Exeter, New Hampshire
Plaster Repair & Interior Painting in Exeter, NH
Exeter has genuinely old housing — plaster over lath, trim worth keeping, and cracks that come back if you only fill them. This is slow, careful work, and it is quoted that way.
Recent work near Exeter, NH
Has J&B completed work in Exeter, NH?
No — there is no completed Exeter job on our record, and we will not dress one up. Exeter is about half an hour from the shop and squarely in our area. The projects below were finished in nearby New Hampshire towns and are shown with their real town labels so nothing is implied.
These are jobs completed in nearby towns, not in Exeter. Each photo shows the town where the work was actually done.
Hampton, NH
InteriorVaulted living room repainted — walls, ceiling and trim, stone fireplace masked and protected.
Dover, NH
DrywallCathedral ceiling hung and finished to level 5, including the framed archway opening.
Hampton, NH
ExteriorFull exterior repaint — siding, garage door, soffits and window trim.
East Hampstead, NH
DrywallWhole first floor hung, taped and sanded ahead of flooring and paint.
Hampton, NH
InteriorBedroom and hallway repaint with new baseboard enamel.
Dover, NH
RepairCeiling opened up after a roof leak, framing dried out, then reboarded and finished.
Hampton, NH
InteriorFarmhouse kitchen painted around an exposed beam and open shelving.
East Hampstead, NH
DrywallBonus room over the garage boarded and finished, ready for primer.
Why is drywall work different in Exeter's older homes?
Exeter's downtown and the streets around it hold real period housing, which means plaster over lath rather than drywall, walls that are not plumb or flat, and trim profiles that were run long before anything was standardised. The work is repair and matching, not replacement, and the homeowners here almost always want the original detail kept.
Plaster fails in ways drywall does not. It separates from the lath and sounds hollow when tapped, it cracks in lines that run off door and window corners, and it crumbles at the edges when disturbed. Where the key is intact we refasten and bridge the crack properly with tape bedded in compound. Where it is gone we cut back to sound material and rebuild in board set at the same plane as the wall around it, then blend outward far enough that no ridge catches light.
Settlement cracks need a diagnosis before a repair. A hairline that opens and closes with the seasons is movement, and filling it just means filling it again next winter. We look at where the crack runs and what it runs off before deciding whether to bridge it, rebuild the section, or tell you it is a structural question for someone else.
Trim is the part people care about most, and rightly. Original casings and baseboards get stripped of build-up where it has buried the profile, filled where they are dented, and finished so the moulding still reads as moulding. We do not caulk a bead into a profile just to make cutting in faster, and we do not replace a run of old trim because matching it is inconvenient.
Pre-1978 housing is the norm in this part of Exeter, so lead is a live question any time paint gets sanded or scraped. We do not test for or abate lead. Testing is the homeowner's first step, and if it comes back positive a certified contractor does that portion before our prep starts.
Which services does J&B do most in Exeter?
Exeter work is plaster and drywall repair, crack bridging, skim coating tired walls and ceilings flat, and interior painting that respects original trim. Occasional full-room restoration where a wall has been patched badly over the years.
Plaster and drywall repair
Loose plaster refastened or cut back and rebuilt in board at the same plane, then blended into the surrounding surface.
See the serviceSkim coating
Old walls with decades of patches skimmed flat in one pass, so a room reads even instead of quilted.
See the serviceInterior painting
Trim profiles kept sharp, walls and ceilings cut in by hand, and the right product on plaster, wood and previously oil-painted surfaces.
See the serviceQuestions
Common questions from Exeter homeowners
Exeter questions are about old houses: whether plaster has to be torn out, why cracks come back, how original trim is protected, and how lead is handled in a pre-1978 home. Short answers below.
- Do I have to tear out my plaster and replace it with drywall?
- Usually not. Plaster that is still keyed to the lath is worth keeping — it is harder and quieter than board. We refasten what is loose, rebuild only the sections that have let go, and blend them in. Full replacement is a last resort, not a default.
- Why does the same crack keep coming back?
- Because it is movement, not a hole. Filling a moving crack with compound guarantees a return visit. The fix is to open it, bridge it with tape bedded in compound, and feather wide. If the movement is structural, we will say so rather than sell you the same repair twice.
- Will you match my original trim profile?
- We protect and refinish what is there rather than replace it. Where a small section is missing we source or build the closest profile and tell you honestly how close the match is before we start. Old trim is the character of an Exeter house, and it does not come back once it is gone.
- My Exeter house is pre-1978. How is lead handled?
- Testing comes first, and it is the homeowner's step. We do not test for or abate lead. If a test is positive, a certified contractor performs that work before we begin our prep. If a house has not been tested and paint will be disturbed, we will ask you to test.
Other towns we work in
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Get a written estimate for your Exeter project
Tell us what the job involves and we will come out, look at it and send a written estimate — normally within 24 hours of the visit. Free, and no obligation.