Got called out for my corner bead work on a job in Denver last month

Honestly, the foreman pulled me aside and said my metal bead looked wavy because I was using too many screws. He told me to try just three per side and let the mud do the work. I switched to his method on the next room and the lines came out way straighter. Ngl, it felt weird using fewer fasteners at first. Anyone else get better results with less screws on metal bead?

3 comments

3 Comments

wade_hall2mo ago

Remember how old lath and plaster walls hold up for a century with just keys and brown coat? Same idea. You can actually pull the bead out of plane by overdriving screws, creating high spots. The metal just needs to be held in place, not cinched down like a car part. Letting the mud lock it in gives you a truer, flatter line because the fastener isn't fighting the compound.

evannelson2mo ago

Yeah, I learned that the hard way on my first corner bead. I was cranking screws down like I was building a deck and ended up with a wavy mess. It really does just need to sit there and let the mud do the real work.

reese_perry629d ago

Does over-tightening screws make me a bad person or just a guy who really wanted that bead to STAY put? Took me blowing through a whole box of trim screws on one corner to realize I was being a total try-hard.