Best technique for attaching corner bead
A guy that I work with – who is very talented – but very stubborn – has a particular way of installing corner bead that seems to work but is so unconvential that I am sceptical it can last.
Here it is: Mud the corner, embed the corner bead in the mud (strong pressure) – adjust to the best position and coat again….let dry. So there is no mechanical faster, but when it is dry it seems very nicely stuck in there. Compared with attaching with mechanical fasteners, one big advantage seems to be the mud behind the corner adds strength and the edge stays perfectly stuck. No aggravating lift on loose parts between fasteners.
Anyone ever try this? I like to attach with contact cement (latex based so no smell)…but admitedly, this takes longer.
Replies
I use a bead crimper and on occasion use a nail or two, I never screw it.
I would be scared of floating it in.
How would you do this trick on soffits?
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October 17th, 2009
Jeremy and Lisa
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Edited 12/31/2008 10:52 am by bstcrpntr
Sounds very viable. I see a lot of guys use spray adhesive or just a few simple arrow staples to attach corner bead. It is not the fasteners that hold it. The mud does all the real work.
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What type of corner bead? Metal, plastic, or paper faced?
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You can tape the edges of regular metal cornerbead. I've seen this done in high traffic areas. you might want to set it further away from the wall though. Then you'd need more mud.
On small pieces I put a level on it and adjust with screws. You can push the cornerbead out by putting a screw beside the metal.
When the head of the screw comes alongside the metal it pushes the metal over.
If I had mud on it I would be reluctant to put my level on it. I'd use his level.
Edited 12/31/2008 11:15 am ET by popawheelie
It seems to me there'd be no way to hold the bead tight enough to the wall. You don't want a build-up of 1/4" of mud that you have to float out 4'.
I use a crimper, a few staples to tweak the alignment, then mud it it with Durabond.
The hot mud is the key, but never use sheet-metal bead -- there's not enough holes, so not enough mud penetration. I use expanded-metal bead, and really work the mud in with a 4" knife before I smooth it.
I've had a loaded cart leave a 1/2" deep dent in a bead, with no adjacent failure along the bead. All I had to do was build up the dent with DB.
There would have been at least a 4'-long crack if it had been sheet-metal bead.
And once you get those long cracks at the edge of the bead, you might as well tear it off, and start over. So I use good bead right from the start, and hot mud.
AitchKay
< I've had a loaded cart leave a 1/2" deep dent in a bead, with no adjacent failure along the bead. All I had to do was build up the dent with DB. There would have been at least a 4'-long crack if it had been sheet-metal bead.>
That's interesting in a general sense. The expanded-metal corner-bead is kind of like rip-stop nylon, making sure that failures in the surface finish don't telegraph very far.
Probably some good lesson to be learned there, making non-structural parts not TOO strong or TOO rigid.
Forrest - still eating Christmas leftovers for lunch
Right. I hadn't thought about that particular bead's shock-absorbing qualities. I guess since it's expanded metal, it's easily compressed, isolating the damage. Whereas with sheet metal, a dent in one place telegraphs to a blowout in another.Aitchkay
It sticks nice and tight without much behind it - just like tape...that is not the problem. In fact, the squeeze out just needs to be floated out for the first coat. I have never seen it needed to be floated out further than normal. My worry was always that with a teeny bit of movement it would pop off...but I am getting the feeling that I am wrong.
By the way - Why do people use staples with the spray adhesive? With contact cement it is tight as tight can be.
I must disagree with you and agree with AitchKay.
A bead calls for some type of mechanical fastening, not the least of which is to snug it up properly to the drywall.
I've seen and done them with nails and had the unfortunate experience of "flattening them TOO much and seeing the edge of the bead show through mud when roughing.
That was because the 'bead' on the corner was too close to the same plane as the wall surface itself.
What you are proposing would produce just the opposite effect; it will hold that bead way out from the wall producing a pronounce flare in the wall at the corner. Laying a straight edge on the wall surface would show that up right away.
Eric
First I'll say that I am young, however, I do alot of taping and it seems that noone in central alaska staples,nails,or screws corner bead on...it's all floated on as you described..with bullnosed corners we leave the rock back 3/8 on each side...I have never seen any corner "pop off" done this way. and further more, especially in a bullnose, wouldn't you want that mud back there to ensure that flimsy little metal bead won't get dented?All I ever wanted in life was an unfair advantage...
spray adhesive and 3/8" staples always worked fro us.
