Finishing a new wall or room with plaster or joint compound takes practice. If you have no experience with plaster or its near relative, joint compound, don’t learn in your living room. Experiment ...

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 ...

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

Plaster, a decorative wall coating of lime, sand, and sometimes fibers, has been around since the beginning of time—and so has plaster repair. Although subject to cracks and bubbles, it's a durable ...

Before you do any plaster patching, rid the rooms of any residual lead. If you try to vacuum up chips or dust, you must use a special HEPA filter-equipped vacuum cleaner. Some tool rental stores rent ...