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 ...

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 ...

Q Am I right that when sections of plaster are broken away from the lath, an accepted repair technique is to fill in those gaps roughly with drywall and then drywall over the whole wall or ceiling? — ...

Q: Just off the side door in my house are the stairs that go down to the basement. The ceiling overhead is sloped where the underside of the stairs to the upstairs go. The house was built almost a ...

Dear Angie: Is it OK to repair plaster before repainting? Our ceilings have peeling paint that we're pretty sure was caused by past water damage. The water problem is no longer an issue, so can we ...

A crack or a hole in a wall can be the result of numerous forms of abuse: a doorknob banging the back of the wall; a misguided hammer; a water leak in the ceiling or wall. While it’s fairly easy to ...

Flaking and cracking plaster are relatively minor maintenance items, but when the plaster starts to sag or "belly" out from a ceiling, it indicates deeper problems that require your full attention If ...

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 ...

There are two kinds of cracks in old lath and plaster walls. Both can be repaired, but one is a much more serious problem. By Ronda Kaysen Q: Our Gramercy co-op was built in 1929. The thick plaster ...

If you live in a house with lath and plaster ceilings, make sure you understand how they are constructed and the steps to ...