dull a finish. In all cases, you can restore the shine by buffing with a soft, dry cloth. Better yet, buff the floor with a buffing bonnet on a power buffer.
Just for kicks, you might call the Bruce people to see what they have to say. The amount of cleaner used may have something to do with dulling the finish, too. I use a wet Swiffer on my prefinished Bruce floor, and have yet to see anything less than the original shine. I may be less persnickety than other house cleaners.
Some of the mortar used to cover my stone foundation is coming loose, and I would like to cover the bare spots with new mortar. But I don't know what kind of mortar to use. Can you help?
TOM, Braintree
That mortar on the foundation is called parging, and there is only one kind of mortar to use: Sakrete's Mortar Mix, sold ready-mixed (just add water) in hardware and building stores. You could make your own mortar, using mortar cement and sand, or cement, sand, and lime, but it is not worth the effort. The Sakrete Mortar Mix is excellent, according to my late father-in-law, who was a mason.
To cover those bare spots in your foundation, first scrape off any mortar that is loose. Then apply a bonding agent to the bare spots before reparging. Bonding agents are sold where mortar and other masonry products are sold.
What can I do about my nice old porcelain bathtub that has gotten quite gray in its old age?
ANDREA, Worcester
Try this for your gray tub (it worked for me): Wet the tub with lots of hydrogen peroxide, then sprinkle lots of cream of tartar on the wet surface. Leave for an hour so, then scrub and rinse. If the porcelain is wearing off and the gray color is the cast iron showing through, this will not work. Nothing will. In that case, you could have it reglazed (an epoxy finish) or have an acrylic shell put over it.
It's funny; once when I suggested the hydrogen peroxide/cream of tartar treatment, a caller asked me, ''Do you realize that cream of tartar costs $4 an ounce?"
I need a new roof, gutters, downspouts, windows, and siding. In what order should the work be done?
REGINA CRONIN, Peabody
The order may depend on what is to be done, but generally the order is this: 1. Roof. 2. Gutters (downspouts are a part of this project). 3. Windows. 4. Siding.
Sometimes gutters and downspouts go up last because the gutters might go up over trim that has been clad with aluminum or plastic, and downspouts must be attached to the new siding. If the windows are whole windows frames, jambs, sills, sash, and all, they go up just before the siding. If the windows are simply the movable sash, they can go up any time.
I had wood stairs put up outside three or four years ago. Now the nails are popping, as much as 1/8 inch. What is happening and why, and how can I fix that?
MARION RYAN, Roslindale
You already know what is happening. Why it is happening is because the wood has dried out and shrunk, and the nails are being forced out of the holding wood. Also, the wrong kind of nails might have been used; they should be galvanized nails.
To fix, pull the popped nails and drive in stainless steel or galvanized deck screws.
Automatic watering?
Here's a lesson in physics that the Handyman flunked. When Judy Kugol asked if her idea for an automatic watering system for her big potted palm during a vacation would work, we blithely said, sure. The system was the potted palm, well watered, suspended above a bucket of water with a straw extending from the water into the pot through the pot's drain hole. The idea was that the pot would suck up water through the straw whenever needed.
Replied ''an avid reader" by e-mail: ''Usually, your responses and answers are technically correct and workable. But Ms. Kugol's proposal to have water travel up (4 inches? 5 inches?) [through] an empty tube (drinking straw) would defy the laws of physics. That is, water can be wicked up by capillary action, but water by itself can not flow upward as a solid.
''In other words, Ms. Kugol needs to have a cotton or water-absorbant polyester wick inserted in the suspended pot, drawing water from the filled container below. However, perhaps you printed Ms. Kugol's statement, knowing it was technically incorrect, simply to see how many readers would catch the error and reply. You rascal, you."
Help! Chipmunks are digging around my foundation (it's a slab house). I keep filling the holes, but they come back, digging more, and I am afraid they will undermine the slab. Will mothballs keep them away? Is there anything I can do?
L.R., Newton
There's nothing to do. Sit tight, relax, and keep filling the holes. The critters will never get under the foundation or the slab. They are doing no harm. Mothballs may not deter them, but could kill them.
How long is the usual warranty on an oil tank in a basement? We were told one year. We also have one that is many years old and it is leaking.
WORRIED
A year seems rather short, but ''many years" is unlikely. Since it is leaking, I suggest a new oil tank.
Globe Handyman on Call Peter Hotton 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 Boston.com. Hotton's e-mail is photton@globe.com. 
