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

The sagged ceiling described here is one specific situation. A sagging ceiling could also be a sign of major structural ...

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 My house was built in 1887 and is still in good shape except for the ceilings. They are all horsehair plaster, with many cracks I tried to patch with a hard-setting Spackle that did not work, and ...

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 ...

Ken Wildes crouches next to a cardboard box and plucks out a rose hand-formed from clay. He holds the rose in his fingertips and points out the flaws. See how the petals are pressed together? A ...

Q: My parents have lived in their house for 48 years. The house is about 54 years old. They have always used good-quality paint. About three years ago the ceiling began to peel. When a representative ...