Michael Rivers

ouside corner repair

I have two corner areas around my tub that look horrible.



My main concern is how I should handle the corner that is right next to the tub. I do not think there is enough room to cut out the met trim and put in a new one. However, I've never done this sort of work before and could be incorrect on all my assumptions.

What is the best way to repair this area? Can I replace the metal corner even with the tub there, or should I be looking into just giving it a thick coat of plaster and smooth it as best as I can?

Thank you,

pjaffe

I would scrape it down and see if there is rust underneath all that. If not, then patch it up with some setting compound, sand smooth and then paint. Make sure you use a good caulk where the tub meets the wall because that water intrusion is what is probably causing your damage. If there is rust, you will need to cut it out and then replace it with a fresh corner bead. You can probably trim down the corner bead to fit if you need to. I would guess that you can probably clean out some of the plaster behind the tub to slide in the corner bead. They also sell a plastic corner bead if you want to go that route but then you are sort of conceding that you aren't going to prevent water from getting in there which is a bad idea.

- Peter

Michael Rivers

The corner bead seems to not be attached to the plaster any more, but I shall investigate as you suggested. I believe I have quality caulk now, so hopefully I can prevent further damage.

Do I use tape along with the bead, or is the bead enough?

pjaffe

Typically you nail the bead to the wall and then mud it. No tape.

Michael Rivers

Thanks for the reminder about nails. I probably would have used the screws I have lying around and remembered nails only after I couldn't get the compound to look nice.

marksr

If the cornerbead is rusty but still sound you can get by with sanding or wiring brushing the rust mostly off and then applying a coat of an oil base rust resistant primer. The mud will adhere fine to the dried primer.

Michael Rivers

The picture fails to convey just how bad the cornerbead looks. If it's warped but otherwise sound, can I just nail it back in place?

marksr

Yes, the biggest concern is how straight the edge is as that helps guide the mud you apply.

XSleeper

Water tends to erode the drywall that is behind the corner bead. If thats the case, your best bet may be to replace the corner bead and the drywall behind it. Replacing the entire corner is usually better than replacing a piece of it. For small repairs, I like the metal corners that already have tape on them. No nails, just bed them in mud and wipe them down tight.

Michael Rivers

After inspection, it appears that;

1) Once again, a previous homeowner decided that joint compound is the only thing available for repair. The lowest 4 inches of the short wall has no sheet rock, just compound. At least this is easier to deal with than the joint compound used as window glazing.

2) No real water damage, but the corner bead is very rusted.

3) The nails are rusted to the point that the heads snap off and the blade stuck tight.

4) The corner bead goes behind the tub surround, so I'll have to pry one edge loose. Pretty sure there is not enough room for me to go with XSleeper's idea of bead with preattached tape.

End result. I'm now debating if I want to replace about three feet on each side or if I want to replace the entire eight-ish feet. It will probably come down to how difficult the tub surround makes things.

Any tips on removing rusted corner bead?

marksr

Remove the mud and pry it off. If only removing a portion you'll need to cut the corner bead at the stopping point.

Michael Rivers

So, nothing special about dealing with rusted nails, then?

marksr

They will either pull out as you pry off the bead or tear thru the bead - you'd then finish pulling them out or knock them in.