How to Install Drywall Corner Beads for Smooth Edges

Create a seamless corner by finishing your drywall with corner beads. Here are two easy techniques to get you started.

Corner of room with colorful artwork on walls
Photo: Adam Albright
Project Overview
  • Working Time: 3 hours
  • Total Time: 8 hours
  • Skill Level: Beginner
  • Estimated Cost: $10 to $15

Installed on the outside corners where two pieces of drywall meet, corner beads create a smooth, even seam and an attractive finish. Luckily for homeowners, installing and mudding drywall corner beads is one of the easier parts of the drywall process. 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. Misalignment can make the bead twist up the corner, and your only remedy is to rip it off and try again.

To account for mistakes, always buy spare drywall corner bead ($5, The Home Depot). That will give you some backup material if a strip gets bent or a miter is miscut. Mudding beads is also relatively easy because you have the corner to guide one edge of your knife as you spread the compound. Avoid excessive pressure because that will curve the blade of your knife, resulting in an underfilled concave corner.

You can use two techniques to create corner beads: a metal corner bead for crisp corners or a bullnose bead for rounded corners. Choose what works best for your space, and follow our steps below to learn how to install drywall corner beads on walls.

infographic on how to install corner beads for smooth drywall edges

BHG / Julie Bang

What You'll Need

Equipment / Tools

  • Tin snips, for metal or vinyl beads
  • Scissors or a utility knife, for composite bead

Materials

  • Corner bead
  • Ringshank drywall nails or corner clincher
  • Transition pieces to square off the corners at the top and bottom, optional

Instructions

  1. Install Drywall at Corners

    At an outside corner, lap one sheet of drywall over the other and fasten it to the stud. Make sure 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. For example, an abuse-resistant vinyl corner bead might be the right choice for high-traffic corners where impact is inevitable.

    If you've ever dented metal corner bead with a misplaced hammer blow during construction, you know that replacement is the only practical choice. Composite corner beads are also impact-resistant and have the added benefit of conforming to corners substantially more or less than 90 degrees. If it isn't 90 degrees, a drywall pro calls it an "off angle."

  2. Nail Corner Bead

    Cut the corner bead to length with tin snips, keeping its bottom end about ½ inch off the floor. (Baseboard molding will conceal any gap at that end.) Lightly press on the corner of the bead, squaring the legs of the strip against the walls. Drive a few nails through the holes in the metal strip to establish its position, then nail through it for a more secure hold. Don't twist or press the bead too tightly as you install it. Space the nails about 8 inches apart along each leg; ensure they're seated firmly.

    Using a Corner Bead Clincher

    A drywall corner bead clincher helps you squarely position the metal strip and then quickly fasten it. Each time you hit the clinching tool, it cuts prongs of metal and forces them into the drywall. For added security, drive three nails through each leg of the corner bead to establish a mechanical connection with the framing.

  3. drywall knife applying compound to corner drywall
    Tim Abramowitz

    Apply Compound

    Use a 6-inch drywall knife to apply the first coat of compound to the corner. The blade of the knife glides along the raised bead and the wall, laying the mud into the valley between these two high points. Don't try 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.

  4. applying compound to corner with drywall knife
    Tim Abramowitz

    Smooth Compound

    For the second coat, choose a 10-inch knife and, again, bridge between the metal corner and the wall's surface. Feather the compound along the wall to create a smooth transition. Use a 12-inch knife for the third coat to feather the compound even further onto the wall.

  5. drywall sheets on corner with terminated ends

    Line Up Drywall Corners

    With bullnose bead, you might need to install the drywall sheets to terminate flush with the corner of the framing. 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.

  6. Attach Bullnose Corner Bead

    Nail the metal or vinyl bullnose bead into place, spacing the fasteners about 8 inches apart along each leg. If your outside corner is significantly larger or smaller than 90 degrees, ask a drywall supplier about the availability of off-angle bullnose beads. Make sure 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.

    Using Bullnose Corners

    Bullnose corners add style and interest to your installation but can also create problems when installing millwork. For example, turning an outside corner with baseboards or crown moldings could require fancy carpentry skills and tedious fabrication. Fortunately, there's a solution that you can simply nail in place when you're installing the bullnose bead.

    The vinyl cap shown works with metal and vinyl beads with a ¾-inch radius and enables you to install moldings up to 4½ inches wide. 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.

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