Q: Our 1920 house has semi-textured lath-and-plaster walls. In one room we used a steamer to remove wallpaper but damaged the thin layer of drywall compound that had been applied to smooth out the ...

Q: My landlord’s novice repair person caulked around the bathtub — twice. Both times, the caulk pulled away from the wall. Why? And what’s the right way to do it? A: New caulk doesn’t stick well to ...