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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Q: I had a new plaster ceiling put up with Blueboard screwed to the ceiling and a thick swirled plaster coating on top. It wasn't long before cracking at the seams occurred. The plasterer patched ...

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 ...

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 ...

Q. I live in a condo (built around 1952) with radiant heat in the ceilings. Unfortunately, the builders didn’t give much thought as to how high to place the pipes above the ceilings. Over the past ...

Q. An ice dam left a small irregular brownish area and a crack in a bedroom ceiling. How do I fix it? A. You don’t mention if it’s a textured ceiling, the width of the crack, if there’s any loose or ...

Question: Every year I notice cracks to the walls above some doors and the latches don’t work. I fix the cracks but I don’t know how to fix the latch, and the door will not lock. I need to know what ...