The following two case studies show that it's best to do repair work right the first time. Otherwise larger problems are likely to crop up down the road. Case One: Bulging Plaster The owner of an 1830s timberframed cape-style house was concerned about an unusual bulge in the plaster near the corner of an exterior wall. The plaster bowed out from the surface of the wall in a horizontal area 6 inches high and 5 feet long. It bowed out from the flat surface of the wall about 1 1/2 inches. The plaster had been in good condition less than two years earlier, but when I checked it out it was completely separated from the wood lath beneath. The
