Plaster walls can't hold weight on their own, but the right tools can help you hang more than you think. Plaster was the construction standard up until the 1940s, when drywall burst onto the market.

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: 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 ...

Hanging anything onto a plaster wall is a bit of a challenge. Depth finders help locate studs behind the plaster, but drilling through plaster and lathe into a stud is often problematic. There are a ...

Lath-and-plaster walls are common in older houses (built late 18th Century until the early 1950’s, when drywall became standard). Whether you want to hang a picture, mirror or kitchen cabinet, ...

You’re proudly hanging your first picture on your new home’s antique plaster walls. A few minutes later, it’s no longer ...

Removing the plaster from a vintage house is a nasty job. It generates yards of debris and creates clouds of dust that go everywhere. We have some advice: don’t assume the plaster has to go. In fact, ...