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Caulking Drywall Corners

| Posted in General Discussion on April 6, 2000 07:21am

*
Rich,

I have sometimes seen this done after the corner is taped but before texturing. The caulk creates a small fillet at the otherwise square corner. The aim is to give the corner a softer look.

jim x 3

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  1. Rob_Pfeiffer | Apr 21, 2000 04:37pm | #13

    *
    As a drywall finisher of many years I do occasionally caulk inside corners on small jobs where I am in a hurry. I paper tape the angle with durabond. When it drys I run both sides of the angle with a four inch knife with more durabond. This leaves a groove right in the middle of the angle which I then fill with caulk. Running one side of the angle, allowing it to dry, and then runnignt the other does not work with durabond. Even the very quick drying type remains a little "green" or wet at the very inside of the corner. When you go back to run the other side the first side tears out or balls up. Very frstrating!

    1. chris_philips | May 03, 2000 03:39am | #14

      *When running mud down both sides of the wall, there will be a line in the very corner, is there a way to prevent this? Also joint compound, when do you use it? On the corners and areas where corner bead is applied.? I work with a builder and all he uses is USG topping for everything is this exceptable???

  2. Guest_ | May 03, 2000 04:49am | #15

    *
    Off and on for the past four months I have been a (very small) part of a large project (1.2 million Salvation Army building/chapel). The drywall crew, after mudding, caulked the corners. When I said "What???!!!????" They all talked about how much better it looked. I don't know, it looked like a corner. Does everyone do this? Has anyone ever heard of this?

    Rich Beckman

    1. Guest_ | Mar 31, 2000 08:18pm | #1

      *RickIn comercial and some renovation work I have done we caulked corners but this was mostly when butting new to old or with dissimilar wall materials(Drywall to plaster or even panelling).I have even cut the back of rock at a 45 degree angle and scribed the edge to an off ceiling then forced it tight and caulked with no mud. The benifit is the extreme flexibility of caulks(I use a latex/silicone painters caulk) eliminates the problems with cracking joints. I do not use this method in any other new or similar material construction. I use the traditional tape and mud method.AE

      1. Guest_ | Mar 31, 2000 11:12pm | #2

        *Rich, We use that trick on inside corners quite often. Usually it is after taping and priming the corner first, however. It seems to eliminate future shrinkage cracks. Sometimes when patching drywall around custom stair installations we'll caulk the inside corners because of the time and mess normal taping takes.

        1. Guest_ | Apr 01, 2000 04:29am | #3

          *We usually caulk between new and old, especially against a ceiling. When abutting textured surfaces, it can save a ton of work. The guy I work with talked me into trying a new hanging technique last week. We had an inside corner with total width of both pieces less than 48" and ceiling height less than 8 ft. We cut the sheet to length to stand up and cut the back paper instead of the front. We cracked it open, but didn't cut the face paper, we installed it just like that. It saved taping one corner. We tried it a couple places with mixed results.

          1. Guest_ | Apr 01, 2000 06:24am | #4

            *Oh, yeah, I meant inside corners. And I do think they were doing it after priming. Learn something every day! Thanks!Jim, do you think you will be trying that one piece around the corner again?Rich Beckman

          2. Guest_ | Apr 01, 2000 06:58am | #5

            *ah...I might...you have to be REAL careful with the sheet or the paper seperates and gets loose from the rock, kind of like an air bubble. The one joint that looked great when we put it up had a small area like that in it today. Now we have to slice it open and tape that area anyway. Probably would have been ahead to do it the standard way in the first place, but we like to experiment a little too much. You gotta try new methods once in awhile or things can get a little boring.

          3. Guest_ | Apr 01, 2000 10:16am | #6

            *Generally I have found caulking to be a no-no. Any movement and the caulking squeezes out to form a ridge. Jim , have used your method for internals, like you say, the cut and fold is critical. Another way is to set up a router with a vee bit and cut to the paper ( use a straight edge ) , fold up and support the back of the sheet with a folded paper tape spread liberally with white glue. Let dry overnight. ( very dusty process but gives great corners.)

          4. Guest_ | Apr 01, 2000 04:13pm | #7

            *Mark - are you sayin' you leave the face paper intact and v-groove the back? That sounds good. Is the rock real hard on router bits?

          5. Guest_ | Apr 01, 2000 09:50pm | #8

            *Seems like you'd have to have dead straight corners or there would likely be a void or two between the rock and the framing. Hmmmm........ unless you bedded the corner in construction adhesive. That dont sound to bad.Chuck

          6. Guest_ | Apr 02, 2000 03:41am | #9

            *Yes and yes. However we don't do all that much of it...mainly to form overhead bulkheads etc.

          7. Guest_ | Apr 06, 2000 06:56pm | #10

            *Rich: Agree with the others on caulking when it comes to dissimilar materials/surfaces. It is also recommended that caulking be done BEFORE taping if you are trying to accoustically isolate a room. We do it on all ceiling/wall joints, base plate, each electrical box, etc. Not exactly on point but there is a use for caulking and drywall. Thor

          8. jim_jim_jim | Apr 06, 2000 07:21pm | #11

            *Rich,I have sometimes seen this done after the corner is taped but before texturing. The caulk creates a small fillet at the otherwise square corner. The aim is to give the corner a softer look.jim x 3

          9. Guest_ | Apr 09, 2000 05:15am | #12

            *Anything to save taping and mudding sounds like a good thing to try. Wonder if you could produce a rounded corner this way, if you somehow gave it some support fill behind?

          10. ringo45 | Jan 17, 2012 06:07pm | #17

            Thats a very good point chuck. We builders know for a fact, even if it is new construction, our 2x stock is never perfect. Sub floor adhesive would probably work.

  3. Guest_ | May 03, 2000 04:49am | #16

    *
    It is my understanding that topping compound lacks the glue that the other compounds have to hold the tape in place. It is because of this that many contractors will not allow topping mud on the job site out of concern that it will be used to place tape and result in tape coming loose. I am an amateur, but I generally use a setting mud for the first two coats as it is dry the next day, and a drying topping mud for the final coat as well as a skim coat with a large squeege. And, if I am mistaken, would one of you wizards kindly point out the error of my ways?

    Dennis

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