Questions owners ask before they call

Adelaide and one plasterer come to the house. We tap the walls and ceilings to find hollow areas, check for moisture, photograph what we open and look at the paint layers. You get a written survey with a scope, and it says what we would keep.

Often, yes. Cracks, sags and hollow spots can usually be re-attached to the lath and patched. Plaster that has turned to powder, or lath that has rotted from a leak, can't be, and the survey says so plainly.

We treat paint in a house of that age as lead paint unless a test says otherwise. Federal rules cover paid work that disturbs paint in homes built before 1978, and a certified firm has to contain the work area, keep dust down with wet methods and clean up with a HEPA vacuum. Minor repairs that disturb less than 6 square feet of paint inside a room, or 20 square feet outside, are exempt, but window replacement and demolition never are. Taking plaster down counts as demolition, so we wet it, contain it and bag it.

Yes. For a house in a local historic district we write the scope in the terms a board asks for, with photographs and a materials note. You or your architect files it; we don't speak for you to the board.

A repair of one wall is a few days, because each coat has to dry. A room with several walls and a ceiling is weeks. The scope gives a schedule by day, and we say which days we are in the house.

We seal the work area, cover floors and furniture, wet painted surfaces before disturbing them and finish each day with a HEPA vacuum.

Usually. We close off the room we are working in and you keep the rest. Stairwells and kitchens take more planning.

A repair of ours that opens along the same line within one year is redone at no charge. This does not cover new movement from a leak, settling or work by other trades. The terms are written into your scope.

Plaster repair on its own does not normally need a building permit. Wiring, plumbing, framing or exterior work in a historic district can bring other rules, and we tell you what applies before we start.

We don't hang drywall, paint, or fix roofs and pipes. If a wall is past saving, we say so, and we will plaster the new one to match if you want that.