Q:We are getting ready to repaint our home office. The walls and ceiling were cracked during the 1989 quake and poorly patched before we moved in. We had the roof redone this summer, and the banging ...

A: It depends on the type and size of the crack. Hairline cracks take only a little patching plaster. Larger cracks require reinforcement with mesh tape. Cracks larger still, where the plaster keys ...

A crack in a plaster wall can look intimidating, and even be a cause for concern. While the sudden appearance of a crack in a previously pristine wall should always be approached with caution, they ...

Q. In the 1840 section of our house, we thought the staircase walls might be the old horsehair plaster because the wall is quite wavy. I discovered (the wrong way) that there was an air-pocket defect ...

Dear James: I have an old house with plaster walls and many cracks that need to be repaired. How can I fix these so they stay fixed and are invisible? — Julianne T. Dear Julianne: Many older houses ...

Q. When I bought a 30-year-old house six months ago, the walls were in bad shape. Two coats of primer and two coats of paint made them look good. But near one window, holes formed about 2 inches from ...

Hanging anything onto a plaster wall is a bit of a challenge. Depth finders help locate studs behind the plaster, but drilling through plaster and lathe into a stud is often problematic. There are a ...

You’re proudly hanging your first picture on your new home’s antique plaster walls. A few minutes later, it’s no longer hanging. And now you now have a bent nail, a large hole and a new diagonal crack ...

Sword Hole in the Wall? Here’s How to Repair It” provides a practical, step-by-step guide for fixing unexpected damage in ...

I have to make an unexpected repair to my poured concrete foundation. A water leak led me to remove drywall in my basement, and to my surprise, I discovered rows of holes 5/8-inch diameter in my ...

Plaster was the construction standard up until the 1940s, when drywall burst onto the market. Before then, it was a popular choice for wall construction given its pliability, fitting around corners ...