Q:We have a small 1924 cottage in the El Cerrito flatlands a little east of the El Cerrito Mall. Our lot has a minor slope, and we have a high water table. Our house continues to shift and settle, ...

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 ...

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? — ...

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, ...

Q. We're buying a house that is probably close to 100 years old. It has been vacant for the past several years and needs a good amount of cleaning up and fixing up. One thing we're concerned about is ...

If you find yourself staring at damaged walls and ceilings in your home, it might be time for a little TLC and an update. The interiors of most homes are covered with gypsum wallboard, which is ...

IF YOU LIVE in an old house, it’s highly likely that you have plaster walls and ceilings. Most people love them — they’re a good, solid surface — but they can pose problems if they’re damaged. We get ...

I just bought my first house and am getting ready to run cat5e jacks to the rooms. I have experience crimping and punching things down, but my experience is limited to running cable in nice drop ...

Dear James: We are planning a substantial room addition to our dream home. We are not on a tight budget, and we want everything done right. Should we use plaster walls or standard drywall walls? — ...