At the turn of the 20th century, plaster was the most popular interior wall covering in North America, and it remained so for the next several decades. But things have changed since then. Drywall, ...

Q: We recently purchased a 1926 colonial house with mostly horsehair plaster walls. This is my first experience with plaster walls, and I’m afraid they are going to crumble when I hang artwork, etc.

As Hurricane Katrina raged through New Orleans in 2005, neighborhood after neighborhood collapsed from flooding. Of the houses that stood, many still had to be bulldozed due to mold within the walls.