How to Drywall Corners

Unless you give a perfect finish to the drywall, your home will end up looking disheveled and untidy. To prevent this, you need to know how to drywall corners. A corner is what will complete the work you started and it is the best way to judge if the work has been done properly or not.

Read the tips and techniques given here and you can go about dry-walling the corners. A piece of advice would be to do the outside corners before the inside ones. Outside corners are easier, plus, it will be better to mess up an outside corner rather than one that is inside and totally visible.

Using nails to fasten a drywall is the best option. There are different types of drywall corner beads available in the market. These corner beads can be found in varieties like regular corner beads, arched corner beads and drywall bullnose corners. Select the one you want, according to the type of wall you will be dry-walling.

The ones with the metal edging are a better option than the ones with the paper finish. This is because they are more resistant to the hammering of the nails which are required to fasten them to the wall.

Since you'll be doing the corners in the end, you will have to nail the corner beads directly onto the fame that is already installed beneath. Nail them firmly and make sure no nails are jutting out.

After you have nailed the corner beads, the next thing to do is take a drywall knife and using strong joint compound, generously coat the corner bead and an area about 6 to 7 inches surrounding the corner bead. Apply it properly on both sides and see that you don't miss any spots. Wait for the compound to dry up completely.

Once it dries up, apply another coat of the joint compound, this time taking it further to about 9 to 10 inches on either side of the corner bead. Allow this coat to dry completely too.

This is nothing but basically getting rid of any bumps, indentations or ridges that may have appeared on the drywall during the process of coating it with the joint compound.

The sanding process could take a while and is very messy. So, protect yourself with masks and gloves, keep kids and pets away and close the door to prevent anyone from entering. If you suffer from dust allergies, it is advisable to leave this step to someone who isn't.

After you have smoothened out all the uneven portions of the drywall, the last step is to apply a coat of finishing joint compound (you may dilute it with water if you wish) on the corners to give it a fine-textured finish.

As compared to dry-walling entire rooms, it is much easier to learn to drywall corners. You can use an old cupboard or closet or your garage corner for practice before you try it inside your house. Good luck!