Walls: repointing brick, drywall, removing walls, wallpaper, and paint

Every wall project sits on a spectrum from cosmetic to structural. Paint and wallpaper change how a room feels in a weekend. Drywall repair is a learnable craft. Repointing brick and removing walls sit at the other end, where the wrong move damages the building itself. Knowing which end of the spectrum you are on is most of the battle.

This guide covers the five wall projects people actually search for: brick pointing, drywall installation and repair, removing a wall, wallpaper, and wall painting, along with the checks that keep the structural ones safe.

01The wall you are about to open is probably older than drywall

Before you swing a hammer at a Massachusetts wall, it is worth knowing what era you are swinging into. Public records show 45.7% of the state's single-family homes were built before 1960, which places nearly half the housing stock in the plaster era, before drywall became the default. Behind the paint in those homes is lath and plaster: heavier, harder, better at deadening sound, and completely different to cut, patch, and fasten into than the gypsum board that most online tutorials assume.

Go back further and the walls change character again. About 24.5% of the state's single-family homes predate 1940, and in those houses the masonry, where it exists, is often laid with lime mortar, a softer, more forgiving material than modern cement mixes. That is not trivia. Repointing lime-mortar brick with hard modern mortar can damage the very masonry you were trying to preserve. In nearly half of Massachusetts homes, the wall is not just a surface; it is a material with history in it, and it rewards knowing which one you have.

02Brick pointing and repointing old masonry

Repointing means raking out failing mortar joints and packing in new mortar. On older homes, this is where the biggest mistake in residential masonry happens: modern cement mortar is harder than old brick, and when it is used on a house built before roughly the 1920s, the brick erodes instead of the mortar. That damage is permanent and costs far more than the repointing did. Older masonry needs a softer, lime-rich mortar matched to the original in strength, color, and joint profile, which matters everywhere there is pre-war housing stock, and in Massachusetts that is a lot of housing. Repointing is slow, labor-driven work, so cost scales with wall area and access, and spot repointing the worst elevations first is a legitimate strategy.

03Drywall installation and repair

Drywall is forgiving material with an unforgiving finish standard. Small holes are patch kits and an hour of your time. Larger repairs mean cutting back to studs, screwing in a new piece, then taping and coating the seams. Taping is the actual skill: three thin coats, each wider than the last, sanded lightly between. Whole rooms are mostly logistics, since sheets are heavy and ceilings want a lift or a second person. Use moisture-resistant board in baths and cement board behind tile. If your walls are plaster rather than drywall, hairline cracks can be mesh-taped and skimmed, and sagging plaster can often be re-secured with plaster washers instead of demolished.

04Removing a wall: load-bearing checks, permits, and what is inside

Before you fall for the open floor plan, answer three questions. First, is the wall load-bearing? Walls that run perpendicular to the joists above, stack over other walls, or sit mid-span are suspects, and only a contractor or structural engineer can say for sure. Removing a bearing wall means installing a properly sized beam with posts that carry the load down to footings. Second, do you need a permit? For anything structural, yes, and the inspector will want the beam sizing documented. Third, what is inside the wall? Wiring, plumbing, and heating runs hide in walls that look expendable, and rerouting them is often the real cost of the project. And remember the plan itself is a choice, not an upgrade: an open layout either fits how you live or it does not.

05Wallpaper

Wallpaper has swung back into style, and modern materials make it more approachable. Traditional pasted paper gives the most durable, seamless result but demands wall prep and patience. Peel-and-stick is renter-friendly and forgiving to install, but it telegraphs every bump on an imperfect wall and can lift at seams in humid rooms. The unglamorous work decides the result: walls must be smooth, primed with wallpaper primer, and measured with the pattern repeat in mind, since large repeats waste a surprising amount of material. Removing old paper is its own project of scoring, soaking, and scraping, and a wall damaged in removal needs skim coating before anything new goes up.

06Wall painting

Paint is the highest-leverage finish in the house, and results come almost entirely from prep and sequence. Wash the walls, sand glossy spots, fill holes, spot-prime repairs and stains, then cut in the edges and roll in sections. Buy quality paint and a good roller cover, because cheap tools cost you extra coats. Two coats is the standard, and one-coat claims are marketing. Sheen is a practical choice: matte hides wall flaws, eggshell and satin wipe clean, semi-gloss belongs on trim. In homes built before 1978, old paint layers may contain lead, so test before sanding and use lead-safe practices.

07What to weigh before you open a wall

Wall projects range from patching a crack to removing the wall entirely, and the honest first question is the same for all of them: what is this wall doing, and what is inside it?

Painting, wallpaper, patching, and modest drywall jobs are real DIY territory if you respect the prep time. Repointing above the first story, structural crack diagnosis, and chimney masonry belong with a mason experienced in older buildings, and it is worth asking specifically about lime mortar. Removing any wall that might be load-bearing needs a structural opinion and a permit. Once a wall is open, relocating wiring is licensed electrician work and moving supply or drain lines is licensed plumber work, and in most states, Massachusetts included, that licensing is not optional. Contractors disturbing paint in pre-1978 homes must follow lead-safe renovation rules.

08What it typically costs

Nationally, wall costs track two things: structure and surprises. Cosmetic repair and refinishing stay modest and scale with area. Structural work scales with span and load, and concealing a new beam in the ceiling instead of leaving it boxed below adds real framing cost. In older homes, the wildcard is what turns up once the wall is open, since rerouting old wiring or plumbing discovered mid-project is where budgets actually break.

Broad national planning ranges as of 2026, not quotes or offers. Local prices vary widely; get multiple written estimates for your own home.

09The short version

First, find out what your walls are: plaster or drywall, bearing or partition, and in older masonry, what mortar is holding it together. That one afternoon of diagnosis shapes every estimate that follows. Then match the project to your horizon, because a wall project is not good or bad in itself: opening up the first floor fits a long stay and a family that wants the space, while a seller is usually better served by flat, quiet, crack-free walls left exactly where they are.