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 ...

There are two kinds of cracks in old lath and plaster walls. Both can be repaired, but one is a much more serious problem. By Ronda Kaysen Q: Our Gramercy co-op was built in 1929. The thick plaster ...

One of the reasons that I bought my 1905 Neo-French Renaissance house was that it had ornamental plaster ceiling decorations and medallions. The decorative plaster ceilings had been either badly ...

Before the arrival of prefabricated wallboard or "drywall" in the 1940s and '50s, plaster was the material of choice for interior walls and ceilings in American homes. Portland cement plaster was ...

Popular in 19th century homes, plaster ceiling medallions offer a visual transition and seat for a light fixture in important rooms. Their elaborate bas-relief designs also helped hide soot from oil ...