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: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 ...

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 ...

If you have an old house with holes in the plaster, here's a quick way to patch them. Apply your base coat (or brown coat) of rough plaster with a small trowel. If there's no existing wire mesh, make ...

Plaster, a decorative wall coating of lime, sand, and sometimes fibers, has been around since the beginning of time—and so has plaster repair. Although subject to cracks and bubbles, it's a durable ...

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 ...

Just because a wall has some chips or cracks — or even a hole or two — doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be replaced. There are two reasons to save an old wall surface: because it’s the best way to ...

Q. How important is it to repair plaster before repainting? Our ceilings have peeling paint that we’re pretty sure was caused by past water damage. Since the water problem is no longer an issue, can ...

Lath-and-plaster walls are common in older houses (built late 18th Century until the early 1950’s, when drywall became standard). Whether you want to hang a picture, mirror or kitchen cabinet, ...

Editor’s note: Welcome to the 62nd installment of Brownstone Boys Reno, a reader renovation diary about renovating a brownstone in Bed Stuy. See the first one here. They also blog at ...