Q: My husband, a skilled tile installer, wants to save money on our kitchen counter by laying granite floor tiles (with a minimal grout line) instead of a custom slab. What do you think?

A: The trouble with tile is you’re going to be washing that counter constantly. A friend had a ceramic-tile counter, and the wear and tear was too much. But granite tiles are significantly less expensive than a slab, so you might want to try it.

You’ll have to use cutting boards on top for chopping and rolling, and pounding meat may pose a problem. A big slab of granite will take the pounding; tiles will loosen, even with a board on top. Here’s what you can do: Get a few resin cutting boards, like the ones used in butcher shops. They come in a range of colors and are fabulous. Put some rubber surface protectors underneath so that the boards are raised slightly. That way, the granite tiles won’t take all the pressure.

Q: How do I eradicate poison ivy from my yard once and for all?

A: Foe to gardeners and campers alike, poison ivy has earned its notoriety. All parts of the plant — roots, stems, leaves, flowers and berries — contain urushiol, the oil responsible for an itchy, blistering rash. Spring and summer are particularly dangerous times because the urushiol content is high, but the plants pose a threat year-round.

Banishing poison ivy is possible, but it may take several attempts over a few seasons. Our garden editors recommend targeting the plant without the use of chemicals. (Some herbicides are marketed as effective against poison ivy, but they are not completely reliable.) When dealing with the ivy, always wear long sleeves, goggles, and fabric gloves with plastic gloves or bags on top. After a good rain, rip out smaller vines, removing every leaf, stem and root to prevent resprouting. If the ivy is large and well-established, cut the stem near the ground, and let the rest wither. Once the plant is fully dry, dig out the roots before it can grow back. (At this point, getting a rash is less likely.) Then check regularly for new growth.

Seal the ivy in garbage bags, and contact your sanitation department for disposal details. Burning or composting it is not an option. Airborne urushiol can cause serious lung irritation, and the poison ivy will return if put in compost.

Q: I was given an antique brass bed, and it has a spotted patina. How can I restore and maintain its luster?

A: First, find out if the bed has lacquer on it. Try brass polish; if it doesn’t work, the brass has been lacquered. To remove the spots, the bed has to be taken apart and then stripped, cleaned and polished. If you lacquer it again, the brass ultimately will lose some of the lacquer, and the spots will return. Instead, I have my brass beds stripped, cleaned, and polished, and then I let them be. I never lacquer. Ideally, if you could keep a bed freshly polished, that’s best. But that’s a hard thing to do.

Q: I installed cork flooring in my kitchen years ago. It has held up well but looks dull. How can I get a shine?

A: I don’t know what kind of cork you put down, but I have a cork floor in my guesthouse in Maine and had one in a kitchen in New York City one or two apartments ago. I love them and use a paste wax, such as Butcher’s, to wax them — just a thin layer to start. It might take a couple of applications and a lot of buffing, but the floors will look beautiful.