That corner bead I fought for 2 hours could have taken 20 minutes

I was hanging board in a basement remodel in Maple Valley last week and hit this one outside corner where the studs were twisted. I figured I'd just muscle the bead on with a stapler and mud it flat. 2 hours later I had pulled the bead off twice, re-cut it, and still had a gap at the top. Finally my partner walked over and asked if I tried a pre-bent corner bead for bowed studs. I had one in the truck the whole time. 20 minutes to pop it on and it sat perfect. Has anyone else wasted time fighting with standard bead when the pre-bent stuff would have saved the day?

2 comments

2 Comments

rivera.henry27d ago

The real trick nobody talks about is that sometimes the studs themselves are the problem, not the bead. I had a corner where the studs were so warped that even a pre-bent bead wouldn't sit flat. Ended up shimming the high spots with strips of roofing felt before I even touched the bead. That 20 minutes of prep saved me an hour of fighting later. If you're on a job with old lumber or green studs, checking the corner for level first can save you a whole lot of headache.

noah91726d ago

Wait, have you actually had luck with roofing felt as shims? I tried that once and it just squished down when I screwed the bead on, didn't really hold anything. I usually use those plastic shims or even a thin strip of hardboard if I'm dealing with a bad corner. But you're totally right about checking the studs first, I've learned that lesson the hard way too many times. Sometimes you get so focused on the bead itself that you forget the whole wall is twisted.