Walls, Ceilings, Plaster

Walls, Ceilings, Plaster

How to Remove Popcorn Ceiling

An urgent question from an OHJ staffer: “How hard would it be to get rid of my hideous popcorn ceiling?” (If you don’t remember, this is a heavily textured, spray-on finish, sometimes with glitter, popular from the postwar years through the 1970s.) I looked through our archive and found little encouragement. Then I trolled the internet and YouTube. Still not encouraging but certainly entertaining. Here’s my take on the options.

Walls, Ceilings, Plaster

Wallpaper 101

Tips on choosing wallpaper, stripping old paper and installing specialty wallpapers.

Walls, Ceilings, Plaster

How to Repair Metal Ceilings

Tin-plate or steel, metal ceilings remain popular because they are inexpensive and highly decorative. The only enemy is rust.

Walls, Ceilings, Plaster

What To Do When Interior Shingles Are Painted

Interior shingles were meant to be…but not painted.

Walls, Ceilings, Plaster

Step By Step: How to Fix Plaster Ceilings

By using modern materials and a traditional technique, it is possible to repair plaster ceilings that are cracking and delaminating. Here is a step-by-step guide to how to fix plaster ceilings in your old house.

Walls, Ceilings, Plaster

DIY Reclaimed Wood Wall

Bungalows and ranches—not to mention any later additions to older houses—may have rooms that are bland boxes of drywall. Wood adds character.

Walls, Ceilings, Plaster

How To Stencil a Frieze

Stenciling is an easy and historically appropriate way to add interest to your walls.

Walls, Ceilings, Plaster

Plaster 101: DIY Repairs, Tools & Techniques

A look at the common problems with plaster in historic homes, and which tools and DIY techniques are most effective for plaster repair.

Walls, Ceilings, Plaster

Where to Buy Scenic Wallpaper

Scenic wallpapers are on the comeback! Here’s a curated collection of some of our favorite places to find the perfect scenic wallpaper or panoramas for your classic home.

Walls, Ceilings, Plaster

Prepping Plaster Walls for Paint & Wallpaper

Calcimine, old papers, peeling paint! Preparing the plaster substrate is the key to a good paint or wallpaper finish. In an old house, it’s not always an easy job: surprises likely lurk behind the recent latex and that floral vinyl upstairs.

Walls, Ceilings, Plaster

Ornamental Plaster

The craft of ornamental plaster is a wondrous thing, especially to the uninitiated. Here’s what you need to know about this historic medium.

Walls, Ceilings, Plaster

Knife and Mould Plaster Technique Explained

A mould knife is a metal template cut with the reverse profile of the moulding to be created or restored.

Walls, Ceilings, Plaster

Making a New Decorative Plaster Medallion

Here’s how the pros make custom decorative plaster medallions and close reproductions.

Walls, Ceilings, Plaster

How To Make Compound Ogee Molding

When you can’t find the right ogee molding off the shelf, here’s how to make it.

Walls, Ceilings, Plaster

DIY Faux Finishing

Faux finishing once was practiced by every house painter and many householders, who used inexpensive materials and simple techniques involving glazes, sponges, rags, and crumpled paper.

Walls, Ceilings, Plaster

A Fix For Humming Walls

“If only it turned out to be a simple haunting, with footsteps and rattling chains!” –Deb Botti