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 ...

Repairing cracks in walls and ceilings can seem like an endless job. With weather changes and the passage of time, homes shift and settle, often reopening cracks that were previously repaired. Use ...

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? — ...

Dear Julianne: Many older houses were built before drywall panels existed, so plaster was one of the few interior wall options. Since your house obviously is old, it has probably settled as much as it ...

Q: The walls of our 1938 San Francisco home are lath and plaster, with a canvas-like fabric over the plaster. There are cracks in the plaster, which can be seen through the paint as raised creases in ...

Do you have a crack that goes across your wall, maybe over a doorway or a corner of your room? You might have tried to fix it, but it returns just a few months later. Perhaps you even had a ...