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., ...

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. We just bought our first house, an American Foursquare, dated 1917. It has been vacant for several years and the interior is not in the best condition. We'd like to gut it to get rid of the sagging ...

Dear James: One room has recurring cracks in the plaster ceiling. Instead of more repairs, is it wise to add a dropped tile ceiling to use it as a home theater? — Gary K. Dear Gary: Once cracks start ...

Editor’s note: This story originally ran in 2010 and has been updated. You can read the previous post here. As Americans, we can feel patriotic when considering tin ceilings. It’s one of the few ...