ML
18 gauge staples. No seriously, its fast and surprisingly effective. I would be afraid to float it as well. It seems to me that if that wall starts to move a little, once that corner bead starts to seperate, there would be nothing to stop it.
Sounds like there's lots of systems out there. I'm sticking with mine.And one thing can't be argued: no matter how you attach it, the finished product will ALWAYS be better if you use hot mud. And if it's likely to see serious abuse, go with the old-style hot mud, not the new E-Z sand varieties.AitchKay
I'm wichoo again.
D Bond is the cats meow and I don't like ez sand. It's like some cheap porous knock off for people that can't figure out d bond.
Yeah, I'm a fan of Durabond also... it dries hard and adheres well, but I only really use it for the first coat. For subsequent coats, I seem to forget how to use it and resort to easysand :-)
I am hoping that someone can describe how to use a clincher. How is that thing whapped and the corner bead comes out plumb? Can the corner bead plumbness be adjusted after it is clinched? Is there a strategy on using the clincher -- start low and work your way up, for instance? If you plan to use mechanical fastening anyway -- such as screws -- is a clincher necessary or redundant? Thanks in advance!
For straight-a little bit of eye and a little finesse with technique.
Tap and pop. One tap to "set" the bead and a pop to secure it(yes, you tap the clincher/then set). I start at the top and work my way down, avoiding clinching at the tapered joint in the board.
You can adjust as you go by tapping the bead with the rubber mallet to move it side to side.
Check with a level if it's critical to be plumb-might want to adhere with spray adhesive or nails if you can't seem to get it plumb with the clincher.
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Edited 1/1/2009 12:25 pm ET by calvin
Its not foolproof, but you get the hang of it --You press the clincher onto the bead at a 45º angle, and smack it with a rubber mallet. The two narrow jaws break the very edge of the bead, and drive the deformed edges in about 1/8”.On a vertical corner, I start around eye level, and work up and down from there. Starting at an end doesn’t work -- the bead tips.For beginners, and on horizontal, soffit-type corners, it’s not a bad idea to press the clincher tight, then check both surfaces with a 4-6” knife to see if you’re pressing it evenly. It’s entirely possible to press it too far one way, making for too deep a mud bed on one side, while starving the other, leaving the flange of the bead exposed. When you’ve got it where you like it, pull out your mallet, and smack it.There are different approaches. Some people like to tack it in a few places -- a couple of clinches about 6” apart at eye level, a couple around knee level, say. Then give it a quick check with the knife and a straightedge, and fill in the rest.Some people just work down from eye level, then work up. Either way, you want to check your work both ways (knife and straightedge) before you move on.If the bead is starved on one side, a drywall screw just missing the opposite edge will push the bead over when the head reaches the bead.I usually add a few narrow-crown staples to tweak it perfect. If you have to tweak it a lot you need to re-clinch, because the clinches loosen up easily.And since clinched bead will loosen up all along its length if bumped, don’t put it on until you’re ready to mudThe clinch-on system is barely adequate for holding bead, but that doesn’t matter if you use expanded-metal bead (the kind with metal screen flanges) and Durabond. The Durabond is what really attaches and holds the bead. The clincher is just a handy positioning tool. DON’T USE IT WITHOUT DURABOND!!!Expanded-metal bead and Durabond makes for the strongest, most durable corner system possible. I’ll state that as a flat-out fact. No other system comes close. That’s how I get away with using the clincher.If I had to use sheet-metal bead, I’d rely on the clincher only to position it, then I’d go back and really attach it with drywall nails (this is the only application where drywall nails are better than screws, because they don’t lift the bead as they are driven, the way screws do).AitchKay
I've done it that way - usually tape it too. That's how mud-on cornerbead is made to be applied, by the way. With the metal bead, I'll usually put some nails in it after the first coat of mud has set, and before the 2nd coat. The advantage is that you get it where you want it, and there is mud behind it. With nail on, it usually moves a little as you nail it, and there is nothing but air behind it.
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