Around your house 3/28/07

Gardening

This week

Ornamental grasses should be cut to the ground just as the new growth begins. Apply sulfur to the soils around acid-loving plants such as azaleas, rhododendrons, hollies and dogwoods. Use a granular formulation at the rate of 1/2 pound per 100 square feet. Gradually start to pull back mulch from rose bushes. -- www.mobot.org

Home tips

Mini-workshop in a closet

Do you have an apartment? Tiny house? No basement? No garage? No place for a workshop? You can still be a regular Ms. or Mr. Fix-It. When you don't have space for a workshop, clean out a seldom-used, out-of-the-way closet. Line the back and sidewalls with pegboard for lightweight tools and supplies, with a few strong shelves for heavier stuff. Put catch-all drawers under the shelves. Mount a hinged, drop-down workbench on the back of the closet door with sturdy legs that fold out when lowered. Mount lengths of vinyl rain gutter on the door below the workbench with end caps and lots of dividers for screws, nails and small odds-and-ends. Then just open up and set up shop any time you want to work. -- AP

Home improvement

Fixing a squeaky floor

Q: Our home was built in the 1960s, and lately the entire second floor has been squeaking. We tried putting in screws but that didn't work, so we hired a contractor who's screwing down the board where the plywood has come apart. Will this solve the problem?

A: All floors shift over time, and this movement plus the increasing dryness of the boards can cause the subfloor to come loose from the floor-framing members. The drying of the wood allows the nails to come loose and as you walk across the floor the movement of wood and metal sound like a symphony. Attaching the plywood subfloor to the joist at the edges and in the field of each sheet of plywood is highly recommended. Your problem also could be that the ends of the floor joists have loosened and are rubbing against the rim (perimeter) joist or the joist hangers. If this is what's happening, you'll have to pull up the carpet and pad, and open the floor to secure the ends of the joist to their hangers or to the rim joist. It gets costly when this has to be done -- your current direction is the best way to begin. -- AP