Create a seamless corner by finishing your drywall with corner beads.
Here are two easy techniques to get you started.
Luckily for homeowners, installing and mudding drywall corner beads is one of the easier parts of thedrywall process.
Credit: Adam Albright
When installing corner beads, apply light pressure on the bead toward the corner.
This ensures that the strip registers evenly along both walls and runs in a straight line.
To account for mistakes, always buy spare drywall corner bead.
Credit:BHG / Julie Bang
That will give you some backup material if a strip gets bent or a miter is miscut.
Avoid excessive pressure because that will curve the blade of your knife, resulting in an underfilled concave corner.
check that the end of the lapped sheet doesn’t extend past the face of the other wall.
If it does, rasp away the excess material.
You don’t have to achieve a perfect junction because the corner bead establishes the finished corner.
Selecting a Corner Bead
It can be tricky to choose the suitable material for your corner bead.
To many traditionalists, vinyl is another word for plastic, which can be cheap and brittle.
But modern plastics technology produces high-performance materials that warrant consideration.
If it isn’t 90 degrees, a drywall pro calls it an “off angle.”
(Baseboard moldingwill conceal any gap at that end.)
Lightly press on the corner of the bead, squaring the legs of the strip against the walls.
Don’t twist or press the bead too tightly as you install it.
Space the nails about8 inches apartalong each leg; ensure they’re seated firmly.
Each time you hit the clinching tool, it cuts prongs of metal and forces them into the drywall.
Apply Compound
Use a 6-inch drywall knife to apply thefirst coat of compoundto the corner.
Credit: Tim Abramowitz
Don’t attempt to build too much thickness with this first coat, or you’ll risk cracking.
Filling the tapered seam first gives the knife a continuous bearing surface across the joint.
Feather the compound along the wall to create a smooth transition.
Credit: Tim Abramowitz
Use a 12-inch knife for the third coat to feather the compound even further onto the wall.
This placement is sometimes necessary to create clearance for the inside radius of the strip.
Purchase bullnose bead strips before you hang the drywall to determine the proper corner treatment.
see to it the materials you’ll need to execute your design are available before you begin work.
Composite materials can adapt to square or off-angle applications.
For example, turning an outside corner with baseboards orcrown moldingscould require fancy carpentry skills and tedious fabrication.
Simply nail the blocks where you need them, and cut the strip of bullnose bead to fit.
Get the bullnose bead and transition cap from a single manufacturer for a perfect size match.
