We make simple repairs to the walls, chasing the small and fine cracks-using web tape embedded with a skim coat of durabond, and feathered with skim coats of drywall compound. The walls are ready to repaint. My brother is helping me out. I'm getting older, in my sixties, and retired now. Even though I can still climb scaffolding, its the dang dust that gets to me. I do use a good respirator--makes me look like an old bug from outer space.
We found lots of picture rail in the attic--to use again in the hallway. I've been very active and patient seeking out previous owner photos, education certificates, class graduation photos, and 4 original land patents for this house and its farm land 1853, 1857, and 1858 belonging to the previous owners. We're lucky to find all this--and its generous and mysterious how things that belonged to this house seem to float back to us.
Here's what I'm working on now, the stairwell. Repairing the upper area, then will remove temp scaffold and work on wall down the stairway into the foyer.
[IMG]http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/rr25 ... affold.jpg[/IMG
1883 Schoolhouse, rural Ontario, Canada